Imagine meeting Vajrayogini in a dark alley. Her scarlet red body glistens with inner heat, passion, sweat and sex. Wearing a necklace of 50 human skulls, she holds a ritual flaying knife in one hand and a skullcap in the other, from which she drinks blood. She fixes you in her sights, smiling seductively with bared fangs. Is she your lover? Your killer? Both?
A female Buddha, Vajrayogini is transgressive. She challenges traditional Buddhist monastic norms of chastity and purity. Instead of uprooting the “poisons” of desire and anger, she uses them to overcome egoistic grasping and obtain enlightenment.
In this video Lama Jinpa explores the meaning and relevance of Vajrayogini as a force for passionate enlightenment and embodiment of the sacred feminine that is not necessarily gendered female. Lama Jinpa says: "Vajrayogini challenges us to ask ourselves how we can manifest as a whole person and avoid getting stuck in rigid gender binaries."
Lion's Roar Dharma Center at Do Nga Dargey Temple in Sacramento, California, is a Tibetan Buddhist Temple within the Gelugpa Lineage. Lama Yeshe Jinpa is the spiritual director and resident teacher of Lion’s Roar Dharma Center, which he co-founded with Geshe Losang Gyatso in 1992. In 1995, Lama Jinpa received direct heart/mind transmission from Geshe Gyatso after 25 years of Dharma practice and study. He is one of the few western lamas thus far recognized within the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan or Vajrayana Buddhism, the lineage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Please visit lionsroardharmacenter.org/ for more information!