These are little things I come across that I feel are interesting thoughts I often share on my Social media but like to also keep on my web site. —Farrah
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Before the female buddha Tara came into being, she was a princess named Wisdom Moon, who was very devoted to the Buddha’s teachings and had a deep meditation practice. She was close to reaching enlightenment, and had developed the intention to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
Her teacher, a monk, approached her, saying, “What a pity it is that you are in the body of a woman, because of course there is no possibility you can attain enlightenment in a woman’s body, so you will have to come back as a man before you can become enlightened.” The princess answered back brilliantly, demonstrating her understanding of absolute truth, saying, “Here there is no man; there is no woman, no self, no person, and no consciousness. Labeling ‘male’ or ‘female’ is hollow. Oh, how worldly fools delude themselves.” She went on to make the following vow: “Those who wish to attain supreme enlightenment in a man’s body are many, but those who wish to serve the aims of beings in a woman’s body are few indeed; therefore may I, until this world is emptied out, work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman’s body.” From that time onward, the princess dedicated herself to realizing complete enlightenment; once she accomplished that goal, she came to be known as Tara, the Liberator. Feminine models of strength have been largely lost, repressed, or hidden from view, particularly images that are not acceptable or are not safe in a patriarchal society. Those images of the sibyl, the wise woman, the wild woman—women who are embodiments of specific powers of transformation, magical, spiritual, and psychic—become “wicked witches.” Estimates of the number of women executed as witches from the 15th to the 18th century—primarily by being burned alive, as it was considered a more painful death—range from 60,000 to 100,000. Those were times of puritanism and sexual repression, and the women burned as witches were often independent or rebellious women who lived alone and practiced herbalism, or women who disobeyed their husbands or refused to have sex with them. Images of the devoted, peaceful mother have always been safe. Such images have always been acceptable in all cultures, even patriarchal ones; but there’s another level of reflection of the primal feminine experience that has not been present and that both men and women long for. And this is an experience that comes from the intuitive sacred feminine, a place where language may be paradoxical and prophetic, where the emphasis is on the symbolic meaning, not the words; a place where women sit in circles naked wearing mud, bones, and feathers, women who turn into divine goddesses and old hags—who turn into the fierce dakinis. The Sanskrit word dakini in Tibetan becomes khandro, which means “sky dancer,” literally “she who moves through space.” The dakini is the most important manifestation of the feminine in Tibetan Buddhist teaching. She can appear as a human being or as a deity, often portrayed as fierce, surrounded by flames, naked, dancing, with fangs and a lolling tongue, and wearing bone ornaments. She holds a staff in the crook of her left elbow, representing her inner consort, her internal male partner. In her raised right hand, she holds a hooked knife, representing her relentless cutting away of dualistic fixation. She is compassionate and, at the same time, relentlessly tears away the ego. She holds a skull cup in her left hand at heart level, representing impermanence and the transformation of desire. She is an intense and fearsome image to behold. The dakini is a messenger of spaciousness and a force of truth, presiding over the funeral of self-deception. Wherever we cling, she cuts; whatever we think we can hide, even from ourselves, she reveals. The dakini traditionally appears during transitions: moments between worlds, between life and death, in visions between sleep and waking, in cemeteries and charnel grounds. We must find the sources to access this fierce dakini power and bring it to bear on what matters to us in our lives, be it emotional, spiritual, intellectual, or political. Meeting our strong feminine energy, we will develop as women. The powerful, fierce feminine is very much a part of the psyche, but it is repressed; and when it is not acknowledged because it is threatening, it can become subversive and vengeful. But when it is acknowledged and honored, it’s an incredible source of power. The word for “dakini” in Tibetan is khandro, literally “she who moves through space.” The most important manifestation of the feminine in Tibetan Buddhism, a dakini can appear as a human being or as a deity. She is depicted as fierce, surrounded by flames, naked, dancing, and wearing bone ornaments. The dakinis are interesting in the current environment as we see the upsurge of women’s anger and resistance, because although the powerful fierce feminine is very much a part of the psyche, it has been repressed and forbidden. The dakini energy allows us to take that anger and transform it into wisdom and fierce compassion. The Vajra Dakini is one of five dakinis that correspond to the five buddha families: vajra (indestructible), buddha (spacious), ratna (enriching), padma (magnetizing), and karma (accomplishing). Each family represents the transformation of a negative emotion into a corresponding type of wisdom energy.—Tricycle # Written By Alicia Katarina Some pains are tame. They can be soothed by soft and tender things. Some pains feel like giving birth to a grave yard, a grave space and the water of a tender hug or a tender word cannot quench the ashen taste of the mouth for you feel as if you have been burned past the bone and into the soul. There are many kinds of initiation of one’s spirit and this, this kind of pain with Plutonian essence says parts of you are dying and you will be reborn. There are quite a few Dark Mothers’ each with their own tone of working with deep healing. Chumunda (aka Chamundi) is one of the oldest known tantric deities. Her face is sunken in, her body skeletal, blood on her teeth, wielding a bloody scythe and a severed head (either representing ego or demon or both depending on your perspective), and her vehicles are either an owl or a corpse. Her violent image is a reflection of tragedies be they on a large scale, personal or both. She also looks nasty to reflect when we are sick and tired of being sick and tired of being tread upon. When experiencing ravaging tragedy call on Chamunda and her vibration can fly you out on the corpse of your tragedy (cuz you assert that it’s over) that elevates your spirit into your next best direction. Chamunda isn’t about positive affirmations, a pat on the back or a gold fucking star. The meme “Being spiritual doesn’t mean always being positive. Fuck out my face while I balance these energies” is right on time with this Mama’s vibe. Love and compassion are not always docile manifestations. When it is time to be very present in the depth of your state, to be intimate with your pain, it is not about wallowing but acknowledging in a very deep way so that this kind of presence is a catalyst for a radical healing. Chamunda vibrates to transforming present tragedy into a higher vibration without covering it up with scented markers and glitter. Call to Chamunda by chanting her words of power/mantra. As a mantra is repeated it travels through the body eventually changing an individual’s vibration to match the vibration of the essence of the mantra. Chamunda is sometimes depicted with a scorpion above her navel further expressing a Pultonian resonation. A magickal tool, the sound that your own voice creates and the magnitude with which it creates a change, is subtle yet powerful. Mantras are mystical formulas. They are sacred invocations of power and they turn your body into a cauldron of creation. Chamunda’s mantra operates as a cleansing and balancing tool clearing your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies of fear or sadness or of outside influences treading on your vibe (Oh. Hell. No.). Her mantra is a potent protection formula as well a blessing for success, creativity, self-confidence and an uprising of joy. Mala beads are utilized as a kind of spiritual abacus. 108 beads are present as there are 108 major nadis or specific energetic channels throughout the body. Once a mantra is repeated 108 times the vibrations have penetrated the major nadis, moved into the chakras via the “sacred heart” and therefore transform the energy into a usable state. Your energy has begun a change and embodiment is on its way. We attract what we vibrate to. As with lots of rituals more than one day is needed for a complete change. Try once a day for seven to eleven days. If you feel the inspiration commit to a month. Those who are familiar with mantra practice may desire to commit to a longer period of mantra discipline with more repetitions per day. This kind of work is subtle so you may not experience immediate relief but stay with it. If you want results commit to your magick. If you feel uneasy in any way during your practice, stop for a moment, breathe and let your energy adjust. Then come back to it. If it feels golden then keep going with it. The Big bead at the base of the mala is called either Meru (Mother) or Guru (Teacher) bead. When you chant on the mala never cross over this bead. If you choose to do another cycle turn the mala around to restart. This pushes the energy into the Meru bead and is also a sign of respect. Mala beads are easy to come by these days which is a bonus. You can also make your own. You don’t need anything fancy. String up 108 of whatever works for you. What’s important is how the mantra affects you. Ritual is not imperative for the mantra to be effective, but if you love the mystical satiation of ritual I have added a simple one down below. Feel free to add onto it if you’d like. One of my favorite things about being a human is that I recognize that we are ALL cosmic artists. We can create with the Mystic in any way that we please to draw the Mystical into the physical. Your Magickal Accoutrements & Such:Breathing Techniques: If you’re too hot, about to explode and lose control of yourself/your power- Sheetkari breath: Hissing breath: place the tip of your tongue to the upper palate. Big Cheshire cat grin (okay I added the big smile part but why the hell not). Smile with your teeth showing. Inhale slowly with control through the teeth. Close the mouth and then exhale slowly with control through the nostrils. Repeat. One inhale and exhale is one round. Do at least ten rounds but more if you’re feeling it. Sheetkari is a lunar breath and therefore cooling. It disperses excess heat and rebalances the energy so that you regain control. This is also a great technique for stress relief. Contraindication: the common cold. If you’ve blown out your energy and now it feels like you’re groping in the dark for your light switch- Kabalabhati: Skull shining breath: Inhalation and exhalation is done through the nostrils. The face, neck, and upper body is relaxed. The exhale is produced by a short sharp movement of the abdomen. Force the abdomen in to exhale. Let the inhalation naturally come as you relax the abdomen. As you repeat, the breath should be rapid. Rapid but semi-comfortable. Find your sweet spot because the goal is to push through discomfort but also not to pass out. Do ten rounds and then assess your state. If you can do two solid minutes that would be golden but if not don’t sweat it. Physically this technique expels mucous, removes stagnant air from the lungs, clears brain fog and tones the frontal lobe of the brain. Energetically kapalabhati bombs all negativity from your aura as well as re-lighting your spark and healthfully charging your manipura chakra. Contraindications: pregnancy, epilepsy, rage (try Sheetkari), and high blood pressure. The Practice:Cast your circle. Call on your spirit people, ancestors and/ or whomever you feel appropriate to work with to aid and assist. Find a comfortable seated position. Take five full rounds of deep breath to start. Take up one of the breathing techniques listed above that’s right for you. Make your offerings to Mama Chamunda. Place awakened attention on your current state that you are working through. No need for an iron grip of the mind just be aware. As you chant let it go or at least have the intention that you are willing to let it go so that the magick can take over. Begin the formula of power by way of Chamunda’s mantra counting one bead between the thumb and middle finger for each completion of the formula. With your crystals in front of you have the intention that you are sharing the vibration with them. Lie down for a few breaths to give your physical body the opportunity to integrate the energy. If you want to add to it great if not great. Whatever works for you guided by your intuition will yield the best results. Just remember that you will be repeating the process for the next seven to eleven days or more. Be in gratitude to Chamunda, your spirit people, ancestors and whomever else you called. Close your circle.Set it and forget it. Don’t obsess about your ritual as to not constipate your magick. Do something non-magickal. Enjoy yourself or others that are on time with the vibes you are creating. Wear your mala inside your shirt. It becomes imbued with the mystic formula and so it becomes an object of power. Carry your crystals with you throughout the duration of the days you are active in the practice or longer. Sometimes when darkness overcomes it’s damn near impossible to feel any other way. Painful and scary circumstances can bind you but they can also transform you if you so choose. When you have this kind of experience you have every right to go deep with it because the cosmic cheerleader archetype isn’t always appropriate. Go deep. It is key to distinguish the egoic voice and the voice of the intuition. Listen. Follow your inner guidance. Call on Chamunda. She will assist you in your brilliant emergence. You are the Phoenix and you will rise from the ashes changed and refulgent. DEEP HEALING WITH A DARK MOTHER: WORKING WITH TANTRIC GODDESS CHAMUNDA |
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The reason so many must turn to extraneous scenarios or kinks or additional add on partners in their sex lives is that they are often trying to recreate an extraordinary sensation that is missing from their every day lives. The bedroom becomes an escape room from the banality they are experiencing on an every day level. Sexual energy is very much an opposite balancing energy or reflection to what we are feeling in our daily life, often from roles in work or home life. Where the most powerful in a board room must be passive in a dungeon, or the overtired housewife must play powerful domme in her fantasy life, is often an attempt at sexual energy trying to balance the Soul’s chi. The more outrageous the sexual scenario seems, the more certain you can be that the need for something else, be it real intimacy, nurturing, attention, or understanding is for that person to use their sexuality as a means of returning to Self. People become objects of unmet needs, substitutes of the creative fire found in their every day life. Passion is rarely something found in an alter ego of one’s true essence. If you must become someone else, something else or find someone else, you have left your Soul. You have joined the other Naysayers of your Life Story who disbelieved your sui generis, the very unique essence of spirit that contains your body. Anyone who is living a distinctly passionate every day life rarely needs to turn to external sources in their sex life to create a believable Love scene. It is not a costume or particular fantasy that IS the thrill of ecstasy...it is your essence that fuses your entire life force within your own body that cannot help but touch that of another’s body, like a lightning strike, one is shaken and experienced to another state within the already existing state which is YOU. The most arousing, profound orgasm rarely comes when imaginary characters kidnap the Soul’s body to recreate Heaven elsewhere. It is when Desire and Passion come face to face with your Raw expression of how your Ordinary is already the Real Extraordinary...
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This is a perfect moment.
It's a perfect moment for many reasons, but especially because you and I
are waking up from our sleepwalking, thumb-sucking, dumb-clucking
collusion with the masters of delusion and destruction.
Thanks to them, from whom the painful blessings flow, we are waking up.
Their wars and tortures,
their crimes against nature,
extinctions of species
their engineered diseases.
Their spying and lying
in the name of the father,
sterilizing seeds and
trademarking water.
Molestations of God,
celebrations of shame,
mangling our dreams and
defiling our names.
Their ruthless commercials
and blood-sucking hustles,
their endless rehearsals
for the end of the world.
Thanks to them, from whom the painful blessings flow, we are waking up.
Their painful blessings are cracking open more and more gashes in the
sour and shrunken mass hallucination that is mistakenly called "reality."
And through the fractures, ripe eternity is flooding in; news of our souls'
true home is pouring in; our allies from the other side of the veil are
swarming in, inspiring us to become smarter and wilder and kinder and
trickier.
We are waking up.
As heaven and earth come together, as the dreamtime and daytime merge,
we register the jolting and exhilarating fact that we are in charge -- you
and I are in charge -- of imagining and discovering and animating a brash
new world. Not in some distant time or faraway place, but right here and
right now.
As we stand on this brink, as we dance on this verge, we cannot let the
ruling fools of the dying world consummate their curses. We've got to rise
up and fight their deranged logic; defy, resist, and prevent their tragic
magic; uncork our sacred rage and supercharge it.
But overthrowing the psychopathic leaders is not enough. Protesting the
well-dressed planet-rapers is not enough. We cannot afford to be
consumed with our anger; cannot be obsessed and possessed by their
danger.
Our mysterious animal bodies crave delight and fertility. Our ancient
imaginations demand ever-fresh tastes of infinity.
In the new culture we are hatching, we need lusty compassion and
euphoric duty, lyrical logic and insurrectionary beauty. In the new
alliance we are mobilizing, we need radical curiosity and reverent
pranks, voracious listening and altruistic banks.
In the new covenant that we are midwifing,
We will ridicule the cult of doom and gloom.
We will embrace the cause of zoom and bloom.
We will outfox the banality of evil and hate;
we will summon the chutzpah to praise and create.
No matter how upside-down it all may appear,
we will have no fear
because we know this big secret:
All of creation is conspiring to shower us with
catalytic blessings. Life is crazily in love with us
--brazenly and innocently in love with us.
Our destinies always bring us exactly what we need
to liberate us from our suffering.
The winds and the tides are on our side, forever and ever, amen. The birds
and snakes are scheming to make us their sacred soul mates.
The sun and the moon and the stars remember our real names, and our
ancestors pray for us while we're dreaming.
We have guardian angels and thousands of teachers
provocateurs with designs to unleash us
helpers and saviors we can't even imagine
brothers and sisters who want us to blossom
Thanks to them, from whom the blissful blessings flow, we are waking up.
The roads they pave us
the places they save us
the tomatoes they grow us
the rivers they flow us
Their mysterious stories
and morning glories
Their loaves and fishes
granting our wishes
The songs they sing us
The gifts they bring us
the secrets they show us
above and below us
Thanks to them, from whom the blissful blessings flow, we are waking up.-Rob Bresky
Homage to the sole protector,
Wish-fulfilling vase of goodness.
Reliable Guide who knows
Dazzling King of utter beauty
Ferocious Destroyer of all hesitation
Hear our longing cries for help.
Precious, supreme bhikkhu
Of soft words and gentle gestures
Careful steps and immediate attention
Your hands reach out for us
Every time we trip up and begin to fall again.
Without pushing or pulling
You simply provide and wait
Patiently offering clear pathways and solid ground
Through the perilous muddy swamps of suffering
That promise safety and security, but never come through.
Your kind reply to every inquiry
Sees the entire path
While sweetly encouraging the very next step.
You nourish us completely
To stand up and go forth.
“You are my teacher,” we finally realize.
“You are my student,” you graciously accept.
And so begins the epic journey
Of uncoiling these knots
That I proudly wrapped myself.
Your soothing scent of perfect conduct
Makes everything seem possible
Brings the teachings alive
Clarifies their essential meaning
And refreshes each step with obvious certainty.
The boundless breadth of Buddha’s all-seeing eyes
Must look to you with deep, wide smiles and praise.
Noble son of the victorious ones
Your awareness radiates throughout the universe
Calling to us from the other shore.And yet I pause and refuse to move
From fear or conviction,
Doubt or distraction.
My powerful, clearly-confused bubbling ego waste
Has overtaken me.
And then in one fail swoop—so matter-of-factly
You enliven everything with ecstasy.
No one can take their eyes away.
The sheer brilliance of your majesty is unparalleled.
We’re all hopelessly transfixed by your noble celebrity.
The complex vacuum of my tense grasping
Relaxes with an effortless, casual gesture.
The resounding power of your lotus turning mudra
Instantly blossoms the baby seed of my heart.
Yes! Of course! Everything you said is true!
A smile spreads across your face and the entire globe
Laughing loudly without a second thought
The cosmos sparkling into full swing
Crackling electric through the room.
Everything bursts with fresh wonder.—Pema Dragpa
It's a perfect moment for many reasons, but especially because you and I
are waking up from our sleepwalking, thumb-sucking, dumb-clucking
collusion with the masters of delusion and destruction.
Thanks to them, from whom the painful blessings flow, we are waking up.
Their wars and tortures,
their crimes against nature,
extinctions of species
their engineered diseases.
Their spying and lying
in the name of the father,
sterilizing seeds and
trademarking water.
Molestations of God,
celebrations of shame,
mangling our dreams and
defiling our names.
Their ruthless commercials
and blood-sucking hustles,
their endless rehearsals
for the end of the world.
Thanks to them, from whom the painful blessings flow, we are waking up.
Their painful blessings are cracking open more and more gashes in the
sour and shrunken mass hallucination that is mistakenly called "reality."
And through the fractures, ripe eternity is flooding in; news of our souls'
true home is pouring in; our allies from the other side of the veil are
swarming in, inspiring us to become smarter and wilder and kinder and
trickier.
We are waking up.
As heaven and earth come together, as the dreamtime and daytime merge,
we register the jolting and exhilarating fact that we are in charge -- you
and I are in charge -- of imagining and discovering and animating a brash
new world. Not in some distant time or faraway place, but right here and
right now.
As we stand on this brink, as we dance on this verge, we cannot let the
ruling fools of the dying world consummate their curses. We've got to rise
up and fight their deranged logic; defy, resist, and prevent their tragic
magic; uncork our sacred rage and supercharge it.
But overthrowing the psychopathic leaders is not enough. Protesting the
well-dressed planet-rapers is not enough. We cannot afford to be
consumed with our anger; cannot be obsessed and possessed by their
danger.
Our mysterious animal bodies crave delight and fertility. Our ancient
imaginations demand ever-fresh tastes of infinity.
In the new culture we are hatching, we need lusty compassion and
euphoric duty, lyrical logic and insurrectionary beauty. In the new
alliance we are mobilizing, we need radical curiosity and reverent
pranks, voracious listening and altruistic banks.
In the new covenant that we are midwifing,
We will ridicule the cult of doom and gloom.
We will embrace the cause of zoom and bloom.
We will outfox the banality of evil and hate;
we will summon the chutzpah to praise and create.
No matter how upside-down it all may appear,
we will have no fear
because we know this big secret:
All of creation is conspiring to shower us with
catalytic blessings. Life is crazily in love with us
--brazenly and innocently in love with us.
Our destinies always bring us exactly what we need
to liberate us from our suffering.
The winds and the tides are on our side, forever and ever, amen. The birds
and snakes are scheming to make us their sacred soul mates.
The sun and the moon and the stars remember our real names, and our
ancestors pray for us while we're dreaming.
We have guardian angels and thousands of teachers
provocateurs with designs to unleash us
helpers and saviors we can't even imagine
brothers and sisters who want us to blossom
Thanks to them, from whom the blissful blessings flow, we are waking up.
The roads they pave us
the places they save us
the tomatoes they grow us
the rivers they flow us
Their mysterious stories
and morning glories
Their loaves and fishes
granting our wishes
The songs they sing us
The gifts they bring us
the secrets they show us
above and below us
Thanks to them, from whom the blissful blessings flow, we are waking up.-Rob Bresky
Homage to the sole protector,
Wish-fulfilling vase of goodness.
Reliable Guide who knows
Dazzling King of utter beauty
Ferocious Destroyer of all hesitation
Hear our longing cries for help.
Precious, supreme bhikkhu
Of soft words and gentle gestures
Careful steps and immediate attention
Your hands reach out for us
Every time we trip up and begin to fall again.
Without pushing or pulling
You simply provide and wait
Patiently offering clear pathways and solid ground
Through the perilous muddy swamps of suffering
That promise safety and security, but never come through.
Your kind reply to every inquiry
Sees the entire path
While sweetly encouraging the very next step.
You nourish us completely
To stand up and go forth.
“You are my teacher,” we finally realize.
“You are my student,” you graciously accept.
And so begins the epic journey
Of uncoiling these knots
That I proudly wrapped myself.
Your soothing scent of perfect conduct
Makes everything seem possible
Brings the teachings alive
Clarifies their essential meaning
And refreshes each step with obvious certainty.
The boundless breadth of Buddha’s all-seeing eyes
Must look to you with deep, wide smiles and praise.
Noble son of the victorious ones
Your awareness radiates throughout the universe
Calling to us from the other shore.And yet I pause and refuse to move
From fear or conviction,
Doubt or distraction.
My powerful, clearly-confused bubbling ego waste
Has overtaken me.
And then in one fail swoop—so matter-of-factly
You enliven everything with ecstasy.
No one can take their eyes away.
The sheer brilliance of your majesty is unparalleled.
We’re all hopelessly transfixed by your noble celebrity.
The complex vacuum of my tense grasping
Relaxes with an effortless, casual gesture.
The resounding power of your lotus turning mudra
Instantly blossoms the baby seed of my heart.
Yes! Of course! Everything you said is true!
A smile spreads across your face and the entire globe
Laughing loudly without a second thought
The cosmos sparkling into full swing
Crackling electric through the room.
Everything bursts with fresh wonder.—Pema Dragpa
If you remember in the movie and book, the Wizard of Oz, the idea of finding the wizard and appealing to his senses becomes the main goal in Dorothy’s quest to “ make it back home.” ( yes, another westernized patriarchal tale of how a woman needs a man in some way to get what she wants..) When they go through all of his demanding additional tasks to seem worthy enough of his considerations and help, they find out that the Wizard was nothing more than a short, bald man behind a contraption machine and curtain trying to create a Wizard worthy show away from the reality of who he really was. When they pull the curtain back and find him, he gets angry and defensive. I always equate the male’s relationship to their body In sort of this same fAshion. Excessive Porn has made men become wizards of their MINDS creating a more interesting show OUTSIDE their own bodies and imaginations and into the hands of well crafted, theatrical forces that separate the Man, from the Wizard.
When Dorothy asked the fake Wizard why he had tricked them so, he became flustered and embarrassed:
“ Well, I didn’t think you’d find me to be a good enough Wizard..”
Often men think in the same rationale for why they must leave their bodies behind and go “ play upstairs behind the curtain” in order to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. They put on a different costume, emulate different characters or emotions, and disable their bodies from the process of bliss and in TAnTRA, true enlightenment. Their sex organs become hostage of this type of Wizard, forced to perform under a myriad of strained conditions and scenarios that numb out the true Wizard’s capabilities of entertaining all those who come to see him. If they had a true sense of their natural, unique, CAPAbLE wonderment, they would allow their own natural abilities to guide what type of Wizard and sexuAl experience they would be. They wouldn’t dare be tricked into the separation process, or castration of imagination, that occurs whenever you decide to let yourself fall behind the stage, and into your own secret contraption of hidden stage effects. ——FarrahNaykaAshline
When Dorothy asked the fake Wizard why he had tricked them so, he became flustered and embarrassed:
“ Well, I didn’t think you’d find me to be a good enough Wizard..”
Often men think in the same rationale for why they must leave their bodies behind and go “ play upstairs behind the curtain” in order to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. They put on a different costume, emulate different characters or emotions, and disable their bodies from the process of bliss and in TAnTRA, true enlightenment. Their sex organs become hostage of this type of Wizard, forced to perform under a myriad of strained conditions and scenarios that numb out the true Wizard’s capabilities of entertaining all those who come to see him. If they had a true sense of their natural, unique, CAPAbLE wonderment, they would allow their own natural abilities to guide what type of Wizard and sexuAl experience they would be. They wouldn’t dare be tricked into the separation process, or castration of imagination, that occurs whenever you decide to let yourself fall behind the stage, and into your own secret contraption of hidden stage effects. ——FarrahNaykaAshline
Recently a woman posted a comment about why do I post so many photos of myself on my site. I wanted to respond to this. As a single mother who works AnD homeschools her son, I have very little free time to myself, or even alone. I used to paint daily, write often and enjoy my little moments to create. Those moments are far and few between now. The only time I really ever have to myself is the one hour between dropping my son off and my getting showered and ready for work. This will be my only hour of the day alone. I use it as my creative outlet as well. I think about my mood, my energy and what I wish to express and then I use myself as the starting point. I never look the same daily because well, I never quite feel the same daily. Any artist will create, re-create and wish to invoke a particular message or feeling from their art. I am no different and Art is not meant to be secretly held in a closet but to be shared. For now, I only am able to afford the time to express or share this as I am raising a child alone, and giving of my time to others. Perhaps it’s considered narcissistic to express myself this much. I’d argue its life saving. ...Namaste....-Farrah Nayka Ashline
Did you know that there is actually a Sufi Tantric practice, and no, it's not some new age nonsense?
"Sufi Muslims in Bengal also developed a form of tantric yoga under the influence of the Nātha and Sahajiyā Vaiṣṇava traditions. The Sufi tantric yoga tradition borrowed the concept of the subtle body and Islamicized it, translating it into Islamic categories. This development occurred rather late; none of the extant texts of this tradition predate the 16th century."
Reference can be found in:
Mapping the Esoteric Body in the Islamic Yoga of Bengal
Shaman Hatley
History of Religions
Published by: The University of Chicago
"Sufi Muslims in Bengal also developed a form of tantric yoga under the influence of the Nātha and Sahajiyā Vaiṣṇava traditions. The Sufi tantric yoga tradition borrowed the concept of the subtle body and Islamicized it, translating it into Islamic categories. This development occurred rather late; none of the extant texts of this tradition predate the 16th century."
Reference can be found in:
Mapping the Esoteric Body in the Islamic Yoga of Bengal
Shaman Hatley
History of Religions
Published by: The University of Chicago
“The story of the death and resurrection of the Sumerian goddess Inanna closely mirrors the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus, yet predates his appearance by more than 3000 years...”
The Sumerians were the first civilization to develop the art of writing. They lived in Ancient Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and had a complicated polytheistic mythology through which they worshiped a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Inanna was a Sumerian fertility goddess, and as such has more than her fair share of sexually explicit stories in Sumerian mythology (she’s the Sumerian equivalent of Aphrodite or Venus). Men and women appealed to her to solve impotency problems and to win spouses; prostitutes made her their patroness, as they played an important role in fertility cults in the ancient world. She was also a goddess who loved war, and was said to “feast” on battles (sex and violence meet again). She was associated with the planet Venus, with its appearance in the morning and the evening. Archaeological evidence indicates that worship of Inanna began around 4000-3000 BC, and that her cult grew to prominence during the reign of Sargon the Great (around 2300 BC).
Inanna decides to travel into the Underworld to tell the queen of the Underworld, her sister Erec-ki-gala, that Erec-ki-gala’s mortal husband had died. Inanna dresses herself attractively with symbols of her power and instructs her minister, Nincubura, what to do if she, Inanna, does not return from the Underworld in three days: appeal to the other gods, for Inanna would be dead and in need of resurrection.
Inanna arrives alone at the gate to the Underworld and demands entrance. Her sister allows her to enter, but sets a trap. As a result, Inanna is stripped of the symbols of her authority and judged by the Anunnaki, the seven judges of the Underworld.
They looked at her — it was the look of death. They spoke to her — it was the speech of anger. They shouted at her — it was the shout of heavy guilt. The afflicted woman was turned into a corpse. And the corpse was hung on a hook.
Thus her “death.” Interesting that Inanna’s corpse is hung on a hook, and Christ is hung on a cross. But there is more:
Three days pass, and Nincubura travels to the various gods, pleading for their help in saving Inanna. The response of most is identical [to that of Inanna’s father?]:
My daughter craved the great heaven and she craved the great below as well. Inanna craved the great heaven and she craved the great below as well. The divine powers of the underworld are divine powers which should not be craved, for whoever gets them must remain in the underworld. Who, having got to that place, could then expect to come up again?
Only the god Enki is moved by Nincubura’s plea. He creates and sends the gala-tura and the kur-jara (two “sexless” figures, as the Wikipedia article on all of this says) to get the corpse of Inanna from Erec-ki-gala. They arrive at Erec-ki-gala’s throne, and receive the corpse as a gift. After the gala-tura and the kur-jara sprinkle Inanna’s corpse with life-giving water and a life-giving plant, Inanna revives and begins to rise from the Underworld to the realm of the gods. The Anunnaki freak out, so to speak, because no one “has ascended unscathed from the underworld.”
So Inanna, accompanied by the Anunnaki, travel to several people close to Inanna to select a substitute for her. She does not allow any of them to be the substitute, however, for they show true devotion and sorrow at her “death.” Eventually, they find Inanna’s husband Dumuzid, who is not mourning his wife (he’s dressed rather nicely and relaxing under a tree, with some versions of the story depicting him being waited on by slave girls). So Inanna gives him to the Anunnaki as her substitute. Off he goes to the Underworld so she can survive. She cuts a deal with Erec-ki-gala so that she and her husband can see each other for half of the year.
Thus the story of Inanna and her resurrection.
Inanna vs. Christ
Those familiar with Christ’s Resurrection accounts from the four canonical Gospels can already see there are some surface similarities between Inanna’s myth and the story of Christ. Both figures were hung in their death: Inanna on the hook, Christ on the cross. Both figures were dead for “three days,” or at least returned to life on the third day. But the differences run deeper than the similarities. Here are a few of them.
Inanna is a goddess, one among a pantheon of gods and goddesses, who seeks her own selfish wants and needs. She was forced against her will to become a corpse as a punishment for offending her sister through her pride.
Christianity is monotheistic, and the Son of God is both man and still completely God (see our recent reflections on the Nicene Creed). His Incarnation occurred not as a punishment but as a willing sacrifice for what WE did (and continue) to do wrong. In becoming incarnate the Son “emptied himself” (Phil. 2:7), not losing anything of His divinity, but in an act of supreme love and humility, Christ took upon Himself our humanity. The Incarnation was an act of humility, the opposite of the pride displayed by Inanna.
Despite the fact that Inanna becomes a corpse, there is no indication in the story that she first becomes human. She remains merely divine, not human, so one wonders if her “death” is even really death, in the sense that we think of death.
Christ died like we die. Even skeptics who deny Christ’s divinity argue that he did, indeed, die via crucifixion. Likewise, the consistent teaching of Christianity is that Jesus of Nazareth really died a human death on the cross. Without a real death, there can be no real resurrection. But as God, Jesus could not die; hence the need for Him to be both man and God.
Inanna returns to life thanks to the efforts of her minister and the god Enki, who uses his own creations to bring about Inanna’s resurrection.
Christian theology teaches that Christ rose from the dead not because God took pity on Him but because Christ HIMSELF is God, and therefore rose through His own power. He did not rely on or need creation to bring about His resurrection. And there is no pantheon of other gods to restore Christ to life.
Inanna escapes the Underworld by using her husband as a replacement.
One of the crucial aspects of Christ’s Paschal Mystery (His suffering, death, Resurrection, and Ascension) is that He underwent the fullest extent of human suffering (physical, emotional, spiritual, etc), died, returned to life, and went to Heaven body and soul (never to die again) all with full consent of His will. No one takes His place; rather, he takes our place, taking upon Himself the guilt for our sins, even though He was innocent of any sin.— source -quidquidestest Wordpress
The Sumerians were the first civilization to develop the art of writing. They lived in Ancient Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and had a complicated polytheistic mythology through which they worshiped a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Inanna was a Sumerian fertility goddess, and as such has more than her fair share of sexually explicit stories in Sumerian mythology (she’s the Sumerian equivalent of Aphrodite or Venus). Men and women appealed to her to solve impotency problems and to win spouses; prostitutes made her their patroness, as they played an important role in fertility cults in the ancient world. She was also a goddess who loved war, and was said to “feast” on battles (sex and violence meet again). She was associated with the planet Venus, with its appearance in the morning and the evening. Archaeological evidence indicates that worship of Inanna began around 4000-3000 BC, and that her cult grew to prominence during the reign of Sargon the Great (around 2300 BC).
Inanna decides to travel into the Underworld to tell the queen of the Underworld, her sister Erec-ki-gala, that Erec-ki-gala’s mortal husband had died. Inanna dresses herself attractively with symbols of her power and instructs her minister, Nincubura, what to do if she, Inanna, does not return from the Underworld in three days: appeal to the other gods, for Inanna would be dead and in need of resurrection.
Inanna arrives alone at the gate to the Underworld and demands entrance. Her sister allows her to enter, but sets a trap. As a result, Inanna is stripped of the symbols of her authority and judged by the Anunnaki, the seven judges of the Underworld.
They looked at her — it was the look of death. They spoke to her — it was the speech of anger. They shouted at her — it was the shout of heavy guilt. The afflicted woman was turned into a corpse. And the corpse was hung on a hook.
Thus her “death.” Interesting that Inanna’s corpse is hung on a hook, and Christ is hung on a cross. But there is more:
Three days pass, and Nincubura travels to the various gods, pleading for their help in saving Inanna. The response of most is identical [to that of Inanna’s father?]:
My daughter craved the great heaven and she craved the great below as well. Inanna craved the great heaven and she craved the great below as well. The divine powers of the underworld are divine powers which should not be craved, for whoever gets them must remain in the underworld. Who, having got to that place, could then expect to come up again?
Only the god Enki is moved by Nincubura’s plea. He creates and sends the gala-tura and the kur-jara (two “sexless” figures, as the Wikipedia article on all of this says) to get the corpse of Inanna from Erec-ki-gala. They arrive at Erec-ki-gala’s throne, and receive the corpse as a gift. After the gala-tura and the kur-jara sprinkle Inanna’s corpse with life-giving water and a life-giving plant, Inanna revives and begins to rise from the Underworld to the realm of the gods. The Anunnaki freak out, so to speak, because no one “has ascended unscathed from the underworld.”
So Inanna, accompanied by the Anunnaki, travel to several people close to Inanna to select a substitute for her. She does not allow any of them to be the substitute, however, for they show true devotion and sorrow at her “death.” Eventually, they find Inanna’s husband Dumuzid, who is not mourning his wife (he’s dressed rather nicely and relaxing under a tree, with some versions of the story depicting him being waited on by slave girls). So Inanna gives him to the Anunnaki as her substitute. Off he goes to the Underworld so she can survive. She cuts a deal with Erec-ki-gala so that she and her husband can see each other for half of the year.
Thus the story of Inanna and her resurrection.
Inanna vs. Christ
Those familiar with Christ’s Resurrection accounts from the four canonical Gospels can already see there are some surface similarities between Inanna’s myth and the story of Christ. Both figures were hung in their death: Inanna on the hook, Christ on the cross. Both figures were dead for “three days,” or at least returned to life on the third day. But the differences run deeper than the similarities. Here are a few of them.
Inanna is a goddess, one among a pantheon of gods and goddesses, who seeks her own selfish wants and needs. She was forced against her will to become a corpse as a punishment for offending her sister through her pride.
Christianity is monotheistic, and the Son of God is both man and still completely God (see our recent reflections on the Nicene Creed). His Incarnation occurred not as a punishment but as a willing sacrifice for what WE did (and continue) to do wrong. In becoming incarnate the Son “emptied himself” (Phil. 2:7), not losing anything of His divinity, but in an act of supreme love and humility, Christ took upon Himself our humanity. The Incarnation was an act of humility, the opposite of the pride displayed by Inanna.
Despite the fact that Inanna becomes a corpse, there is no indication in the story that she first becomes human. She remains merely divine, not human, so one wonders if her “death” is even really death, in the sense that we think of death.
Christ died like we die. Even skeptics who deny Christ’s divinity argue that he did, indeed, die via crucifixion. Likewise, the consistent teaching of Christianity is that Jesus of Nazareth really died a human death on the cross. Without a real death, there can be no real resurrection. But as God, Jesus could not die; hence the need for Him to be both man and God.
Inanna returns to life thanks to the efforts of her minister and the god Enki, who uses his own creations to bring about Inanna’s resurrection.
Christian theology teaches that Christ rose from the dead not because God took pity on Him but because Christ HIMSELF is God, and therefore rose through His own power. He did not rely on or need creation to bring about His resurrection. And there is no pantheon of other gods to restore Christ to life.
Inanna escapes the Underworld by using her husband as a replacement.
One of the crucial aspects of Christ’s Paschal Mystery (His suffering, death, Resurrection, and Ascension) is that He underwent the fullest extent of human suffering (physical, emotional, spiritual, etc), died, returned to life, and went to Heaven body and soul (never to die again) all with full consent of His will. No one takes His place; rather, he takes our place, taking upon Himself the guilt for our sins, even though He was innocent of any sin.— source -quidquidestest Wordpress
“It took me many years to realize i had to become that safe harbor for myself. And that part of becoming that safe harbor was not about avoiding life, but rather, developing the confidence and coping skills to know that i would have what it takes to find my way through life's inevitable trials and tribulations.” ― Jaeda DeWalt
SIMHAMUKHA
The Wrathful Lion-Headed Dakini
In terms of these Higher Tantras, a meditation deity (yi-dam lha) who is both wrathful and female is the Jnana Dakini Simhamukha. It is important to understand that, despite her exceedingly wrathful appearance and animal head, she is not a guardian spirit (srung-ma), subdued by magic, converted to the Dharma, and bound by oaths of service by some powerful Mahasiddha in the past. Rather, she is a wrathful manifestation of Guhyajnana Dakini, who, according to the Nyingmapa tradition, was the principal Dakini teacher of Padmasambhava in the country of Uddiyana. Therefore, although Simhamukha is a Dakini in her aspect, she functions as a Yidam or meditation deity and her special functions are averting and repulsing (bzlog-pa) psychic attacks that may assault the practitioner and the subduing of negative female energy as personified by the Matrikas or Mamos. These latter are wild uncontrolled female spirits inhabiting the wilderness, both the mountains and the forests, beyond the confines of patriarchal civilization. These female spirits are generally hostile to the male gender. Simhamukha appears in a form wrathful, feminine, and demonic; indeed, her form is said to be actually that of a Matrikia or Mamo, not because her nature is evil or demonic, but because her wrathful aspect (khro gzugs) skillfully overcomes and subdues those violent negative energies. Simhamukha is a Jnana Dakini or wisdom goddess. According to Jigmed Lingpa (1726-1798), the famous Nyingmapa master and discoverer of hidden treasure texts or Termas, Simhamukha represents a Nirmanakaya manifestation, appearing in time and history, whereas her Sambhogakaya aspect is Vajravarahi and her Dharmakaya aspect is Samantabhadri, the Primordial Wisdom herself.
Very often the Dakinis and the Matrikas were the old pre-Buddhist pagan goddesses of the earth and sky, although generally the Matrikas always tend to be more local in their nature. Dakinis may appear in many different female forms, young and old, some with animal heads. In Hindu tradition, the goddess Durga is called the Queen of the Dakinis and Matrikas or witches. In many ways, Simhamukha represents a Buddhist version of Durga, but instead of riding on a lion and brandishing her weapons with eighteen arms, Simhamukha has the head of a lion. Among the eight Tantra sections (sgrub-pa bka’ brgyad) transmitted to Tibet in the 8th century by Padmasambhava, there is the section called Ma-mo rbad gtong, “the cursing and spell casting associated with the witch goddesses,” wherein Simhamukha, as the chief divine figure, very much assumes the role of the Hindu goddess Durga in subduing demons and evil spirits and protecting practitioners from negative provocations of energy coming from the Mamos. Like other nature spirits, the Mamos are disturbed by mankind’s destruction of the natural environment and therefore inflict plagues, new diseases, earthquakes, madness, wars, and other calamities upon human civilization.
The Magical Function of Averting Psychic Attacks
As we have said, the principal magical function of Simhamukha is the averting or repulsing (bzlog-pa) of negative energy and sending it back to its source, whether that source is a black magician or an evil spirit (gdon). Such a provocation of negative energy is called a malediction (byad-ma, byad-kha), and this is illustrated in the story of Bari Lotsawa (see below). Most often the Goddess is invoked to avert psychic attack. As indicated previously with the Dakini Kurukulla, Tantric Buddhism sees this working with energy in concrete ways in terms of the four magics or magical activities. Although Simhamukha can work with any of the four, she principally relates to the fourth function or fierce magical actions (drag-po’i ‘phrin-las). Therefore, the dark azure blue-colored Vajra Simhamukha is placed in the center of the mandala. Spiritually, she represents the transformation of anger or wrath into enlightened awareness, and psychically or magically, she accomplishes the subduing and vanquishing provocations of negative energy (gdon) personified as demons and evil spirits. She is surrounded by her retinue of four Dakinis who resemble herself, except for their body-color and certain attributes: in the east there is the white Buddha Simhamukha who has the magical function of pacifying circumstances and healing, in the south is the yellow Ratna Simhamukha who has the magical function of increasing wealth and prosperity, in the west is the red Padma Simhamukha who has the magical function of enchanting and bringing others under her power, and in the north is the dark green Karma Simhamukha who has the magical function of vanquishing and destroying negative forces. Each of these aspects of Simhamukha have their own mantras and rituals. If the practicioner is working which a specific function, say for example, becoming successful at business or winning at the horse races, he would put Ratna Simhamukha in the center of the mandala, doing the visualization while reciting her action mantra. But in thangkas, Vajra Simhamukha is usually represented as a single figure without the accompanying retinue.
The Wrathful Archetype
Nevertheless, despite her wrathful appearance and her magical activities, Simhamukha is a manifestation of the enlightened awareness of the Buddha and her nature is compassion. Like the Archangel Michael, she slays the dragon representing the forces of evil and chaos. She only shows her fierce and angry face in order to subdue misguided beings, much like a mother disciplining her naughty child. The worldly gods and spirits are not enlightened beings; they are still conditioned by their ignorance and their karma and still abide inside of Samsara or cyclical existence. And sometimes they direct negative energy against humans in the form of maledictions and the practice of Simhamukha may be used to avert and repulse these psychic attacks.
Transcendent deities like Simhamukha are emanations or projections of enlightened beings and being archetypes they may serve as meditation deities. These figures are principally classified into three types, because meditation on them the serve as antidotes to the three principal poisons that afflict human consciousness:
1. meditation on peaceful tranquil deities transforms confusion,
2. meditation on wrathful deities transforms anger, and
3. meditation on lustful or joyous deities transforms desire.
Where do the ornaments, attire, and attributes of a wrathful deity come from? According to the Tantras, in prehistoric times on an island in the Indian ocean, Matam Rudra, a black sorcerer and demon king, threatened the very survival of the primitive human race. Therefore, the Bodhisattvas Hayagriva and Vajravarahi gained entrance into his gigantic body and blew him apart from the inside. Thereupon, they donned his attire and ornaments and proceeded to subdue the lesser demons, terrifying them with their wrathful appearance. Simhamukha wears these same ornaments. As the Queen of the Night, she keeps at bay the nightmarish demonic entities who ever seek to invade our sunlight world of consciousness from the twilight realms beyond. As the active manifestation of emptiness and wisdom, her lion’s roar disperses discursive thoughts. And she is naked because she is equally devoid of discursive thoughts.
If the Great Goddess can be said to manifest herself in the three archetypes of Maiden, Mother, and Crone, Simhamukha represents the Crone aspect of feminine wisdom. She is the archetype of the destructive Terrible Mother, who destroys and yet regenerates all life out of her cauldron. All phenomena dissolve into Shunyata or emptiness, and again all phenomena arise out of Shunyata. In many ways, Simhamukha appears to correspond to the Ancient Egyptian lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, whose very name comes from the root “skhm” meaning power, reminiscent of the Sanskrit word shakti. Sekhmet represented the fiery energy of the sun, the energy of her father, the creator god Ra.
But in the Western monotheistic tradition, there has been the tendency to suppress the archetypal feminine. She became eclipsed by the male Sky God of the Biblical tradition. This exclusively masculine Godhead could be tyrannical, vindictive, and punitive, as well as kind, fatherly, and forgiving. But in the Christian tradition, there has been the tendency to see God as all-good and therefore his dark side has been projected on to the Devil, who was expelled from heaven and now dwells beneath the earth. This reflects the psychological process of denying the evil within oneself and projecting it on to others. But in the Tantras, one fights fire with fire. To those who are without knowledge, Simhamukha is the demonic Terrible Mother, who threatens to devour her son, threatening his very existence. She represents everything that men find most terrifying in womankind. What is more terrifying than the lion’s roar heard in the dark jungle in the middle of the night? She represents the primordial fear of being killed and devoured by a savage female beast. It is the threat of annihilation. But to those who possess knowledge, the lion-headed goddess is the very form of emptiness. They have nothing to fear from the great void. She is the terrible lion-headed sentinel of time (chronos leontocephalus) who stands at the portal, the active manifestation of primordial wisdom, who destroys the notion of an unchanging permanent ego or substance.
Simhamukha according to the Nyingmapa Tradition
Acording to Khyentse Rinpoche (see below), the original scriptural source for Simhamukha is the Drwa-ba’i sdom-pa’i rgyud. This Tantra, where Simhamukha is linked with the eight wrathful Gauris (ke’u-ri-ma brgyad) and the eight Tramenmas or animal-headed sorceresses (phra-men-ma brgyad), appears to be connected with the Guhyagarbha Mayajala cycle (sGyu-‘phrul drwa-ba). In the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” (Bar-do thos grol), these Gauri witches, representing the eight types of mundane consciousness, and these eight animal-headed sorceresses, representing the eight objects of consciousness, appear to the deceased consciousness on the twelfth and thirteenth days of the Bardo experience after death. However, it is mainly through the Termas or hidden treasure texts discovered since the 11th century that Simhamukha is practiced among the Nyingmapas.
As we have said, according to the Sutra system, the practitioner takes refuge in the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. However, according the Tantra system one also takes refuge in the Three Root of the Guru, the Deity, and the Dakini (bla-ma yi-dam mkha’-‘gro gsum). In the Terma system of Jatson Nyingpo (‘Ja’-tshon snying-po, 1585-1656), known as the dKon-mchog spyi ‘dus, “The Union of all the Precious Ones,” the principal visualization practice is the Zhi drag seng gsum. Here zhi (zhi-ba) means “peaceful,” that is, the peaceful form of Guru Padmasambhava known as Guru Zhiwa, dressed in his usual robes, holding in his right hand a golden vajra before his heart and in his left hand a kapala containing a long-life vase. Drag (drag-po) means “fierce,” and refers to the wrathful form of Padmasambhava known as Guru Dragpo, who is flaming red in color, attired as a wrathful deity, holding a vajra in his right hand and a black scorpion in his left. And seng means “lion,” and refers to the lion-headed Dakini Simhamukha (sen-ge’i gdong ma). These three, invoked as a trinity, represent the Three Roots of Guru Deva and Dakini. The famous Terton Ratna Lingpa (Ratna gling-pa, 1403-1479) also discovered many Termas relating to Simhamukha. Similarly, the famous child prodigy Tulku Mingyur Dorge (Mi-‘gyur rdo-rje, 17th cen.), who received the gNam-chos or “sky teachings,” channeled certain hidden treasure texts pertaining to her. Here and in other Termas there are presented different histories of how Padmasambhava received transmissions directly from his Dakini teacher in Uddiyana, Guhyajnana Dakini (gSang-ba ye-shes mkha’-‘gro-ma). One of the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava (mtshan brgyad) is Simha-raurava (Seng-ge sgra-sgrogs), “the roar of the lion,” which is linked with Simhamukha because Padmasambhava recived the transmission from Guhyajnana when he was in that guise. As already said, Simhamukha is regarded as an emanation of this Dakini from Uddiyana.
Because of the close link of Simhamukha with Padmasambhava, one could say she represents his Anima. According to the traditional history of the Seven Line Prayer (tshig bdun gsol ‘debs) of Padmasambhava, once an assembly of Buddhist scholars at Nalanda university debated with a group of Hindu scholars over certain matters of philosophy. But the Buddhist scholars soon found themselves loosing, and offered puja to the Dakinis, praying for their help. The melodious voices of the Dakinis prophesied that their brother, Padmasambhava, would come the next day to help them. The next morning, a wild looking yogi from the cremation ground nearby entered the hall and engaged the Hindu scholars in philosophical debate. By the end of the day, he had systematically demolished all their arguments. But many scholars remained obstinate, shouted insults at the yogi, and strode about the hall arrogantly. The Guru sitting calmly amidst the storm raging about him, allowed a thought of anger to well up within him and then he projected the fiery energy of this wrath into the space before him. It coalesced into the terrifying form of the fiery lion-headed Goddess. The haughty scholars were terrified at this manifestation and fled the hall. But the goddess pursued them, throwing them down of the ground. Terrified the begged for their lives and submitted to the Guru and his teachings.
Simhamukha according to the Sakyapa Tradition
But the revelation of the root mantra for Simhamukha is especially associated with the name of Bari Lotawa who came from the region of Dringtsam and it is said he was born in the same year as Milarepa (1040). Traveling to Nepal and India, he studied Sanskrit, translating many texts including a collection of sadhanas and a collection of magical rituals. While in Nepal, he debated with a Hindu teacher named Bhavyaraja, and when he defeated the later, the sorcerer launched a magical attack against the translator. In terror, he fled to Bodh Gaya in India, where his own spiritual master Vajrasanapa advised him to propitiate the Dakinis with puja offerings and pray for their help. In a dream, Simhamukha appeared to him and instructed him to go to a large rock to the east of Bodh Gaya and dig below the rock where he would find a hidden casket. He followed her instructions precisely and discovered the casket as described. Inside, written in blood on human skin, was the fierce mantra of fourteen letters that averts all magical attacks (sngags drag zlog yi-ge bcu-bzhi-pa). That night he performed an averting rite (zlog-pa byas-pa) and employing the mantra, he succeeded in hurling all the negative energy assaulting him back at its source in Nepal. The rebound was so strong that it killed the sorcerer. For the next year, Bari did penance and purification practices at the stupa in Bodh Gaya in order to cleanse the sin of his act.
Returning to Tibet, he conferred the Simhamukha practice upon Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (Sa-chen kun-dga’ snying-po, 1092-1158), both the oral instructions and the magical rituals [29] In this way, the precepts for Simhamukha from Bari Lotawa become one of the Thirteen Goden Dharmas (gser chos lugs) of the Sakyapa tradition. These teachings descended to Khyentse Rinpoche who was himself a Sakyapa Lama.
In the 17th century there was an important master belonging to the Bodongpa lineage, the Togdan Namkha Sangye Gonpo (Nam-mkha’ snags-rgyas mgon-po), but he followed the tradition of Bari Lotsawa when practicing Simhamukha. He was called a Togdan (rtogs-ldan), literally meaning “one who possesses understanding,” because he was a wandering itinerant yogi. He was cured of leprosy because of a vision of Simhamukha. But later he also had personal contact with Guru Rinpoche in his pure visions and was instructed in Simhamukha practice according to the Anuyoga system of non-gradual or instantaneous generation of the deity. Sangye Gonpo explained that at the end of the practice one should integrate oneself into the state of contemplation that is the Great Perfection or Dzogchen. This is quite different from the usual Simhamukha practice in the Sakyapa tradition and in the Gelugpa tradition that inherited the latter.
The most extensive Tibetan commentary on Simhamukha practice is that by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892). This text draws on both the Nyingmapa tradition, where the Dakini is associated with Padmasambhava and on the traditions of the Newer Schools, especially the Sakyapa and the Bodongpa. The text is entitled “The Excellent Vase of Precious Jewels” (Rin-chen bum bzang). Here are found a number of sadhanas and magical rites connected with Simhamukha, as well as a history of the revelation of the practices connected with Bari Lotsawa and Sangye Gonpo. The text compiled by the first Khyentse Rinpoche is mainly based on the teachings of Sangye Gonpo, but the former collected many different texts and put them together in a single volume.
Khyentse Rinpoche gives three sadhanas for the outer, inner, and secret forms of Simhamukha, composed by Padma Gargyi Wangchuk (Padma gar gyi dbang-phyug), also known as Jamgon Kongtrul (‘Jam-mgon kong-sprul, 1813-1899). The latter was his colleague in the non-sectarian Rimed Movement in Eastern Tibet in the 19th century. The outer sadhana (phyi sgrub) is for the Vajra Dakini Simhamukha, which is the usual form depicted in thankas (her descriptiojn is given below). The inner sadhana (nang sgrub) is for the Padma Dakini Simhamukha who has a red body and a yellow lion’s face. She serves for both increasing wealth and enchantment. The secret sadhana (gsang sgrub) is for the exceedingly wrathful black Krodha Kali Simhamukha (khros-ma nga-mo), “the wrathful black goddess,” who appears to annihilate the delusion of ego, symbolized by the insatiable demon king Rudra, much like Durga cutting the head off the demon king Mahisha. The secret sadhana is also connected with the practice of Chod (gcod), the severing or cutting off of the ego. For this reason, this form of Simhamukha is also called Vajra Nairatma (rDo-rje bdag-med-ma), “she who destroys the notion of an ego.”
In general, the ritual practice for Simhamukha proceeds in the usual fashion of Dakini sadhana and puja, as for example, with Vajrayogini. The practitioner places a kapala or skull-cup filled with wine on a tripod in the center of the mandala in the shrine. A metal mirror is laid across the skull-cup. This mirror has been covered with red sindhura powder, in which are inscribed the triangles of origination in the form of a hexagram. This symbol is called the Dharmodaya, or source of all phenomena, and at its center is inscribed the letter HUM, which is the seed syllable of the wrathful goddess. A vase containing consecrated water is placed beneath the tripod. The vase, the kapala, and the Dharmodaya are all conventional feminine symbols. Around them, the various offerings and ritual implements are arranged.
Description of the Dakini Simhamukha
In the sadhana for Vajra Dakini Simhamukha, written by Jamgon Kongtrul, the goddess is described as follows:
“The color of her body is a dark azure, like the dark color of the gathering storm clouds. And she is exceedingly wrathful. She has a single face and two arms. Her lion’s face is white in color and turns slightly to the right. The expression on her face is fierce and wrathful. From her three red eyes come flashes of lightning and her lion’s roar is like thunder. The hair of her head is long and black and made of iron. From this mass of hair that is billowing about everywhere (as if in a storm) is projected miniature phurpas like live sparks. With her right hand she flourished a five-pronged vajra in the sky and with her left hand she holds before her heart a kapala skull-cup filled with blood. She has a khatvanga staff cradled in the crook of her left arm. She girds her loins with a skirt made of a tiger skin and, as a mantle, she wears the hide of an elephant and a flayed human skin. In all respects, she is garbed in the eight-fold attire of the cremation ground. She adorns herself with a long garland of dried and freshly severed human heads, as well as with necklaces of human bone. She is adorned with various kinds of fearful apparitions and at her navel is the sun and moon. Her two legs are extended and drawn up in the dance position of ardhaparyanka, while she stands amidst the blazing masses of the flames of wisdom. At her forehead is the white syllable OM, at her throat is the red syllable AH, and at her throat is the blue syllable HUM. Then from the syllable HUM in her heart center there emanate rays of light, and from the great violently burning cremation ground in the land of Uddiyana, which is in the western direction, is invoked the Jnana Dakini Simhamukha, who is surrounded by retinues of hundreds of thousands of dreadful Matrika goddesses, together with the ocean-like hosts of guardian spirits who are her attendants.”
Re-emergence of the Feminine and Reintegration within the Mandala
Thus, the Dakini, in the Buddhist context, represents a re-emergence of the feminine at all levels in the domain of the psychic and the spiritual, not simply as an adjunct to a male deity, but as an independent force in her own right. According to the Anuttara Tantras, on the occasion of the third or wisdom initiation, when the candidate is escorted by the Guru from the entrance-way at the eastern gate into the center of the mandala itself, he encounters face to face Wisdom in the form of the Dakini. Without this integration with the feminine, the psyche of man cannot become whole or enlightened.
Historically, Western consciousness has tended to suppress and exclude from heaven, the domain of the spiritual, both the feminine and the shadow side of things. However, in the Tantric Buddhism of Medieval India and Tibet, especially in the Anuttara Tantra, we find the interesting process of reintegrating both the feminine and the shadow side back into the mandala of the psyche, not as secondary or minor figures at the periphery, but taking center stage in the mandala as the immediate manifestations of enlightened awareness. The method employed here is alchemy, the process of transformation (‘gyur lam), where the negative emotions are not denied, but their energy accepted and transformed into enlightened awareness in the form of the meditation deity.—John Myrdhin Reynolds via AngelFire
The Wrathful Lion-Headed Dakini
In terms of these Higher Tantras, a meditation deity (yi-dam lha) who is both wrathful and female is the Jnana Dakini Simhamukha. It is important to understand that, despite her exceedingly wrathful appearance and animal head, she is not a guardian spirit (srung-ma), subdued by magic, converted to the Dharma, and bound by oaths of service by some powerful Mahasiddha in the past. Rather, she is a wrathful manifestation of Guhyajnana Dakini, who, according to the Nyingmapa tradition, was the principal Dakini teacher of Padmasambhava in the country of Uddiyana. Therefore, although Simhamukha is a Dakini in her aspect, she functions as a Yidam or meditation deity and her special functions are averting and repulsing (bzlog-pa) psychic attacks that may assault the practitioner and the subduing of negative female energy as personified by the Matrikas or Mamos. These latter are wild uncontrolled female spirits inhabiting the wilderness, both the mountains and the forests, beyond the confines of patriarchal civilization. These female spirits are generally hostile to the male gender. Simhamukha appears in a form wrathful, feminine, and demonic; indeed, her form is said to be actually that of a Matrikia or Mamo, not because her nature is evil or demonic, but because her wrathful aspect (khro gzugs) skillfully overcomes and subdues those violent negative energies. Simhamukha is a Jnana Dakini or wisdom goddess. According to Jigmed Lingpa (1726-1798), the famous Nyingmapa master and discoverer of hidden treasure texts or Termas, Simhamukha represents a Nirmanakaya manifestation, appearing in time and history, whereas her Sambhogakaya aspect is Vajravarahi and her Dharmakaya aspect is Samantabhadri, the Primordial Wisdom herself.
Very often the Dakinis and the Matrikas were the old pre-Buddhist pagan goddesses of the earth and sky, although generally the Matrikas always tend to be more local in their nature. Dakinis may appear in many different female forms, young and old, some with animal heads. In Hindu tradition, the goddess Durga is called the Queen of the Dakinis and Matrikas or witches. In many ways, Simhamukha represents a Buddhist version of Durga, but instead of riding on a lion and brandishing her weapons with eighteen arms, Simhamukha has the head of a lion. Among the eight Tantra sections (sgrub-pa bka’ brgyad) transmitted to Tibet in the 8th century by Padmasambhava, there is the section called Ma-mo rbad gtong, “the cursing and spell casting associated with the witch goddesses,” wherein Simhamukha, as the chief divine figure, very much assumes the role of the Hindu goddess Durga in subduing demons and evil spirits and protecting practitioners from negative provocations of energy coming from the Mamos. Like other nature spirits, the Mamos are disturbed by mankind’s destruction of the natural environment and therefore inflict plagues, new diseases, earthquakes, madness, wars, and other calamities upon human civilization.
The Magical Function of Averting Psychic Attacks
As we have said, the principal magical function of Simhamukha is the averting or repulsing (bzlog-pa) of negative energy and sending it back to its source, whether that source is a black magician or an evil spirit (gdon). Such a provocation of negative energy is called a malediction (byad-ma, byad-kha), and this is illustrated in the story of Bari Lotsawa (see below). Most often the Goddess is invoked to avert psychic attack. As indicated previously with the Dakini Kurukulla, Tantric Buddhism sees this working with energy in concrete ways in terms of the four magics or magical activities. Although Simhamukha can work with any of the four, she principally relates to the fourth function or fierce magical actions (drag-po’i ‘phrin-las). Therefore, the dark azure blue-colored Vajra Simhamukha is placed in the center of the mandala. Spiritually, she represents the transformation of anger or wrath into enlightened awareness, and psychically or magically, she accomplishes the subduing and vanquishing provocations of negative energy (gdon) personified as demons and evil spirits. She is surrounded by her retinue of four Dakinis who resemble herself, except for their body-color and certain attributes: in the east there is the white Buddha Simhamukha who has the magical function of pacifying circumstances and healing, in the south is the yellow Ratna Simhamukha who has the magical function of increasing wealth and prosperity, in the west is the red Padma Simhamukha who has the magical function of enchanting and bringing others under her power, and in the north is the dark green Karma Simhamukha who has the magical function of vanquishing and destroying negative forces. Each of these aspects of Simhamukha have their own mantras and rituals. If the practicioner is working which a specific function, say for example, becoming successful at business or winning at the horse races, he would put Ratna Simhamukha in the center of the mandala, doing the visualization while reciting her action mantra. But in thangkas, Vajra Simhamukha is usually represented as a single figure without the accompanying retinue.
The Wrathful Archetype
Nevertheless, despite her wrathful appearance and her magical activities, Simhamukha is a manifestation of the enlightened awareness of the Buddha and her nature is compassion. Like the Archangel Michael, she slays the dragon representing the forces of evil and chaos. She only shows her fierce and angry face in order to subdue misguided beings, much like a mother disciplining her naughty child. The worldly gods and spirits are not enlightened beings; they are still conditioned by their ignorance and their karma and still abide inside of Samsara or cyclical existence. And sometimes they direct negative energy against humans in the form of maledictions and the practice of Simhamukha may be used to avert and repulse these psychic attacks.
Transcendent deities like Simhamukha are emanations or projections of enlightened beings and being archetypes they may serve as meditation deities. These figures are principally classified into three types, because meditation on them the serve as antidotes to the three principal poisons that afflict human consciousness:
1. meditation on peaceful tranquil deities transforms confusion,
2. meditation on wrathful deities transforms anger, and
3. meditation on lustful or joyous deities transforms desire.
Where do the ornaments, attire, and attributes of a wrathful deity come from? According to the Tantras, in prehistoric times on an island in the Indian ocean, Matam Rudra, a black sorcerer and demon king, threatened the very survival of the primitive human race. Therefore, the Bodhisattvas Hayagriva and Vajravarahi gained entrance into his gigantic body and blew him apart from the inside. Thereupon, they donned his attire and ornaments and proceeded to subdue the lesser demons, terrifying them with their wrathful appearance. Simhamukha wears these same ornaments. As the Queen of the Night, she keeps at bay the nightmarish demonic entities who ever seek to invade our sunlight world of consciousness from the twilight realms beyond. As the active manifestation of emptiness and wisdom, her lion’s roar disperses discursive thoughts. And she is naked because she is equally devoid of discursive thoughts.
If the Great Goddess can be said to manifest herself in the three archetypes of Maiden, Mother, and Crone, Simhamukha represents the Crone aspect of feminine wisdom. She is the archetype of the destructive Terrible Mother, who destroys and yet regenerates all life out of her cauldron. All phenomena dissolve into Shunyata or emptiness, and again all phenomena arise out of Shunyata. In many ways, Simhamukha appears to correspond to the Ancient Egyptian lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, whose very name comes from the root “skhm” meaning power, reminiscent of the Sanskrit word shakti. Sekhmet represented the fiery energy of the sun, the energy of her father, the creator god Ra.
But in the Western monotheistic tradition, there has been the tendency to suppress the archetypal feminine. She became eclipsed by the male Sky God of the Biblical tradition. This exclusively masculine Godhead could be tyrannical, vindictive, and punitive, as well as kind, fatherly, and forgiving. But in the Christian tradition, there has been the tendency to see God as all-good and therefore his dark side has been projected on to the Devil, who was expelled from heaven and now dwells beneath the earth. This reflects the psychological process of denying the evil within oneself and projecting it on to others. But in the Tantras, one fights fire with fire. To those who are without knowledge, Simhamukha is the demonic Terrible Mother, who threatens to devour her son, threatening his very existence. She represents everything that men find most terrifying in womankind. What is more terrifying than the lion’s roar heard in the dark jungle in the middle of the night? She represents the primordial fear of being killed and devoured by a savage female beast. It is the threat of annihilation. But to those who possess knowledge, the lion-headed goddess is the very form of emptiness. They have nothing to fear from the great void. She is the terrible lion-headed sentinel of time (chronos leontocephalus) who stands at the portal, the active manifestation of primordial wisdom, who destroys the notion of an unchanging permanent ego or substance.
Simhamukha according to the Nyingmapa Tradition
Acording to Khyentse Rinpoche (see below), the original scriptural source for Simhamukha is the Drwa-ba’i sdom-pa’i rgyud. This Tantra, where Simhamukha is linked with the eight wrathful Gauris (ke’u-ri-ma brgyad) and the eight Tramenmas or animal-headed sorceresses (phra-men-ma brgyad), appears to be connected with the Guhyagarbha Mayajala cycle (sGyu-‘phrul drwa-ba). In the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” (Bar-do thos grol), these Gauri witches, representing the eight types of mundane consciousness, and these eight animal-headed sorceresses, representing the eight objects of consciousness, appear to the deceased consciousness on the twelfth and thirteenth days of the Bardo experience after death. However, it is mainly through the Termas or hidden treasure texts discovered since the 11th century that Simhamukha is practiced among the Nyingmapas.
As we have said, according to the Sutra system, the practitioner takes refuge in the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. However, according the Tantra system one also takes refuge in the Three Root of the Guru, the Deity, and the Dakini (bla-ma yi-dam mkha’-‘gro gsum). In the Terma system of Jatson Nyingpo (‘Ja’-tshon snying-po, 1585-1656), known as the dKon-mchog spyi ‘dus, “The Union of all the Precious Ones,” the principal visualization practice is the Zhi drag seng gsum. Here zhi (zhi-ba) means “peaceful,” that is, the peaceful form of Guru Padmasambhava known as Guru Zhiwa, dressed in his usual robes, holding in his right hand a golden vajra before his heart and in his left hand a kapala containing a long-life vase. Drag (drag-po) means “fierce,” and refers to the wrathful form of Padmasambhava known as Guru Dragpo, who is flaming red in color, attired as a wrathful deity, holding a vajra in his right hand and a black scorpion in his left. And seng means “lion,” and refers to the lion-headed Dakini Simhamukha (sen-ge’i gdong ma). These three, invoked as a trinity, represent the Three Roots of Guru Deva and Dakini. The famous Terton Ratna Lingpa (Ratna gling-pa, 1403-1479) also discovered many Termas relating to Simhamukha. Similarly, the famous child prodigy Tulku Mingyur Dorge (Mi-‘gyur rdo-rje, 17th cen.), who received the gNam-chos or “sky teachings,” channeled certain hidden treasure texts pertaining to her. Here and in other Termas there are presented different histories of how Padmasambhava received transmissions directly from his Dakini teacher in Uddiyana, Guhyajnana Dakini (gSang-ba ye-shes mkha’-‘gro-ma). One of the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava (mtshan brgyad) is Simha-raurava (Seng-ge sgra-sgrogs), “the roar of the lion,” which is linked with Simhamukha because Padmasambhava recived the transmission from Guhyajnana when he was in that guise. As already said, Simhamukha is regarded as an emanation of this Dakini from Uddiyana.
Because of the close link of Simhamukha with Padmasambhava, one could say she represents his Anima. According to the traditional history of the Seven Line Prayer (tshig bdun gsol ‘debs) of Padmasambhava, once an assembly of Buddhist scholars at Nalanda university debated with a group of Hindu scholars over certain matters of philosophy. But the Buddhist scholars soon found themselves loosing, and offered puja to the Dakinis, praying for their help. The melodious voices of the Dakinis prophesied that their brother, Padmasambhava, would come the next day to help them. The next morning, a wild looking yogi from the cremation ground nearby entered the hall and engaged the Hindu scholars in philosophical debate. By the end of the day, he had systematically demolished all their arguments. But many scholars remained obstinate, shouted insults at the yogi, and strode about the hall arrogantly. The Guru sitting calmly amidst the storm raging about him, allowed a thought of anger to well up within him and then he projected the fiery energy of this wrath into the space before him. It coalesced into the terrifying form of the fiery lion-headed Goddess. The haughty scholars were terrified at this manifestation and fled the hall. But the goddess pursued them, throwing them down of the ground. Terrified the begged for their lives and submitted to the Guru and his teachings.
Simhamukha according to the Sakyapa Tradition
But the revelation of the root mantra for Simhamukha is especially associated with the name of Bari Lotawa who came from the region of Dringtsam and it is said he was born in the same year as Milarepa (1040). Traveling to Nepal and India, he studied Sanskrit, translating many texts including a collection of sadhanas and a collection of magical rituals. While in Nepal, he debated with a Hindu teacher named Bhavyaraja, and when he defeated the later, the sorcerer launched a magical attack against the translator. In terror, he fled to Bodh Gaya in India, where his own spiritual master Vajrasanapa advised him to propitiate the Dakinis with puja offerings and pray for their help. In a dream, Simhamukha appeared to him and instructed him to go to a large rock to the east of Bodh Gaya and dig below the rock where he would find a hidden casket. He followed her instructions precisely and discovered the casket as described. Inside, written in blood on human skin, was the fierce mantra of fourteen letters that averts all magical attacks (sngags drag zlog yi-ge bcu-bzhi-pa). That night he performed an averting rite (zlog-pa byas-pa) and employing the mantra, he succeeded in hurling all the negative energy assaulting him back at its source in Nepal. The rebound was so strong that it killed the sorcerer. For the next year, Bari did penance and purification practices at the stupa in Bodh Gaya in order to cleanse the sin of his act.
Returning to Tibet, he conferred the Simhamukha practice upon Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (Sa-chen kun-dga’ snying-po, 1092-1158), both the oral instructions and the magical rituals [29] In this way, the precepts for Simhamukha from Bari Lotawa become one of the Thirteen Goden Dharmas (gser chos lugs) of the Sakyapa tradition. These teachings descended to Khyentse Rinpoche who was himself a Sakyapa Lama.
In the 17th century there was an important master belonging to the Bodongpa lineage, the Togdan Namkha Sangye Gonpo (Nam-mkha’ snags-rgyas mgon-po), but he followed the tradition of Bari Lotsawa when practicing Simhamukha. He was called a Togdan (rtogs-ldan), literally meaning “one who possesses understanding,” because he was a wandering itinerant yogi. He was cured of leprosy because of a vision of Simhamukha. But later he also had personal contact with Guru Rinpoche in his pure visions and was instructed in Simhamukha practice according to the Anuyoga system of non-gradual or instantaneous generation of the deity. Sangye Gonpo explained that at the end of the practice one should integrate oneself into the state of contemplation that is the Great Perfection or Dzogchen. This is quite different from the usual Simhamukha practice in the Sakyapa tradition and in the Gelugpa tradition that inherited the latter.
The most extensive Tibetan commentary on Simhamukha practice is that by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892). This text draws on both the Nyingmapa tradition, where the Dakini is associated with Padmasambhava and on the traditions of the Newer Schools, especially the Sakyapa and the Bodongpa. The text is entitled “The Excellent Vase of Precious Jewels” (Rin-chen bum bzang). Here are found a number of sadhanas and magical rites connected with Simhamukha, as well as a history of the revelation of the practices connected with Bari Lotsawa and Sangye Gonpo. The text compiled by the first Khyentse Rinpoche is mainly based on the teachings of Sangye Gonpo, but the former collected many different texts and put them together in a single volume.
Khyentse Rinpoche gives three sadhanas for the outer, inner, and secret forms of Simhamukha, composed by Padma Gargyi Wangchuk (Padma gar gyi dbang-phyug), also known as Jamgon Kongtrul (‘Jam-mgon kong-sprul, 1813-1899). The latter was his colleague in the non-sectarian Rimed Movement in Eastern Tibet in the 19th century. The outer sadhana (phyi sgrub) is for the Vajra Dakini Simhamukha, which is the usual form depicted in thankas (her descriptiojn is given below). The inner sadhana (nang sgrub) is for the Padma Dakini Simhamukha who has a red body and a yellow lion’s face. She serves for both increasing wealth and enchantment. The secret sadhana (gsang sgrub) is for the exceedingly wrathful black Krodha Kali Simhamukha (khros-ma nga-mo), “the wrathful black goddess,” who appears to annihilate the delusion of ego, symbolized by the insatiable demon king Rudra, much like Durga cutting the head off the demon king Mahisha. The secret sadhana is also connected with the practice of Chod (gcod), the severing or cutting off of the ego. For this reason, this form of Simhamukha is also called Vajra Nairatma (rDo-rje bdag-med-ma), “she who destroys the notion of an ego.”
In general, the ritual practice for Simhamukha proceeds in the usual fashion of Dakini sadhana and puja, as for example, with Vajrayogini. The practitioner places a kapala or skull-cup filled with wine on a tripod in the center of the mandala in the shrine. A metal mirror is laid across the skull-cup. This mirror has been covered with red sindhura powder, in which are inscribed the triangles of origination in the form of a hexagram. This symbol is called the Dharmodaya, or source of all phenomena, and at its center is inscribed the letter HUM, which is the seed syllable of the wrathful goddess. A vase containing consecrated water is placed beneath the tripod. The vase, the kapala, and the Dharmodaya are all conventional feminine symbols. Around them, the various offerings and ritual implements are arranged.
Description of the Dakini Simhamukha
In the sadhana for Vajra Dakini Simhamukha, written by Jamgon Kongtrul, the goddess is described as follows:
“The color of her body is a dark azure, like the dark color of the gathering storm clouds. And she is exceedingly wrathful. She has a single face and two arms. Her lion’s face is white in color and turns slightly to the right. The expression on her face is fierce and wrathful. From her three red eyes come flashes of lightning and her lion’s roar is like thunder. The hair of her head is long and black and made of iron. From this mass of hair that is billowing about everywhere (as if in a storm) is projected miniature phurpas like live sparks. With her right hand she flourished a five-pronged vajra in the sky and with her left hand she holds before her heart a kapala skull-cup filled with blood. She has a khatvanga staff cradled in the crook of her left arm. She girds her loins with a skirt made of a tiger skin and, as a mantle, she wears the hide of an elephant and a flayed human skin. In all respects, she is garbed in the eight-fold attire of the cremation ground. She adorns herself with a long garland of dried and freshly severed human heads, as well as with necklaces of human bone. She is adorned with various kinds of fearful apparitions and at her navel is the sun and moon. Her two legs are extended and drawn up in the dance position of ardhaparyanka, while she stands amidst the blazing masses of the flames of wisdom. At her forehead is the white syllable OM, at her throat is the red syllable AH, and at her throat is the blue syllable HUM. Then from the syllable HUM in her heart center there emanate rays of light, and from the great violently burning cremation ground in the land of Uddiyana, which is in the western direction, is invoked the Jnana Dakini Simhamukha, who is surrounded by retinues of hundreds of thousands of dreadful Matrika goddesses, together with the ocean-like hosts of guardian spirits who are her attendants.”
Re-emergence of the Feminine and Reintegration within the Mandala
Thus, the Dakini, in the Buddhist context, represents a re-emergence of the feminine at all levels in the domain of the psychic and the spiritual, not simply as an adjunct to a male deity, but as an independent force in her own right. According to the Anuttara Tantras, on the occasion of the third or wisdom initiation, when the candidate is escorted by the Guru from the entrance-way at the eastern gate into the center of the mandala itself, he encounters face to face Wisdom in the form of the Dakini. Without this integration with the feminine, the psyche of man cannot become whole or enlightened.
Historically, Western consciousness has tended to suppress and exclude from heaven, the domain of the spiritual, both the feminine and the shadow side of things. However, in the Tantric Buddhism of Medieval India and Tibet, especially in the Anuttara Tantra, we find the interesting process of reintegrating both the feminine and the shadow side back into the mandala of the psyche, not as secondary or minor figures at the periphery, but taking center stage in the mandala as the immediate manifestations of enlightened awareness. The method employed here is alchemy, the process of transformation (‘gyur lam), where the negative emotions are not denied, but their energy accepted and transformed into enlightened awareness in the form of the meditation deity.—John Myrdhin Reynolds via AngelFire
“What are the thorns really telling her? It's why she won't let us see them, why she clings to them--or they cling to her--as though she got herself buried in a bramble thicket and she can't get out and we can't get in to free her.” ― Patricia A. McKillip, Alphabet of Thorn
The bodhisattva vow acknowledges confusion and chaos—aggression, passion, frustration, frivolousness—as part of the path. The path is like a busy, broad highway, complete with roadblocks, accidents, construction work, and police. It is quite terrifying. Nevertheless it is majestic, it is the great path. “From today onward until the attainment of enlightenment I am willing to live with my chaos and confusion as well as with that of all other sentient beings. I am willing to share our mutual confusion.” So no one is playing a one-upmanship game. The bodhisattva is a very humble pilgrim who works in the soil of samsara to dig out the jewel embedded in it.
In the tantric tradition, discovering that ambiguity is called “discovering the seed syllable.” Ambiguity is called a “seed syllable” when it becomes a starting point rather than a source of problems. When we accept uncertainty as the working base, then we begin to discover that we do not exist. We can experience and appreciate the ambiguity as the source of confusion as well as the source of humor. The discovery of nonexistence comes from experiencing both the energy of humor and the heavy “thingness” or form of confusion. But form or thingness does not prove the existence of energy, and energy does not prove the existence of form. So there is no confirmation, just ambiguity. Therefore, we still find ourselves at a loss. However, at this point that feeling of being lost has the quality of freedom rather than the quality of confusion.”—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
In the tantric tradition, discovering that ambiguity is called “discovering the seed syllable.” Ambiguity is called a “seed syllable” when it becomes a starting point rather than a source of problems. When we accept uncertainty as the working base, then we begin to discover that we do not exist. We can experience and appreciate the ambiguity as the source of confusion as well as the source of humor. The discovery of nonexistence comes from experiencing both the energy of humor and the heavy “thingness” or form of confusion. But form or thingness does not prove the existence of energy, and energy does not prove the existence of form. So there is no confirmation, just ambiguity. Therefore, we still find ourselves at a loss. However, at this point that feeling of being lost has the quality of freedom rather than the quality of confusion.”—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Dakini: The Goddess Who Takes Form as a Woman
The Tibetan Buddhist Dakini is a compelling icon of untamed female freedom. Like a trickster or the Fool in a Tarot deck, the dakini releases blockages in the energy field and melts frozen patterns, so that the door of the mind is suddenly ajar and something new can enter. Dakinis are often connected to the phenomena of synchronicity and inexplicable coincidences of fate. Tsultrim Allione wrote in her book, Women of Wisdom, “The dakini appears at crucial moments. These encounters often have a quality of sharp, incisive challenge to the fixed conceptions of the practitioner.” (Allione, 114)
Miranda Shaw’s exuberant descriptions of dakinis emphasize “flights of spiritual insight, ecstasy, and freedom from worldliness granted by the realization of emptiness.” (Shaw, 38) Shaw learned Sanskrit so that she could read texts herself, translating “dakinis” as “women who revel in the freedom of emptiness.” (19) An initiated tantric practitioner, Shaw explains: “A wild, playful, unpredictable quality erupts when experience is released from its predetermined patterns.” (95)
Tibetan historical and tantric texts refer to the famous “Land of the Dakinis,” a matriarchal place west of Tibet, where spiritual leaders were women. The place was called Odiyana or Uddiyana, which translates as “vehicle of flying.” Imagine an entire country of women who fly — gifted shaman women and magical priestesses — and the powerful yogis and magicians who companion them. It is from that legendary realm that the famous yogi, Padmasambhava, originally flew into Tibet with a “retinue” of Dakinis (his spiritual team) to “subdue the demons” and anchor Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism there for good. There he met and collaborated with a local princess and incarnate dakini, Yeshe Tsogyal.
Although historically dated to 8th-century Tibet, dakinis actually descend from far more ancient female supernatural beings from the time of our earliest human cultural origins. Tibetan scholar John Vincent Bellezza calls our attention to certain “extinct” Tibetan sisterhoods that provide “evidence suggesting the existence of a matriarchal culture and the supremacy of female deities in prehistory.” (Bellezza, 308)
Since earliest times, supernatural, shamanistic females in the ecstasies of soul flight have been depicted as able to “move through space” like birds. In soul flight, the invisible spirit body detaches from the physical in order to ascend to upper worlds or descend to the underworld for healing or soul-retrieval. This flight is a well-understood feature of traditional shamanism around the world. Women’s ancient, shamanistic work to facilitate the profound rites of birth and death quite naturally would have led to out-of-body experiences, soul flight, and the dissolution of boundaries between self and other that is a primary Buddhist goal.
The word “dakini” is Sanskrit; its inferred meaning has been borrowed from (and equated with) the Tibetan word khandro (“sky goer,” “she who moves through space”), and the two words are often used interchangeably. But unlike “dakini,” with its derived male form (“daka”), the Tibetan wordkhandro has no such twin and stands alone as a female being who moves through emptiness or flies through space — a kind of Tibetan Fairy Goddess or, as June Campbell named her in her book by the same name, A Traveller in Space. (Campbell) Khandro, Campbell says, “is quite a unique word, with no male equivalent, and would seem to have arisen not out of the Sanskrit background of Tantra… but apparently from the shamanistic roots of Tibet itself.” (145) And Miranda Shaw mentions several Indian scholars who “suggest that Tantra itself (both Hindu and Buddhist) originated among the priestesses and shamanesses of matrilinear tribal and rural societies.” (Shaw, 6)
But unlike “dakini,” with its derived male form (“daka”), the Tibetan word khandrohas no such twin and stands alone as afemale being who moves through emptiness or flies through space….
This is easy to substantiate, as winged women and “bird goddess” figures abound in many places around the world and through eons of time, going all the way back to the Paleolithic period (around 30,000 BCE) where they are part of the earliest human art. And we know from linguistics that the earliest shamans were women, described in an ancient root word meaning “female shaman” that relates to Earth Goddess, Mother Earth, and the two Bear constellations. All the various words for “male shaman” came into being much later, after the tribes had migrated from their place of origin. An early 20th-century Russian ethnographer surveying shamanism across Siberia wrote: “The woman is by nature a shaman” and “women receive the gift of shamanizing more often than men.” (Czaplicka, 244)
Hybrid bird-women, hugely pregnant, dance with the animals on a ceiling in the Paleolithic cavern at Pech Merle in the south of France. From the later Neolithic period, more than a hundred thousand female figurines have been unearthed from Old Europe alone, a large percentage of them depicted with wings or as pregnant birds; significantly, many are also covered with an extinct script. (Marler, 2008) Egyptian vulture goddesses with raised arms pre-date three thousand years of dynastic empire in northern Africa. Intricate and colorful bird-women in flight are finely embroidered on remarkable textiles found in Peru and Bolivia, wrapped around mummies from extinct Andean cultures known to have practiced shamanism. At least one such textile has been shown to be a complex solar-lunar calendar. To me all these figures are khandro or female traveler(s) in space.
In my 2003 book, The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power, I documented a long, possibly unbroken lineage of shaman priestesses that emerged in Crete and the Mediterranean area during the late Bronze Age, but were in fact the confluence of earlier streams from Africa, Europe and Asia. For at least 4,000 years, the Silk Road connected East and West across Central Asia. This exceptional channel fostered the migration of peoples and the cross-cultural exchange of ideas, symbols, and artifacts that ultimately must underlie any serious investigation of the dakini in Tibet, Nepal, and India. Iron Age Burials found near the Black Sea and all the way east to the Altai Mountains have unearthed images of high-status shaman priestesses, sometimes covered in gold, often wearing elaborate headdresses, with the mirrors and portable altars that defined their spiritual leadership. Mummies from the late Bronze Age have been unearthed from oasis sites in eastern China’s Tarim Basin (once northern Tibet); they have Caucasoid features, including blonde hair and blue eyes, perfectly preserved by the combination of sand and salt from the desert floor.
Between 2000 and 500 BCE, at least three waves of Bronze and Iron Age settlers migrated from beyond the Black Sea, some of them bringing the knowledge and tools of weaving, along with a now extinct language (Tocharian) whose closest relative is an ancient Anatolian language (Hittite), also extinct. Buddhist texts hidden away in the Dunhuang caves a thousand years ago were written in Tocharian. Textile expert Elizabeth Wayland Barber presents evidence suggesting that the early migrants might have been related to others who went west to Crete and Troy, carrying the same distinctive weaving tools with them. (Barber) Women (and one man) buried at Cherchen, tattooed like Greek Maenads, wore red woolen garments like those worn by Tibetan monks and nuns today. One set of priestesses found buried at Subeshi (6th century BCE) were wearing tall pointy black hats; archaeologists dubbed them “the three witches.” (Mallory & Mair) Oasis towns like Khotan, Kucha, and Dunhuang were sophisticated places where Buddhism already flourished by the time Tibetans conquered them, assimilated their knowledge, and absorbed their pacifism.
(Yeshe) Tsogyal unites the sacred and magical “wild women” (Maenads) from Old Europe’s Mediterranean region with the yogini cults of India and dakinis of Tibet….
Yeshe Tsogyal was born in the northern city of Charchen (or Cherchen), one of the oasis sites where Caucasoid burials from 1200 BCE were unearthed. She is fondly remembered as the cofounder of Buddhism in Tibet, with her consort Padmasambhava, and as a direct emanation of Vajrayogini. Although they were separated by some two thousand years, I like to think that Yeshe Tsogyal might be descended from those shaman priestesses who traveled the Silk Road so long ago. I consider her to be the lineage holder from the point at which East meets West, and ancient meets contemporary. Tsogyal unites the sacred and magical “wild women” (Maenads) from Old Europe’s Mediterranean region with the yogini cults of India and dakinis of Tibet; their folklore, images, and stories overlap in many interesting ways, as I briefly described in The Double Goddess.
Details of Yeshe Tsogyal’s supernatural birth and early childhood are contained in her autobiography, a transmitted work discovered and revealed as a treasure or “terma” a few hundred years ago in Tibet. Tsogyal’s primary occupation during her adult lifetime was the burying or hiding of terma (artifacts and mind treasures) which would be discovered in later times by designated reincarnated persons having the task of such discoveries. A terma-finder, called “terton,” is born to “pull out a treasure” and communicate it to a particular constituency of people in a particular time and place.
Three English translations of the autobiography have been published in the States over the past three decades, each containing the following remarkable narrative, in which Tsogyal tells us that when she reached the brink of death in her advanced meditation retreat and she called out to “the Teacher”: “Then I had a vision of a red woman, naked, lacking even the covering of bone ornaments, who thrust her bhaga against my mouth, and I drank deeply from the copious flow of blood. My entire being was filled with health and well-being, I felt as strong as a snow-lion, and I realized profound absorption to be inexpressible truth.” (Dowman, 71)
Dakinis are explicitly understood to take form as human women, and although not all women are dakinis, any woman at any time might be a dakini.
This is clearly a direct link to Vajrayogini, the red Queen of the Dakinis who is frequently depicted drinking her own menstrual blood from a skullcup held in her left hand. The essential female bodily substance, menstrual blood, is shown here to be spiritual nourishment par excellence, creating a striking metaphor for female-to-female direct transmission in a lineage of wisdom, in this case from the deity, Vajrayogini, to a dakini, Yeshe Tsogyal, in human form. Dakinis are explicitly understood to take form as human women, and although not all women are dakinis, any woman at any time might be a dakini. The simplest way of understanding this is through the biological bloodline of menstruation, a legacy bequeathed from all mothers of daughters in every culture throughout time, all the way back to the beginnings of human evolution. Humans diverged from the primate tree when we abandoned estrus and established our bleeding and ovulation in synchronization with the yin-yang polarity of the Moon’s monthly cycles.
David Gordon White, an expert in Indian Tantra, tells us, “When the template is the body of a naked maiden and the medium her sexual or menstrual discharge, we are in the presence of the Tantra of the old Hindu ‘clans’ (the Kula, or Kaula) and their inner and East Asian Buddhist Tantric homologues.” (White 2000, 11) Kaula practices (known in India as the “left hand” path) took place in cremation grounds and involved “the communal consumption of blood, flesh, wine, and sexual fluids.” (White 1996, 137) White documents how the earlier centrality of the sexual fluids was later “cleaned up, aestheticized, and internalized in different ways,” and transferred to the “bliss of sexual orgasm.” (White 1996, 4) In Tibetan Buddhist tantric practice, certainly it has been interiorized into the potent visualization techniques surrounding the tradition of Vajrayogini.
Regarding Yeshe Tsogyal’s visionary experience of receiving and ingesting Vajrayogini’s blood, White grounds the story in this understandable tradition. “The cosmic force that activates and energizes every facet of tantric practice — that originates from the womb of the Goddess and passes through every link in the chain of transmission… is ultimately nothing other than a stream (ogha) or flow (scrotas) of sexual fluid.” And to this day, he says, the tantrikas in Assam “identify their ‘lineage nectar’ (kulamrta) with the goddess’s menstrual fluid or the commingled sexual fluids of Siva and the Goddess.” (White 1996, 138) White’s descriptions of yoginis in the early Indian tantric practices seem to resonate perfectly with representations of dakinis in Tibetan practice. For example, he writes that a “horde of wild goddesses… attracted by offerings of mingled sexual fluids, would converge into the consciousness of the practitioner, to transform him, through their limitless libido, into a god on earth.” (White 1996, 4)
Details and aspects of Vajrayogini rituals in Tibet are precisely matched by plentiful artifacts and evidence of the Maenads in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, which is the larger subject of my next book.
This article adapted from a longer piece to appear in Goddesses in World Culture, edited by Patricia Monaghan, to be published by Praeger in 2009.—Vicky Noble #Dakini #TantraDakini #DakiniGoddessofMarrakech #TantraDC #TantraMarrakech #India #Devi #Buddhism #coach #yoga #energymedicine #sacredsexuality #zensamurai #goddess
The Tibetan Buddhist Dakini is a compelling icon of untamed female freedom. Like a trickster or the Fool in a Tarot deck, the dakini releases blockages in the energy field and melts frozen patterns, so that the door of the mind is suddenly ajar and something new can enter. Dakinis are often connected to the phenomena of synchronicity and inexplicable coincidences of fate. Tsultrim Allione wrote in her book, Women of Wisdom, “The dakini appears at crucial moments. These encounters often have a quality of sharp, incisive challenge to the fixed conceptions of the practitioner.” (Allione, 114)
Miranda Shaw’s exuberant descriptions of dakinis emphasize “flights of spiritual insight, ecstasy, and freedom from worldliness granted by the realization of emptiness.” (Shaw, 38) Shaw learned Sanskrit so that she could read texts herself, translating “dakinis” as “women who revel in the freedom of emptiness.” (19) An initiated tantric practitioner, Shaw explains: “A wild, playful, unpredictable quality erupts when experience is released from its predetermined patterns.” (95)
Tibetan historical and tantric texts refer to the famous “Land of the Dakinis,” a matriarchal place west of Tibet, where spiritual leaders were women. The place was called Odiyana or Uddiyana, which translates as “vehicle of flying.” Imagine an entire country of women who fly — gifted shaman women and magical priestesses — and the powerful yogis and magicians who companion them. It is from that legendary realm that the famous yogi, Padmasambhava, originally flew into Tibet with a “retinue” of Dakinis (his spiritual team) to “subdue the demons” and anchor Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism there for good. There he met and collaborated with a local princess and incarnate dakini, Yeshe Tsogyal.
Although historically dated to 8th-century Tibet, dakinis actually descend from far more ancient female supernatural beings from the time of our earliest human cultural origins. Tibetan scholar John Vincent Bellezza calls our attention to certain “extinct” Tibetan sisterhoods that provide “evidence suggesting the existence of a matriarchal culture and the supremacy of female deities in prehistory.” (Bellezza, 308)
Since earliest times, supernatural, shamanistic females in the ecstasies of soul flight have been depicted as able to “move through space” like birds. In soul flight, the invisible spirit body detaches from the physical in order to ascend to upper worlds or descend to the underworld for healing or soul-retrieval. This flight is a well-understood feature of traditional shamanism around the world. Women’s ancient, shamanistic work to facilitate the profound rites of birth and death quite naturally would have led to out-of-body experiences, soul flight, and the dissolution of boundaries between self and other that is a primary Buddhist goal.
The word “dakini” is Sanskrit; its inferred meaning has been borrowed from (and equated with) the Tibetan word khandro (“sky goer,” “she who moves through space”), and the two words are often used interchangeably. But unlike “dakini,” with its derived male form (“daka”), the Tibetan wordkhandro has no such twin and stands alone as a female being who moves through emptiness or flies through space — a kind of Tibetan Fairy Goddess or, as June Campbell named her in her book by the same name, A Traveller in Space. (Campbell) Khandro, Campbell says, “is quite a unique word, with no male equivalent, and would seem to have arisen not out of the Sanskrit background of Tantra… but apparently from the shamanistic roots of Tibet itself.” (145) And Miranda Shaw mentions several Indian scholars who “suggest that Tantra itself (both Hindu and Buddhist) originated among the priestesses and shamanesses of matrilinear tribal and rural societies.” (Shaw, 6)
But unlike “dakini,” with its derived male form (“daka”), the Tibetan word khandrohas no such twin and stands alone as afemale being who moves through emptiness or flies through space….
This is easy to substantiate, as winged women and “bird goddess” figures abound in many places around the world and through eons of time, going all the way back to the Paleolithic period (around 30,000 BCE) where they are part of the earliest human art. And we know from linguistics that the earliest shamans were women, described in an ancient root word meaning “female shaman” that relates to Earth Goddess, Mother Earth, and the two Bear constellations. All the various words for “male shaman” came into being much later, after the tribes had migrated from their place of origin. An early 20th-century Russian ethnographer surveying shamanism across Siberia wrote: “The woman is by nature a shaman” and “women receive the gift of shamanizing more often than men.” (Czaplicka, 244)
Hybrid bird-women, hugely pregnant, dance with the animals on a ceiling in the Paleolithic cavern at Pech Merle in the south of France. From the later Neolithic period, more than a hundred thousand female figurines have been unearthed from Old Europe alone, a large percentage of them depicted with wings or as pregnant birds; significantly, many are also covered with an extinct script. (Marler, 2008) Egyptian vulture goddesses with raised arms pre-date three thousand years of dynastic empire in northern Africa. Intricate and colorful bird-women in flight are finely embroidered on remarkable textiles found in Peru and Bolivia, wrapped around mummies from extinct Andean cultures known to have practiced shamanism. At least one such textile has been shown to be a complex solar-lunar calendar. To me all these figures are khandro or female traveler(s) in space.
In my 2003 book, The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power, I documented a long, possibly unbroken lineage of shaman priestesses that emerged in Crete and the Mediterranean area during the late Bronze Age, but were in fact the confluence of earlier streams from Africa, Europe and Asia. For at least 4,000 years, the Silk Road connected East and West across Central Asia. This exceptional channel fostered the migration of peoples and the cross-cultural exchange of ideas, symbols, and artifacts that ultimately must underlie any serious investigation of the dakini in Tibet, Nepal, and India. Iron Age Burials found near the Black Sea and all the way east to the Altai Mountains have unearthed images of high-status shaman priestesses, sometimes covered in gold, often wearing elaborate headdresses, with the mirrors and portable altars that defined their spiritual leadership. Mummies from the late Bronze Age have been unearthed from oasis sites in eastern China’s Tarim Basin (once northern Tibet); they have Caucasoid features, including blonde hair and blue eyes, perfectly preserved by the combination of sand and salt from the desert floor.
Between 2000 and 500 BCE, at least three waves of Bronze and Iron Age settlers migrated from beyond the Black Sea, some of them bringing the knowledge and tools of weaving, along with a now extinct language (Tocharian) whose closest relative is an ancient Anatolian language (Hittite), also extinct. Buddhist texts hidden away in the Dunhuang caves a thousand years ago were written in Tocharian. Textile expert Elizabeth Wayland Barber presents evidence suggesting that the early migrants might have been related to others who went west to Crete and Troy, carrying the same distinctive weaving tools with them. (Barber) Women (and one man) buried at Cherchen, tattooed like Greek Maenads, wore red woolen garments like those worn by Tibetan monks and nuns today. One set of priestesses found buried at Subeshi (6th century BCE) were wearing tall pointy black hats; archaeologists dubbed them “the three witches.” (Mallory & Mair) Oasis towns like Khotan, Kucha, and Dunhuang were sophisticated places where Buddhism already flourished by the time Tibetans conquered them, assimilated their knowledge, and absorbed their pacifism.
(Yeshe) Tsogyal unites the sacred and magical “wild women” (Maenads) from Old Europe’s Mediterranean region with the yogini cults of India and dakinis of Tibet….
Yeshe Tsogyal was born in the northern city of Charchen (or Cherchen), one of the oasis sites where Caucasoid burials from 1200 BCE were unearthed. She is fondly remembered as the cofounder of Buddhism in Tibet, with her consort Padmasambhava, and as a direct emanation of Vajrayogini. Although they were separated by some two thousand years, I like to think that Yeshe Tsogyal might be descended from those shaman priestesses who traveled the Silk Road so long ago. I consider her to be the lineage holder from the point at which East meets West, and ancient meets contemporary. Tsogyal unites the sacred and magical “wild women” (Maenads) from Old Europe’s Mediterranean region with the yogini cults of India and dakinis of Tibet; their folklore, images, and stories overlap in many interesting ways, as I briefly described in The Double Goddess.
Details of Yeshe Tsogyal’s supernatural birth and early childhood are contained in her autobiography, a transmitted work discovered and revealed as a treasure or “terma” a few hundred years ago in Tibet. Tsogyal’s primary occupation during her adult lifetime was the burying or hiding of terma (artifacts and mind treasures) which would be discovered in later times by designated reincarnated persons having the task of such discoveries. A terma-finder, called “terton,” is born to “pull out a treasure” and communicate it to a particular constituency of people in a particular time and place.
Three English translations of the autobiography have been published in the States over the past three decades, each containing the following remarkable narrative, in which Tsogyal tells us that when she reached the brink of death in her advanced meditation retreat and she called out to “the Teacher”: “Then I had a vision of a red woman, naked, lacking even the covering of bone ornaments, who thrust her bhaga against my mouth, and I drank deeply from the copious flow of blood. My entire being was filled with health and well-being, I felt as strong as a snow-lion, and I realized profound absorption to be inexpressible truth.” (Dowman, 71)
Dakinis are explicitly understood to take form as human women, and although not all women are dakinis, any woman at any time might be a dakini.
This is clearly a direct link to Vajrayogini, the red Queen of the Dakinis who is frequently depicted drinking her own menstrual blood from a skullcup held in her left hand. The essential female bodily substance, menstrual blood, is shown here to be spiritual nourishment par excellence, creating a striking metaphor for female-to-female direct transmission in a lineage of wisdom, in this case from the deity, Vajrayogini, to a dakini, Yeshe Tsogyal, in human form. Dakinis are explicitly understood to take form as human women, and although not all women are dakinis, any woman at any time might be a dakini. The simplest way of understanding this is through the biological bloodline of menstruation, a legacy bequeathed from all mothers of daughters in every culture throughout time, all the way back to the beginnings of human evolution. Humans diverged from the primate tree when we abandoned estrus and established our bleeding and ovulation in synchronization with the yin-yang polarity of the Moon’s monthly cycles.
David Gordon White, an expert in Indian Tantra, tells us, “When the template is the body of a naked maiden and the medium her sexual or menstrual discharge, we are in the presence of the Tantra of the old Hindu ‘clans’ (the Kula, or Kaula) and their inner and East Asian Buddhist Tantric homologues.” (White 2000, 11) Kaula practices (known in India as the “left hand” path) took place in cremation grounds and involved “the communal consumption of blood, flesh, wine, and sexual fluids.” (White 1996, 137) White documents how the earlier centrality of the sexual fluids was later “cleaned up, aestheticized, and internalized in different ways,” and transferred to the “bliss of sexual orgasm.” (White 1996, 4) In Tibetan Buddhist tantric practice, certainly it has been interiorized into the potent visualization techniques surrounding the tradition of Vajrayogini.
Regarding Yeshe Tsogyal’s visionary experience of receiving and ingesting Vajrayogini’s blood, White grounds the story in this understandable tradition. “The cosmic force that activates and energizes every facet of tantric practice — that originates from the womb of the Goddess and passes through every link in the chain of transmission… is ultimately nothing other than a stream (ogha) or flow (scrotas) of sexual fluid.” And to this day, he says, the tantrikas in Assam “identify their ‘lineage nectar’ (kulamrta) with the goddess’s menstrual fluid or the commingled sexual fluids of Siva and the Goddess.” (White 1996, 138) White’s descriptions of yoginis in the early Indian tantric practices seem to resonate perfectly with representations of dakinis in Tibetan practice. For example, he writes that a “horde of wild goddesses… attracted by offerings of mingled sexual fluids, would converge into the consciousness of the practitioner, to transform him, through their limitless libido, into a god on earth.” (White 1996, 4)
Details and aspects of Vajrayogini rituals in Tibet are precisely matched by plentiful artifacts and evidence of the Maenads in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, which is the larger subject of my next book.
This article adapted from a longer piece to appear in Goddesses in World Culture, edited by Patricia Monaghan, to be published by Praeger in 2009.—Vicky Noble #Dakini #TantraDakini #DakiniGoddessofMarrakech #TantraDC #TantraMarrakech #India #Devi #Buddhism #coach #yoga #energymedicine #sacredsexuality #zensamurai #goddess
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I prostrate to the great yogi Pema Gyatso,
The exalted Heruka, All-encompassing Lord Vajradhara Of all infallible objects of refuge I, Mani Lochen, am just a beggar Vowed to accumulate merit And purify and purge my sins for three years Near the mirror-like rock hermitage. Amidst the Hai mountains, in the western direction. Father-like holy root guru Following your instructions, I meditate on this life As a free and fortunate human being And the stages of the path without any mental distraction. And when I meditate with undivided attention I experience (the following): Ordinary appearances having simply ceased, (Intuitive awareness) appears vividly to my mind Yet is inexpressible by speech. When mind is relaxed, I experienced that beyond mind In my experience of peace, I ecstatically uncovered non-conceptual reality I meditated on that which is neither continued nor reversed, Earlier or later not just once, but again and again. I burst into natural laughter Upon seeing the self-nature and self’s spontaneity, I can definitely ascertain there is no more to look for. Thus this offering of the mode of appearance of a beggar I offer to the Victorious Ones and their Sons. Through the kindness of my lama I sing a song of spiritual experience And dedicate my virtues to all mother sentient beings. May this be a cause for realizing the Great Completion (Dzogchen).—A Dakini Prayer The Crimson Rose Skydancer
I am the Vajra Dakini, of light the color of crimson roses and flowing blood A Dancing Dakini I transmute the life energies into their spiritual origin By filtering out gross elements, and giving them form By changing weak currents into strong ones, dribbling energy into pounding waves Opening blocks and barriers so that pain and pleasure may be experienced in their full strength I cause dry channels to become full, dying plants to become lush Weak reed stalks to become as trees, redwoods in strength and beauty I am the guide and introducer of men to the spiritual path I strengthen and purify them that they may encounter the great Buddhas of Light I prepare them for the Great Awakening I am visualized as such: The heart is cleared of all attachments A mandala of a circle within a square is placed within it It is surrounded by fragrant flowers, roses and lotuses, whose scent rises to the heavens The mantra Ram encircles the whole in a ring of fire Within the mandala is my throne I act as teacher as well as dancer The lotus throne lies within the dark waters at the mandala's center Around it are triangles, looking like lightning in the waters From here I judge and send out rays of compassion Within the waters are distant sparks of light Which, when approached, turn into the lotuses of Buddhas and enlightened beings Within the mandala I stand I harmonize the spiritual striving of all beings I call them forth, into the realms of the enlightened ones That they may pass through the dangerous waters To watch the rising of the sun upon the other shore Blessings of the roses of passionate love within the silken scarves of the mind. —BuddhaNature Black Dakini The Dark Face of the Void I am the black dakini, goddess of the Void I am the night sky empty of stars the lake without reflections When I take on human form, I am wrathful in appearance With skin and hair that is blue-black And jewelry that is of jet and ebony. In a sky of deep sapphire blue I sit on a lotus with petals of gold, and a center of black velvet When I have two hands, I hold the vajra and bell When I have four hands, I also hold the noose and the goad In my six armed form, I add the axe and the mala. My true form is in the depths of space, The vast reaches of silence But with the sound of HUM I emerge, in the form of a spinning black vajra edged in gold Around me are HUMS like beads on a string Spinning, exploding, shooting blue pearls of light in every direction. I am called by many names. As Nairatmya, I am the dark face of the Void the waves upon the lightless ocean I am the crow-headed goddess, flying high my feathers in black, green, blue, and purple I am the black goddess of death holding the world in my arms as I return to the deep waters I am the mother who brings forth children from dark nothingness who watches their lives and their deaths. I am a wrathful emanation of Vajra Dakini, she of rainbow crystal Yet I am also her origin out of the dark void. I dance with my bhairava to the drumbeats of the heart of the universe And from our dance come millions of whirling comets Who form the guardians of the vajra worlds When the dance is stopped, the comets return And the universe is re-absorbed into our footsteps. I create from the void and call things back to return I tear apart form and attachment My nails tear bonds to ribbons which dance in the winds of prana Those are my prayer-flags, and the banners of my warriors They scatter the shreds of karma before the winds of the Void To create the dances of the worlds. I may be of help to the aspirant, but I am dangerous For I will take away all he possesses If he gives them up gladly, we will dance together in their ashes But if he clings to them He will lose his mind and his heart. I seek only beings ready for full liberation Leave all behind and we will find beauty In the emptiness that remains. —BuddhaNature Blue Dakini The Dancer on Ocean and Sky I am the sapphire dakini, the dancer on ocean and sky In my sky form, I appear in the middle of a shining blue lotus, against a mother of pearl sky at sunrise I am seated with smiling face, and two hands One holds a bell, and the other a book One leg descends from the lotus. I am the sky dancer of infinite mind The purity of a bright blue sky, without clouds or smoke And the deep blue evening sky, shining with stars I draw out the seeker's awareness from the grasping hands of matter I am the clear music which awakens the mind and causes the body to slumber. I am also the ocean dancer of infinite perception The clear water which washes away the mud and dust of desire Which cleanses the heart of passion In the midst of the turquoise waters, my lotus is royal blue I am smiling with three eyes My four arms hold knife, bell, mala, and mirror I wear black veils, which float gracefully in the ocean My lotus' petals are blue, but its center is black and gold In this form, I am revelatory I show the true path through the oceans of feeling. My sky form is peaceful and compassionate, giving love and help My skin is pale blue, and I wear white pearls, sapphires, and emeralds My robes are gold and white, and my halo is deep blue In this form, I bring the gift of silence to disordered minds My ocean form is active and creative, influencing the worlds I am dark, for my actions include both creation and destruction I create the pathways which seekers may travel to silence And I destroy the distractions which hold them like chains. From the third eye of my active form comes my destructive form The wrathful blue dakini In this form, I am invoked during danger To protect the soul from destructive influences Bondage comes in many forms, as desire, as passion, as obsession, and interest I cut the bonds of attachment and darken the skies to show the true status of embodiment I am the formless light who takes on formed darkness to free those who are bound and blinded. I am the blue lightning which shatters locks and chains The bolt of liberating insight out of the blue The blue notes of sorrow and regret over the past, the beginning of renunciation The path into the blue depths of eternity. I am ordered and disciplined, yet spontaneous and free I come to practitioners who are worthy I am the initiating dakini for those seeking a pure heart and an infinite mind. White Dakini The Snowflake of Shining Radiance I am the white form of Vajra Dakini I am clear crystal and shining radiance, with the delicacy of a snowflake I am the snow queen, full of rationality and cold beauty I am the ice maiden, distant and mysterious I am the mountain goddess, giving treasures, and sending avalanches. I am the unity of all other forces, in the form of shining white rainbows I represent the detachment necessary for spiritual transcendence Dakinis have different styles: Red is playful and dramatic and tragic Blue is purifying and negating Yellow is caring and nurturing Green is powerful and successful I pull the soul from its attachments, as it hangs on with an iron grip. I reveal the soul as fearful and desperate, clinging to worldly things I help with fear and conquer the monsters of the mind I help with lust and greed, and cool the fires of passion I help with anger and hatred, bringing understanding and forgiveness. My forms are the crystal vajra, the shining snowflake, and the diamond bell I am the white maiden who stands where corpses are exposed, To guide the soul away, as the body is destroyed. ** I guide the spark of soul, the jewel box of karma from life to life I smooth its entrance and exit I turn the raging red fires to white To become the fires that power the rocket of the soul's journey towards transcendence. In true iconographic form, I sit in lotus position I do not dance, or hold skull cups, or have intercourse *** I do not energize the soul I calm it See me in crystal upon an eight-pedaled lotus Crowned with a vajra crown I hold vajra and bell, and behind me are the white rainbows of the sky The aurora borealis and the Milky Way seen through prisms Those who meditate upon me use the crystal mala, and see white light. I call upon those yogis and devotees who seek liberation, and say: Do not involve yourself in the dramas of earth Avoid the traps of status, honor, and wealth Do not seek to lead others and tell them what to do Do not tell others proudly how to live Earthly religions are made of pride, and condemn others due to pride Lineages and gurus are pride of family **** Seek freedom, for pride will bind you Light and Emptiness are the Way. ** NOTE: Many Tibetan groups expose the bodies of their dead to the elements to be eaten by birds and scavengers *** NOTE: These iconographic elements are common to other Dakinis **** NOTE: In some ways, a spiritual lineage is like an alternate family where the guide or guru may take the role of a parent —BuddhaNature Golden Dakini The Golden Waterfall of Peace and Blessings I am the Dakini of calming, healing, and making whole I am invoked when the meditator is tired, disillusioned, or sad I come to aid those who have tried sincerely but have not the strength To fight their way to liberation I strengthen the weak, and bring idealism and compassion I have them help themselves on their own path by helping others. What does spirituality mean? It is more than renunciation, more than ambition, more than fighting temptation It is helping the world as you pass through it It is sanctifying all aspects of life and blessing them It is seeing the divine in all things. As a Dakini, I am a spiritual guide and inspirational muse I nurture people along the path I encourage them towards liberation As the spirit seeks ever-greater beauty and freedom. I am the loving mother, the wise grandmother, and the charming beloved I take many forms shining with the light of peace When I appear in meditation, my light falls like a golden waterfall Shining all around turning everything beautiful I give patience and understanding, charity, and a desire to help Those who know me look at the world in a different way. I cannot solve all problems I am not a god But I am a helper, and in helping I find joy I soothe the pains of loneliness, rejection, and false pride I bring people to see truth. Visualize me sitting on a golden lotus, against a golden setting sun The lotus floats on waters that are deep blue and green The sky is gold and pale blue I wear golden jewelry and pearls, and gold and white silk My vajra crown is also made of gold My face is smiling, and my long dark hair is graceful and curling I hold a mirror and a mala of yellow topaz. My music makes warm winds and flows through nature Like a breath of sweet air through a field of sunflowers Meditation holds the danger of becoming rejecting and hard of heart The danger of pride, hatred, anger, and superiority I wash these away with my golden light I give a path of peace and blessing So that the seeker may walk a clear path And the pebbles turn golden at his feet. The Secret Gay Life In Islam: Islam once considered homosexuality to be one of the most normal things in the world. The Ottoman Empire, the seat of power in the Muslim world, didn’t view lesbian or gay s e x as taboo for centuries. They formally ruled gay s e x wasn’t a crime in 1858. But as Christians came over from the west to colonize, they infected Islam with homophobia. Ancient Muslim borrowed culture from the boy-loving Ancient Greeks The Islamic empires, (Ottoman, Safavid/Qajar, Mughals), shared a common culture. And it shared a lot of similarities with the Ancient Greeks. Persianate cultures, all of them Muslim, dominated modern day India and Arab world. And it was very common for older men to have s x with younger, beardless men. These younger men were called ‘amrad’. Once these men had grown his beard (or ‘khatt’), he then became the pursuer of his own younger male desires. And in this time, once you had fulfilled your reproductive responsibilities as a man you could do what you like with younger men, and other women. The truth is many Muslims alive today believe the prophet Muhammad supported and protected s e x u a l and gender minorities But go back to the beginning, and you’ll see there is far more homosexuality in Islam than you might have ever thought before. Paradise included male virgins, not just female ones.There is nowhere in the Qu’ran that states the ‘virgins’ in paradise are only female.The ‘hur’, or ‘houris’, are female. They have a male counterpart, the ‘ghilman’, who are immortal young men who wait and serve people in paradise. In Arabic folklore, al-Zarqa al-Yamama (‘the blue-eyed woman of Yamama’) fell in love with Christian princess Hind of the Lakhmids. When al-Zarqa, who had the ability to see events in the future, was crucified, it was said the princess cut her hair and mourned until she died.
Many books, especially in the 10th century, celebrated lesbian couples. Sapphic love features in the Book of Salma and Suvad; the Book of Sawab and Surur (of Justice and Happiness); the Book of al-Dahma’ and Nisma (of the Dark One and the Gift from God). Samar Habib, who studied Arabo-Islamic texts, says the Arab epic One Thousand and One Nights proves this. He claims some stories in this classic show non-Muslim women preferred other women as sexual partners. But the ‘hero’ of the tale converts these women to Islam, and to heterosexuality. |
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What Type of Dakini are you?
Naldjorpa Drugpa Kunleg defined Nine Kinds of Khandroma (mkha‘ ‘gro ma dgu sde) or Dakinis:
The first six can be subsumed under the completely enlightened Dakinis which are all Wisdom Dakinis or Yeshe Khandro in Tibetan and Jnanadakinis in Sanskrit (ye shes kyi mkha’ ‘gro ma/ jñānaḍākinī). They are also designated as Supramundane Dakins ('jig rten las 'das pa'i mkha’ ‘gro ma/ lokātikrāntaḍākinī) transcending the world and all its activities and aspiratiosn, etc.
They have to be distinguished from the other three kinds of Khandromas which appear in the various worldly dimensions and are most of the time not fully enlighten though they have supernatural powers and show magical activities, etc. Thus, these are wordly dakinis or mundane dakinis (’jig rten gyi mkha’ ‘gro ma/laukikaḍākinī), who live at certain powerful and sacred places (gnas) or haunted places like graveyards, where they are also known as dakinis of this world and place (’jig rten gyi mkha’ ‘gro ma/lokadakini), while others live among us human beings.
1. Yeshe Khandro - Wisdom Dakini
2. Dorje Khandro - Diamond Dakini
3. Rinchen Khandro - Jewel Dakini
4. Pema Khandro - Lotus Dakini
5. Karma Khandro - Action Dakini
6. Buddha Khandro - Buddha Dakini
7. Shaza Khandro - Flesh-Eating Dakini
8. Jigten Khandro - Worldly Dakini
9. Gödhe Khandro - Ashen Dakini
- Yeshey Khandro, is fair, flushed and radiant. She has five moles across her hair line, and she is compassionate, pure, virtuous and devout, and good body shape. Coupling with her brings happiness in this life, and prevents any fall into hell in the next birth.
- Dorji Khandro is fair with a well-filled supple body. She has long eyebrows, a sweet voice, and enjoys singing and dancing. Coupling with her brings success in this life and rebirth as a God.
- Rinchen Khandro has pretty ha pretty white face with a pleasant yellow tinge to it. Her body is slanbder, and she is tall. Her hair is white, and she has little vanity and a very slender waist line. Coupling with her gives one wealth in this life, and shuts the gates of hell.
- Pema Khandro has a bright pink skun, an oily complexion, a short body and limbs, and wide hips. She is lustful and garrulous. Coupling with her generates many sons, while Gods, demons and men are controlled, and the gates to the Lower Realms are closed.
- Karma Khandro has a radiant blue skin with a brownish hue, and a broad forehead. She is rather sadistic. Coupling with her is a defence against enemies, and closes the gates to the Lower Realms.
- Bidha Khandro has a bluish complexion and a radiant smile. She has little lust, is long-lived, and bears many sons. Coupling with her bestows longivity and a rebirth in the Ugyen Guru's Paradise.
- Shaza Khandro has a dark and ashen complexion, a wide mouth with protruding fangs, a trace of a third eye upon her forehead, long claw-like finger nails, and a black heart in her vagina. She delights in eating meat, and she devours the children that she bears. Also, she is an insomniac. Coupling with her induces a short life, much diseases, little enjoyment of wealth in this life, and rebirth in the Deepest Hell(Avici Hell).
- Jigten Khandro has a white, smiling, and radiant face, and she is respectful to her parents and friends. She is trustworthy and a generous spender. Coupling with her assures one of the continuance of the family line, generates food and wealth, and assures one of rebirth as a human being.
- Godhey Khandro has yellow flesh which has an ashen complexion and a spongy texture. She eats ashes from the grate (Thab). Coupling with her causes much suffering and enervation, and rebirth as a Hungry Ghost
When Lama was leaving Nyerong on the way to Kongpo (a Province South-East Tibet) Lama Drugpa Kunleg, said to the fifteen young girls, 'What type of Khandro are you?'.
Naldjorpa Drugpa Kunleg defined Nine Kinds of Khandroma (mkha‘ ‘gro ma dgu sde) or Dakinis:
The first six can be subsumed under the completely enlightened Dakinis which are all Wisdom Dakinis or Yeshe Khandro in Tibetan and Jnanadakinis in Sanskrit (ye shes kyi mkha’ ‘gro ma/ jñānaḍākinī). They are also designated as Supramundane Dakins ('jig rten las 'das pa'i mkha’ ‘gro ma/ lokātikrāntaḍākinī) transcending the world and all its activities and aspiratiosn, etc.
They have to be distinguished from the other three kinds of Khandromas which appear in the various worldly dimensions and are most of the time not fully enlighten though they have supernatural powers and show magical activities, etc. Thus, these are wordly dakinis or mundane dakinis (’jig rten gyi mkha’ ‘gro ma/laukikaḍākinī), who live at certain powerful and sacred places (gnas) or haunted places like graveyards, where they are also known as dakinis of this world and place (’jig rten gyi mkha’ ‘gro ma/lokadakini), while others live among us human beings.
1. Yeshe Khandro - Wisdom Dakini
2. Dorje Khandro - Diamond Dakini
3. Rinchen Khandro - Jewel Dakini
4. Pema Khandro - Lotus Dakini
5. Karma Khandro - Action Dakini
6. Buddha Khandro - Buddha Dakini
7. Shaza Khandro - Flesh-Eating Dakini
8. Jigten Khandro - Worldly Dakini
9. Gödhe Khandro - Ashen Dakini
- Yeshey Khandro, is fair, flushed and radiant. She has five moles across her hair line, and she is compassionate, pure, virtuous and devout, and good body shape. Coupling with her brings happiness in this life, and prevents any fall into hell in the next birth.
- Dorji Khandro is fair with a well-filled supple body. She has long eyebrows, a sweet voice, and enjoys singing and dancing. Coupling with her brings success in this life and rebirth as a God.
- Rinchen Khandro has pretty ha pretty white face with a pleasant yellow tinge to it. Her body is slanbder, and she is tall. Her hair is white, and she has little vanity and a very slender waist line. Coupling with her gives one wealth in this life, and shuts the gates of hell.
- Pema Khandro has a bright pink skun, an oily complexion, a short body and limbs, and wide hips. She is lustful and garrulous. Coupling with her generates many sons, while Gods, demons and men are controlled, and the gates to the Lower Realms are closed.
- Karma Khandro has a radiant blue skin with a brownish hue, and a broad forehead. She is rather sadistic. Coupling with her is a defence against enemies, and closes the gates to the Lower Realms.
- Bidha Khandro has a bluish complexion and a radiant smile. She has little lust, is long-lived, and bears many sons. Coupling with her bestows longivity and a rebirth in the Ugyen Guru's Paradise.
- Shaza Khandro has a dark and ashen complexion, a wide mouth with protruding fangs, a trace of a third eye upon her forehead, long claw-like finger nails, and a black heart in her vagina. She delights in eating meat, and she devours the children that she bears. Also, she is an insomniac. Coupling with her induces a short life, much diseases, little enjoyment of wealth in this life, and rebirth in the Deepest Hell(Avici Hell).
- Jigten Khandro has a white, smiling, and radiant face, and she is respectful to her parents and friends. She is trustworthy and a generous spender. Coupling with her assures one of the continuance of the family line, generates food and wealth, and assures one of rebirth as a human being.
- Godhey Khandro has yellow flesh which has an ashen complexion and a spongy texture. She eats ashes from the grate (Thab). Coupling with her causes much suffering and enervation, and rebirth as a Hungry Ghost
When Lama was leaving Nyerong on the way to Kongpo (a Province South-East Tibet) Lama Drugpa Kunleg, said to the fifteen young girls, 'What type of Khandro are you?'.
