Vajrayoginī

▪ Buddhism

      in Vajrayāna (Tantric Buddhism), female embodiment of the cognitive function leading to Buddhahood. Vajrayāna emphasizes experience over speculation but uses the terms of speculative philosophical Buddhism in an imaginative way. This practice means that images taken from the ordinary life of the individual become the means to further a deeper understanding of man's being, which is both action (upāya) and knowledge (prajñā), each reinforcing the other.

      In iconographical representations, Vajrayoginī is usually depicted in a terrifying form, holding in her hands a skull and a dagger, her right leg stretched out, the left one slightly bent (ālīḍha). She is surrounded on all sides by cremation grounds, indicating that the ordinary world has become dead in contrast to the rich world of inner life and its vision of reality without distorting fictions. Although she may be visualized alone, she is usually in union (yab-yum) with Heruka, who, when he is united with Vajrayoginī, is known as Hevajra. As such he is very popular in Tibet, particularly with the Bka'-brgyud-pa (a major Buddhist sect), whose tutelary deity he is.

      As an expression of the multiplicity of psychic phenomena, Vajrayoginī may be accompanied by other aspects of herself, such as Vajravairocanī (She Who Reveals), coloured yellow, like the all-illuminating sun, or Vajravarnanī (She Who Colours), coloured green, symbolizing the widest range of perception and the fact that man's view is “coloured.” In her principal form, Vajrayoginī is also known as Vajraḍākinī (She Who Roams over the Void).

      In spite of her importance in Vajrayāna Buddhism, Vajrayoginī does not figure as the main deity of a Tantra (literary work). There are four sādhanas (methods of visualization) describing her various forms.

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