Sex, Orgasm, and the Mind of Clear Light: The Sixty-four Arts of Gay Male Love [Paperback]

Jeffrey Hopkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 1998

In this ground-breaking work, Tibetan Buddhist scholar Jeffrey Hopkins has adapted Tibetan philosopher Gedun Chopel's heterosexual sex manual Tibetan Arts of Love as a gay sex guide. Interweaving ecstatic poetry and prose, Hopkins shows how sexual passion can open the door to spiritual growth.

Hopkins argues that orgasm itself can bring lovers to a powerful level of consciousness. Beautifully written, the techniques show that pinching, scratching, union from the rear, switching roles, thrill cries, and oral sex all have an impact on erotic life. Hopkins concludes with four "ruminations" on the sex-friendly nature of Tibetan Buddhism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jeffrey Hopkins knows that physicality is the doorway to the sublime. As he probes the mysteries of sexual and spiritual ecstasy, he teaches us about Buddhism, the wisdom of our bodies, and the luminosity of our minds. 'All beings are seeking happiness,' he reminds us. His book has wisdom, power and dignity."
-Mark D. Epstein, M.D., author of Thoughts Without A Thinker: Psychotherapy from A Buddhist Perspective

"The great classics of religious literature have presumed a heterosexual audience. Gay men are left wondering: how does this relate to me, to my desire? Whatever opinion one may have regarding the spiritual relevance or feasibility of the techniques described in this book, that it presumes a gay male audience makes it an unquestionable contribution to the queering of Buddhism...a real tour de force."
-Jose Ignacio Cabezon, Illiff School of Theology, Denver, author of Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender

About the Author

Jeffrey Hopkins is Professor Emeritus of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he has taught Tibetan Studies and Tibetan language since 1973. At the University of Virginia he served as Director of the Center for South Asian Studies for twelve years and founded a program in Buddhist Studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; First Edition edition (June 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556432747
• ISBN-13: 978-1556432743
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey Hopkins is Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia where he taught Tibetan Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language for thirty-two years from 1973. He received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1963, trained for five years at the Lamaist Buddhist Monastery of America in Freewood Acres, New Jersey, USA (now the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center in Washington, New Jersey), and received a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin in 1973. He served as His Holiness the Dalai Lama's chief interpreter into English on lecture tours for ten years, 1979-1989. At the University of Virginia he founded programs in Buddhist Studies and Tibetan Studies and served as Director of the Center for South Asian Studies for twelve years. He has published thirty-nine books in a total of twenty-two languages, as well as twenty-three articles.

His most prominent academic books are the trilogy Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism (2000); Reflections on Reality: The Three Natures and Non-Natures in the Mind-Only School (2002); and Absorption in No External World: 170 Issues in Mind-Only Buddhism (2006). In 1999 he published The Art of Peace: Nobel Peace Laureates Discuss Human Rights, Conflict and Reconciliation, edited from a conference of Nobel peace laureates that he organized in 1998 for the University of Virginia and the Institute for Asian Democracy.

Recently he published the first translation into any language of the foundational text of the Jo-nang sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha-Matrix. He has translated and edited thirteen books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the latest being How to See Yourself as You Really Are. He is also the author of A Truthful Heart (Snow Lion, 2008), which includes anecdotes from his years as a practitioner of Buddhism.

Other books include Emptiness in the Mind-Only School (1999), Cultivating Compassion (2001), and translation and editing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's How to Practice (2002). From 1979 to 1989 he served as His Holiness's chief interpreter into English.

Hopkins was born in Barrington, Rhode Island, USA, has traveled to India nineteen times and Tibet five times to do research. He has received three Fulbright Fellowships.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get happy, get wise, February 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sex, Orgasm, and the Mind of Clear Light: The Sixty-four Arts of Gay Male Love (Paperback)

The premise of this work is that, as nearly everyone engages in sexual activity, it seems a shame to divorce it from one's (Buddhist) spiritual path since sexual activity offers one many opportunities to achieve knowledge and direct experience of the nature of one's mind. This book is a gay (male) adaptation by Dr. Hopkins of his earlier publication, a translation of Gendun Chopel's heterosexually oriented "Tibetan Arts of Love." Both books are a combination sex-primer (more detailed than the Kama Sutra) and introduction to some ways of thinking about sexuality in Buddhist and especially vajrayana contexts. Dr. Hopkins' gay adaptation is very well done, and it is illustrated with photos of two handsome models discreetly demonstrating the attitudes described in the "practical" chapters, though not the actual positions themselves (some of which are quite difficult to visualize from the text alone). Given that this is a close and faithful adaptation of the earlier work, its lack of interpretive material is understandable but sorely missed. I particularly wanted more on the different types of (gay) men and their subtypes. However, this is a groundbreaking work, and will continue to be a valuable resource for years to come. It definitely conveys a gay-affirmative view of sex and spirituality - something which is not easy to find anywhere, but is particularly difficult to find within the American Buddhist community.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not problematic, December 17, 2004

By 

Veritas Always - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Orgasm, and the Mind of Clear Light: The Sixty-four Arts of Gay Male Love (Paperback)

Those who are actually familiar with tantra know that certain generation practices may entail generating oneself as a consort regardless of one's current external gender. So for those who find the idea of polarity confusing - fear not, you have all the yab and all the yum you need regardless of what hangs betwixt thy knees. I cannot say more on this. In general, this book does wonders to correct the silly ideas regarding the relationship between gender versus sexuality (they ARE different you know) and the difference between inner channels and outer physical genitalia. Well, this book does that if you can read between the lines. The book makes much more sense if you have a background in both the shared and exceptional teachings. This book adds to the massive collection of evidence that says no gay practitioner should EVER doubt that his or her body, speech, and mind are a suitable basis for every possible realization. So go practice! The other shore awaits!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasure Heals, May 7, 2011

By 

vincent - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Orgasm, and the Mind of Clear Light: The Sixty-four Arts of Gay Male Love (Paperback)

Thank you Jeffrey Hopkins. I've been practicing tantra for over 20 years alone and with partners. To hold back together with a friend and then allow the energy to shoot thru the body-mind is , indeed, bliss. The bliss then turns into compassion, so that what one thought was just sex turns out to be an opening of the heart. That opening breaks down barriers, defenses and if you are well defended it can dissolve them. Make sure you are with someone if you know you have alot of unresolved issues. It happened to me once when a young guy, who had buried a secret did the tantra with me.The blissful energy broke his defenses; he began to cry and he spoke about the issue as i held him dearly. We waste so much sexual energy by just releasing, quickly.
The trick is to , little by little , learn to bear the beams of love, as Blake said. Or , learn to bear the pleasure , letting it nourish your body and spirit. Pleasures heals and keeps the heart open and vivacious. Sex is not just genital--it's a holistic experience. So practice holding back and stopping when you are ready to come. Rest and start over and enjoy what is our birthright brothers.