A Taste of the Feminine in Tantric Buddhism
Video: Lama Tsultrim analyzes the story of Naropa and the old hag
There are…stories of enlightened women practitioners and teachers in early Buddhism. We see a blossoming of women gurus, and also the presence of female buddhas and of course the dakinis. In many stories, these women taught the intellectual monks in a very direct, juicy way by uniting spirituality with sexuality; they taught based on using, rather than renouncing, the senses. Their teachings took the learned monks out of the monastery into real life with all its rawness, which is why several of the Tantric stories begin with a monk in a monastic university who has a visitation from a woman that drives him out in search of something beyond the monastic walls. —Lama Tsultrim Allione
I’m often asked about the role of women in Buddhism. The answer is complicated. Around the world today, especially in Asia, women who choose to devote their lives to the dharma have a much harder time, with fewer resources, than men do. In the West, perhaps we have more women teachers, but the numbers are still small.
Traditionally, the Buddha believed that enlightenment was just as available to women as to men and placed some women in high-ranking positions in his sangha. After his death, conditions became harder for women in Buddhist communities.
Still, there have been some strong women figures, especially in the later forms of Buddhism. Yeshe Tsogyal (777-817) is considered the mother of Tibetan Buddhism. Machig Labdrön (1055-1149), who was believed to be a reincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal, developed the Chöd (cutting through) tradition in Tibet and originated several lineages.
The American woman with perhaps the most impressive background in Tibetan Buddhism is Lama Tsultrim Allione, who has been recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdrön. Her knowledge about women in Buddhism is extensive, and in this six-and-a-half-minute video, she tells a famous story with an interpretation that sheds light on the masculine and feminine in Buddhism.
Lama Tsultrim founded and guides the Tara Mandala worldwide Buddhist community with a retreat center in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Whether you’re new to Buddhism or well along the path, you might consider enrolling in her yearlong Buddhist studies program called The Heart of Buddhism. That sounds like a lot, but it’s 25 two-hour Zoom sessions once a week in five week segments.
The list of teachers is impressive: Lama Tsultrim Allione, Amelia Hall PhD, Lopön Karla Jackson-Brewer MS, Robert Thurman PhD, Dorje Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam MDiv, Miranda Shaw PhD, Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton, Tulku Ösel Dorje, Wendy Garling, and Erik Pema Kunsang.
The course starts January 31, and there’s a 15% discount if you enroll by January 20.
I’ll be among the attendees.
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