Questions about Tantra

 I am reading a very interesting and well-written book by Rob Preece called Psychology of Buddhist Tantra. I started to read this book due to an emerging curiosity about the differences between 'esoteric' and 'exoteric' Buddhism, the former of which includes many Tibetan, ritual-based practices which are aimed at redirecting archetypal energies to transform consciousness.
    As I was reading this book, I started to realize the uniqueness of tantra, even though I am not really well-versed in any of its intricate practices. I think one thing that is interesting about the practice is how much it taps into the images and archetypes that are common in Buddhist art and iconography. As I started to read this book, I realized how much my own practice is simply lacking in the power of imagery, and how it might benefit me to simply be inspired by Buddhist art. After all, one of the things that some spiritual practitioners neglect is the power of forms to inspire the heart and integrate disowned aspects of one's being. A person, as Preece points out in his text, may be doing all his spiritual practice ' in the head' rather than being fully aware of the hidden complexes stored in one's memory that get translated into painful emotional experiences.
   In other words, it's very easy to become idealistic and fantasize that one has 'overcome' one's emotional states when one has shifted her focus away from body /emotions and toward the intellect. But Chan(and Buddhism in general) isn't really about the intellect at all. In fact, Chan in particular is most emphasizing a non-dualistic facing and embracing of all emotional states, particularly emphasizing seeing the totality of phenomena as functions of the true mind. Thus, if one tries to reject emotions that are painful, one ends up reinforcing a distorted view of reality which does not consider all mind states with equanimity. But I am also aware, as Preece remarks, that it's very easy for the view of non-duality to be mistaken for a view which emphasizes replacing emotions with other emotions. As Preece suggests, trying to replace a sad though with an 'equanimity' thought is only furthering a dualistic mindset, which consigns certain emotions to the 'other' or to a buried Shadow side.
    From a Chan perspective, it is simply impossible to replace one thought with another to begin with.
Tantric Buddhism tends to focus on using practices to bring out unresolved conflicts and complexes, in order to re-integrate them into a seamless spiritual direction. What is interesting with Tantra is that there is no illusion that the deep emotional complexes we have can easily be 'resolved' through a disciplined effort. Rather, it takes very specific skillful means (such as mantra recitation, visualization and secret practices established by a guru) to allow these complexes to surface and integrate.
    I think that Tantra is an excellent reminder that spiritual practice cannot abandon the body or the complex developmental psychology that goes into one's personal makeup prior to embarking on a spiritual practice. I also think that this approach does not negate or contradict with the efforts of other Buddhist schools, such as Chan. I agree with Preece that for many people, embarking on a spiritual practice often requires complex ground-work which begins with examining subconscious tendencies.
      My main concern and questions about Tantric practice:

1) if we shift our focus away from spiritual principles and theories and toward transforming emotional complexes, does this shift tend to blur lines between spirituality and acting out the emotional complexes?
2) How can an individual or practitioner really ever know whether they have balanced and harmonized all their emotions (hidden and latent)? Does Tantra sometimes encourage a hyper-vigilance and an unattainable ideal of the 'fully balanced' person?
3) Can emotions be transformed simply through bare awareness, or do they require conscious intervention and manipulation to be 'transformed'? What does 'emotional transformation' really mean from the perspective of Tantra?
4) Is it even necessary to re-integrate emotions if one practices full acceptance of all states of being? For instance, does anger need to be transformed into compassion when one fully accepts anger as a phenomena?
5) Are there ways to integrate some of the lessons of Tantra into other streams of Buddhism, such as Chan?