Tantra and the Attraction of Opposites

For most mainstream religions pain and suffering pave the path to spiritual liberation whilst pleasure leads only to damnation.

The Jewish people had to endure countless rounds of hardship and suffering before earning the right to enter the promised land; likewise, the emerging Islamic ummah faced several early existential threats. Within Christianity the virtue of suffering was exemplified in the persona of Jesus. Firstly, he was required to confront his temptations whilst spending 30 days alone in the wilderness - essentially living as a wandering ascetic - before he could begin his ministry. Then, having conducted his ministry, Jesus had to suffer on the cross before he could ascend to the side of God.

This pattern occurs in the East as well. The image of the ascetic yogi, shunning all personal belongings and accouterments of wealth, is held aloft as that of the idealised spiritual seeker. Even the Buddha had to renounce his princely wealth and status and starve himself near to death before attaining enlightenment.

Conversely, whenever we encounter characters representative of wealth and decadence in the origin stories of these early religious movements, they are often given a choice of either redemption through renunciation, or damnation. Think of the early Jews frivolously worshiping a golden bull, or the tax collector Saul in the New Testament.

The message is clear: pain is holy; pleasure is a sin.

In any system where the majority of the population are poor and exploited, there are obvious benefits for the ruling elite to promote this narrative. The suffering of the exploited majority is not for nothing, because it will benefit their spiritual evolution. Indeed, the more they suffer the more spiritual credit they will earn. Better still, the poor can scoff at their social and material superiors, because their decadence and frivolity will only serve to damage their spiritual credentials.

But Tantra challenges this narrative. Within Tantra everything is divine. Pain and suffering is no more or less holy than pleasure and frivolity. There is no moral judgement because both emanate from the same divine source.

In fact, within Tantra rather than following a path of extremes, it is the acceptance and confrontation of opposites that lead to enlightenment and liberation. An example from the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra is to meditate on the emptiness of a vessel and contemplate the question: is it really empty? 

The same Tantra recommends exercises involving both pain and pleasure, such as pricking yourself with a needle or experiencing an orgasm. In both cases practitioners are encouraged to meditate on the enduring and underlying sensations rather than the immediate bodily response of either intense pain or orgasmic pleasure. The revelation, when exploring these extremes, is that there is a deep lying similarity beneath both of these superficial reactions. This is perhaps hinted at in phrases such as “sweet pain” or “agonising bliss”.

To understand this meditation better, consider an ocean. Experiences of extreme opposites - such as pain or pleasure - are like waves rising and rolling across the surface of the sea. If you remain on the surface you will be tossed around by the turmoil of these waves - perhaps even under the false impression that they are carrying you somewhere meaningful. But if you have the courage to dive beneath the surface you will find that the waves wash harmlessly over your head.

And it is there, in the depths beneath the surface, that you will find the true current, strong and consistent, that can carry you towards liberation.