dao

56 Taoist Secrets Of Love

power within semen was Gurdjieff. According to this master, certain peoples understood that ". . . by means of the substances 'Exhioehary' or sperm formed in them, it was possible to perfect oneself." He adds that " . . . this self-perfection could probably be actualized by itself, by abstaining from the ejection from oneself in the customary manner of these substances formed in them called sperm."

Gurdjieff maintains that this self-perfection usually cannot be attained simply by retaining the semen, but requires a technique to release the energies of the seed. He is in perfect agreement with Paracelsus and the Taoists on this point.

Without exception authorities on the occult know of the seminal power, and that this substance must be stored and transformed to accomplish higher deveopment. The distinguished magician, Kenneth Grant, writes: "Thus the function of the semen—in the Tantras—is to build up the body of light, the astral body, the inner body of man. As the vital fluid accumulates in the testicles it is consumed by the heat of the Fire Snake, and the subtle fumes or 'perfumes' of this molten semen go to strengthen the inner body."

Most authorities agree on the necessity of collecting seminal fluid and transmuting it by application of inner heat. In the Chinese practice we refer to this as "cooking" the seminal fluid to obtain its "steam." The first step to release this tremendous vitality is conservation of the semen in the act of love.

The modern American spiritual master, Da Free John, also stresses the necessity of conserving the seminal force: "We must find a way of enjoying sexual intimacy whereby Life is not lost, we do not discharge Life in order to achieve pleasure, and we love one another, completely happy and free in our life together."

The "loss of Life" Da Free John refers to is ejaculation. He considers proper use of the sexual force—without ejaculation and with truly loving feeling between partners—as a key to human evolution. He stresses the importance of love in aiding the spontaneous transmutation of the seed to its higher centers of divinity. In this he is in complete accord with other spiritual authorities. Alchemists, yogis, magicians, and mystics agree unanimously on this fundamental point.

Another perspective on the vital seed is found in the works of an eminent Kabbalist and poet, Carlos Suares. The esoteric Kabbalist tradition originated in ancient Egypt. He emphasizes that

development of the will to retain the seed is identical with development of one's true self: " . . . man, endowed with his self (which, though static by nature, shelters living seed) must struggle against and overcome the centrifugal sexual movement which tends to lead him into the abyss of the female. . . . Instead of being carried away, his mind rules."

Suares here alludes to the degenerative role played by woman in unconsciously luring the seed out of man. She profits very slightly from his great loss, since she usually doesn't have the yogic skills to absorb it. Woman is a bottomless pit for the man who incessantly gives his seed to her, although she can attempt to compensate this loss with her nearly inexhaustable female energy and love.

This chapter could be expanded to include the entirety of initiatory writing. There are many works by Masters who have felt the powers of semen transmuted by vital heat. When Moses is wandering in the desert for forty years, he speaks in the Bible of experiencing "a serpent fire." Since the Bible also declares Moses was "trained by the Egyptians in all their mysteries," it seems likely that this fire refers to the transmutation upward of his psychic energies. Bodily experience of the subtle realm is the final criterion in these matters.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TAOISM AND TANTRA

The principles of Tantra from India and Tibet have received wide attention in the west in recent years, especially by seekers interested in integrating their sexual impulses into their spiritual growth. The principles behind Tantra are nearly identical to that of Taoism. Both seek to reconcile the opposing dualities of life as symbolized by male and female and both accept any moment or experience in life as a starting point for spiritual growth and as an end point for insight into truth.

Keith Dowman, a western scholar and practitioner of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism put it succinctly: "Strip the (tantrie) yoga of its arcane terminology and there is a simple meditation technique: stimulate the desire and then use it as the object of meditation and it becomes awareness—a field of Emptiness and pure Pleasure." A Taoist would agree, only he might phrase it differently: "Within every moment there is only the Emptiness of yin receiving the

nese into English. But the archetypal images of the Taoists—prin- cipally images from nature, but including the yin and yang sym- bol—became globally accepted archetypes long before myself and others began teaching out the esoteric practices. The Chinese form a quarter of the world's population, and our civilization has been around for the last 5000 years, so our basic teaching models are already well known throughout the world.

Perhaps most important is the fact that the esoteric yogic practices of the Taoists were not buried in the rituals or lost on the changing doctrines of religion. They were kept secret and passed on orally for many thousands of years, and when they were finally written down beginning in the second century A.D. they were disguised with arcane poetry to prevent the uninitiated or unvirtuous from learning the meditative practices. But much of this esoteric knowledge was preserved and further developed by Taoist acupuncturists and herbologists, which helped to keep the mystical teachings practical and grounded in using the chi energy to heal bodily functions. Another example of this is the Taoist art of Tai Chi Chuan, a wonderfully multifaceted form that is simultaneously a means of self-defense, a playful dance, a metaphysical meditation on yin and yang, a physically healing exercise, and a ritual invocation of the cardinal energies that can be experienced by anyone watching a master perform.

The actual Taoist practices themselves are as simple to understand as the sun and the moon, because the ancient Taoists used the natural elements of the universe as their teacher. They watched the way plants and animals lived and died, how the weather effected their own metabolism, and how their subtle energies varied with the seasons, the earth's tilt toward the sun and stars, and the phases of the moon. Before language was even invented the sages observed the balance of forces in nature and then found that same harmony within themselves. Life is simple and natural if you keep it that way. No extraneous cultural images or religious concepts are needed to decorate the original and natural vision of the Tao as harmonious nature.

Anybody familiar with the qualities of water, fire, metal, earth, and wood—the primal elements—and has lived through the four seasons of the year—spring, summer, fall, and winter—is a candidate for beginning the Taoist practices. For example, to balance the sexual relationship you basically need to know that

60 Taoist Secrets Of Love

woman is water and has the power to regulate man, who is fire. On a deeper level you would discover that man has both fire and water in his body and can achieve a perfect internal balance by harmonizing his fire (thinking mind) with his own water (sperm fluid, or sexual "waters").

These symbols of fire and water, often expressed as yin and yang are simple to identify with and work with once you are given the specific details of what to do—how to hold your seed in, how to move your energy in psychic channels, and exchange it with the woman, etc. Of course, the experience of more subtle levels of chi energy takes time and cultivation of physical and mental purity. Thats why practice of tai chi, chi kung, meditation, and virtuous living enhance the speed with you gain clarity, and thus compliment the sexual practices.

KAREZZA AND COITUS RESERVATUS

There are other methods of sexual intercourse which should not be confused with the Taoist practice. Most widely known is the simple act of coitus reservatus, which is making love without orgasm. While this conserves the valuable male seed, it does not teach how to circulate the sexual energy upward or store it in the body's higher centers so it can be exchanged with the woman or put to other creative use. Coitus reservatus can also create severe pressure on the prostate gland and lead to its eventual malfunction since the orgasmic tension in the prostate is never released inwardly (as in Taoist sex) or outwardly through ejaculation. I specifically recommend that you avoid coitus reservatus for this rea- son—too much heat builds up in the genital area without any means to cool it.

Karezza is a love-making technique said to have originated in Persia. It involves long periods of passive sexual intercourse— lying still for half an hour or more while waiting for the male and female energies to build up. The Taoist method differs in that it encourages as much loving physical movement that the couple can handle without genital orgasm. This dynamic aspect of sex is normally important to westerners raised on a romantic role model of passionate love. To a Taoist, movement is life, whether in the physical body or in the subtle energy, and should be thoroughly enjoyed for the good health it brings. Karezza also fails to provide

a method for transforming the sexual energy upward into a transcendent internal orgasm, and is satisfied with simply increasing and prolonging physical pleasure. It was originally intended to help any royal male survive a long night of love-making with his harem. Later it was popularized in America in the Utopian Oneida colony in 1866 as a form of mandatory birth control. Certainly it is an improvement over hasty ejaculatory sex, but ultimately lacks true depth.

CHAPTER 6

THE DANCE OF THE TESTES: EXERCISES FOR PELVIC STRENGTH

"If a man has intercourse once without spilling his seed, his vital essence is strengthened. If he does this twice, his hearing and vision are made clear. If three times, all his physical illness will disappear. The fourth time he will begin to feel inner peace. The fifth time his blood will circulate powerfully. The sixth time his genitals will gain new prowess. By the seventh his thighs and buttocks will become firm. The eighth time his entire body will radiate good health. The ninth time his lifespan will be increased."

—from the Canon of Taoist Wisdom collected by Emperor Tang

All of us are familiar with the shoot-out scene in which someone in danger pulls a gun which doesn't fire. If it's a good guy, he usually finds some heroic way out of his predicament. But when the "weapon" is the male penis, a "misfire"—a failure to erect—is a fiasco for the simple reason that no heroic alternative is easily found. Repeated and chronic misfire is impotence, the incarnation of male misery and the ruin of many relationships. In this chapter we study two excellent pelvic diaphragm exercises that build your urogenital and anus ring muscles and thus greatly strengthens your control of your erection and reduce the likelihood of misfire. Careful practice of these exercises will also prepare you for learning to retain the vital seed during intercourse.