Tantric Buddhism is one of the spiritual traditions that honors divine female figures. There is a pantheon of female deities who are called dakinis, such as Vajrayogini, Vajravarahi, Singhamukha, and others. These dakinis are well-loved and worshipped by many. They are not just objects of devotion—many yogis practice an entire spiritual path based on these dakinis and achieve spiritual attainment known as siddhi. Their popularity is obvious simply by observing Tantric Buddhist iconography. When you visit Tibetan Buddhist temples, you’ll find many female figures on the altar, whereas that might not be the case in other Buddhist traditions. Many people find this to be inspiring in an age of trying to bring gender equality into the socio-political arena. Such a movement has an impact on our spirituality too; many women feel that their gender is honored in the world of Tantric Buddhism.
There are both male and female yogins who emphasize the path of the dakini as their main spirituality. This was true in the past and is true today. One example are the followers of Dudjom Lingpa, who practice the sadhana of Troma, a wrathful, female Tantric Buddhist dakini. Dudjom Lingpa revealed such a sadhana in the 19th century. As time went by, it became extremely popular. Many of his disciples focused on this sadhana and experienced profound spiritual awakening.
The dakini has two levels or aspects—the archetypal dakini and the true dakini. The former is the form of the dakini. If we explain this in relation to Troma as an example: her body is dark, she is wrathful, holding a butcher’s knife in her right hand, and a skull-cup filled with blood in her left hand, and she dances on the bodies of Mara. The true dakini in this context is the enlightened mind. There is a relationship between these two levels of the dakini. The archetypal dakini represents the true dakini. Troma’s color represents the ultimate truth, known as emptiness. Her butcher’s knife symbolizes the wisdom of non-duality. The cup filled with blood represents the death of ego or samsara. Her three eyes represent the three kayas—dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya. Whenever someone practices the Troma sadhana, it is extremely important to remember that the form represents the true Troma. This is true not just for the Troma sadhana, but for all Tantric Buddhist sadhanas that revolve around archetypal forms.
The term “dakini” in Tibetan is very dynamic. It is khandro-ma, which literally means sky-dancer. It invokes in us the very notion of enlightenment in an enlivened form. The meaning is that the enlightened mind is not trapped by the chains of mental conditions and freely dances in the sky of the ultimate truth. You are sometimes able to glimpse that state of consciousness in the sadhanas of the dakinis.
For example, one of the dynamic forms of the dakini’s practice is chod. In the chod practice, we visualize ourself as the dakini, along with a host of other dakinis, and perform the vajra dance on the head of the archetypal maras, or obstructing forces on the path to enlightenment. This kind of visualization is extremely powerful, and you can feel some kind of transformation take place right there in your mind as well as at the energetic level.
Therefore, the dakini is not some kind of supreme being who exists outside of ourselves. The goal of the dakini’s path is not so much about worshipping some external deity but to invoke the dakini within, which is that liberated consciousness. These dakini sadhanas have the potency to free our mind from chains of suffering and delusion, and to experience awakening to the true nature of reality.
Also, “dakini” sometimes refers to revered, enlightened female masters, such as Yeshe Tsogyal and Machig Labdron—both highly revered by Tibetan Buddhists. In the Nyingma tradition, Yeshe Tsogyal is revered at the same level as Padmasambhava. Throughout history, there have been many influential female masters who have been regarded as dakinis. They are not only revered; they have had a huge influence on Tibetan Buddhism. This all has to do with Tantric Buddhist doctrine, which promotes the notion that sacredness is universal and fundamental nature of everyone. Therefore, Tibetan Buddhism is a place where women can practice the Dharma at a level equal to men, and can play a revered role as Guru and Lama. This can be an inspiring example in contrast to where the feminine is treated as inferior or subdued in various religious traditions around the world. Human societies still have a long way to go before we reach an era where everyone is equally respected regardless of gender or identity.
Not very long ago, Larung Gar monastery published an anthology of works by female Tibetan masters, the Ḍakinis’ Great Dharma Treasury (mkha’ ’gro’i chos mdzod chen mo). We all should be grateful for the publication of that work, because it helps to raise the level of awareness about the sublime teachings of the female Buddhist masters. Not only should we be amazed by their teachings, more importantly, we should study and practice them.
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