Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. John Landaw guides students through foundational tantric meditation practices in this 28-minute introduction. He begins with postural setup and breath observation, then teaches the hollow body visualization and the nine-round breathing exercise to purify afflictions associated with anger, attachment, and ignorance. The main focus is the nadi (energy channel) system: identifying the central channel and its two flanking pathways, then concentrating on a red heat at the navel and fanning it with vase breath to generate internal warmth. As this heat rises through the central channel, it melts white bodhicitta at the crown, which drips downward spreading bliss throughout the nervous system. He emphasizes these are preparatory practices for tantric training and should be approached without discouragement despite their difficulty. Suited for those beginning formal tantric study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15 Intro to Tantra Day 3 no date.mp3
UUID: 588a27f5-e22c-4377-a837-7f94d791116f
Teacher: John Landaw
Collection: Introduction to Tantra (John Landaw)
Date: 1984 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~579
After seating oneself in a comfortable upright posture and calming and collecting the mind through the observation of the breath. Generate the bodhicitta motivation, and cultivate the feeling of the hollow body meditation. Allow the mind to relax. Whatever tension or obstruction there is, Cultivate the feeling of floating or sailing, free from gravity. Without regrets for the past or anticipation of the future, Merely rest or let.
Then within the space of hollowness, feel the presence of the central and two flanking channels. As for the central channel, focus upon its length, the straight shaft from the crown to mid. In the center of the body, but closer to the back. And the flanking passageways of energy arching up from the nostril to the crown and then descending on either side of the central channel. Then to uplift and purify the mind, to expel the impure air and replace it with vibrant energy, We perform the nine round breathing exercise one, two, or three times.
Beginning by inhaling through the left nostril, allowing the air to collect on the right, and then exhaling, letting the body and mind of all impure energy, especially that of anger. Followed by three breaths into the right and out to the left. Ridding oneself of all the impurities, specifically those related to attachment. Letting air through both channels, collecting into the central channel, loosening the various restrictions, and dissolving the impurities, especially those of ignorance. And then one more set of.
Now concentrate at the level of the navel within the central channel, Feeling the presence of the red hot seed syllable. And fan the seed syllable with approximately seven consecutive vast breaths. Breathing in through both the nostrils, pulling up on the lower muscles, swallowing and pressing down so that a compression chamber is formed, fanning the red hot seed syllable so that it grows even hotter. Do not be discouraged. It is difficult to locate Cease the vase breathing.
Allow the breath to take its own pattern and focus the mind as single pointedly as possible at the sensations in the navel area. Visualize it as red hot. And the central channel is like a chimney above it. Slowly follow the heat as it rises from the seed syllable in the navel up the shaft of the central channel. Very slowly, it rises.
The heat burning away any obstructions through the abdominal cavity. Upward through the chest, unblocking the heart chakra. Up through his throat. Unblocking the chakra there. Up through the back of the head.
And finally reaching the crown. As this heat energy reaches the crown, it melts the inexhaustible store of white energy. This white energy is like quicksilver, very shiny, very potent. And as it melts, it begins to drip down the central channel, very slowly, like frozen honey melting and dripping, spreading and feeling bliss throughout the nervous system as it drips lower behind the brow. Through the head.
Into the throat where waves of blissful pleasure spread out down into the chest, activating pleasurable responses throughout the central channel and the adjoining channels. Through the heart chakra, experiencing the further expansion of bliss, a wave of energy. Until eventually this moon-like white drop drips into the fire of the navel, causing it to blaze even more fiercely than before. Until all differentiation of this and that is lost within this all pervasive experience of pleasure. After a while, the strength of the concentration to