Marpa: Sexual transmutation
Marpa returned to India bearing sixty sang of gold. On the way he traversed Nepal, where he met his previous teachers and made offerings.
Learning that [his teacher Naropa had entered the action [a high degree of attainment, he journeyed to the city of Lakshetra in the West and asked for Yeshe Nyingpo who was staying in a forest, attended by a woman of low caste.
"When she comes to gather water," he was told, "ask her if you may see him."
When she arrived, he made his request.
Pointing to a large jar of water she was holding [in other words: her own sexual organs], she said, "Use one-third of this water to bathe, and one-third for drinking."
After Marpa had finished bathing [his mind through meditation, the washing water fell back into the vase [of sexual union and transformed into his white seed-essence (bindu; masculine sexual energy; in other words, he did not spill a drop of fluid, and it returned, transformed.
The woman then performed a Tantric yogic exercise over the vase the vessel of sexual union and from her secret place yoni emanated a stream of energy, the feminine red seed-essence not physical but vital energy.
After the two essences had merged [by means of their yogic practice and Marpa bathed [his mind in the sexual water again, all his preconceived thoughts dissolved.
And when he drank the water [through transmutation] and looked into the vase [of sexual union he saw the full assemblage of the Tantric Guhyasamaja deities.
Quoted from "The Great Kagyu Masters: The Golden Lineage Treasury" (Snow Lion, 1990)
