| Religion professor
researches Buddhist goddesses of Tibet
"Guhyeshvari is a cosmic figure, the source of creation. In high yogic practices, she
manifests in the form of a sacred spring and conveys blessings through water. She can also
manifest as a blue dancing goddess.
Through the Eyes of Researcher:
Buddhism in Bali
"Next I headed for Goa Gajah near Ubud where I had read there were some traces of
Buddhism. Goa Gajah was a sacred spring in ancient times and locals still come to bathe in
its two pools. Water pours into the pools from pots held by beautifully carved figures of
apsaras. Beyond the spring is a deep mossy and fern filled canyon with huge boulders
strewn around it. The rocks on the side of the canyon have half finished Buddha statues,
architectural forms and other things carved out of them. One boulder has what was
quite clearly meant to be the pinnacle of a stupa carved out of it, again unfinished.
There are also several artificial caves cut out of the cliffs one of which have three
small stupas in front of it."
Sacred Springs and Wells
"... in contrast the the patriarchal male God, the Goddess is not a static, stagnant,
inherently-existent monolith. She is the clear wellspring of liberation, and the
source of all the potentials and possibilities which flow out of the ground of
being."
The Iconography of
the Mandala of Celtic Buddhism
"Bridget is associated with fire and water, the morning sun and springtime. She holds
this red sun in her hands. The harp is associated with inspiration in the arts of bards
and poets. She is standing in the doorway or on a threshold. The stone vessel and ladle
beside her represents her role in healing, in general, and the healing waters of sacred
springs."
Yeshe Tsogyal - Tibetan
Woman Buddhist Master
Yeshe Tsogyal was a Tibetan princess who through her relationship with Padmasambhava,
the Indian master who brought Buddhism to Tibet, became an enlightened Buddhist teacher
and the most revered female figure in Tibetan Buddhism. She is also considered a dakini,
or female deity of enlightenment. The Nyingma and Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism
revere her as a female Buddha, and in fact she is often considered a reincarnation of the
Buddha’s birth mother Maya. She is also sometimes referred to as the 'Great Bliss
Queen.'
Most of what we know about Yeshe Tsogyal comes from her spiritual autobiography Lady of
the Lotus Born. She was born in the eighth century, and many traditional Buddhist legends
are associated with her birth, including that she was born painlessly, and that a sacred
spring and pond burst forth near her birth site.
Kalmykian Buddhists revive
ancient nature hunt
“Fresh water springs may appear because of these links or certain animal are found
and protected there. Recent research has revealed that Buddhist Huruls (monasteries) and
Stupas, as a rule, were put in places of geomagnetic intensity that transforms destructive
energy in an environment and creates a harmonious balance.” In 1994,
under the initiative of the Dharma Centre of Kalmykia, a spiritual/ecological expedition
took place called the ‘Precious Necklace of Kalmykia’. The aim was to visit
sites with significant spiritual associations, including sites of earlier Buddhist
monasteries, stupas, sacred springs etc.
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