THE DAKINI: An Archetypal Symbol of Feminine
Dr. Sónia Gomes
ABOUT AUTHOR
Sónia Gomes, Marketing and Communication PHD, Portuguese, founder, CEO &
Owner of Spaso Zen Wellness Centers in Portugal. She is also the Organizer of Sorig
Khang Porto – Portugal.
International Advisor of an NGO - Lotus Heart (Estd:2074 B.S.) in Nepal - working on
Women health issues, female empowerment and Buddhist nuns in the Himalayas.
Her major interest lies in female empowerment, health and education, gender equity, the
role of Women in Buddhism and its importance to the contemporary society.
Mail: soniagomes@spasozen.com
ABSTRACT
Concepts of 'Guru' and 'Dakini' are internal metaphysical realities. Evidently each
human psyche contains both male and female principles. The male principle and
its qualities are recessive in woman and the female principle is recessive in man,
even as the Dakini's dominant Emptiness cannot be separated from the recessive
skillful means, which is ever present but unstressed. In the semiotics of Anuyoga,
both the white and red elixirs run in the psychic veins of both men and women,
although the Guru's complexion is white while that of the Dakini is red.
Women are literally embodiments of a fundamental quality of wisdom and are
intrinsically sacred. Men likewise embody the basic qualities of compassion and
skillful means and are equally sacred. And yet, in their physical embodiment, both
men and women share subtle masculine and feminine qualities of phenomena.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dakini is, above all, a symbol of embodiment of feminine
in esoteric yogic practice. In traditional domestic settings, women's lives revolve
around nurture, birth-giving, suckling, menstruating, and caring for the young or
infirm. For the female, the Dakini represents embodiment of sacred feminine that
is not defilement, nurture that is not a fate, and relationship that is not subordination.
Even while she affirms qualities that have been associated with womanhood in
every culture, a Dakini is supposed to question the entanglements of home, family,
subjugation, and vanity that have bound those qualities.
Women have power simply because they have female bodies, which are seen in
Vajrayana sacred outlook to be the emanations of the wisdom principle.
Keywords: Dakini, Symbol, Wisdom, Archetypal, Female Body, Channels, Winds,
Women, Psychology, Vajrayana, Feminine Principle, Yidams, Vajrayogini, Anuyoga.
WHAT IS A DAKINI?
Veneration of Dakinis appears to have first emerged in India sometime between
the 8th and 10th centuries. The original Dakinis may have been the female consorts
shown in yab-yum images. About the same time, Dakinis also appeared in Hindu art and
stories, originally as evil and malevolent spirits. But it was within Buddhist Tantra that
Dakinis developed into richly complex archetypes of liberating power.
The Dakini tradition was transmitted from India to Tibet, and today Dakinis are
most closely associated with Tibetan Buddhism. Dakinis also are found in Japanese
Shingon Buddhism, where they came to be associated with foxes. In Japanese folklore,
foxes have many magical properties and can take the form of human women.
From the point of view of sacred outlook, women are the embodiment of the
principle of emptiness. Taking the form at face value in a substantial way causes the
observer to miss the essential nature of the form. That is why the “Dakini” is a symbol.
When we see the symbolic nature of the Dakini, there is fresh insight about the nature of
all phenomena. For these reasons, this paper speaks of the "feminine," not of the
"female." When Dakinis are spoken of as "female," mistakes can be made in interpretation.
Beauty, harmony, health, self-confidence, wisdom, personal development,
complete happiness, perfection, overwhelming fulfillment, great success in all aspects of
life, wonderful couple-relationships etc. all are accomplished naturally on the way of
becoming a perfect woman or, in Tantric words, a “Dakini” or genuine manifestation of
Shakti!
THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN TANTRIC QUEST
The Tantras are gynocentric texts in which women are often the subjects of the
discussion, it does not follow that women were the recessive objects of male observation
or subjugation. In my view, since these texts were not created by men in isolation from
women, they do not express exclusively male views. These views grew out of communal
exploration and practice and proceed from the insights of both women and men. Indeed,
many of the insights contained in Tantric writings can only find their source in practices
done by women and men together. The texts openly present Tantra as a religious path
on which the lives of women and men are closely intertwined. I contend that the extensive
descriptions of the interactions and shared practices of women and men are in
themselves sufficient evidence that the Yogini Tantras are the products of circles
consisting of both women and men. Therefore, in my view, women ought to be included
among the creators of the Tantras since the texts reflect the views and interests of women
as much as those of men.
Reading texts as repositories of the insights of both men and women 1, rather than
approaching them as texts written solely by and for men, opens new avenues of
interpretation. Passages on women can be examined for potential evidence of how
women viewed and experienced their own lives.
DAKINI – FEMININE ARCHETYPE
Two pervasive paradigms have prevailed, sometimes facilitating understanding,
but finally inhibiting an appropriate explanation of the Dakini in the Tibetan Vajrayana
tradition. The first, prevailing model is that of the anima in Jungian psychology, an
archetype of the feminine closely associated with the unconscious 2, embedded in the
psyche of the male. The second, more recent model derives from feminist sources, which
treat the Dakini as a female goddess figure who may be, on the one hand, a creation of
patriarchal fantasy or, on the other, a remnant of some pre-patriarchal past who
champions women in androcentric settings. Each of these paradigms has obscured an
accurate understanding of the Dakini in her Tibetan sense.
Is it probably mutually beneficial for the Dakini lore to be made more explicit in
Western Tibetan Buddhism? Dakinis represent the domains conventionally attributed to
women, such as embodiment, sexuality, nurture and sustenance, and relationship. But
for Dakinis, these domains are transmuted into realms that are not merely conventional
but are much more profound than the concerns of daily existence. When Dakinis take
human form as teachers and yoginis, they deal with many issues that may prove
obstacles to ordinary women, such as discrimination, rape, social limitation, and abuse.
But these Dakini women serve as models for how obstacles may be turned into
enlightenment.
In short, the Dakini lore provides genuine support for women practitioners, whether
Eastern or Western, to develop confidence, perseverance, and inspiration in their
meditation practice. But this lore also provides support to the spiritual journeys of men,
showing the locus of wisdom in realms that male practitioners often ignore.
FEMALE - THE ARCHETYPE OF WISDOM
Unconsciously the patriarchal world began to assume that the feminine experience
to overcome challenges and to fight the ignorance through patience, compassion and
intelligence was as valuable as the masculine.
The feminine strategy to defeat the destructive force, which we find in the
mythology of woman-hero is quite different from the masculine. Feminine taming power
is sometimes stronger and much appropriate than the combative effort of man.3
The archetype of wisdom is an energy center that channels the instinctual energies
for heart-to-heart teaching. The attentive, tender, sensitive, actively receptive, concerned
heart purified of all hardness, indifference, prejudice, and hatred. It is a result of the
psychic experiences of countless women, knowing the secrets of the Earth. That’s why I
believe we do not need to renounce this experience, but to unfold it. It is our great
ancestral heritage and we must not loose it. Because if we abdicate from our feminine
nature and we prefer to neutralize the gender effects – this psychological experience will
be lost forever.
VAJRAYOGINI – QUEEN OF DAKINIS
Perhaps the foremost female Buddha is Vajrayogini. She is blood red and has
loosely flowing black hair; she is dancing, wears bone ornaments, and brandishes a skullcup brimming with ambrosia. She is beautiful, passionate, and untamed. Sometimes this
supreme liberator tramples corpses underfoot, and sometimes she soars in the sky.
Vajrayogini often appears alone, but sometimes she is portrayed with a retinue of yoginis,
and occasionally she has a male partner.
The identification of human women and goddesses is often voiced by a female
deity. For instance, about the Vajrayogini, Tantras repeatedly state that she reveals
herself in and through women. She claims all forms of female embodiment-including
supernatural beings, women of all castes and forms of livelihood, female relatives, and
female animals-participate in her divinity and announces:
“Wherever in the world a female body is seen, that should be recognized as my
holy body.”4
For women, the relationship with Vajrayogini is one of identity.
The presence of female Buddhas in the iconography of enlightenment affirms that
a woman can attain Buddhahood in her present lifetime, in her present female body.
While a woman's relationship with Vajrayogini is one of identity, for a man it is
primarily one of devotion that he must extend to women as her living representatives.
Devotion to goddesses like Vajrayogini should be expressed as respect for women, while
respect for women provides a way of measuring devotion to a goddess5.
Identification with divine female role models gave women an unassailable basis
for self-confidence, namely, the "Divine pride".6 Carl Jung called it ''Divine Archetype''7
that comes from awakening one's innate divinity. The presence of divine female
exemplars who openly rejoice in their femaleness, free from shame and fear, seems to
have empowered women to speak the truth fearlessly, to be physically and mentally
adventurous, and to be argumentative and aggressive when it suited them. In the Tantric
biographies, women freely and without apology reprimand men who need to be recalled
to a direct vision of reality, by challenging his prejudices, shattering a cherished illusion,
or puncturing an inflated self-image.
As an archetypal symbol of the feminine, the Dakini brings fiery wildness and deep
instinctually of feminine… As an aspect of anima, she is at the heart of our relationship
life. The Dakini is known as a messenger, a bringer of profound intuitions, and insight into
the deepest aspects of the psyche.8
VAJRAYOGINI – INSPIRATIONFOR WOMEN IN MODERN TIMES
We can bring Vajrayogini Archetype to our daily and modern life. As Women, we
need to develop new paradigms and inspire ourselves in strong and wise feminine models
and Archetypes, like Vajrayogini. If one brings her one’s ego, she is ready and willing to
trample it under her feet. She brings the passion needed to fulfill one’s goals. Dynamic
that she is , she is also indestructible in essence. She takes on a passionate persona,
one derived from the real passion in one’s soul.
Like the Vajrayogini, a woman ought to be on fire with primordial zeal. She should not be
afraid to express her enthusiasm for what she really believe in, in a relationship or venture.
She should fully engage. Once she is on fire with eternal spiritual light, there is nothing to
stop her being fully present in the transitory events of the world.
A woman should not be afraid to be intense if the occasion calls for it. She should
live her life in a more passionate way. Vajrayogini demonstrates a state of total awareness
which is vitalized by the free flow of passion. A woman should emulate her , but one
should be aware that Vajrayogini’s passion is free from selfish or harmful expression.
A woman should apply the same principles to the expression of her passion.
Vajrayogini integrates within herself both male and female principles. She has united her
ability to focus and execute with crystalline clarity and precision with the passionate and
compassionate nature of her ardent heart. In her is found the indivisibility of wisdom and
means. The end does not justify how one gets there. Vajrayogini seeks impeccability in
her intention and execution in alignment with that intention.
A woman ought to bring her passion into service of truth, of a higher cause.
The Bodhisattva vow encourages enlightened beings not to take their full liberation
until all sentient beings are liberated. Vajrayogini is a glowing example of how being
oneself’s bliss is both the example and the fulfillment. Vajrayogini encourages women to
revel in the sheer joy of life and its spectrum of senses and emotions as the magical play
of bliss and emptiness.
SUBTLE BODY – DAKINI CHANELS
All the energy of the channels is related to the feminine energy, including among the men.
The reason is because for nine months we are in the womb of the mother and although
the father provides the sperm, most of the energy comes from the mother.
Each point of the chakra has its own functions. When the chakra has some imbalance, it
will manifest in the points. If the outer points are disturbed, the chakra can be affected,
as a damaged petal can affect itself.
The energy of the points can be activated through meditation, recitation of mantras,
yoga exercises or massages. 9 The thirty-two Dakini points are related to the macrocosm.
Each of the thirty-two points of our body is connected to the thirty-two points of energy of
our planet.
CONCLUSION
Tantric biographies portray bold, outspoken, independent women. Tantric texts
describe how women should be respected, served, and ritually worshipped. Tantric
literature introduces practices performed solely by women and others performed by
women and men together.
Miranda Shaw mentions how the founders of Tantric Buddhism included
independent women who made a significant and valuable contribution to shaping a
unique outlook on gender roles, attitudes, and interaction 10 . Unfortunately, Tantric
Buddhism is too often associated with physical sex, a largely mistaken notion, which
causes many people to form a rather negative view of Tantra. For others, Vajrayana may
seem to contain too much mysticism for their liking.
But regardless of whether Tantric Buddhism/Vajrayana is our cup of tea or not,
Buddhists from every tradition would do well to try and capture this vision of gender
relations, for in a world where women are still not fully equal, there is much more work to
do, and in my opinion, Buddhists should lead the way in dismantling the parameters of
inequality, not just for women, but for all people.
That’s why my intention in honoring the memory of these Dakinis and ancient
yoginis is not to titillate - but to remind us there was once a very different world, one in
which sexuality was not seen as dangerous, or something to be controlled, but venerated
as divine. A world in which women were valued not just for their beauty but respected for
their spiritual power.
Enlightened wisdom, as a revered attribute, is represented through the feminine
archetype of Prajnaparamita11. She is the one who ever dwells in the perfection of prajna,
life- and love-giving nourishing wisdom. Prajna, translated as “wisdom,” literally means,
“before knowing.” Prajnaparamita, “Perfection of Wisdom,” is a body of wisdom texts that
are preserved within Mahayana Buddhism. These address the mystery of consciousness
personified as the “Mother of all the Buddhas.” From her formless, loving, undivided,
intuitively intelligent womb of awareness, wisdom is born.
The power of the feminine is in her receptive formlessness, which she trusts as a
natural source of intuitive truth. However, because she has been shrouded for centuries
in patriarchal conditioning, particularly within a masculine spiritual paradigm, she doesn’t
trust her deepest knowing. Instead of a refuge, it is a place of doubt, and because it is
formless, it is a place to fear—and so she seeks direction and definition from the
masculine. She doesn’t have confidence in her inner space, which is a fount of intuitive
wisdom.
By reclaiming the legacy of the yogini, a yoga in which the female body was divine
and its biological processes celebrated and harnessed for healing, ecstasy, compassion,
freedom and illumination, I believe we can toady learn something about the true meaning
of “body positivismy”.
DEDICATION:
Much praise and gratitude to all the great masters, past, present, and future, who
have kept the Dharma accessible. May it continue to flourish. May the merits of this
academic paper bring benefit to all.
ENDNOTES:
1
Miranda (1994). Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism,
Chapter I– Seeking the traces of Sky Dancers ;Princeton University Press.
2
Jung, Carl Gustav Jung( 1958 ). "The Psychology of the Child Archetype" and
"The Special Phenomenology of the Child Archetype," Psyche and Symbol, pp.
113-47.
Dimitrova, Stefania(2006). “Communicating science and the female archetype of
wisdom”. Paper presented in session IV of the conference Science Policies Meet
Reality, Prague. 1-2 December 2006.Available at following link:
https://www.academia.edu/7441948/Communicating_Science_and_the_Fem
ale_Archetype_of_Wisdom
3
4Christopher
S. George(Tr.)(1974). Candamaharosana Tantra. A Critical Edition
and English Translation. American Oriental Society.
5
Preece,Rob (2006). “The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra”, NY: Snow Lion.
6
Tsoṅ-kha-pa Blo-bzaṅ-grags-pa (1987).Tantra in Tibet: The Great Exposition of
Secret Mantra ,Tranlated by Jeffrey Hopkins. New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass.
7 Carl Jung “Special Phenomenology Part IV- Psyche & Symbol
8 Rob Preece, “The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra”
Chenagtsang, Nida & Ngyuen, Tam(2013). “The Tibetan Art of Dream
Analysis” Sorig Press Limited.
10Miranda Shaw , “Passionate Enlightenment”–Chapter 3
11Thanissara (2015). “Time to Stand Up - An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for
Our Earth”(The Buddha's Life and Message through Feminine Eyes),Berkeley:
North Atlantic Books.
9
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. SHAW, Miranda(1994).
Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric
Buddhism, Chapter I– Seeking the traces of Sky Dancers; Princeton University
Press.
2. Jung, Carl Gustav Jung( 1958 ). "The Psychology of the Child Archetype" and
"The Special Phenomenology of the Child Archetype," Psyche and Symbol, pp.
113-47.
3. Dimitrova, Stefania(2006). “Communicating science and the female archetype
of wisdom”. Paper presented in session IV of the conference Science Policies
Meet Reality, Prague. 1-2 December 2006.Available at following link:
https://www.academia.edu/7441948/Communicating_Science_and_the_Fem
ale_Archetype_of_Wisdom
4. Christopher S. George(Tr.)(1974). Candamaharosana Tantra. A Critical Edition
and English Translation. American Oriental Society.
5. Preece,Rob (2006). “The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra”, NY: Snow Lion.
6. Chenagtsang, Nida & Ngyuen, Tam(2013). “The Tibetan Art of Dream
Analysis” Sorig Press Limited.
7. Thanissara (2015). “Time to Stand Up - An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for
Our Earth”(The Buddha's Life and Message through Feminine Eyes),Berkeley:
North Atlantic BookS.