ix, 126p., 8 Col. Plts., 5 Line Drawings, Index, 21 cm.
CONTENTS
DESCRIPTION
This book deals with figures that are not part of our culture, but that come from India, Tibet and China. They are also not part of our time, as most of them are at least a thousand years old. Not only that: most of them are not even historical figures from whose lives we can learn, but figures that appeared in the meditations of men and women in the East long ago. Female deities in Buddhism take many forms to inspire, beguile, rouse and protect us. Enter the magical realm of gently compassionate Kuan Yin from China, meet the elusive golden Goddess from India representing Perfect Wisdom, and tangle with the energetic embodiments of freedom, the fearless sky-dancing dakinis of Tibet. Respected Western Buddhist teacher Vessantara invites us to learn more about ourselves as women and men by reflecting on these figures, for within us lie the seeds of love, wisdom and freedom that these figures symbolise in their fullness, qualities we can nurture through contemplating the beauty of these enlightened beings.
