Top photo: The Dalai Lama at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodhgaya, India. By Joe Morris, joe@xenotropic.net.

Left photo: Taken in Italy, 2007
By Luca Galuzzi (Luca Galuzzi - www.galuzzi.it)

The Shadow of the Dalai Lama

Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism

© Copyright 2003 – Victor & Victoria Trimondi

The entire book can be read online at:

• The Shadow of the Dalai Lama – Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism

See also:

• Shangri-la in Exile: Representations of Tibetan Identity and Transnational Culture – Toni Huber (Humboldt University Berlin)
• Imagining Tibet: Between Shangri-la and Feudal Oppression, Attempting a Synthesis – Thierry Dodin and Heinz Räther

Both of the above were originally published in:

• Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, & Fantasies – Thierry Dodin and Heinz Räther, Editors (Boston, 2001)

A Few Choice Excerpts:

From: “Introduction – Light and Shadow”

His followers worship him as a deity, a "living Buddha" (Kundun), and call him their "divine king." Not even the Catholic popes or medieval emperors ever claimed such a high spiritual position – they continued to bow down before the "Lord of Lords" (God) as his supreme servants. The Dalai Lama, however – according to Tibetan doctrine at least – himself appears and acts as the "Highest." In him is revealed the mystic figure of ADI BUDDHA (the Supreme Buddha); he is a religious ideal in flesh and blood.

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion”

… Tibetan Buddhism is not aimed at the enlightenment of individuals but rather at the continuing existence of a culture of superhumans (yogis, gods) in the form of possessed people (the pupils). It is concerned here to perpetuate a priestly caste that does not need to die because their consciousnesses can be incarnated into the human bodies of their followers again and again. This caste and their deities are considered sacrosanct. They live beyond all criticism. Their symbols, deeds, and history are set up as exemplary; they are the cultural inheritance which may not be analyzed but must be taken on blind faith by believers.

For these reasons Tibetan Buddhism's entire promise of enlightenment forms a trap with which intimate and religious yearnings can be used to magically push through the politico-religious goals of the monastic clergy. (We are not discussing here whether this is really possible, rather, we are talking about the intentions of the Lamaist system.) This corresponds exactly with what the Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno describes as "manipulation."

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion – The atavistic pattern of Tibetan Buddhism”

Every reform policy, every affirmation of democratization, every profession of peace remains a lie for as long as the Dalai Lama has not renounced the tantric ritual system, especially the Kalachakra Tantra. At heart this rests on the magic transformation of sexuality into power and ultimately aspires to the militarily enforced enthronement of a sacred/political world king. …

… The theocratic system that can be found in all the past cultures of the world only survives today in Tibetan Buddhism and parts of Islam. In both cases it demands worldwide recognition and distribution. Among the Tibetans in exile it does so – grotesquely – from behind a mask of democracy, human rights, the ecumenical mission, and the protection of nature.

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion – Return to rationalism?”

Since rationalism does not take the power-political effectiveness of myths and religions seriously enough, it refrains from the outset from examining the central contents of religious cults (such as the Kalachakra Tantra for example). The mysteries of the various religious orientations have never been more hidden and mysterious than in the Age of Reason, for the simple reason that this has never examined them.

… The West cannot overcome the myths by denying their power. It has itself had to experience their unbroken and enormous presence even in the twentieth century. In the case of national socialism (Nazism) the mythological world view developed an all but superhuman potency. Only if investigative thinkers risk entering into the heart of the religious cult mysteries and are prepared to engage with the innermost core of these mysteries can such "religious time bombs" be diffused. … the requirements for a critical reappraisal of the cultures are that their mystery cults and their contents be brought into the arena for public discussion – a procedure which is sure to send a shiver down the spines of the majority of fans of the esoteric and fundamentalists.

… As absurd as it may sound, "western rationalism" is actually the cause of occultism. It pushes the esoteric doctrines and their practices (the New Age for example) into the social underground, where they can spread undisturbed and uninhibited, and lay claim to one mind after another unnoticed, until one day when – as in the case of national socialism in Germany in the 30s, the Mullah regime in Iran in the 80s, and perhaps the Shambhala myth in Asia in the ??s – they burst forth with immense power and draw the whole of society into their atavistic wake.

Some Longer Excerpts:

From: “Part I – Chapter 1. Buddhism and Misogyny – An Historical Overview”

A well-founded critique and – where planned – a deconstruction of the Western image of Buddhism currently establishing itself should concentrate entirely upon the particular school of Buddhism known as "Tantrism" (Tantrayana or Vajrayana) for two reasons. The first is that the "tantric way" represents the most recent phase in the history of Buddhism and is with some justification viewed as the supreme and thus most comprehensive doctrine of the entire system. In a manner of speaking Tantrism has integrated all the foregoing Buddhist schools within itself, and further become a receptacle for Hindu, Iranian, Central Asian, and even Islamic cultural influences. Thus – as an oft-repeated Tantrayana statement puts it – one who has understood the "Tantric Way" has also understood all other paths to enlightenment.

The second reason for concentrating upon Tantrism lies in the fact that it represents the most widely distributed form of Buddhism in the West. It exerts an almost magical attraction upon many in America and Europe. With the Dalai Lama at its head and its clergy of exiled Tibetans, it possesses a powerful and flexible army of missionaries who advance the Buddhization of the West with psychological and diplomatic skill.

It is the goal of the present study to work out, interpret and evaluate the motives, practices and visions of Tantric Buddhism and its history. We have set out to make visible the archetypal fields and the "occult" powers which determine, or at least influence, the world politics of the Dalai Lama as the supreme representative of Tantrayana. For this reason we must familiarize our readers with the gods and demons who – not in our way of looking at things but from a tantric viewpoint – have shaped and continue to shape Tibet’s history. We will thus need to show that the Tibetans experience their history and contemporary politics as the worldly expression of a transcendental reality, and that they organize their lives according to laws which are not of this world. In summary, we wish to probe to the heart of the tantric mystery.

In light of the complexity of the topic, we have resolved to proceed deductively and to preface the entire book with the core statement of our research in the form of a hypothesis. Our readers will thus be set on their way with a statement whose truth or falsity only emerges from the investigations which follow. The formulation of this hypothesis is necessarily very abstract at the outset. Only in the course of our study does it fill out with blood and life, and unfortunately, with violence and death as well. Our core statement is as follows:

The mystery of Tantric Buddhism consists in the sacrifice of the feminine principle and the manipulation of erotic love in order to attain universal androcentric power.

From: “Introduction – Light and Shadow, ‘Realpolitik’ and the ‘Politics of Symbols’ ”

In ancient societies (like that of Tibet), everything that happens in the everyday world – from acts of nature to major political events to quotidian occurrences – is the expression of transcendent powers and forces working behind the scenes. Mortals do not determine their own fates; rather they are instruments in the hands of "gods" and "demons." If we wish to gain any understanding at all of the Dalai Lama’s "secular" politics, it must be derived from this atavistic perspective which permeates the traditional cultural legacy of Tibetan Buddhism. For the mysteries that he administers (in which the "gods" make their appearances) form the foundations of his political vision and decision making. State and religion, ritual and politics are inseparable for him.

What, however, distinguishes a "politics of symbols" from "realpolitik"? Both are concerned with power, but the methods for achieving and maintaining power differ. In realpolitik we are dealing with facts that are both caused and manipulated by people. Here the protagonists are politicians, generals, CEOs, leaders of opinion, cultural luminaries, etc. The methods through which power is exercised include force, war, revolution, legal systems, money, rhetoric, propaganda, public discussions, and bribery.

In the symbolic political world, however, we encounter "supernatural" energy fields, the "gods" and "demons." The secular protagonists in events are still human beings such as ecclesiastical dignitaries, priests, magicians, gurus, yogis, and shamans. But they all see themselves as servants of some type of superior divine will, or, transcending their humanity they themselves become "gods," as in the case of the Dalai Lama. His exercise of power thus not only involves worldly techniques but also the manipulation of symbols in rituals and magic. For him, symbolic images and ritual acts are not simply signs or aesthetic acts but rather instruments with which to activate the gods and to influence people’s awareness. His political reality is determined by a "metaphysical detour" via the mysteries.

This interweaving of historical and symbolic events leads to the seemingly fantastic metapolitics of the Tibetans. Lamaism believes it can influence the course of history not just in Tibet but for the entire planet through its system of rituals and invocations, through magic practices and concentration exercises. The result is an atavistic mix of magic and politics. Rather than being determined by parliament and the Tibetan government in exile, political decisions are made by oracles and the supernatural beings acting through them. It is no longer parties with differing programs and leaders who face off in the political arena, but rather distinct and antagonistic oracle gods.

Above all it is in the individual of the Dalai Lama that the entire wordly and spiritual/magic potential of the Tibetan world view is concentrated. According to tradition he is a sacred king. All his deeds, however much they are perceived in terms of practical politics by his surroundings, are thus profoundly linked to the Tibetan mysteries.

The latter have always been shrouded in secrecy. The uninitiated have no right to participate or learn about them. Nevertheless, in recent years much information about the Tibetan cults (recorded in the so-called tantra texts and their commentaries) has been published and translated into European languages. The world that opens itself here to Western awareness appears equally fantastic and fascinating. This world is a combination of theatrical pomp, medieval magic, sacred sexuality, relentless asceticism, supreme deification and the basest abuse of women, murderous crimes, maximum ethical demands, the appearance of gods and demons, mystical ecstasy, and cold hard logic all in one powerful, paradoxical performance.

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion”

Tibetan Buddhism primarily owes its success in the West to two facts: first, the charm and brilliant self-presentation of its supreme representative, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and second, the promise to lead people on the way to enlightenment.

Tibetan Buddhism primarily owes its success in the West to two facts: first, the charm and brilliant self-presentation of its supreme representative, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and second, the promise to lead people on the way to enlightenment. Although the tantric path to enlightenment explicitly involves a dissolution of the ego, it is at first the ‘I’ of the pupil which is addressed. "‘I’ would like to overcome the senselessness and suffering of my earthly existence. ‘I’ would like to experience liberation from samsara (the world of illusion)." When a western sadhaka is prepared to sacrifice his "little self," he certainly does not have the same understanding as the lamas of the "greater self" (the higher self or Buddha consciousness) which the tantric philosophy and practices of Vajrayana offers him as a spiritual goal. The Westerners believe that enlightened consciousness still has something to do with a self. In contrast, a teacher of Tantric Buddhism knows that the individual identity of the pupil will be completely extinguished and replaced by a strictly codified, culturally anchored army of gods. It is the Tibetan Buddhas, herukas, Bodhisattvas, deities, demons (dharmapalas) and the representatives of the particular guru lineages who take the place of the individual pupil’s consciousness. One must thus gain the impression that an "exclusive club" of supernatural, albeit culturally bounded, beings (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, gods, etc.) has managed to survive by time and again occupying human bodies anew (until these wear out). Tibetan Buddhism is not aimed at the enlightenment of individuals but rather at the continuing existence of a culture of superhumans (yogis, gods) in the form of possessed people (the pupils). It is concerned here to perpetuate a priestly caste that does not need to die because their consciousnesses can be incarnated into the human bodies of their followers again and again. This caste and their deities are considered sacrosanct. They live beyond all criticism. Their symbols, deeds, and history are set up as exemplary; they are the cultural inheritance which may not be analyzed but must be taken on blind faith by believers.

Bruno, it will be recalled, indicated that a masterly manipulator may not speak about his actual power-political intentions. In contrast, he flatters the ego of the one to be manipulated … so that the latter always believes he is following solely his own interests and pursuing his completely personal goals – but in truth he is fulfilling the wishes and targets of the manipulator (without knowing it). Applied to the Dalai Lama and his religion this means that people practice Tibetan Buddhism because they hope for enlightenment (liberation from personal suffering) from it, yet in reality they become agents of political Lamaism and the Tibetan gods at work behind it. The Dalai Lama is thus a particularly impressive example of a "manipulator" in Bruno's sense.

For these reasons Tibetan Buddhism's entire promise of enlightenment forms a trap with which intimate and religious yearnings can be used to magically push through the politico-religious goals of the monastic clergy. (We are not discussing here whether this is really possible, rather, we are talking about the intentions of the Lamaist system.) This corresponds exactly with what the Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno describes as "manipulation". Bruno, it will be recalled, indicated that a masterly manipulator may not speak about his actual power-political intentions. In contrast, he flatters the ego of the one to be manipulated (the ego [of] the masses), so that the latter always believes he is following solely his own interests and pursuing his completely personal goals – but in truth he is fulfilling the wishes and targets of the manipulator (without knowing it). Applied to the Dalai Lama and his religion this means that people practice Tibetan Buddhism because they hope for enlightenment (liberation from personal suffering) from it, yet in reality they become agents of political Lamaism and the Tibetan gods at work behind it. The Dalai Lama is thus a particularly impressive example of a "manipulator" in Bruno's sense.

If we judge the politics of Lamaist Buddhocracy from a Western point of view, especially those of the Kalachakra Tantra and the Shambhala myth, then we arrive at the following nine assessment points:

1. The politics of the Time Tantra is "inhuman," because it is conducted by gods and yogis, but not by people. These gods possess in part extremely destructive characteristics. They are nonetheless sacrosanct and may neither be criticized nor exchanged or transformed.
2. The goal of this tantra is the establishment of an androcentric, undemocratic, despotic monastic state headed by an autocrat (the ADI BUDDHA).
3. The Buddhocratic state is structurally based upon sacrifice: the sacrifice of the loving goddess, the woman, the individual, the pupil, the king, the scapegoat.
4. Buddhocracy skillfully manipulates several models of temporary anarchism in order to in the end turn them around into an authoritarian system.
5. In a Tibetan-style Buddhocracy, the state and its organs do not shrink from using black magic rituals to get political opponents out of the way.
6. Buddhocratic politics are aligned not towards democratic decision-making processes but rather towards divine commands, especially the pronouncements of oracles, of whom Pehar, the pre-Buddhist war god of the Hor Mongols, assumes the leading role (of state oracle).
7. The tantric state is pursuing an aggressive policy of war and conquest (the Shambhalization of the world).
8. The Shambhala myth contains an apocalyptic vision borne by a "fascistoid" warrior ethos, in which the faithful (the Buddhists) brutally annihilate all non-believers (above all the Moslems).
9. Tantric Buddhism manipulates the western masses with falsified images of peace, ecology, democracy, a pro-woman orientation, social justice, and compassion.

In this connection we would like to (in warning) mention once more the significant influence that both Buddhist Tantrism in general and the Kalachakra Tantra and Shambhala myth in particular have had over fascism and German national socialism, and continue to exert. In chapter 12 we reported on Heinrich Himmler’s occult interest in Tibet, about the former SS member Heinrich Harrer, the tutor of the young Dalai Lama, and about the significance of Vajrayana for the fascist ideology of Mussolini’s confidante, Julius Evola. But at the center of this chapter stood a detailed analysis of Esoteric Hitlerism, the world view of the Chilean diplomat and author Miguel Serrano who closely follows Buddhist Tantrism and combines it with occult doctrines of the Nazis. …

…

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion – The atavistic pattern of Tibetan Buddhism”

If we were to characterize the obvious self-presentation of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama on the world political stage, we would soon recognize that he strictly abides by (a) four positive rules and (b) four negative ones which proves him to indeed be a masterful manipulator:

1. (a) In public, always argue using the terms of Mahayana Buddhism. Refer to compassion, love, and peace.
   (b) Never mention the sexual magic mysteries and power-political obsessions of Vajrayana.
2. (a) Lead all arguments that could in any manner be directed against Buddhism into the "emptiness" (shunyata) and in public "shunyatize" even your own religious approach: "nothing has an inherent existence" – that is, everything comes from nothingness and everything ends in nothingness.
   (b) In contrast, never mention in public the Tibetan gods, demons, and spirits (the Nechung oracle) or their power-political program (the Shambhala myth), who sink into this "emptiness" only to push through their "Buddhocratic" interests and tantric ideology globally.
3. (a) Apparently take on all progressive currents within western culture (democracy, freedom of opinion, human rights, individualism, women’s rights, ecology, humanism, and so forth).
   (b) Never mention the autocratic clerical intentions of the tantric system, and under no circumstances the establishment of worldwide control by the androcentric Buddhist monastic state which can perpetuate itself via the doctrine of reincarnation.
4. (a) Smile and always appear friendly, ordinary, modest, humble, and human. Always play the gentle "Lord of Compassion," the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
   (b) Never display annoyance or pride in public, and thickly veil the destructive aspects of those gods and demons (herukas) whose emanation on earth you are. Be silent about the cruelty of Lamaist history.

The smile and the friendly words of the "living Buddha" are only the outer facade of his many-layered personality. But it is not what the Dalai Lama says, but rather the religious system which stands behind him and what his gods command that determine the politics of Tibetan Buddhism, as we have shown in the course of our study. It is not the new pseudo-Western constitution of the Tibetans in exile which counts, rather it is in the final instance the "political theology" recorded in the Kalachakra Tantra and Shambhala myth and the sexual magic practices prescribed there for the accumulation of power which are decisive. It is not the relaxed and friendly relations between His Holiness and western celebrities which are a problem, but rather his close contacts with occult sects like Shoko Asahara’s AUM cult and with representatives of "esoteric Hitlerism" like Miguel Serrano. The reason they are extremely problematic and very dangerous is because both occultists (Asahara and Serrano) have placed the philosophy and practice of Vajrayana and the warlike Shambhala myth at the center of their destructive world view. It is not the conflict between the Dalai Lama and Beijing which poses a threat for the West and the world community, but rather in contrast a possible future cultural conquest of the "Chinese dragon" by the "Tibetan snow lion" (of Lamaism). The Shambhala myth provides the optimal ideological foundations for an aggressive, pan-Asian superpower politics and for the unleashing of a Buddhist jihad (holy war). It is not the gentle downward-looking Avalokiteshvara and the "simple monk" from Dharamsala, but rather Yama the god of death and Kalachakra the time god with his woman-destroying cult which are the problem, since they are likewise incarnated in the figure of the Dalai Lama. It is not that the Dalai Lama privately seeks advice from an oracle that is problematic, but rather that a Mongolian war god speaks through the state oracle. It is not the popularity that Hollywood has lent the Kundun which should be criticized, but rather the use of these media giants to distort historical facts.

Yet the atavistic and mythic pattern of Tibetan thought and Tantric Buddhism is completely ignored by people in the West (as long as they are not converted Buddhists). If it were to be examined, one would inevitably reach the conclusion that there is absolutely no freedom of opinion in the Lamaist culture of Tibet, and hence no real criticism either, since the Tibetan people have always been administered autocratically, and even in exile have no democracy, having "opted" for a constitutionally fixed(!) Buddhocracy instead. Further, since doctrine has it that the highest ruler of the country, the Dalai Lama, is not a state president but a living "god" (an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara and the Kalachakra deity), his will must always be valued more highly than that of his subjects, even should they have a seat in the exile Tibetan government.

Additionally, Tibet has no ordinary history but rather a sacred one, with the Shambhala myth at its center and as its goal. For this reason, every political act of the Kundun and the Tibetans in exile must be subsumed within this eschatology. Lamaist culture is in its essence undemocratic, fundamentalist, and totalitarian, and sees nothing bad in this – in contrast, it holds itself to be the best system of all. Thanks to the doctrine of reincarnation, the ruling clerical elite views its absolutist exercise of power as unlimited even by death.

Every reform policy, every affirmation of democratization, every profession of peace remains a lie for as long as the Dalai Lama has not renounced the tantric ritual system, especially the Kalachakra Tantra.

Every reform policy, every affirmation of democratization, every profession of peace remains a lie for as long as the Dalai Lama has not renounced the tantric ritual system, especially the Kalachakra Tantra. At heart this rests on the magic transformation of sexuality into power and ultimately aspires to the militarily enforced enthronement of a sacred/political world king. Nonetheless, without even the slightest concession and headed by the Kundun, all schools of Lamaism continue to hold fast to the – as we believe we have demonstrated them to be – extremely destructive and humanity despising rites and associated political ideology.

Even if the Tibetan clergy were to relinquish its political privileges for a time in a "liberated" Tibet, the idea of the hegemony of a patriarchal monastic dictatorship as the supreme goal would remain, as this is the core of the entire tantric ritual system.

Even if the Tibetan clergy were to relinquish its political privileges for a time in a "liberated" Tibet, the idea of the hegemony of a patriarchal monastic dictatorship as the supreme goal would remain, as this is the core of the entire tantric ritual system. The theocratic system that can be found in all the past cultures of the world only survives today in Tibetan Buddhism and parts of Islam. In both cases it demands worldwide recognition and distribution. Among the Tibetans in exile it does so – grotesquely – from behind a mask of democracy, human rights, the ecumenical mission, and the protection of nature.

However, when they not in public, the Tibetan Gurus do not shrink at all from talking about their mystic envisionings, plans for conquest, apocalyptic battles, or the worldwide expansion of a Buddhocracy. In their followers’ circles the Shambhala myth has long since become a power-political factor. Yet it is not even mentioned in the world media. The lamas tailor their outwardly presented depictions of Tibet to their audience. If the tenor of an academic conference is one of sober discussion, then the arguments of the Tibetans in exile are likewise sober, analytic, and critical. If another meeting is more emotional and esoteric, then the very same people there subscribe to the fantastic historical myths of the eternally peaceful and mysterious, occult highlands (Shangri La) which at the first conference they claimed to be the invention of a errant "western orientalism." In turn, at the congresses of "committed Buddhists," the Tibet of old is built up as the sanctuary of all those values which are gaining ground in postmodern society. "Tibetan exiles," Toni Huber writes, "have reinvented a kind of modern, liberal Shangri-La image of themselves," in that they adopt images from the protest movements of the industrialized West "which are now transnational in scope and appeal: environmentalism, pacifism, human rights, and feminism" (Huber, 2001, p. 358). Yet Western values, like the separation of ecclesiastical and secular power, equality before the law, the rule of law, freedom of expression, social pluralism, political representation, equality of the sexes, and individualism, had no place in the history of Tibet.

…

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion – Clash of Religions: The fundamentalist contribution of Lamaism”

In the last fifteen years, the West has to its great surprise discovered just how much political explosiveness religiously based strategies for world domination (like the Shambhala myth) and magic/mystic practices (like the Kalachakra ritual) have been able to develop today, on the threshold of the third millennium. Catching the western cultures unprepared, theocratic (and Buddhocratic) visions of the most varied schools of belief have burst forth explosively from the depths of the human subconscious, where they have survived in hiding since the bourgeois Enlightenment (of the 18th century). Events in Iran, the country where the mullahs established the first smoothly functioning Moslem religious state of the modern era, triggered a culture shock in the West. All at once the atavistic attitudes and rules of violence, the warrior ethic, racism, intolerance, discrimination against women, the dictatorship of the priesthood, the persecution of nonbelievers, inquisitions, visions of global wars and the end of the world, etc., with which theocratic (and Buddhocratic) systems are associated were once more (as in the Middle Ages) were very current issues.

…

In contrast to Islam, the philosophy (which can hardly still be described as communist) currently dominant in China, that terms itself the "inheritance of Confucian thought" both on the mainland and in Taiwan, is not outwardly aggressive and oriented towards conquest. On a general level, the Confucian ethos stresses authority, hierarchy, a sense of family, ancestor worship, the subordination of the rights of the individual to the community, and the supremacy of the state over the individual, but also the "avoidance of confrontations," that is, wars as well.

We must nevertheless not forget that in the course of its history China has never been free from external ideological influences. Buddhism in its various forms, as well as Christianity and communism are cultural imports and have at times had a decisive influence on the politics of the country. In the 14th chapter of Part II of our study we thus posed the question of whether the Chinese might not also be susceptible to the Shambhala myth's global visions of power. The "Middle Kingdom" has always had spiritually and mythically based claims to world domination. Even if it has not tried to impose these militarily, the Chinese Emperor is nonetheless revered as a world king (a Chakravartin). As we have demonstrated in our detailed portrait of Mao Zedong, such a claim survived even under communism. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama is most aware of this. For a good five years now his missionary work has been concentrated on Taiwan (Nationalist China). We have quoted several prophecies from his own lips which foretell a decisive codetermining role for Lamaism in shaping the Chinese future. Taiwan, which – according to all prognoses – will sooner or later return to the mother country, can be considered the springboard from which the Tibetan monks and the new Nationalist Chinese recruits ordained by them could infiltrate the Chinese cultural fabric.

…

From: “Part II – Chapter 17. Conclusion – Return to rationalism?”

Since rationalism does not take the power-political effectiveness of myths and religions seriously enough, it refrains from the outset from examining the central contents of religious cults (such as the Kalachakra Tantra for example). The mysteries of the various religious orientations have never been more hidden and mysterious than in the Age of Reason, for the simple reason that this has never examined them.

To be successful, however, a critical analysis and evaluation of an ancient world view must fulfill three conditions:

1. First of all it must be able to immerse itself in the world view of the particular religion, that is, it must be capable of perceiving the world and the universe through the eyes and filters of the religious dogmata to be examined. Otherwise it will never learn what it is all about. In the specific case of Tibetan culture, this means that it must familiarize itself with the sexual magic and micro-/macrocosmic philosophy of the Kalachakra Tantra and the political ideology of the Shambhala myth so as to be able to understand the politics of the Dalai Lama and his executive at all.
2. Only after obtaining exact knowledge about the basis, goals, and history of the religion in question should it compare these with western values so as to then make an evaluation. For example, it must relate the "female sacrifice" and the absorption of gynergy through yoga practices in Buddhist Tantrism to contemporary demands for the equality of the sexes. The West cannot overcome the myths by denying their power. It has itself had to experience their unbroken and enormous presence even in the twentieth century. In the case of national socialism (Nazism) the mythological world view developed an all but superhuman potency. Only if investigative thinkers risk entering into the heart of the religious cult mysteries and are prepared to engage with the innermost core of these mysteries can such "religious time bombs" be diffused. For this reason,
3. the requirements for a critical reappraisal of the cultures are that their mystery cults and their contents be brought into the arena for public discussion – a procedure which is sure to send a shiver down the spines of the majority of fans of the esoteric and fundamentalists. But such an open and public discussion of the mystery knowledge is not at all an achievement of our liberal-democratic age. If, for example, we consider the critical and polemic disputes of the fathers of the Christian church with the various religious currents of their times and the rejoinders of the latter, then we can see that between the 2nd and the 5th centuries there was – despite the very primitive state of communication technologies – a far larger openness about fundamental questions of how the world is viewed than today. These days, religions are either blindly adopted or rejected per se; back then religions were made, formed, and codified.

As absurd as it may sound, "western rationalism" is actually the cause of occultism. It pushes the esoteric doctrines and their practices (the New Age for example) into the social underground, where they can spread undisturbed and uninhibited, and lay claim to one mind after another unnoticed, until one day when – as in the case of national socialism in Germany in the 30s, the Mullah regime in Iran in the 80s, and perhaps the Shambhala myth in Asia in the ??s – they burst forth with immense power and draw the whole of society into their atavistic wake.