The Five Dakinis

 

Masks for The Five Wisdom Dakinis (2016)

The Dakinis are the most important elements of the enlightened feminine in Tibetan Buddhism. They are the luminous, subtle, spiritual energy, the key, the gatekeeper, the guardian of the unconditioned state. When you want to accomplish something, you always invoke the presence of the Dakinis.”

— Lama Tsultrim Allione

I  made this Collection of Masks for a sacred dancer back in 2014, and they came to mind today, so I felt like sharing this post again.  Mekare*** is a  the Tantric dancer and teacher who has worked extensively with Prema Dasara and her beautiful 21 Praises of Tara dance ritual.   This collection I made for Mekare represent the Fierce Aspects of the Dakinis,  which she felt it was important for women to call upon in our world.  Here is something she wrote about the Dakinis: 

"The Dakini is a primordial female wisdom energy found particularly in Tibetan Buddhism.  They are called "Skydancers" for they are completely free, able to travel between worlds and dimensions, free of the entanglements of the mind, and intimate with impermanence. They dance in limitless luminous space. Embodiments of the Dakini are said to do their practices in graveyards,  adorned with skulls and bone ornaments representing their intimacy with impermanence and their freedom from all fear.  They are ferocious and wise, primal and magical. Fierce allies and agents of change.  Their compassion is immense.

They can be tricksters of the most sublime order, terrifying and demanding of truth, and also the most kind of guides, playful and nurturing.  They break through barriers, invoke strength and power, guide us across the thresholds of awareness and change. 

Depictions of the Dakini show her with a crown of skulls, in a wreath of flame, teeth bared in ferocious  display like a tiger -  eyes piercing and somewhat terrifying but with a rare beauty.  The beauty of understainding, compassion, and hilarity shines forth.  In Tibetan Buddhist Tantra there are 5 Wisdom Dakinis, each having a specific gift of mind transformation - the transformation or transmutation  of the poisons of the mind into wisdom."...............Mekare

I immediately related to the Dakinis being associated with the Five Elemental forces.  My sense is that they are like the Devas, primal beings, builders and creators.  Their concerns and origin are not necessarily human.  In this sense, they are elemental beings, associated with the 5 Directions.  Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Center or Aether.  Perhaps, like Kali dancing with Her skull necklace,  the skulls and bones that adorn them represent a ferocious hilarity at the fears that beset us, and the reality of impermanence.  Mekare went on to say:

"Dakini is a source of refuge. Besides taking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), we also take refuge in the Three Roots (Guru, Yidam and Dakini): Guru as the root of blessings because he or she will guide us to attain enlightenment; Yidam as the root of accomplishment because through the skilful method of practicing on an Yidam or tutelary deity, one will realise the nature of his or her own mind; Dakini as the root of all enlightened activities since Dakini represents primordial wisdom.

Dakini is associated with spaciousness, therefore has the ability to give birth to limitless prospects of enlightened activities: pacifying, enriching, magnetising and destroying. Dakini also embodies the union of emptiness and wisdom. There is nothing more than this.  A Dakini has the ability to move freely in  space which is beyond thoughts and beyond fabrications. This is the state of awareness which is under control, stable and yet free. Everyone has the ability and the potentials to realise the Wisdom Dakini principles or nature within oneself."

The Green Karma Dakini,  Element of Air

 The transmutation of overwork, struggle, and competition  into  

all-accomplishing wisdom and enlightened activity.

Associated with Karma Dakini:  Fulfillment. Aware choice. 

Grace. Ease. The Tao. The Martial Artist aware in every direction. 

 Compassionate and capable action in the world.

The Red Padma Dakini, Element of Fire

 The transmutation of desire, lust, and grasping into discerning awareness.

Associated with Padma Dakini:  Compassion. Radiance. Magnetism 

in order  to bring benefit. Warmth. Comfort. Delight. Joy.

The Gold Ratna Dakini, Element of Earth

 The transmutation of arrogance and greed into equanimity and generosity.
Associated with Ratna Dakini:  Abundance. Stability.
The richness inherent in every moment and everything. 
Golden. Generosity. Enrichment.

The Blue Vajra Dakini, Element of Water

 The transmutation of confusion and anger into mirror-like wisdom.

Associated with Vajra Dakini:  Clarity.  Precision. Intelligence. Intuition. 

Reflection.  Clear seeing wisdom.

The White Buddha Dakini, Element of Space

 The transmutation of despair, depression, apathy, 
and disconnect into  illuminated spacious mind.  
Associated with Buddha Dakini:  Calm. Peace. Spacious. Soothing.
 Realization  of connection and the web of all. 
The restful state of enlightened mind.

Dakinis by Penny Slinger
http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com

***

MEKARE is a Sacred Dancer, Artist, Storyteller, Shamanic Bodywork Therapist, and Visionary Creatrix who is passionate about embodiment, evolution, sacred dance, and healing.  She has traveled extensively, studying with indigenous healers and dancing ecstatically around the world, including performing for His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Mandala Dance of the 21 Praises of Tara with Prema Dasara.

The Five Dakinis

Masks for The Five Wisdom Dakinis (2016)

The Dakinis are the most important elements of the enlightened feminine in Tibetan Buddhism. They are the luminous, subtle, spiritual energy, the key, the gatekeeper, the guardian of the unconditioned state. When you want to accomplish something, you always invoke the presence of the Dakinis.”

— Lama Tsultrim Allione

Actually, I think I have to thank the humor, and lifting of the Depression I spoke of in the previous Post to...........the Dakinis.  I don't understand the wonderful Beings I recently made a collection of 5 masks for as a commission, but I honestly believe in spite of my ignorance, they have been helping to release me from..........myself.  My gratitude to the Sky Dancers!  And I hope that they are pleased, along with Mekare***, the Tantric dancer and teacher I made them for, with my humble efforts on their behalf.   May these masks be filled with transformative energies, and be of benefit to many others as Mekare dances with them, and teaches others to do so as well.

"The Dakini is a primordial female wisdom energy.  They are called "Skydancers" for they are completely free, able to travel between worlds and dimensions, free of the entanglements of the mind, and intimate with impermanence. They dance in limitless luminous space. Embodiments of the Dakini are said to do their practices in graveyards,  adorned with skulls and bone ornaments representing their intimacy with impermanence and their freedom from all fear.  They are ferocious and wise, primal and magical. Fierce allies and agents of change.  Their compassion is immense.

They can be tricksters of the most sublime order, terrifying and demanding of truth, and also the most kind of guides, playful and nurturing.  They break through barriers, invoke strength and power, guide us across the thresholds of awareness and change. 

Depictions of the Dakini show her with a crown of skulls, in a wreath of flame, teeth bared in ferocious  display like a tiger -  eyes piercing and somewhat terrifying but with a rare beauty.  The beauty of understainding, compassion, and hilarity shines forth.  In Tibetan Buddhist Tantra there are 5 Wisdom Dakinis, each having a specific gift of mind transformation - the transformation or transmutation  of the poisons of the mind into wisdom."...............Mekare

I immediately related to the Dakinis being associated with the Five Elemental forces, the "Medicine Wheel" of the  directions.  My sense is that they are like the Devas, primal beings and builders and creators, their concerns and origin are not necessarily human.  In this sense, they are elemental beings, associated with the 5 Directions,  invoked perhaps  just as Pagans invoke the Five Guardians or Powers of the Elements - Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Center or Aether.  Perhaps, like Kali dancing with Her skull necklace, or the dancing Bone People of the Mexican "Day of the Dead", the skulls and bones that adorn them represent a ferocious hilarity at the fears that beset us, the joy beyond death, beyond impermance.

"Dakini is a source of refuge. Besides taking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), we also take refuge in the Three Roots (Guru, Yidam and Dakini): Guru as the root of blessings because he or she will guide us to attain enlightenment; Yidam as the root of accomplishment because through the skilful method of practicing on an Yidam or tutelary deity, one will realise the nature of his or her own mind; Dakini as the root of all enlightened activities since Dakini represents primordial wisdom.

Dakini is associated with spaciousness, therefore has the ability to give birth to limitless prospects of enlightened activities: pacifying, enriching, magnetising and destroying. Dakini also embodies the union of emptiness and wisdom. There is nothing more than this.  A Dakini has the ability to move freely in  space which is beyond thoughts and beyond fabrications. This is the state of awareness which is under control, stable and yet free. Everyone has the ability and the potentials to realise the Wisdom Dakini principles or nature within oneself."

The Green Karma Dakini,  Element of Air

 The transmutation of overwork, struggle, and competition  into  

all-accomplishing wisdom and enlightened activity.

Associated with Karma Dakini:  Fulfillment. Aware choice. 

Grace. Ease. The Tao. The Martial Artist aware in every direction. 

 Compassionate and capable action in the world.

The Red Padma Dakini, Element of Fire

 The transmutation of desire, lust, and grasping into discerning awareness.

Associated with Padma Dakini:  Compassion. Radiance. Magnetism 

in order  to bring benefit. Warmth. Comfort. Delight. Joy.

The Gold Ratna Dakini, Element of Earth

 The transmutation of arrogance and greed into equanimity and generosity.
Associated with Ratna Dakini:  Abundance. Stability.
The richness inherent in every moment and everything. 
Golden. Generosity. Enrichment.

The Blue Vajra Dakini, Element of Water

 The transmutation of confusion and anger into mirror-like wisdom.

Associated with Vajra Dakini:  Clarity.  Precision. Intelligence. Intuition. 

Reflection.  Clear seeing wisdom.

The White Buddha Dakini, Element of Space

 The transmutation of despair, depression, apathy, 
and disconnect into  illuminated spacious mind.  
Associated with Buddha Dakini:  Calm. Peace. Spacious. Soothing.
 Realization  of connection and the web of all. 
The restful state of enlightened mind.

Dakinis by Penny Slinger
http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com

***

MEKARE is a Sacred Dancer, Artist, Storyteller, Shamanic Bodywork Therapist, and Visionary Creatrix who is passionate about embodiment, evolution, sacred dance, and healing.  She has traveled extensively, studying with indigenous healers and dancing ecstatically around the world, including performing for His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Mandala Dance of the 21 Praises of Tara.

Mekare is an initiate on the Path of Pollen, an ancient shamanic tradition of the Honey Bee and the Hive. The potent energy of the sacred Bee flows through all of Mekare’s work … in dance, in healing, in love. A practitioner of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, Mekare is a senior teacher and transmitter of the sacred dance/sadhana practice of The Mandala Dance of the 21 Praises of Tara, which is recognized by all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism as a direct lineage practice. She is also a transmitter of the powerful energies of the Five Wisdom Dakinis and is an adept in masked dance performance and ritual.  She leads classes, workshops and retreats internationally, offering many rich experiences of dance, ceremony, and transformational practices, as well as individual healing sessions/temple bodywork.

Mekare is the creatrix of Wild Honey Ritual Theater and Dance Prayerformance. Created as a medium for her ritual prayerformance offerings, Wild Honey is a dynamic sacred container for the magical cross-pollination that occurs when bringing together artists and innovators from many fields of experience. It is Mekare’s vision to gather and create this wild honey of extraordinary nourishment all around the globe. You can contact Mekare at: DevadasiM@aol.com and (US) (336) 971-1427.

Tara's Magic

"White Tara" (Photo courtesy Gather the Women ***)

To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you
Put down the weight 
of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation.
Everything is waiting for you.

  Everything is Waiting for You
  by David Whyte

Sometimes I get a glimpse of the seamlessness of our lives, the grace that is present when we ask for what really matters.  And even when we don't realize that we are asking, the answers we need are still given - but, of course, we also have to be listening.  One of the pleasures of being over 60 for me is that my capacity for humility and awe has deepened, which seems to allow me to notice a whole lot more of the circles we move in. I suppose, in my case since I'm restless and travel as much as I can,  that's literal as well! 

So here is a beautiful Circle.  At the beginning of this trip,   I commented that I had decided to leave for the summer because I felt stale, depressed, and unsure of what to do next.  I lack community in Tucson, and needed to return to my "source" in the East, to revisit friends and places I love.   I decided before leaving I would make a point of also visiting Jewell, the energy healer I worked with when I lived in Brattleboro, Vermont 17 years ago.  Jewell lives in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, a small New England town that can be devilishly difficult to find among winding forested roads with very few road signs.

Jewell begins her healing sessions with prayers to Tara, and it was through her that I first heard of the "21 Praises to Tara."   I wrote in previous posts about my  "meeting with Tara"  while working with Jewell just before I left New England to move to California.  This is the most profound visionary experience I've ever had, releasing me ultimately from the past, and giving me the courage to move forward. I wrote a poem about that experience which still speaks to me on many levels.  I think only now do really understand it. **

 Om Tare, Tu Tare,
Your touch cools hatred and grief.
From you, the demons of delusion fly
Praise Tara, whose fingers adorn her heart
Light radiates from a wheel in Your hand.

Jewell is also a playwright.  She taught me much about ritual theatre with her "Theatre Alive!" Workshop, which I took that year - in fact, that was where my first "Spider Woman" performance manifested.  So, in many ways, working with Jewell was right at   "the Source" for me, a gathering of energies waiting to manifest.

So, getting ready to leave this year, I was pleasantly surprised by a synchronicity just before I left in June, when I received an order for a Greenman mask from a man in Shutesbury - what are the odds? Yet I saw this as an affirmation, because synchronicities, for me,  are increasingly about guidance.  They are living metaphors that, like dreams, can be touchstones as we wander through the forests and deserts of our lives.

I also recently posted that, en route to Starwood, I  received an email from Prema Dasara opening the possibility of going to Bali this winter to create 21 sacred masks for her "21 Praises to Tara" Mandala Dances.  It's now August 2, and it's going to happen now!  As soon as I return to Tucson I'll begin the research I will need to prepare for this wonderful project. 

Jewell didn't have much time for me yesterday - she met me  wearing black.  Her best friend, as she described her, her "spiritual partner" had died just 9 days previously.  Jewell was preparing to  leave for a few days to grieve.  Still, she was delighted to see my books about the Goddesses and Spider Woman, and I was happy to be able to show her what had followed those experiences with her so many years past.  She is a true mentor to me - I was pleased to be able to honor her.

Courtesy:  www.concord.org/~btinker/family_tree/joan_perkins/tara_show/tara.html

Jewell's friend who had passed was artist Joan Bredin Price.  It was she who initiated Jewell into Tara practice - and although I had never heard of Joan, she was well known for her beautiful devotional Buddhist paintings - among them, the 21 Aspects of Tara!.  In fact, the portfolios and  paintings were soon to be sent to a museum in Colorado for a memorial show, and what portfolios were left  of the collection would be sold there. 

Hearing this left me speechless.   Jewell was able to get one of these portfolios for me, which I now have as a treasured resource for my future work, not to mention a blessing from an artist  I wish I had been able to meet.  Here's the Circle  of the Goddess.  Thank you Jewell, thank you Joan, thank You Tara.  I will do my best.

Here's the link to Joan Bredin Price's paintings and writings about the 21 Praises to Tara.  I won't be able to reproduce any of these paintings on this Blog as Jewell informs me there are copyright issues with her estate.

http://www.bredinprice.com/galleries/taras/taras_thumbs.asp

Reflections on Synchronicity:

For me,  because I'm not good at remembering dreams, and because I am, frankly, too lazy to meditate effectively (although my art practice is a form of meditation for me).......synchronicities are a real form of guidance.  I can theorize on what they  are, but really, physicists like David Peat, writers like the MacGregors, and psychologists beginning with  Carl Young...have done a much better job of it than I can ever begin to touch, so I'm content to experience and record synchronicities for myself, and because I believe it's important to share the grace we receive in our lives.  Because as we see the Circles we move in, we see how truly interconnected we all are as people, as living planet, as souls.   Only joy can flow from that realization.  

And, I might add, in my experience, spirit expressing through dream and through synchronicity has a poetic twist and a great sense of humor.  Leaving Jewel and driving north to meet my old friend Ro for coffee, I remembered that when I met Ro some 18 years ago  she was the Director of the now defunct "GAIA'S WEB" center in Brattleboro, Vermont. Alright!   Weavers unite! 

And it's good to touch Vermont soil again, to breathe the sweet air, to see the beloved Green Mountains.  I left my heart here long ago.  Circles.

    WHITE TARA

            I went to meet that savage creature
            I have run from, lifetime after lifetime
            the shape within the shadows
            a creature of smoke and bared fangs.

            I went to meet it at last

            It took me into its vast arms,
            and I kissed its terrible face.

            And I thought I would die.
            I thought I would be swallowed,
            but I was not swallowed.

            For that creature I thought
            would devour me
            returned my embrace.

            I looked into eyes
            soft and liquid, filled with tears
            the eyes of a lonely child,
            my own lost child,
            my brother, my sister,
            my lover, my mother.

            And with great tenderness
            Fear lay upon my breast, and slept.

            What bound me for so long
            flowed out of me,
            my heart expanded,
            and I found I could hold

            the world entire
            in my open arms.

            I will make my arms a circle
            I will make my heart a circle

            I will walk all my sorrows,
            all my fears Home.

            I will walk
            circles around them
            until at last I find
            that bright and spacious center

            Come with me. Take my hand.
            We will do it together

            We will walk Home.

                         (1997)

***

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