In the traditional Buddhist view so full of rich and complex symbolism, a Dakini is the feminine wisdom principle manifest in female form. She takes this form holding the potential of Enlightenment for all sentient beings, seeing in their hearts this pure seed of realization. In essence – she is present as a consort and companion to help us overcome obstacles on our path of self-discovery.
Also known as “sky-dancers”, a Dakini dances passionately in the ecstatic freedom of Divine Emptiness and Consciousness of Love. Fully present in the moment – at once fearless, strong, loving, fearsome and unfettered – nothing stands in her way. Her practice and purpose are solely as a conduit for others to step into their full expression of self in this world and also in the sparking of a direct experience with the Divine. Her commitment is steadfast and inexhaustible.
So often in our culture – intimacy, love and bliss are held as unattainable ideals and have become the stuff of which fantasies are made. The Dakini’s male counterpart – known as a Daka – dances with her in love, devotion and support so she can fully recognize these ideals not as fantasy but as reality – and one which we all have the capacity to create. A Daka’s presence in witnessing her as a manifestation of the Divine allows the Dakini to open even more fully onto her path of expression, service and love.
Residing in every being, the aspects of both empowered masculine and Divine feminine await their full awakening. The Dakinis and Dakas of the Temple Arts are trained in the arts of sacred sexual healing. They embrace and honour the opportunity to work with men and women of any sexual orientation and gender identity who are called to courageously step into the truth of who they are.
About Dakinis* and Dakas**
*female **male
A Dakini, the kind in human form, is roughly equivalent to the Muse of Western stories. She inspires the male, taking him to fully express himself in the world. The Daka, a male muse serves this same purpose for women.
The male in question has obstacles to expressing his Highest Self, and releasing these always involves revisiting the trauma that originally set the resistance in place. This is catharsis, the intense and complete experience of emotion that has long been contained, resisted, and bottled up. In most stories of Muses, they seem willful, capricious, in a word, – trouble. They use the full range of manipulative tools and shock tactics that wives do. Wicked. The difference is this: A girlfriend, or wife, in the normal pattern (archetype) of things, is motivated by her ego-view, which sometimes includes the awareness that “her man” living his excellence can benefit her. More often, though, her will take his flowering as a threat. A Dakini has one purpose – man’s spiritual advancement, from wherever he is to wherever he can go with her support. She is operating consciously with Love, and all the leverage that affords, to pry apart your defences, smash your ego and put Truth as close in front of you as possible so that you might wake up to your purpose, your flowering.
The nearest modern profession to this is a “Life Coach”. That’s really what a Dakini is. She’s an emissary of the divine, to tempt you to your divinity, to experience the real fruits of existence.
A Dakini can be loved, adored, worshipped that’s essential – but she can never be owned. No artist, no poet would dare expect his Muse to be permanently available, or in any way exclusive, to him. They do what they do, and live as they live so that they may serve existence in this way. Any restriction on their freedom, and their flowering is a restriction on their usefulness to existence. Another way to express this is to say they are already married – to The Divine.
The work of a Daka, a male Tantra Practitioner, is usually with a Dakini who is awakening to her path. He provides a base of unconditional love and devotion (to her truth, not her mind) which encourages the woman to her flowering. Through her direct experience, he shows her that intimacy, love and bliss are not rare, scarce, unattainable or dependent on someone else. They are there within her, waiting to be claimed – her birthright.
Dakinis and Dakas know, at their deepest level, that this is their calling, their vocation. The commitment required is not “great” or “huge”; it’s total. Every aspect of being is involved. To work effectively with Tantra, an impeccable mind, a healthy body, an open heart and a significant degree of spiritual awareness are required.
So, for Dakinis, diet, exercise, meditation and some energy work are important. Dakinis work on themselves, their bodies and minds using Yoga, Tai Chi, and practicing various arts and lots of intuitive meditation.
The Buddha’s injunction to practice “right livelihood” is also important. Being involved in a business that profits from, or causes, damage to the earth is not compatible with tantric practice. Neither is being involved with any enterprise that derogates the Goddess, or any aspect of the Divine Feminine. These are not “rules”, they are simply facts. Keeping the heart open and loving is essential to working with sacred sexuality. The heart can’t be open when you’re doing that which offends it.
The judgements of the surrounding culture also have to be faced. Many people focus on the sexual aspects of the work and reckon that “Dakini” is synonymous with “whore”. Mainstream religions have effectively convinced people that sex is inherently sinful, and this judgement has infected even non-Semitic religions. There is, for example, a Yoga teacher in Johannesburg who objects to this school charging money for tantric work. She would never think of charging money for the tantra work she attempts – just she also wouldn’t think of doing it with anyone but a long-term attendee of her remarkably expensive yoga classes.
So a Tantrika, Dakini or Daka, has to face the same cultural judgements as a sex worker, possibly, and oh so wrongly, the same legal sanctions too. She has to make a living from her healing work, or supplement it with something compatible with her ethics/aesthetics. Maintaining her body, mind, and spirit is a full-time job, whether she has one month or a dozen clients. Her lovers (outside of her healing work) are limited to those who have transcended jealousy or are at least willing to take a stand against it. It is a miracle that there are people in the world willing and able to do this work. It’s not surprising that they are rare. Appreciate them.
