The Difference
between Tantra and Dual Cultivation
Tantric and Dual Cultivation methods and techniques have
many similarities once you remove their religious and cultural wrappings.
There is one majordifference,
however. Tantra is primarily a method for raising Sexual Qi up the spine to create a state of ecstasy. For many people this
can be a religious or spiritual experience as well as an incredibly powerful way of
working with Sexual Qi. Dual Cultivation
also works with moving Sexual Qi up the spine; the fundamental difference between the Tantric and the Taoist methods is
that the Taoist techniques move the Sexual Qi back down the front of the body to
complete the ‘Xiao Zhou Tian’. This circular movement of energy has
been translated as ‘Microcosmic Orbit’, ‘Small Heavenly Circulation’ or
‘Small Orbit’. This circulation of Qi has a profound healing and energizing effect as the
generated energy is packed or stored back into the body. Tantra therefore focuses on the ecstatic release of
sexual energy and is quasireligious, sometimes at the expense of the physical body. Dual
Cultivation, onthe other hand, is a method of using sexual energy to
promote good health and longevity as well as spiritual development. This is an
important point that is very often not made clear, especially when reading Tantric
source material and laterNeo-Tantric books and other instructional material.
From Beyond tantra Healing through Taoist Sacred Sex
Mieke and Stephan Wik
