A Tantric Trick for Transforming Tough Emotions

[DMCubic]

It looks to me like you are channeling anger, but may not be separating yourself from the fuel.

When the Buddhists are taught to do this, it's taught in conjunction with the kind of view Pickle expressed in his post above, where nothing is seen to be related to a separate "me." So I think the two ways have to complement each other, or things wouldn't have been taught this way since the end of the Roman Empire. It's certainly not an end in itself to do this kind of visualization - it's not doing its job unless anger on the whole decreases over time. It's a tool and nothing more. And I wouldn't use it if there wasn't a noticeable release in the energy centers afterwards that is durable and lasting. And that doesn't happen unless, as Pickle said, I separate myself from the underlying cause of the anger as the energy expends itself. The visualization is generated to expend the energy safely and expose the root for witnessing and understanding.

But here I'm talking about the ability to remove, gradually, the underlying cause of anger, not the ability to separate from the anger as it arises. Sometimes the raw energy of anger is just too strong or persistent to separate from so easily. And the ability to separate from the fuel might even be philosophically disputed as impossible - if all is one, and the present moment is all, then if anger is present, that anger just *is*, and since there is no ability to create a separate self, detachment from it is in truth impossible. Nothing more ideal or perfect could possibly be sought after as refuge. But separating from the root that generated the anger in the first place is a process in time that does happen, and I think it comes precisely as a result of not trying to escape the anger.

I also find I can run into extremes with the approach of detaching from things, where I actually fall into cherishing the view of not having a separate self - which requires the grasping mode of dualism, paradoxically, to hold in mind. That view can subtly create a sort of spaced-out nihilism which is an impermanent, transient state that isn't worth aiming for since it can't be kept hold of and takes effort to maintain. And that effort, I have always found, is based off a subtle anxiety. So cherishing the view of no-self, when that arises, I feel to be a form of uptight self-defense against normal, everyday perception, a mental wall to keep out the world. And grasping at the view of no-self can be very quick to pop in and out of one's awareness. I often lapse in and out of over-holding that view every other second when trying to balance myself around some stimulus that disrupts my system. So there's a refining process going on for me as I learn not just to detach, but to detach from detachment.

One of the other nuances of Tantra is that wrathful visualizations aren't the only way to actualize the approach of transforming negative mind-states into wise ones. The base practice of tantra is to view all moments as being manifestations of radiant divine energy, period, without deviating from that view. So anger or whatever arises, and the main thing here is it isn't being shunned or pushed out or reacted to in any way. The view of all things as divine is essentially another way of saying "don't repress negativity." This is advice we already know, for the most part, given a different wording. (It also implies not over-loving positivity.)

So I agree with you, Pickle, if you're talking about attacking anger at the root being a good thing, and I agree that this is done with awareness that breaks the cycle. We do want to ultimately separate from anger. But I wanted to also point out that in the moment, I think that is technically impossible, despite it being the outcome of a series of moments. Also, I wanted to point out (in a couple of ways) that in my opinion, over-relying on the notion that one can be distanced from such states to the point of reifying the idea of no-self can backfire. I think the real transformation is ultimately in staying with whatever arises as it arises and reacting smoothly and in harmony with it without the preconceived idea that something has to change in a particular way.