In this episode we consider the effect of meditation practice and classical enlightenment on sexuality, as we continue the ongoing conversation between:

- Shinzen Young, meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant

- Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience student

- Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Assistant Director for the Center for Consciousness Studies and Research Professor at the University of New Mexico

We recall Leigh Brasington’s statements in episode 115 that many of his students experience states of meditative absorption as erotic in nature, and we consider Chelsey’s observation that Leigh’s brain scans in these absorption states resemble images of the brain during orgasm.

I contrast early Buddhist scriptural statements which state that it is impossible for enlightened people to have sexual intercourse with later, highly sexual accounts of enlightened masters such as ‘The Saint of 5000 Women’, Drukpa Kunley, and Rinzai saint and erotic poet Ikkyū Sōjun, and pose the question, ‘What does the data say?’.

In the face of this apparent disagreement within the wisdom traditions about the effect of realisation on sexuality, what trends have the panel observed in the sexuality of their meditation students, and in their ultra-sound subjects, and what might that tell us about the real world consequences of deep meditation practice and/or brain stimulation aimed at classical enlightenment.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep119-sex-and-enlightenment-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-dr-jay-sanguinetti/

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

01:29 - Jhana and orgasm

04:31 - Buddha vs Durkpa Kunley

11:07 - Shinzen on the sutras

15:12 - Who was Drukpa Kunley?

17:13 - Ikkyu and Zen

18:52 - Are arhats impotent?

22:37 - Jay on relationship to drives

24:33 - Screwing up on the job

26:43 - Different practices, different results?

31:12 - Being enlightened vs acting enlightened

36:07 - The single most important factor

39:22 - What is integration?

44:47 - Ethical guidelines vs commandments

50:53 - What does the data say?

56:33 - Neuroscience interventions in sexuality

01:01:58 - A logical conundrum

01:03:08 - Shinzen’s experience from the field

01:06:23 - Can any human being be free of sin?

01:08:13 - Benchmarks vs complete liberation as an end point

01:10:58 - What does it mean to be a certified a teacher

01:13:36 - Jay analyses the logic

01:16:25 - Chelsey’s dimensional analysis

01:18:53 - A job for applied category theory

01:24:00 - Shinzen’s advice to mathematicians and category theorists

01:26:30 - Aversion and the system

01:28:39 - Compassion cascading

01:32:57 - Complex systems

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Previous episodes in this series:

- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlkzlKFgdknxjhwG5wmXRVfrkeGczVPVI

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To find out more about Shinzen, visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com/ep37-shinzen-young-pandemic-edition-guru-viking-podcast/

- www.shinzen.org

To find out more about Chelsey, visit:

- www.chelseyfasano.com

To find our more about Dr Sanguinetti, visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com/ep102-dr-jay-sanguinetti-cults-science-the-dalai-lama/

- https://www.jaysanguinetti.com/

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James