Mar 03
March 3, 2023

Women’s History Month 2023

By Tara Mandala

“Through telling ourselves our sacred stories
we come to know who we really are …”

~ Judith Simmer-Brown, from her book Dakini’s Warm Breath

Join us in Celebrating Women’s History Month!

As a Buddhist practice community dedicated to centering and empowering the Sacred Feminine, we are excited to call on all members of our Sangha to join us in celebrating Women’s History Month.

The theme for this 2023 is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” This theme was designated by the National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA). The NWHA says women’s stories are, “essential in making history visible for themselves and their foremothers. Together, we can change the story landscape finally and forever.”

In terms of Buddhist stories, in the Tibetan tradition, it is said that it is the “Dakini” who is the messenger of truth. That is how we hear her. She is the gate-keeper to our true nature, regardless of our gender. That is how we feel her. Lastly, all women are the physical manifestations of the Dakini. That is how we see her.

In honor of this year’s Women’s History Month theme, we invite you to revisit Lama Tsultrim Allione’s Women of Wisdom, a powerful collection of stories that explore and celebrate the spiritual potential of all women, as exemplified by the lives of six Tibetan female mystics. These are stories of great women who have achieved illumination and have overcome cultural prejudices to offer a wealth of inspiration to everyone on the spiritual path.

In addition, the Tara Mandala Dakini Store is offering a collection of books and statues that enable you to “hear, feel, and see” the stories of women come alive. Browse some of the featured items in our collection below. To view the collection, click here.

As another wonderful way to share in appreciation for stories of Buddhist women, both during the time of the Buddha and as the sacred feminine in the natural world, join Wendy Garling on the March 25 – 26 weekend for the virtual retreat “Returning to Our Roots – Voices of the Sacred Feminine in Early Buddhism.” To learn more and to register, click here.

Selections from the “Women’s History Month” Dakini Store Collection

To view the entire collection, click here

Women of Wisdom

Lama Tsultrim Allione
In this revised and expanded edition, Lama Tsultrim Allione’s extensive autobiographical preface and introduction speak directly to the difficulties and triumphs of women in the West who pursue a spiritual life, as she shares her own stories and experiences. Women of Wisdom offers valuable insights to all those interested in women’s spirituality, regardless of background or tradition … Read more »

The Life And Visions Of Yeshe Tsogyal

A treasure text revealed by Drime Kunga • Translated by Chonyi Drolma
The many layers of the heroic life of Yeshé Tsogyal, Tibet’s best-known dakini and female master, are revealed in this inspiring work. Translated here for the first time, this terma, or “hidden treasure,” presents an outer narrative of her birth, family, and struggles in a traditional male-dominated society; an inner account of her meetings with the great master Padmasambhava; and a secret chronicle of her retreat at Chimpu and her visionary journey to Oddiyana … Read more »

Dakini’s Warm Breath

Judith Simmer-Brown
The dakini symbolizes levels of personal realization: the sacredness of the body, both female and male; the profound meeting point of body and mind in meditation; the visionary realm of ritual practice; and the empty, spacious qualities of mind itself. When the meditator encounters the dakini, living spiritual experience is activated in a nonconceptual manner by her direct gaze, her radiant body, and her compassionate revelation of reality … Read more »

Statues

Yeshe Tsogyal, Machig Labdrön, Simhamukha, Five Dakinis
In our Women’s History Month collection we feature three statues of powerful feminine figures in Tibetan Buddhism, and a small statue set of the five Dakinis that make up the Dakini Mandala that is explored in depth in Lama Tsultrim Allione’s Wisdom Rising. All of these statues are a beautiful way to invite the feminine into your sacred space. To browse these statues, click here »

Returning to Our Roots – Voices of the Sacred Feminine in Early Buddhism

With Wendy Garling • March 25 – 26

Drawing from early Mahayana and Pali texts from multiple Buddhist traditions, this retreat will offer practitioners from all Buddhist schools the opportunity to learn about our shared foremothers – the first daughters, mothers, sisters, and wives on their spiritual journey as the Buddha introduced his teachings twenty-five hundred years ago, often supported by the wisdom and animated presence of goddesses or yakshis in the natural world … Read more »

May this month be a precious time to honor the stories of Women and allow the blessings of the Sacred Feminine to resonate in our lives and being.

~With Blessings,
Tara Mandala

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