Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Outward Beauty, Hidden Wrath: An Exploration of the Drikung Kagyü Dharma Protectress Achi Chökyi Drölma Kristen Kail Muldowney Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES OUTWARD BEAUTY, HIDDEN WRATH: By KRISTEN KAIL MULDOWNEY A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the committee approve the thesis of Kristen Kail Muldowney defended on March 18, 2011. _______________________________________ Bryan Cuevas Professor Directing Thesis _______________________________________ Kathleen Erndl Committee Member _______________________________________ Jimmy Yu Committee Member Approved: _____________________________________ John Corrigan, Chair, Department of Religion The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii This work is dedicated to my Grandmother, Lois Sobin, who has instilled in me a passion for books and far off places, and to my Grandfather, Alvin Sobin, who has always been patient enough to indulge us both. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work and everything that has led up to its completion could not have been accomplished without the help and support of countless individuals. First and foremost, I am indebted to my professors at Florida State University for all of the advice and guidance they have given to me throughout my graduate studies. In particular, I am thankful to Bryan Cuevas for and the academic study of Tibet in general. I am just as grateful to Kathleen Erndl and Jimmy Yu for all of their advice and criticisms; both have helped me to see my research with new and different perspectives and have inspired me academically and personally. I am also thankful to Drupon Thinley Ningpo Rinpoch , the retreat master of the P Ling Retreat Center of Frederick, Maryland for his support of my research in its preliminary stages and for his generous supply of written works related to my study. This thanks extends to the Florida Drikung Dzogchen Community of Tallahassee and its members, under whose activities we were able to meet. Of course, I must thank my family and close friends, who have each provided me with the confidence and encouragement I have needed throughout my studies. This includes fellow colleagues within Florida State University's religion department and those met during my time at the Tibetan language program of the University of Virginia's Summer Language Institute in 2009. Each has come to influence my work, directly and indirectly. While we have only communicated over the internet, I am also very grateful to Christopher Bell, who has provided me with numerous references and texts throughout my research. Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to my parents, Keith and Laurel, for their unconditional love and support in all that I pursue, and to my boyfriend Sam, whose unerring belief in my abilities has always persuaded me to follow my heart. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. vii Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... viii 1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Setting the Stage ........................................................................................................................ 3 1.1.1 Methods and Sources.................................................................................................... 5 2. CHAPTER TWO IN TRANSLATION .............................................. 13 2.2 The Vajra Dance of Magical Display: A Brief Summary of the Life of , the Extraordinary ............ 14 3. CHAPTER THREE: IMAGES, ITEMS, AND ASSOCIATIONS.................................................... 37 3.1 Identifying the Deity ............................................................................................................... 37 3.1.1 kin ogin and the Origins of Tantra ................................................................ 45 3.1.2 The Accessories of the Goddess ................................................................................. 49 3.2 Understanding Tibetan Deities ................................................................................................ 52 3.2.1 What's in a Name: Dharma Protectors and Teachings Guardians .............................. 53 3.2.2 Hierarchy in the Tibetan Pantheon ............................................................................ 55 3.3 Local Comparisons .................................................................................................................. 57 4. CHAPTER FOUR: THE PROTECTRESS IN NARRATIVE AND RITUAL ................................. 62 4.1 Constructing Life Through Narrative ...................................................................................... 62 4.1.1 Parallel Lives .............................................................................................................. 63 4.1.2 Hagiographic Patterns - Seen and Unseen.................................................................. 65 4.1.3 Legitimization in the Celestial and Social Arenas ..................................................... 70 4.2 Ritual Roles and Tantric Practice ............................................................................................ 72 4.2.1 Invoking the Goddess ................................................................................................. 72 4.2.2 Achi's Ritual Repertoire ............................................................................................. 74 5. CHAPTER FIVE: THE DRIKUNG VALLEY AND ALL IT CONTAINS ..................................... 77 5.1 Historical and Cultural Backdrops .......................................................................................... 77 5.1.1 Recovering the Golden Age ....................................................................................... 79 5.1.2 Deities in Water, Deities in Land ............................................................................... 81 5.1.3 Pilgrimage and Sacred Space ..................................................................................... 84 5.1.4 Local Aftermath ......................................................................................................... 86 5.2 Legendary Origins ................................................................................................................... 86 5.2.1 The Rise and Fall of Drikung Til ............................................................................... 87 5.3 The Contents of the Drikung Valley Region ........................................................................... 92 5.3.1 Wrathful Lands and Legends ..................................................................................... 96 v 6. CHAPTER SIX: THE ROLES OF WOMEN IN AND A ................................. 98 6.1 Changing Attitudes .................................................................................................................. 98 6.1.1 Gender as a Cultural Repertoire ................................................................................. 99 6.1.2 Early Indian Archetypes: The Familial and the Grotesque ...................................... 100 6.1.3 : The Beautiful Divine and the Awakened Goddess ...... 103 6.2 Buddhist Bodies, Tibetan Mothers, and Tantric Teachers .................................................... 104 6.2.1 The Use of Skillful Means........................................................................................ 107 6.2.2 Sex and the Bodhisattva ........................................................................................... 108 6.2.3 Investigating the Tibetan Female Precedent ............................................................. 110 6.2.4 Finding a Tibetan Attitude ....................................................................................... 111 7. CHAPTER SEVEN: DRAWING CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................... 113 8. APPENDIX A: THE HANDBOOK OF THE TEACHING GUARDIAN ACHI ....... 117 9. APPENDIX B: THE ABRIDGED OF ACHI ............................................................... 121 10. APPENDIX C: A ROUGH SUMMARY OF THE DHARMA CYCLE CATALOGUE CONNECTED TO PENDEN LHAMO QUEEN OF SPACE ........... 123 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 129 12. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ........................................................................................................... 145 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1 Image of standing Achi ............................................................................................ 39 2 her blue wind-horse ...................................................... 40 3 ......................................................................................................................... 42 4 ............................................................................... 60 5 Image of Penden