Rob Preece's book, Psychology of Buddhist Tantra (2006) has done a lot to introduce me to the concept and notion of Tantra. Although much of what he talks about is more a summary of what tantra is intended to explore, I get a sense of the flavor of why Tantric practitioners are engaged in complex visualizations. I definitely get a good sense of why these practices are used. I am especially interested in Preece's description of the Shadow and how Tantric practices often reconnect us with parts of our experiences that have often been disowned or overshadowed in the social world.
I am not sure how far or deep I can go to explore Tantra, since it is a practice which requires a deep commitment and risk. What interests me is how everything in life is really a reflection of the shadowy nature that Preece describes, and we needn't necessarily look to art forms to find manifestations of the shadow. I think shadow is just the kinds of things that people habitually reject, even in daily life. For instance, if I reject being in a crowd or having to wait in a long line, that impatience within me is a kind of shadow. It is the part of me that I don't like and don't even want others to see around me, so I would rather repress it and be patient. I also think that we see shadows in the media: the way celebrity gossip circulates to try to bring down famous people in their prime, is a good example of something that nobody wants to admit but is happening a lot. The tendency is to take this energy and deflect it onto someone else, without owning the energies that the shadow harnesses. Preece attributes this tendency to the lack of skill that a person has in handling emotions such as anger (p. 188-189). If a person is able to take the same 'negative' states of being and channel them into meaningful ways (such as healing ritual, prayer or embodiments), then this same rich and raw energy can be used to suit better and wiser ends. Yet, Preece also cautions that "The primary cause of suffering in the world is ego-grasping" (p.189), and he applauds the ability for wrathful beings to challenge the frivolous or lighthearted nature of ego grasping, which prefers comfort over challenge.
What I wrestle with in looking at these words is how to distinguish between anger that can be used constructively and that which arises from ego clinging. I would have to say that the anger of being inconvenienced would come from an attachment to ego and body. On the other hand, the outrage we feel when human rights are violated and racial discrimination abounds in our communities would be considered transformative and even healing. So my question then becomes, how can anyone take the 'anger of frustrated ego' and channel it into the more constructive and useful anger of acknowledging social injustice? Are these two sorts of anger not somehow very different things, having different causes and conditions? The problem I am seeing is that everything we dislike or find uncomfortable about our being can get consigned to this blanket "Shadow" archetype. But is everything about the Shadow worthy of what Preece and Jungians call 'integration'? This is still something that challenges me, since I tend to see most of the anger I might feel as stemming from a frustrated and clinging sense of self. Even when my anger narrates a story about 'unfairness', the unfairness still tends to have an air of self-attachment to it. I haven't come across a truly pure or transformative anger in me, and I think it would be quite challenging for me to transform anger into something that is more socially useful.
If people can channel their anger creatively, I think that's wonderful, but I still feel somewhat unconvinced that I would qualify as a Tantric practitioner. Trying to figure out how to use emotions constructively is very difficult without specific processes of relaxing into mind. Chan has offered many methods of relaxing into difficult emotions and situations without necessarily delving into the muddier waters of wind energies and the psyche. So as I end this entry, I do wonder, what price does one pay to go into these unconscious forces? Preece gives an overview that is comprehensive, but he leaves me to wonder whether I could handle the complex rituals and long visualizations required to undertake Tantra practice.
Preece, Rob (2006), Psychology of Buddhist Tantra,. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion.
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