Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

The have only their warmth, their protective role, their unconditional readiness to help and their
boundless love in common with earthly mothers. These transcendental mothers of the Mahayana are
indeed powerful heavenly matrons, but the more powerful they are experienced to be, the more they
dissolve into the purely allegorical. They represent “perfect wisdom”, the “mother of emptiness”,
“transcendent love”. When, however, the genesis of these symbolic female figures is examined (as is
done at length in our analysis of Vajrayana Buddhism), then they all prove to be the imaginary
products of a superior male Buddha being.
In closing this chapter we would like to mention a phenomenon which occurred much more
frequently than one would like to accept in Mahayana: “compassionate copulation”. Sexual
intercourse between celibate monks and female beings was actually allowed in exceptional
circumstances: if it was performed out of compassion for the woman to be slept with. There could
even be a moral imperative to sleep with a woman: “If a woman falls violently in love with a
Bodhisattva and is about to sacrifice her life for him, it is his duty to save her life by satisfying all her
desires” (Stevens, 1990, p. 56). At least some monks probably took much pleasure in complying with
this commandment.
In Western centers of modern Buddhism too, irrespective of whether Zen or Lamaist exercises are
practiced, it is not uncommon for the masters to sleep with their female pupils in order to “spiritually”
assist them (Boucher, 1985, p. 239). But it is mostly a more intimate affair than in the case of the
present-day Asian guru who boasted to an American interviewer, “I have slept with a thousand
women. One of them had a hump. I gave her my love, and she has become a happy person. ... I am a
‘Buddhist scouring pad’. A scouring pad is something which gets itself dirty but at the same time
cleans everything it touches” (Faure, 1994, p. 92).
Footnotes:
[1] The Sanskrit word tantra, just like its Tibetan equivalent rguyd, has many meanings, all of which, however,
are originally grouped around terms like ‘thread’, ‘weave’, ‘web’, and ‘network’. From these, ‘system’ and
‘textbook’ finally emerged. The individuals who follow the Tantric Way are called Tantrika or Siddha. A
distinction is drawn between Hindu and Buddhist systems of teaching. The latter more specifically involves a
definite number of codified texts and their commentaries.
Next Chapter:
2. TANTRIC BUDDHISM
Index | Contents | References | Buddhism Debate | Glossary | Home
© Copyright 2003 – Victor & Victoria Trimondi
The contents of this page are free for personal and non-commercial use,
provided this copyright notice is kept intact. All further rights, including
the rights of publication in any form, have to be obtained by written
permission from the authors.