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Bishop2020 Redacted.Pdf This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Touch in Contemporary Tantra: Transgression, Healing, and Ecstasy in Women’s Constructions of Selfhood Samantha Bishop Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies School of Divinity University of Edinburgh 2019 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgement, the work presented is entirely my own. Signed: Samantha Bishop 2 3 Abstract This thesis argues that women in contemporary Tantra engage with tactile practices in an ongoing effort to create an autonomous, empowered, and healthy sense of self. Focusing specifically on the sense of touch and how it is used in contemporary Tantra, I explore how and why touch techniques are used by participants – namely in inducing transformation, healing, and ecstatic experiences. By conducting interviews and fieldwork with Tantra teachers across Great Britain over the course of two years, this PhD shows how certain discourses around transgression, gender roles, and sexuality have become prominent within this context, and how touch is used to negotiate these themes. To date, Tantra in the West has rarely been studied ethnographically and as such, this thesis provides a much-needed contribution to knowledge on contemporary Tantric practices. Similarly, the sense of touch has received little academic attention; this thesis aims to expand understandings of how individuals engage with tactility within a social context that prioritises the visual. In the first part of the thesis – Chapters 2 and 3 – I focus primarily on the emergence of Tantra in the West and how perceptions of this have been consistently associated with orientalism and the holistic milieu. In Chapter 3, I also explore how certain notions of Tantra, so widespread in the West, are experienced on the ground both by the researcher (myself) and the informants. In this chapter I develop the idea of embodied ethnography more fully. I demonstrate the importance of touch as a research method, which has yet to be fully elaborated in the wider field of anthropology and Tantra studies. Using this approach, and particularly focusing on the tactile, this thesis explores the experiences of women engaging with these practices, while simultaneously developing new ethnographic approaches to include the body and senses of the researcher as instruments of knowledge. 4 These two chapters set the scene in terms of the conceptual and methodological work, while in the next few chapters I explore the thematic resonance of Tantra and how its practices are fleshed out in everyday encounters of women in their social contexts. In Chapter 4, I focus on touch techniques used in Tantra groups and workshops to show how women use these practices as somatic modes of attention (Csordas, 1993). This enables women to reinterpret bodily experiences and social norms, thus legitimising certain feelings or behaviours and contributing to their projects of selfhood. In Chapter 5, I move on to focus on understandings of trauma and healing in contemporary Tantra. I explore the ideal of 'wellbeing', how trauma is understood, and how healing is a gradual and continual process, facilitated by the concept of sexual energy, that allows individuals to reconstruct a sense of self. Finally, in Chapter 6, I look at ecstasy in contemporary Tantra - how it is experienced, spoken about, and understood - as an experience that works to affirm these women's new sense of selfhood and alters their everyday experiences. 5 Lay Summary This thesis aims to show how women involved in contemporary Tantra in Britain aim to construct a new or altered sense of self. By interviewing Tantra teachers, observing workshops and sessions, using my own body as a tool of knowledge in fieldwork, and referring to primary literature, I show how important the sense of touch is in this process, and I explore why individuals might focus on touch in this context. By focusing on certain common tactile experiences in contemporary Tantra – such as hugs and massages – I show how touch is used to create a healthy, authentic, and autonomous sense of self through the apparent transgression or reinforcement of boundaries, both physical and social. Tantra, understood as an ancient, exotic practice by practitioners, lends authority to this use of touch, negotiation of boundaries, and experiences induced through these practices. Throughout this thesis, I will show how gender affects such experiences – of touch, of Tantra, and of selfhood. As such, this research is important in exploring: contemporary interpretations and expressions of Tantra in Britain; how and why women specifically are engaged with forms of spirituality such as contemporary Tantra; the sense of touch and how it can contribute to a sense of self; and how touch can be used by a researcher to gain knowledge of certain phenomena. 6 Acknowledgements My first thanks must go to my supervisor, Arkotong Longkumer, for his sustained support and encouragement from my Undergraduate years onwards. My support networks have been so important over the past few years, and I am grateful to be surrounded by such excellent people. Thank you to my lovely parents, who ensure that I always feel loved, secure, and supported (and for proofreading everything for the past 10 years). Spange and Ali Kay, for joining me in the best of times and helping in the worst. Ali, for being an absolute hindrance but having the utmost confidence in my abilities. S7 - Tash, Livi, Kate, Izzie, Tont - your unwavering positivity and relentless enthusiasm are special, and I count myself lucky to have each of you. Thanks also go to various individuals from New College: first, to Steve Sutcliffe, for his supervisory help and guidance. To the extended community of ARSEs, past and present: writing this thesis would have been much more painful without you. Liam, Krittika, Aine, Ylva, Scott, Anja, Jonathon, Louise, and the many other people who have passed through during my time – you somehow made it a pleasure. Thank you also to David and Chris, for your encouragement with the Religious Studies Project; to everyone involved in Arko’s writing group, which was instrumental in developing certain ideas; and to The Burn, where I spent some of my most peaceful writing days. Special thanks to Peter (and family) for being there, even from afar; Mirella, for enjoying the dog picture; and Max, for the walks and adventures. This work was made possible thanks to generous funding from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (University of Edinburgh) and the Spalding Trust. Finally – and most obviously - this research wouldn’t have happened without the openness, acceptance, and insight of each Tantra practitioner involved. My greatest thanks go to everyone who welcomed me into their groups, workshops, homes, and lives during this process. 7 8 Table of Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 4 Lay Summary ............................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 7 Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... 9 Table of Figures ......................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1 – Introduction: ‘THINK less, FEEL more!’ ................................................. 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review and Background ......................................................... 61 Chapter 3: Research Methods and Fieldwork Considerations ............................... 109 Chapter 4: Tantra and Touch ................................................................................... 150 Chapter 5: Trauma, Healing, and Touch in Tantra .................................................. 185 Chapter 6: Ecstasy and Selfhood ............................................................................ 228 Chapter 7: Conclusion ............................................................................................. 261 Bibliography.............................................................................................................. 281 9 Table of Figures Figure 1: Tantra Festival
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