Thank you for this excellent podcast! Just a comment on your last part of the conversation, for some additional context.
Vajroli is also heavily emphasized in Tibetan Vajrayana/Karmamudra. It is definitely about power, with the female providing wang (power) often to extend the life of the male practitioner who utilizes retention and sucking up of the female fluids (similar to Taoism). But this is also for other “ritual” purposes.
This is perhaps because, unlike the Shakta lineages where the feminine (emptiness) is the active element allowing for attainment of moksha, in Tibetan Vajrayana the male principle (of skillful means) is the “active” element. Thus, bodhicitta and the bodhisattva vows are the root of samaya and essential to the path. But, as they tell male practitioners, is no Mahamudra without Karmamudra. And this points to the necessity of the dakini’s womb to provide both a source of power for the male practitioner and also a kind of portal, possibly for rebirth and/or to sustain the Tulku system.
Thank you for this excellent podcast! Just a comment on your last part of the conversation, for some additional context.
Vajroli is also heavily emphasized in Tibetan Vajrayana/Karmamudra. It is definitely about power, with the female providing wang (power) often to extend the life of the male practitioner who utilizes retention and sucking up of the female fluids (similar to Taoism). But this is also for other “ritual” purposes.
This is perhaps because, unlike the Shakta lineages where the feminine (emptiness) is the active element allowing for attainment of moksha, in Tibetan Vajrayana the male principle (of skillful means) is the “active” element. Thus, bodhicitta and the bodhisattva vows are the root of samaya and essential to the path. But, as they tell male practitioners, is no Mahamudra without Karmamudra. And this points to the necessity of the dakini’s womb to provide both a source of power for the male practitioner and also a kind of portal, possibly for rebirth and/or to sustain the Tulku system.
Thank you for sharing this, Jessica 🙏