The Dakini (lit. Sky Dancer) is a Buddhist Tantric concept particularly upheld in Tibetan Buddhism. The Dakini is a female being of generally volatile temperament, who acts as a muse for spiritual practice. Dakinis can be likened to elves, angels, or other such supernatural beings, and are symbolically representative of testing one's awareness and adherence to Buddhist tantric sadhana. Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... Tantra (Sanskrit: loom), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. ... Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism after their religious gurus known as lamas), is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... For alternate meanings, see Lightning (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Angel (disambiguation). ... Sadhana means spiritual exercise in Hinduism. ...

Many stories of the Mahasiddhas in Tibet contain passages where a Dakini will come to perturb the would-be Mahasiddha. When the Dakini's test has been fulfilled and passed, the practitioner is often then recognised as a Mahasiddha, and often is elevated into the Paradise of the Dakinis, a place of enlightened bliss. It should be noted that while a Dakini is often depicted as beautiful and naked, they are not sexual symbols, but rather natural ones. There are instances where a Dakini has come to test a practitioner's control over their sexual desires, but the Dakini itself is not a being of passion. Mahasiddhas are a type of eccentric yogis or adepts important in Tantric Buddhism. ... Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: Xīzàng; older splling Thibet) is a region and former independent country in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ...

The word dakini is translated as women who dance in the sky or interpretable as women who revel in the freedom of emptiness. Hence invariably their bodies are depicted curved in sinuous dance poses.

Iconography

Iconographic representations tend to show the dakini as a young, naked figure in a dancing posture, often holding a skull cup filled with menstrual blood or the elixir of life in one hand, and a curved knife in the other. She may wear a garland of human skulls, with a trident staff leaning against her shoulder. Her hair is usually wild and hanging down her back, and her face often wrathful in expression, as she dances on top of a corpse, which represents her complete mastery over ego and ignorance. Practitioners often claim to hear the clacking of her bone adornments as the dakinis indulge in their vigorous movement. Indeed these unrestrained damsels appear to revel in freedom of every kind.

External links

• Dance of the Yogini: Images of Aggression in Tantric Buddhism