"I fill this granary with the fruit of excellent instructions,

Without the support of mental concepts

This excellent grain, roasted and ground by dakinis

Is the hermit’s food for inner growth."

-  from Dakini’s Warm Breath

Dakini’s Whisper is offering a unique one-year exploration of the transformational aspects of the Prajnaparamita and Five Dakini’s practice as a response to the current disturbance to our outer and inner world systems. It is foretold that when these worlds are violated, mamos manifest as a response to the breaking of sacred bonds, be they between humans and the environment, nations, and cultures, and in our relationship to truth. Mamo disturbance is a response to the conditions we create. In their sacred aspect, Mamo’s also protect and awaken sincere practitioners on their journey of self-realisation. 

As Cho practitioners, we accept this challenge to conventional thinking and concerns and take the opportunity to transform. The practice of Prajnaparamita and the Five Dakini’s is a dynamic way to re-align imbalances internally and as we perceive them reflected in the world. There are times when the call to spiritually mature, is particularly potent. This is one of those times. 

Melissa

DW Team

Please change the course of evil and sickness,

I make this offering so that you may be appeased…

Please perform the activities we request of you

Overcome by ignorance from beginningless time

Clouded by stupidity due to laziness,

However, we have strayed from the path of omniscience

May the host of emanation dakinis forgive us

- from Pacifying the Turmoil of the Mamos by Karma Chagme

Khandro-la's Corner

Invitation to the DAKINI JOURNEY

Become an Immense & Benevolent Ambassador to the World!

I feel there is no better time in our lives to be here. This appearance, we solidify. Machik said, “all gods and demons are basically your own mind.” Therefore, we can do something about them. Whatever we are experiencing right now, phenomena, we can respond and take responsibility to respond to that. So, I hope, I think, I believe you are here to become an ambassador of immense and benevolent presence in the world.

We're going to jump into the river of an unbroken current of blessing. We’ve got everything we need. Then we have this extra “thing” which is this candle or the fire or the flame at your heart center, each of you. Your body is a temple that holds this indwelling holy sacredness, this present awareness, this stream of river running in the center which holds the jewel.

You're not alone. We are following the footsteps of awakened sages. Feel that these Masters of awakening are putting their palms there, gently on your back - encouraging, inspiring, energizing and supporting you. That also helps brighten the candlelight at your heart center – inspiration, grace, blessing, consciousness, awareness,

So, let's keep it burning and see if we can illuminate the darkness of the world. The world or the universe is supporting us to be able to do that. Now is the time.

Student's Reflections

THOUGHTS ON ENLIGHTENED ACTIVITY

As Mahayana Buddhists, we don't have the luxury of rejecting any sentient beings from our compassion, or of turning our backs on the suffering that is too big, messy, or complicated. We have a responsibility to open ourselves to whatever suffering we come across: the pain and anger of protestors, the loneliness and heartbreak of the elderly in long-term care facilities, the insecurity, and fragility of bigots. 

Luckily, we have the benefit of being practitioners of Buddhist Tantra, meaning we have the ability to have meaningful relationships with potent forces of enlightened activity — Dakinis. Unfortunately, no matter how I try, I've been unable to send a message to Vajra Dakini asking her to pacify police brutality; to Ratna Dakini asking her to bolster the livelihoods of the impoverished, sick, and oppressed; to Padma Dakini asking her to magnetize the people, funds, and conditions necessary for meaningful political progress; or to Karma Dakini to enact righteous anger against the enemy of the day. 

But that doesn't mean the Dakinis are impotent, that they can't generate tremendous change. The activity of the Dakinis is the wisdom that they exemplify, which ultimately boil down to seeing our mind and reality the way they truly are. This is nothing short of a mental revolution. In the "real world", the Dakinis conduct their enlightened activities through our growing compassion, wisdom, and engagement. 

Eric

DW Student

BODHISATTVA TRAINING IN OUR TIME: PART 2

As aspiring Bodhisattvas, we step up by the choices we make to train for and participate in what Joanna Macy has called The Great Turning. In her framework, business, as usual, is no longer possible; and the belief that we can return to it is an illusion. We are now in the time of 'The Unravelling' during which what is unsustainable and false breaks and collapses. During this time of unraveling, as bodhisattvas, we practice being unafraid of fear and unafraid of suffering. We exchange our fear and pain with wisdom and compassion and offer that to others. As bodhisattvas, our relationship with the Three Jewels and the Three Roots, our practices which open the way for awareness of primordial emptiness - all inform or direct our activity for the benefit of others. There is no formula for the actions that are needed; rather, it is a matter of spontaneous bodhichitta or enlightened activity in each moment or situation. 

As bodhisattvas, we were born for this time, this critical moment. As Khandro-la has said, this is the time we've been training for. 

Our teachers have suggested that the root cause of coronavirus is at the level of the mind. Therefore it can be healed by the mind: the mind of primordial wisdom and compassion, the mind of bodhicitta. Though the outcome of the unraveling is uncertain, our aspirations as bodhisattvas are vast. Confidence in our buddha nature and in that of all beings inspires courage and joy as we do the work of disarming and unmaking the weapons of mass destruction to uncover our Original Face, our love. In the end, we can only heal what we love.

Katia

DW Student

Rito Loma Gyonma Recitation: Total count is 28, 543

Our goal is to reach 100,000

Please send your numbers to Betty.

Shantideva’s Dedication Prayer

From The Bodhicharyavatara

May all beings everywhere
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.

May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.

May the blind see forms
And the deaf hears sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil,
Be restored on finding repose.

May the naked find clothing
The hungry find food
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.

May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the hopeless find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.

May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests;
May all the medicines be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.

May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.

May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed;
May the powerless find power
And the people think of benefiting each other.

For as long as space remains,
For as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world.