Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening

• Explains how the primal energy generated by physical desire can be used to achieve enlightenment

• Reveals the techniques used by Tantric adepts to attain mastery over breath, thought, and all physical processes

Nothing can match the explosive energy created in the body by pure desire. For millennia, Tantric adepts have harnessed this force as a means of attaining the summits of the mystical life. The energies fueled by passion are used to nourish the inner flame that burns away the egotistical perception of the mind.

Desire explores the subtle techniques of Tantra that enable the seeker to attain the triple mastery of the breath, thought, and the natural processes of the body. Tantrics believe that the body is the temple and divinity lies at its heart. In order to arrive at profound awareness, the body needs to be perfectly tuned and working toward a state of perfect fluidity. Desire reveals many of the secret practices intended for this purpose that have been passed down in the major Tantric treatises such as the Vijnanabhariva Tantra and Ch'an master Chinul's treatise on the Secrets of Cultivating the Mind, including the important techniques of the ritual sexual observances known as Maithuna.

• Explains how the primal energy generated by physical desire can be used to achieve enlightenment

• Reveals the techniques used by Tantric adepts to attain mastery over breath, thought, and all physical processes

Nothing can match the explosive energy created in the body by pure desire. For millennia, Tantric adepts have harnessed this force as a means of attaining the summits of the mystical life. The energies fueled by passion are used to nourish the inner flame that burns away the egotistical perception of the mind.

Desire explores the subtle techniques of Tantra that enable the seeker to attain the triple mastery of the breath, thought, and the natural processes of the body. Tantrics believe that the body is the temple and divinity lies at its heart. In order to arrive at profound awareness, the body needs to be perfectly tuned and working toward a state of perfect fluidity. Desire reveals many of the secret practices intended for this purpose that have been passed down in the major Tantric treatises such as the Vijnanabhariva Tantra and Ch'an master Chinul's treatise on the Secrets of Cultivating the Mind, including the important techniques of the ritual sexual observances known as Maithuna.

Daniel Odier is one of France's most honored authors. He founded the Tantra/Chan Center in Paris and has taught courses on the spiritual traditions of the Far East at several American universities, including the University of California. He is the author of several works of nonfiction including Nirvana Tao and Tantric Quest, and many novels. His mystery novels, written under the pen name Delacorta, include Diva, which was made into an award-winning film in 1981. He lives in Paris.

Daniel Odier began his studies with Kalu Rinpoche in 1968 and remained his disciple until his passing in 1989. In 2004 Odier received the Ch'an ordination in the Lin t'si and Caodong schools in China as well as permission to teach the Zhao Zhou Ch'an lineage in the West. He gives workshops in Europe, Canada, and the United States and is the author of Meditation Techniques of the Buddhist and Taoist Masters, Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening, and Tantric Quest. He lives in Paris.