Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Eastern World

Spiritual enlightenment through sex?

Well over 2000 years ago, philosophies emerged in China, Japan and India that co-mingled spirituality with sexuality. Out of these many beliefs men and women of the Eastern world discovered that sex was not only pleasurable. It was also a means of transcending human mortality. A journey to the lands of the exotic East reveals Geishas, Chinese pillow books and the sexual acrobatics of the Kamasutra.

China

While the Western world and the fathers of the early Christian church grappled with the perceived conflict between sexuality and spirituality, countries to the East, such as China, Japan and India had already created a harmonious marriage of the two. The Chinese observed an equilibrium in nature and applied this to all areas of their lives be it diet, exercise of sex. When it came to certain sexual practices, balance became a very real consideration. The first Chinese dynasty is believed to have been Thehsia family, who lived along the yellow river around 1750 B.C. From these earliest times, the Chinese expression for intercourse was “clouds and rain.” This metaphor which sounds more like a weather forecast described the heavens making love to the earth and represented perfect order. Ancient Chinese philosophies about sex were greatly influenced by three schools of thought: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

Taoism and Confucianism were similar in their attitudes towards sex. The ultimate goal of Confucianism was the continuation the family. Taoism was more concerned with prolonging life and Buddhism aspired to transcend life, death and sexuality in order to attain enlightenment. Sex played the large role in each of the schools of thoughts. At the heart of Taoism and Confucianism was the concept of YIN and YANG opposite forces which made up the universe nature and the human body. Ancient Chinese physicians believed that YIN and YANG existed in both men and women in the form of essences.

“In men...