Bodies and dance in traditional tantric iconography
Many traditional tantric practices involve dance as part of the ritual, which is also reflected in iconographic art.
Although sexual activity is often depicted in tantric Buddhist art, it is not as commonly used as an enlightenment technique.
Visualization is a complementary practice to the physical and psychological effects of dance and sex, and can involve meditating on a deity in a sexual embrace, sometimes even dancing while in such an embrace.
The practice of representing genitals symbolically—such as linga and yoni in Hindu tantra, or yab yum for sexual embrace in Tibetan iconography—is a global phenomenon.
Taoists also have their own Inner Alchemy which involves replacing physical body parts with symbolic activators, inner landscapes, and dynamic mechanisms.
This process includes jing, or generative energy, which is the sexual abstraction that works with vital energy and mental energy. These ritual acts can be interpreted within a tantric perspective.
