Dakinis Warm Breath Pdf, Epub, Ebook

DAKINIS WARM BREATH PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Then one notices the patterns of mental contents and, eventually, recognizes the dynamic of the mind itself. Highest Yoga Tantra simulates processes of death, intermediate states, and There may be fascinating interplay between gender as symbol in Tibetan Buddhism and the impact this symbol might have on the lives of Western-convert Buddhist practitioners for whom gender and identity are inextricably joined. India and Tibet have been natural places for feminist spiritualities to turn, because of their rich heritages of goddess traditions in religious contexts in which the ultimate reality is not gendered. As a woman, can I fully identify with the confusion of the isolated yogin who supplicates the dakini for help, or with the travails of a beleaguered male disciple confronting the demands of the male tantric guru? I have seen that she required me to be willing to shed all these reference points of ego and identity in order to enter her domain. These proponents have often turned to new religious forms, some of them consciously reconstructed, based on so-called prepatriarchal goddess religions. As background, I have endeavored to locate the meaning of the dakini specifically within the tradition of Tibetan tantra, as distinguished from the dakini and other feminine forms of "great goddess" or tantric traditions in India. Finally, all women are seen as some k i n d of dakinl manifestation. A dakini can be a powerful spiritual being, or the essence of penetrating insight, or the feminine principle of the divine, or a dangerous nature deity. Lucianna Wolfstone rated it it was amazing Sep 02, Second, I have taught Buddhist studies for over twenty years at the only accredited Buddhist college and graduate school in the Western higher education system, a school for which they had respect, however little they may have known about its approach. Average rating 4. Her study begins with a careful delineation of what may be called the two extremes or poles of contemporary interpretations of the dakini: the one, influenced by Jungian psychology in which the dakini is seen as Jung's famed "shadow," and the other, influenced by feminist goddess theology, which has served either to see the dakini as a feminine savior or as the source of a critique of Tibetan Buddhism in which this feminine ideal reflects an objectified product of patriarchal fantasy. These strategies suggest that scholastic or doctrinal presentations are of less importance to a proper understanding of the dakinl symbol. In this context, it is important to scrutinize a symbol, deconstructing its levels to the most personal. For example, I asked various lamas how they understood living human men and women to manifest in accord with religious symbols. Secondary symbols appear in narrative or stylized ritual, expressed in metaphorical or poetic language, one step removed from personal experience but with direct power to evoke personal subjectivity. In order to responsibly analyze issues of gender in religious phenomena, three kinds of phenomena must be distinguished, each requiring differing methods: tenets or doctrines, social institutions, and systems of symbol and ritual. I have also relied on the tireless and selfless work of translators, many of them first-generation American Buddhists themselves, who have lived for many years with lamas and have endeavored to make the essential teachings of Tibetan Buddhism available in English or other Western languages. Symbols have the ability to convey "paradoxical situations or certain patterns of ultimate reality that can be expressed in no other way," 49 communicating on several levels at once and evoking meaning far beyond the literal words. Read it Forward Read it first. A landmark study. The female dakini is the messenger only for the male yogin, and in this relationship all gender traits are stylized into opposite tendencies, forcing all human experience into stereotypic views of gender. According to the Tibetan tradition, as a female she has a unique power to transform the practitioner and to confer power. Insight into the dakinl's nature, developed through Vajrayana meditation, propels the practitioner to cut through obscurations to the pure enlightened nature; thus, the dakinl is essential for the ultimate attainment of buddhahood. Symbols are 47 opaque, for they are rooted in inexpressible experience, and "this opaqueness is the symbol's very profundity, an inexhaustible depth. Barbara Aziz noted that this is probably because the patriarchal nature of Western scholarship, which honors monastic traditions and classical texts, reinforces the patriarchal habits of Buddhist institutions in Tibet. Some of these translators have academic credentials and appointments; many do not, and serve in often marginal livelihoods that support their translation activities in dharma centers throughout the world. Book is in NEW condition. In a study of the commentarial texts of the Tibetan canon, there is little evidence of women's contributions to or even their presence in monastic life and lineages. Customers who bought this item also bought. Vajrayana Buddhism places emphasis upon oral instruction in the gurudisciple relationship, preservation of texts and teachings, and solitary practice as a way to safeguard these meditation and symbolic traditions. This study interprets the subtle meanings of gender symbolism in T i betan religion. Published December 10th by Shambhala first published The wrathful appearance of a dakinl who gnashes her teeth and threatens the practitioner may be experienced blissfully and joyfully; the beautiful dakinl vision or dream may be experienced with great fear and trepidation. He embodied the feminine principle and introduced me to that aspect of myself. Traditional sources, sometimes over one thousand years old, are interpreted in a historically and culturally different context. Her female body is vibrant with vitality, uniquely bearing and birthing that pristine wisdom. She holds nothing back, sharing her nature with G u r u Rinpoche himself. Several lamas offered more information and support than I requested, sug- Preface I x i x gesting that I come back the following day for more teachings and conversation. The dakinl lore is one of the most revered and guarded of Tibetan esoteric symbolic teachings. Within that space, phenomena arise interdependently and fleetingly as the play of color and texture, which is experienced in a variety ways Porkpie rated it it was amazing Oct 25, While this material is important, it plays a secondary role in our study of the dakinl symbol. One remarked to me, "Everywhere we go, everyone always asks us about dakinls. Her unusual background, combining traditional Tibetan monastic education with Western convent-school training, made her a brilliant bridge between traditional and contemporary perspectives. Each of these paradigms has obscured an accurate understanding of the dakini in her Tibetan sense. My hair was fragrant, full of flowers like a perfume box; with age it smells like dog's fur— not other than this are the Truth-speaker's words. Seller Inventory think Dakinis Warm Breath Writer

One cannot see such a sight without being transformed. Lastly, the dakinl is depicted as the symbol of the spiritual subjectivity of the practitioner, evoking complete awakening. Seller Rating:. Yet, because of the larger context in which symbols are formed, there are consistencies in subjective experience. Kelly Ekman rated it liked it Nov 02, Yogins also experience visionary relationships with male gurus and yidams that are significant in ways similar to those with visionary dakinls. A dakini is a multivalent symbol in the tantric school of Tibetan Buddhism that has many meanings. Rather than risk a lawsuit, we stay with even bad spouses. Buddhist teachers in Tibet often engaged their potential disciples by encouraging them to contemplate the fruitlessness of worldly concerns, whether they be gain or loss, pleasure or pain, fame or infamy, or praise or blame. The great yogin becomes impatient and, through his yogic powers, magically nails the heavy jugs to the floor. As this tradition has been brought to the West, and indeed depends for its future survival upon Western support, it is important that fundamental misunderstandings of the dakini lore be addressed. May 29, Jeremy rated it it was amazing Shelves: buddhism , religious-studies. Bookhead rated it liked it Jun 12, Throughout the Collected Works, he spoke of deities of Tibetan mandalas as symbolic expressions of the importance of the anima. W i t h i n their traditions, few choices are available. Ruth Gamble. Paperback , pages. Khenchen Thrangu. From this sacred view, the embodied lives of ordinary men and women can be seen as a dynamic and sacred play of the ultimate expressing itself as gendered physical bodies, their psychologies, and their states of mind. Several women scholars have 19 challenged the contrasexuality of the dakinl. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. How can this concern be heard? The Dalai Lama. Jan 15, Karen added it. Showing Stay in Touch Sign up. The first, most problematic area relates to Jung's ideas concerning the contrasexuality of the individual and the anima. Still, when examining only the doctrinal and institutional aspects of Buddhism for gender bias, it is easy to become disheartened. Wonders of the Natural Mind. Students and faculty of the Ngedon School have dialogued with me about much of this material. When both sides of the polarity are grounded in emptiness, this potential alienation is nothing but a temporary obscuration. They lead into a more intimate experience of meaning on an inner reflective level at the same time that one is exploring the dynamics of the evident world. Tibetans also consider the dakini ambiguous and often hesitate to formulate her meaning. Pad70 masambhava spoke of men's and women's equal suitability for enlightenment, noting that if women have strong aspiration, they have higher spiritual potential. We can develop no self-knowledge without some kind of detour through symbols, and through telling ourselves our sacred stories we come to know who we really are. As Guenther commented on the appearance of the ugly hag to the scholar Naropa: all that he had neglected and failed to develop was symbolically revealed to h i m as the vision of an old and ugly woman. From an inner point of view, there is no judgment, no conceptual overlay. There are other ways in which the comparison between the anima and the dakinl can be misleading. These considerations have done much to simultaneously polarize and confuse those who wish to understand the dakini in her Tibetan context. Dakinis Warm Breath Reviews

One level is primary and literal, drawn from ordinary experience, expressible in words and ordinary images, and susceptible to conventional interpretation. The greatest power of symbolism is in the formation of personal subjectivity. If the perceiving subject is more real than its projections, the "other" can never be reconciled, and the psychic and spiritual search is doomed. Be the first to know! John Rockwell has given inestimable guidance and moral support, twice reviewing the entire manuscript and discussing fine points. The German scholar Adelheid Herrmann- Pfandt published a comprehensive scholarly study of the dakini drawn from Tibetan tantras and biographies. Grounded in the author's personal encounter with the dakini, this unique study will appeal to both male and female spiritual seekers interested in goddess worship, women's spirituality, and the tantric tradition. Thank you! Either one must disown the dakinl as a construct of patriarchal fantasy having little of genuine benefit for women practitioners, or one can attempt to reconstruct a Utopian, gynocentric past in which women were the agents of ritual or symbol. She may appear in transitional moments in visions, her message undecipherable. As we discussed earlier, this general sacred view of gender was not necessarily reflected in Tibetan social life. Jamgon Mipham. Throughout the Collected Works, he spoke of deities of Tibetan mandalas as symbolic expressions of the importance of the anima. If she reveals herself, if she is recognized, she has tremendous ability to point out obstacles, reveal new dimensions, or awaken spiritual potential. The heruka is contrasted with the dakinl, but most of all the symbol of their union yab-yum is explored and interpreted in traditional context. The Kagyii and Nyingma schools are two of the four major schools of Tibet, and although they have distinct histories and styles, their lines of transmission have for centuries intertwined and complemented each other. How to approach such a figure? Recent scholars such as M a r t i n Kalff, Adelheid Herr5 mann-Pfandt, Anne Klein, and Janet Gyatso have continued to contribute 6 to a comprehensive understanding of the dakinl. Women's mode of using symbols seems given to the muting of opposition, whether through paradox or through synthesis; men's mode seems characterized by emphasis on opposition, contradiction, inversion, and conversion. One identifies the dakinl as a construct of patriarchy drawn by a primarily monastic Buddhism in Tibet into the service of the religious goals of male practitioners only.

Dakinis Warm Breath Read Online

The greatest power of symbolism is in the formation of personal subjectivity. Sarah Fender rated it it was amazing Aug 24, I keep a dictionary handy for this academic presentation of the material. NOOK Book. H o w relevant are previous interpretations of the dakini for an authentic understanding of her significance? No additional import charges at delivery! Item Information Condition:. Preoccupied with his 16 theories, Jung confused the anima with real women and expected them to fit the image he had discovered in his own psyche. Certainly there have been fine preliminary studies of the dakinl, beginning with the scholarship of David Snellgrove, who traced the development Introduction I 5 of the dakinl from her "gruesome and obscene" origins to her "more gentle aspects" in Tibetan depictions as symbols of transcendent wisdom. They consistently answered, unhesitatingly, with a coherent description of what they considered masculine and feminine temperaments to be while insisting that these traits were not inherent Preface I x x i and could not be conventionally seen. First, the subject must consent to the symbol, engaging with its power and letting it reverberate in her or his experience. Supreme obstacle and divine guide. In the spiritual journey of the meditator, Simmer-Brown demonstrates, the dakini symbolizes levels of personal realization: the sacredness of the body, both female and male; the profound meeting point of body and mind in meditation; the visionary realm of ritual practice; and the empty, spacious qualities of mind itself. The second perspective identifies the dakini as a goddess figure in About Judith Simmer-Brown. The consistent element, appropriate to Tibetan Buddhism, is that these teachings have been conveyed personally from teacher to disciple through an oral tradition of communication that has probably changed in context and content over the centuries. When both sides of the polarity are grounded in emptiness, this potential alienation is nothing but a temporary obscuration. But for Tibetans, the very symbol of this transmission is the "warm breath of the [mother] dakinls" khandro khalung. It is timely that we take a careful look at Simmer-Brown's work, not only because it represents the most complete exploration to date of the dakini in a single volume, but also because this valuable study has just been reprinted in paperback. The limitations on women's institutional influence in Tibet are seen in a variety of ways. The dakinl is a symbol that expresses in feminine form the fundamental ground of reality, which is the utter lack of inherent existence of every phenomenon, whether relative or absolute. From another, all people transcend gender at their essence, being a balance of feminine and masculine forces. The dakinl acts as a mirror for the yoginl, empowering her view of her body and life as being of the same nature as the dakini's. Several women scholars have 19 challenged the contrasexuality of the dakinl. Finding it to be other than its previous projections, she saw nothing of value remaining in cyclic existence. Questions of personal identity and gender are generally considered a contemporary Western phenomenon. https://files8.webydo.com/9583355/UploadedFiles/78C6C205-AAE3-7A92-155E-BF6A81BC8C6E.pdf https://cdn.starwebserver.se/shops/mimmilundqvistmm/files/barbie-the-princess-and-the-popstar-921.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583201/UploadedFiles/D84A46BA-0E37-FC45-82FE-4F553B6234A5.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9582983/UploadedFiles/A25B3ED1-4B6C-87C8-636F-4927302FF1B0.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583885/UploadedFiles/9B89004F-5371-2296-26D3-DCA9376F62D8.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583212/UploadedFiles/77ECF155-DA2F-B097-B020-75E37D6B5657.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583406/UploadedFiles/B8F65AD7-73D0-15E2-B639-C171E64D4D15.pdf