Yab Yum in Tantra – 3 key points

Yab Yum (father-mother) is the symbolic sexual relationship between the masculine and feminine visualized deity in Tibetan Buddhist iconography. Yab Yum symbolizes the union of method and wisdom.

Having done a number of yab yum practices, I can say definitively: they are not what most people think. The sexual aspect is not a major factor. While sexuality can be a significant practice, the iconography is usually interpreted symbolically – male skilful means and female wisdom.

Yab Yum Yoga

Yab yum carries a deep symbolic significance. The deities in Yab Yum, or sexual union, symbolize masculine and feminine principles. These are fundamental and important concepts in tantric Buddhism, and they are pervasive throughout the practices.

E Vam is the essential seed syllable or linguistic, mantric representation of the union of masculine and feminine principles. E symbolizes the feminine and Vam, symbolizes the masculine.

Mipham Rinpoche refers to this as ‘coalescence’ – the union of relative and ultimate. Another method for accomplishing this is practicing the inseparability of wisdom and method. The idea is integral to both Mahayoga and Anu Yoga. It is contained in Anutaratantra practice.

Feminine Principle in Tantra

Feminine principle is the principle of wisdom. It is the most primordial essence of the universe. The wisdom mind is the self-existing reality. It is awareness that knows its own nature. Feminine principle is related strongly to jnana, or the insight that knows reality itself, the self-existing reality of all things.

It is also called the mother, as it gives birth to the Buddhas. Feminine principle is the liberating method. Through wisdom, the practitioner of this yoga is liberated from the stream of samsara.

The female deity is most frequently depicted with a kapala (skull cup) containing amrita in her left hand. In her right hand is typically a flower, symbolizing compassion, or a kartika (hook knife) symbolizing cutting through to innate purity of reality.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the kapala, often held by deities like mahasiddhas and dakinis, symbolizes wisdom and knowledge. Practices involving the kapala include the melting of moon drops in the skull, creating a blissful sensation. The kapala is also a representation of lineage transmission during empowerments. Drinking blood from it, often associated with impurity, symbolizes non-discrimination and the yogi’s breakthrough into non-dualism. The dakini’s image, delighting in consuming blood, signifies a perfected yogi dwelling in non-duality, experiencing the union of emptiness and bliss— the highest enlightenment in Vajrayana Buddhism.

The kartika, with its distinctive crescent shape, is a ritual implement used in various Vajrayana practices. Its curved blade symbolizes the severance of attachment and delusion, cutting through the bonds that bind individuals to cyclic existence. In the context of the feminine principle, the kartika is often associated with the dakini, a mystical and enlightened feminine energy.

Dakinis, portrayed as fierce and compassionate, use the hook knife to cut through ignorance and ego, guiding practitioners towards spiritual awakening. The symbology of the kartika emphasizes the transformative power of the feminine principle in Tibetan Buddhism, depicting the dakini’s ability to remove obstacles, liberate beings, and reveal the path to enlightenment through the compassionate act of severing attachments.

Masculine Principle in Tantra

Masculine principle is upayas or skillful means. They are the manifestation of the Mahayana principle of compassion. When compassion enters the Vajrayana, it becomes skillful means. This is the method to liberate other beings, to wake them up to reality, to help them understand the trap of samsara and the path to liberation.

In Tantric Buddhism, the masculine principle is symbolized through ritual implements that play a crucial role in transformative practices. One such implement is the phurba, a ritual dagger or three-sided peg. The phurba, with its blade representing wisdom and its three faces embodying the trikaya (the three bodies of the Buddha), serves as a powerful symbol of the masculine energy’s capacity to conquer obstacles and pierce through ignorance.

Ritual implements, including the vajra and bell, are often used together to embody the union of the masculine and feminine principles in Tantric rituals. The vajra, representing indestructible and compassionate wisdom, is held in the right hand, symbolizing skillful means, while the bell, held in the left hand, symbolizes the feminine wisdom of emptiness. The harmonious use of these ritual implements in Tantric Buddhism signifies the integration of both masculine and feminine energies, leading practitioners towards a profound understanding of reality and the path to enlightenment.

The stages of outer inner and other include all the various skillful means. They all arise and dissolve within the singular wisdom of reality.

Flow, the profound mental state, also called Peak Performance, can be attained with meditation and can be ‘triggered’ at will, with enough discipline. Guide to Flow Mastery will teach you how.

Learn about Flow Here

Yab Yum Practice – Bliss

The deities in Yab Yum have a cycle of energy. The masculine principle flows into the feminine and back through the masculine. Bliss. One of the characteristics of Yab Yum is bliss, as would be expected. This is a higher, more transcendent bliss, a sustained bliss that does not end. It’s the bliss of merging the mind with reality. The deities in union are essentially one.

The masculine principle is merged and inseparable from the feminine principle. The feminine deity is generally considered the consort, and the masculine is the primary deity. That’s because deity practice is intended to bring up the skillful means, to increase the skillful means and the virtues that are accessible for liberating other beings.

However, there are a number of feminine, female deities such as Tara and Vajrayogini that have the function of increasing wisdom, or in the case of Tara, direct compassion—seeing the suffering more clearly and alleviating fear and sickness.

Yab Yum Meditation

Yab Yum is actually a solitary meditation practice for the most part. The meditator, after ngondro and initiation, does the deity practice, visualizing themselves as the deity in yab-yum. (Not all deities are in union.) The practice is meant to purify ordinary conceptions of body and appearance.

Both the deities are considered to be the meditator. In this sense, union means the union of both masculine and feminine energies within the mindstream. If one has only the masculine, skillful means, the lack of wisdom will lead to incorrect action. It will likely reify the self. The feminine principle corrects this, providing wisdom and insight into emptiness.

If the meditator has only feminine principle, the skillful means will be lacking. They will be unable to benefit others properly. Therefore, the practice of yab-yum requires the union of both energies to be complete.

Tantric Sex

Some practices take a physical partner to realize enlightenment through actual sexual practice. This is quite different from most ‘tantric sex’ cults. These tend to be pleasure-focused and confuse spiritual use of sexuality with sexuality as inherently spiritual. Sexual pleasure is NOT the primary goal in tantric sexuality with a consort. Enlightenment is the point.

The bliss that arises through the practice is seen as inherently empty and pervades the channels of the body. When this is stabilized, beyond the actual act of sex, the practice is essentially complete. It is not meant to be addictive, nor is it necessary to fetishize it. The current belief about Tantric sexual practices is unfortunate.

If practiced incorrectly, tantric sexuality can lead to states of extreme grasping and very negative rebirth in the hungry ghost realms.

May all beings be happy

May all beings be peaceful

May all beings be safe

May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature

May all beings be free