page_title: Dakini
section_title: In Dzogchen
hierarchical_section_title: Dakini / In Buddhism / In Tibetan Buddhism / In Dzogchen
context_page_description: A ḍākinī is a type of sacred female spirit in Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. The term can also be applied to human women with a certain amount of spiritual development. The Sanskrit term is related to ḍīyate - to fly, as in uḍḍayanam. The Tibetan term means "skygoer" and may have originated in the Sanskrit khecara, a term from the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. Dakinis are often represented as consorts in Yab-Yum representations. The masculine form of the word is ḍāka, which is usually translated into Tibetan as pawo "hero".
  The ḍākinī appeared in medieval legends in India as a demon in the train of Kali who feeds on human flesh. Devi Kavacham in Marakandeya Purana provides protection against Dakini and others.
  As a key tantric figure, the ḍākinī does appear in Tangmi; the ḍākinī figure disseminated into Japanese culture from Shingon Buddhism, evolving into the dakini-ten, becoming linked to the kitsune iconography.
  The ḍākinī appears in a Vajrayana formulation of the Buddhist refuge formula known as the Three Roots. Sometimes she appears as the dharmapala, alongside a guru and yidam.
  The dakini, in her various guises, serves as each of the Three Roots.
context_section_description: When considered as a stage on the Vajrayana Path, the ḍākinī is the final stages: the first is the guru, which corresponds to the initial realization of the true condition of reality, as this is introduced by the guru in the empowerment, if the disciple obtains what the Inner Tantras call peyi yeshe (Wylie: dpe yi ye shes) or the clarity of shunyata. The second is the devata, which corresponds to the meditation insofar as the devata is the method used for developing the state discovered in the initial realization of the true condition of reality. The third stage is the ḍākinī insofar as the ḍākinī is the source of the activities based on the realization of the guru and the meditation of the devata.
  In Dzogchen these three correspond to tawa (lta ba), gompa (sgom pa) and chöpa (spyod pa): the first is the direct vision of the true nature of reality rather than an intellectual view of reality, as is the case with the term in other vehicles; the second is the continuity of this vision in sessions of meditation; and the third is the continuity of this vision in everyday activities. As a tantric practice, imperfections are utilised to make the vision uninterrupted. As the Base, the ḍākinīs are the energies of life; as the Path, they are the activities of advanced practitioners; as the Fruit, they are the actionless activities of realized Masters.
caption: Dancing ḍākinī, Tibet, c. 19th century
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