PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

Book Reviews 283of the secret ∂åkin∆ who is the primordial mother Prajñåpåramitå/Kungtuzangmo.She is the ultimate nature of all phenomena, emptiness, the essenceof reality [dharmatå] free from the two veils. She is the pureexpanse of emptiness, the knowledge of the non-self, the matrixthat gives birth to all the buddhas of the three times (p. 83).While this principle is spoken of as feminine/mother/yum in the Tibetantradition, Simmer-Brown points out that this principle is simultaneouslygender-inclusive (both male and female) and beyond gender, so as to be insome ways intersexual and transgendered as well as asexual. Îåkin∆-s arealso inter-species, in their combined animal and human forms. Simmer-Brown clarifies that this feminine principle is not to be confused with themother goddess or the matriarchal traditions that prevail in other SouthAsian traditions, where a figure such as Kåli is associated with fecundityand materiality. The secret ∂åkin∆, primordial wisdom-mother in TibetanBuddhism, is “associated with emptiness (sunyata) and the wisdom thatsees the fundamental truth of how things really are” (p. 84). Milarepa says,“I’ve realized that just as mere knowledge of food doesn’t help a hungryman, it’s not enough to understand the goal of emptiness (intellectually);one must cultivate (its direct experience) repeatedly” (p. 89). Îåkin∆-s aremost expedient allies in cultivating realization. In this way, the secret∂åkin∆ is the realized primordial wisdom-mind of the practitioner, whetherthat practitioner is male or female. In many ways the ∂åkin∆ is the path, thegoal, and the fruit simultaneously.The Inner Îåkin∆Simmer-Brown describes the inner ∂åkin∆ in the context of the ma√∂ala:as beings who help practitioners overcome obstacles, and as protectors andpresences in a world system where they play a very dynamic part. Simmer-Brown refers to the ma√∂ala as the “complete environment of the universeas it is, physically, psychologically, and spiritually for the practitioner whohas been introduced to wakefulness” (p. 117).The inner ∂åkin∆ is a visionary who rids us of mental fictions andfacilitates spiritual transformation. Through meditation, dreams, and visions,the inner ∂åkin∆ can open practitioners to the sacredness of allaspects of life. In classical art she is often naked except for a few ornaments.She wears a necklace of skulls, holds a skull cup brimming with blood inone hand, and a double-edged knife in the other. She appears with her rightleg raised and appears to be dancing, ready to jump into action, crushinga corpse under her foot. Simmer-Brown explains her as the ∂åkin∆ who: