Dakini's Whisper Monthly Journal - June 2021 |
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JOURNEYING WITH THE DAKINIS In Conjunction with the Completion of the Dakini Journey A One-Year Immersion into Dakini Teachings |
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"The dakini is a force of truth. Wherever we cling, she cuts; whatever we think we can hide, she reveals." - Sapchu Rinpoche "The dakini is always pointing out emptiness." - Khandro-la |
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INTRODUCTION The Dakini Journey, Dakini’s Whisper’s first one-year immersion program has reached its “finishing line.” It has been a journey of uncovering and connecting with the dakini dimension of who and what we are. It has taken us on a pilgrimage of tasting, smelling, feeling dakini energies and elements in our whole being and in the world we encounter. We have embodied the dakini teachings as our path. And yet, the nature of this dakini practice is mysterious, hidden and it must be experienced directly. Since dakinis live in these hidden zones, to meet dakinis, we must get outside of our comfort zone and ordinary mind, beyond ordinary concepts, thought, perceptions, and intellect, for here is the dakinis’ delight! Cultivating imagination, creativity, wild courage, fearlessness, we meet the Dakinis everywhere, in every moment because the “dakini is your own mind.” This June Journal is devoted to a celebration of the Dakini Journey though is not actually an end in its most definitive term. Rather it’s a rising up of subtle energy that can take us deeper and deeper. It is a life journey of awakening. Dipping our toes into this strong Tantric journey of dakini teachings and practices has actually prepared us to enter into the real transformational journey of Vajrayogini. The Dakini Journey has created the most conducive environment for realization to arise, to dawn, and has prepared us for our next one-year immersion program, the Kechara Journey, for those fortunate beings with a human body and mind who aspire to actualize their fullest and deepest potential within this very lifetime. May these reflections and readings on Dakini teachings inspire you to meet the dakinis! Ellen DW Team |
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DAKINI JOURNEY PILGRIMS' REFLECTIONS At the closing retreat for the one-year Dakini Journey, pilgrims talked about their experience with Dakini Teachings. Below are some personal sharings as well as a reading that spoke to the heart of the matter from some of the dakinis and dakas. |
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“One of my main take-aways from this practice is the subtlety of it, and the elusiveness of it. The more I try to pin it down and put it in a box—if I say, I will visualize Ratna Dakini who looks like this and feels like that, it doesn’t work at all that way. But if I say to myself, just do it—maybe just focus on the mantra or the seed syllable, or don’t even try, then it can all open up. You learn from that how anything, or everything, can come out of the emptiness or space, and just let it be. It really does reveal itself to you, and it reveals itself as you are ready.” AS |
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“(There’s a) shift from thinking about it, and understanding it, to feeling it. I feel it. There's chemistry, there’s energy, there’s something that’s cooking, and I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the embodiment. But what I feel, both on and off the cushion, is that Dakinis are inside, and outside, and in between, and everywhere. It’s kind of my imagination that reveals the dakinis. It’s the way I can get out of my ordinary way of thinking, and the dakinis can meet me.” EG |
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“These prayers [of spiritual longing] are like prayers to magnify that cause and condition towards me that brings me to the experience, the direct experience of the dakini within, and the ferocity with Vajrayogini. I feel her ferocity. And I feel her capacity to just cut through those dramas of life. I feel her support tremendously in these prayers.” EE “Just feeling right now a lot of tears in that journey, that exhaustion of the desire and the deep rest in clear light, and that bliss and emptiness. I just feel so very, very moved. I feel much more of the flavor of both strength and power and longing. And I just feel my heart and I feel it right now as I just go back into it, this quality of vastness and openness.” KK |
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Subtle Body Training, Meeting Dakinis - Student Expressions In a recent Meeting with the Dakinis or "Sky Dancers" subtle body series, student dakinis and dakas expressed how they connect with (or meet) the dakinis uniquely through movement. I like the freedom of the movements. I feel like I can let the energy out…whatever it needs to be! I meet the dakini in the water element movements through fluid, flowing, spiraling movements which allow the self to flow fluidly with all phenomena. The soaring Garuda gathers in suffering and its causes, which gives it energy to take flight and then rain down blessing nectar. Journeying on and going deeper and deeper into the subtlest dimensions of who and what we are, dakinis meet us. They are everywhere! They are everything! |
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A Song of Spiritual Longing This journey is not linear but more like a holistic dimension and you can go deeper and deeper. We are already whole, but we have a little dusting off to do. I would like to share a beautiful song composed by this very famous Sakya Master, Tsarchen Losal Gyatso, Prayer to Behold the Beautiful Face of Vajrayogini. There are so many dimensions of what this means. The most subtle dimension of Vajrayogini is this innate mind called clear light, the inseparability of bliss and emptiness. That’s the one we want to meet ultimately. He describes his longing, yearning, then this awe and wonder of having met her. Vajrayogini practitioners have this kind of flavor of intense yearning, desire, some kind of experience in your heart, right? This prayer has that kind of flavor. See if you can have a connection to this kind of deep longing, this spiritual yearning. That sort of longing is a very good quality of the Vajrayogini practitioner. See if this brings this tactile sensation or somatic sensation. See if your heart chakra opens. “Despite the endless search for you, Noble Lady, I found no certainty of your true existence. But at last, my mind youth, wary of its fantasies, found relief in the forest hut of the inexpressible.” This is figurative and also descriptive, “the forest hut of the inexpressible.” This refers to emptiness, the direct realization of emptiness. He came to realize her true nature, bliss and emptiness. In tantric practice, we use bliss as a method to realize emptiness, realize the nonduality, inseparability of bliss and emptiness. When we say to see Vajrayogini, it's all about purification of your awareness, no? Unveiling, then you can see. Once your mind is purified then all appears as pure form, Vajrayogini, daka and dakini. I want you to rest in the ineffable hut, exhausted by this elaboration, concepts, trying to search for the divine. See if you can find this true existence of the divine. If you cannot find it, rest in the unfindability, the truth of that. |
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ANCIENT SAGE, ANCIENT WISDOM GHANTAPA, THE VAJRAYOGINI PRACTITIONER Many have accomplished the highest attainments through Vajrayogini practice. The Mahasiddha Ghantapa is an example of this. He lived in a forest in India where he engaged in intensive meditation on Heruka and Vajrayogini. His diet was poor, his body emaciated. One day while hunting in the forest, the king encouraged him to return to the city where he would give him food and shelter. Ghantapa replied that just as an elephant couldn’t be led from the forest by a fine thread, so he could not be tempted to leave by the riches of a king. Angered, the king returned to his palace threatening revenge. He paid great wealth to a woman to seduce Ghantapa and force him to break his vows of celibacy. She went to him, offering to be his servant. Though he didn’t need a servant, he let her stay because he realized they had a strong relationship in their previous lives. He gave her spiritual instructions and empowerments and they engaged sincerely in meditation. After 12 years they both attained enlightenment. |
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They decided to go to the city and encourage people to develop a greater interest in Dharma. When they arrived in the city there was much jeering, laughing, and hurling of abuses and insults from all of the people in the city, exclaiming what a bad example of a monk he was! At that, Ghantapa transformed himself into Heruka and the woman into Vajrayogini and they flew into the sky. The people were astonished and regretted their disrespect. Ghantapa told them to make a confession to Mahakaruna, the embodiment of Buddha’s great compassion. Through their deep remorse and the force of their prayers, a statue of Mahakaruna arose from spring water and the people became very devoted Dharma practitioners and many of them gained realizations. The statue can still be seen today. (Excerpted and modified from “Guide to Dakini Land” by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso) |
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NEW KECHARA JOURNEY An Exploration of the Eleven Yogas of Vajrayogini Revealed by Naropa |
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DW Public Sundays "SONGS OF SPIRITUAL REALIZATION" the Stages of the Journey to Awakening June 6, 20 & 27, noon - 1 pm, PST OPEN TO ALL Khandro-la will offer dharma teachings and meditation on "Songs of Spiritual Realization" based on one of the Lama Tsongkhapa's exquisite classics. The Zoom Link of offerings open to all is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83228307087 Register Now! A New Online Subtle Body Training Series "MAGICAL WHEEL" Untying the Knots of Self-Grasping and Self-Cherishing Saturdays, June 5, 12, 19, and 26, 9am-10:30pm OPEN TO ALL PHYSICAL ABILITY JOIN US for the profound exploration of the nature of body and mind through TSA LUNG TRUL KHOR ("magical movement of channels and wind energy currents). For more information and to register, please see our website. To share upcoming online teaching and practice opportunities, we have attached the Dakini's Whisper Google calendar which gives you a complete view of the various events, at-a-glance, so to speak. Please note, however, that all times listed here are PST. More detailed information can be found on the webpage or DW members can check their personal version of the DW Google calendar. You can access the DW calendar from the webpage. If you have further questions, please contact Ellen (dakiniswhisperteam@gmail.com). |
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