I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net

Thelema, all of which claimed to derive their spiritual legitimacy from
bodhisattva-like entities, can then be said to bear the marks of this Buddhist
left-hand path influence. Despite this fact, all three of the above-mentioned
occult bodies were adamant in insisting that they were thoroughly of the
right-hand path, condemning the left-hand path as a malevolent force. This
prevalent Western confusion concerning the exact meaning of the two paths
will prove to be a recurring theme.
The secretive nature of the Eastern left-hand path always allows for
the ambiguous possibility of a true inner doctrine, communicated only to
certain initiates, concealed by a more conventional outer doctrine presented
to the profane. Only such an inner doctrine can explain how the adepts of the
Buddhist left-hand path pursue aims so adverse to the precepts of orthodox
Buddhism.
Although we will provide a few instances of Tibetan left-hand path
sex magic, Buddhism itself actually tends to vitiate the meaning of magic
altogether. There is little point in causing magical change in a universe
which is thought to be mere illusion. And yet, the techniques of Tibetan lefthand
path magic can be applied without necessarily ascribing to the
philosophical premises connected to them. Hindu-heretical left-hand path
metaphysics takes a radically different approach to reality/unreality, more in
keeping with the purposes of the Western sex magician. The form of Taoist
sacred eroticism developed in ancient China, the yin-tao, also provides
several concepts useful to transcultural application in contemporary erotic
initiation. It is safe to say that the Tantric left-hand path, in one form or
another, has been assimilated throughout the Eastern world, even disguising
itself under Sufi garb during the Islamic conquest of India, and flourishing
for a time in Japan before the anti-sexual spirit of austere Confucianism
neutered its force in that region.
Although this section of the book will largely illustrate the Eastern
model of the left-hand path, we will frequently compare these principles to
their expression in ancient Mediterranean and European magical practice. By
viewing the sinister current through the lenses of different traditions, a more
universal vision of the left-hand path can be realized.
A Synthesis Of Two Worlds
Even though we stress that the left-hand path per se is undisputedly of
Indian origin, we do not wish to encourage contemporary Occidental sex
magicians to uncritically embrace a romantic vision of the supremacy of the
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"mysterious East" as being more authentically spiritual and enlightened than
the West, a common error in esoteric circles. There is no pure Eastern lefthand
path Shangri-La and if there ever was it has long since been subsumed
by colonialism and global Westernization.
It is all too easy for modern magicians to imagine a fantastic
dreamworld of infallible Ascended Masters guarding secrets that can only be
communicated in some distant Himalayan ashram. These fantasies, which
have permeated the magical tradition of the West, have led more than one
Westerner to abandon all critical thinking, often leading to an immersion in
exotic trappings and foreign nomenclature for their own sake. That is the
route of escapism, a cul-de-sac into which many sex magicians have
unwittingly wandered as they walk the left-hand path.
We have often observed magicians make a healthy break with the
religious or social orthodoxy that formed them – one of the first steps of lefthand
path initiation – only to fawningly follow the dogma of another, perhaps
less well-known, religious orthodoxy instead. Westerners are particularly
susceptible to this "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"
syndrome, since the post-Christian religiomagical tradition in the West
sometimes seems so impoverished by comparison to the more vital Eastern
traditions of initiation. Thus, the phenomenon of the Westerner who breaks