Mothers of Liberation (Tricycle)

Miranda Shaw (Tricyle.org, summer 2007); Ananda (DMB), Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mothers of Liberation (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

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Voluptuous tree spirits, maternal nurturers, potent protectors, and dancing female buddhas — the Indo-Himalayan Buddhist world abounds with goddesses of amazing diversity. Miranda Shaw reveals some of the many powers, symbols, and stories of this often overlooked and misunderstood pantheon.

THE RADIANT WISDOM-MOTHER Prajnaparamita ["Perfection of Wisdom"], golden and serene, represents the transcendent understanding of reality that crowns the spiritual quest.

The female savior Tara, sparkling emerald green, nurtures beings to the full flowering of joy and perfection.

Narodakini, a form of Vajrayogini

Vajrayogini, a red female buddha, dances in a ring of yogic fire that consumes all negativity and illusion.

In the Buddhist pantheon of India and the Himalayas, goddesses preside over childbirth, agriculture, prosperity, longevity, art, music, and learning.

There are goddesses who specialize in protection from natural and supernatural dangers; others directly support practitioners in their quest for spiritual awakening.

Prajnaparamita embodies the "Perfection of Wisdom"

Female deities occupy every echelon of the divine hierarchy, from nature spirits [woodland devas and kumbandhas, yakshas, apsaras, gandharvas, etc.] embedded in the landscape to cosmic figures representing the highest truths and attainments of the tradition.

This rich array of goddesses has been slow to gain recognition. Western writings have given Prajnaparamita, Tara, and Vajrayogini their due, but what of the other female divinities that populate Buddhist art and literature? More