Alex Wilding

And as we see that, at least in some circles, there are just as many female students these days as there are male, it does make sense to ask whether there is a male equivalent. Up to a rather limited point, the answer is yes, for sure. Although it's not perfectly simple. The word dakinis and its Tibetan equivalent, khandroma, has a masculine equivalent in daka.

And as we see that, at least in some circles, there are just as many female students these days as there are male, it does make sense to ask whether there is a male equivalent. Up to a rather limited point, the answer is yes, for sure. Although it's not perfectly simple. The word dakinis and its Tibetan equivalent, khandroma, has a masculine equivalent in daka.

And we do meet the expression dakinis and dakas. That particular male equivalent, however, is rarely used, and the partners and companions of Dakinis are more often called Veeras, which we can translate as heroes. In Tibetan, this male word is translated as Pao.

And we do meet the expression dakinis and dakas. That particular male equivalent, however, is rarely used, and the partners and companions of Dakinis are more often called Veeras, which we can translate as heroes. In Tibetan, this male word is translated as Pao.

All the same, I don't think that it's possible simply to mirror the gender roles and to say that a male partner, such as Yeshe Tsogyal's consort Atsara Saleh, was to her the same as a darkening might have been to him.

All the same, I don't think that it's possible simply to mirror the gender roles and to say that a male partner, such as Yeshe Tsogyal's consort Atsara Saleh, was to her the same as a darkening might have been to him.

If we take it as read that female and male practitioners do have the same value, the same potential for enlightenment and so on, that is not to say that the two genders have exactly the same qualities, strengths and weaknesses. Notwithstanding the variations between individuals, the tradition sees femininity as being more in touch with the mysterious truths and powers that underlie our existence.

If we take it as read that female and male practitioners do have the same value, the same potential for enlightenment and so on, that is not to say that the two genders have exactly the same qualities, strengths and weaknesses. Notwithstanding the variations between individuals, the tradition sees femininity as being more in touch with the mysterious truths and powers that underlie our existence.

An encounter with a dharkini is often described as something that opens the practitioner's mind to things that had been ignored because of the practitioner's narrow focus. As we think about this gendering, we shouldn't forget that in the meditations related to this kind of Buddhism, male and female practitioners may conceive of themselves as male or female deities quite freely.

An encounter with a dharkini is often described as something that opens the practitioner's mind to things that had been ignored because of the practitioner's narrow focus. As we think about this gendering, we shouldn't forget that in the meditations related to this kind of Buddhism, male and female practitioners may conceive of themselves as male or female deities quite freely.

In at least one system of practice with which I am familiar, almost every meditation deity from the top to the bottom is female. This is no more of an issue for male practitioners than it is for female practitioners when they are conceiving of themselves as a male deity. This leads to the second point for which I'm using the word allegory. I'm trying that word on for size up to a point.

In at least one system of practice with which I am familiar, almost every meditation deity from the top to the bottom is female. This is no more of an issue for male practitioners than it is for female practitioners when they are conceiving of themselves as a male deity. This leads to the second point for which I'm using the word allegory. I'm trying that word on for size up to a point.

It could be that enactment or embodiment might fit better. I actually just don't know. These days, we find that kind of allegorical thinking hard to understand and tend to settle on the milk and water idea of symbolism. Tibetan Buddhist ritual is obviously fully packed with symbolism.

It could be that enactment or embodiment might fit better. I actually just don't know. These days, we find that kind of allegorical thinking hard to understand and tend to settle on the milk and water idea of symbolism. Tibetan Buddhist ritual is obviously fully packed with symbolism.

As an example, we might say that Chenrezig's four arms symbolise the four immeasurables, that is, the loving-kindness, the compassion, the sympathetic joy and the equanimity that we so often hear about. Now, that's not wrong, and I would say it's actually quite good enough for the guide who's taking a group of tourists around a Tibetan-style temple in Tibet or Nepal or anywhere else.

As an example, we might say that Chenrezig's four arms symbolise the four immeasurables, that is, the loving-kindness, the compassion, the sympathetic joy and the equanimity that we so often hear about. Now, that's not wrong, and I would say it's actually quite good enough for the guide who's taking a group of tourists around a Tibetan-style temple in Tibet or Nepal or anywhere else.

But it does rather beg the question, which is to say glides over the question, of why we would particularly want a symbol for those poor virtues at all. For the practising meditator, on the other hand, representations of this sort are intended to engage the imagination, the understanding, the devotion in a much more powerful way. Or at least they should do.

But it does rather beg the question, which is to say glides over the question, of why we would particularly want a symbol for those poor virtues at all. For the practising meditator, on the other hand, representations of this sort are intended to engage the imagination, the understanding, the devotion in a much more powerful way. Or at least they should do.

This is to the extent that the meditator, while in no way mistaking those four arms for something just a simple concrete thing in front of him or her, experiences them as something real. Not real in quite the same way as the beads in the meditator's hand, but much more of a living experience than a mere symbol.

This is to the extent that the meditator, while in no way mistaking those four arms for something just a simple concrete thing in front of him or her, experiences them as something real. Not real in quite the same way as the beads in the meditator's hand, but much more of a living experience than a mere symbol.