Courtesy of :
Edou, Jerome. Machig Labdron and the Foundations of Chod.
Snow Lion Publications, 1996, pp. 151-152.
At the age of fourty-one, Machig Labdron stayed in a retreat cave in Chipug which was blessed for practice.
Tara smiled, then after a quick glance at the dakinis of her entourage, she said:
"However, so as to enable all sentient beings to accumulate merit, the Great Mother appears as an object of veneration through my aspirations and prayers for the sake of all beings.
"Now this Vajra Lady, who subjugates all demons for the sake of all sentient beings, took numberous births in appropriate times and places.
Prajñāpāramitā
(Devanagari: प्रज्ञापारमिता, Tibetan: ་ཤེས་རབ་ཕ་རོལ་ , Traditional Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多;Simplified Chinese: 般若波罗蜜 多; pinyin: bōrě bōluómìduō; Japanese: 般若波羅蜜多; Korean: 반야파라밀 다; Vietnamese: Bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa; Thai: มหาปรัชญาปารมิตาหฤทัยสูตร; Mongolian: Төгөлдөр билгүүн) (2)
At the age of fourty-one, Machig Labdron stayed in a retreat cave in Chipug which was blessed for practice.
On the fourth day of the last month of spring, in the middle of the night, the majestic Lady Tara appeared, surrounded by numerous dakinis.
She bestowed on Machig the four initiations of the five primordial Buddhas according to the Udumvara Tantra...
Thereupon Machig composed a hymn of praise to each of the five Buddha families and later improvised another one in twenty-one stanzas to Tara herself.
Thereupon Machig composed a hymn of praise to each of the five Buddha families and later improvised another one in twenty-one stanzas to Tara herself.
She then addressed Tara as follows:
"You have shown me great kindness and given me the most extraordinary power of initiation and blessing.
Yet I don't know if a woman like me, not particularly bright, and of feeble capacities, will be able to accomplish the benefit of beings..."
Tara smiled, then after a quick glance at the dakinis of her entourage, she said:
"Yogini, do not feel discouraged!
In the course of previous lives you have studied and mastered the meaning of the scriptures of Sutra and Tantra.
So today it is sufficient for me to reveal this meaning to you through mere symbols.
You are a mind emanation of the Great Mother Yum Chenmo: we are inseparable.
You are the wisdom dakini, the sovereign of the Vajradhatu and the source of the liberation of all phenomena.
Don't lose heart.
Keep your determination."
But Machig replied: "How could I possibly be an emanation of the Great Mother, inseparable from you?
And in what way am I the source of the liberation of all phenomena?
And where is the residence of the Great Mother?"
Tara answered, "Yogini, although in your innermost heart there is clear knowledge about the past, listen carefully and I'll explain it to you.
The one known as the primordial Mother Yum Chenmo is the ultimate nature of all phenomena, emptiness, the essence of reality, free from the two veils.
She is the pure expanse of emptiness, the knowledge of the non-self.
She is the matrix which gives birth to all the Buddhas of the three times.
"However, so as to enable all sentient beings to accumulate merit, the Great Mother appears as an object of veneration through my aspirations and prayers for the sake of all beings.
And so, through the power of my wishes and compassion,
from the dharmata there appears bright light in the shape of an orange-colored bindu marked with the syllable MUM, ablaze with light.
In turn this transforms into the Great Mother Yum Chenmo, golden in color, with one face and four hands, sitting in the vajra posture, her body beautiful with all the major and minor marks of a Buddha.
Surrounded by her princely sons, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, Yum Chenmo resides in the Gandavyuha sphere of the celestial pure land of Akanistha, in a marvelous celestial palace.
"From my heart there radiates a greenish-black ray of light marked with the syllable HUNG and it enters into the Mother's heart, awaking her.
"From my heart there radiates a greenish-black ray of light marked with the syllable HUNG and it enters into the Mother's heart, awaking her.
Then it radiates out again gathering the power of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and it dissolves again into the Mother's heart.
Instantly, she transforms into a sky-blue dakini with one face and four hands.
She is the sovereign of Vajhradhatu.
From her body, speech, mind, qualities and activity appear innumerable manifestations.
Among these, the mind emanation is the bluish-black Vajra Lady with one face and two hands who subjugates all demons.
On the crown of her head is a boar's head emerging from her hair.
Her splendor illuminating the three worlds, she gathers all the dakinis under her power.
She sets all demonic forces to work as her servants; she is the source of the liberation of all phenomena.
"Now this Vajra Lady, who subjugates all demons for the sake of all sentient beings, took numberous births in appropriate times and places.
She mastered the Pitakas and accomplished tremendous deeds for the sake of living beings.
Finally she took birth in Tibet. She is no other than yourself, Shining Light of Lab."
YUM CHENMO/PRAJNAPARAMITA/THE GREAT MOTHER
Seated at the center point of the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas is the 24-foot tall figure of Yum Chenmo, or Prajnaparamita in Sanskrit meaning Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom.
She is depicted in feminine form because it is this perfect wisdom which gives birth to all of the Buddhas, as well as the bodhisattvas, those who are striving for enlightenment to benefit all beings.
Yum Chenmo represents the union of primordial wisdom and the skillful means of compassion.
The Mother of all the Buddhas, the Great Mother, the figure of Prajnaparamita is referred to by many names and she is seen to be the embodiment of transcendent wisdom. She was not necessarily always seen in anthropomorphic form when the teachings of the Prajnaparamita were originally formulated around 100 BCE.
In Tibet Prajnaparamita is known as Yum Chenmo or the “Great Mother” and features prominently in the Chod dharma system created by one of the most well known yoginis Machik Labdron (approx. 1055-1150ce) who is considered to be an emanation of Yum Chenmo.
Jerome Edou quotes Machik's biography in his book Machig Labdron and the foundations of Chod with this description of Yum Chenmo given to Machik Labdron by the Bodhisattva Tara Herself to explain why she manifests in an anthropomorphic manner:
"The Primodial Mother, Yum Chenmo, is the ultimate nature of all phenomenon, emptiness, suchness [Skt. Dharmata], free from the two veils. She is the pure essence of the sphere of emptiness, the insight on non-self. She is the matrix that gives birth to all the Buddhas of the three times. However, to give beings the opportunity to accumulate spirtual merits, she manifests as an object of veneration."
Please refer to:
09/04/2010 The First Dharma Teaching of The (Prajnaparamita) Sharpyinma Practice by Grand Master Lu - Meydenbauer Convention Centre
The Golden color light orb of Shapyinma! :)
Sharpyinma came to mind or "appeared" at that instant too!
Cheers all
Om Guru Lian Sheng Siddhi Hom
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