In Tibetan Buddhism, Siṃhamukhā (Tib. Senge Dongma) or Siṃhavaktra, also known as the Lion Face Dakini or Lion-headed Dakini, is a wisdom

dakini A ḍākinī ( sa, डाकिनी; ; mn, хандарма; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demon in Hinduism and Bud ...

of the

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence ...

tradition. She is represented as a

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dakini with the head of a snow lion. Her mouth is depicted with a roar, symbolizing untamed fury and jubilant laughter. Her roar disperses discursive thoughts. She is naked, symbolizing that she herself is completely free of discursive thought. She is considered to be an emanation or manifestation of Guhyajnana Dakini (the principal Dakini teacher of

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

in Uddiyana), or of Mandarava (one of his consorts), or of Sangwa Yeshe. She represents the accomplished female practitioner. As a meditation deity, her main function is averting magical attacks. According to both John Reynolds and John Lash, she is the Indian equivalent of the Egyptian goddess

Sekmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis (), also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, Sakhet among other spellings, cop, Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ, Sakhmi), is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness. Sekhmet is a solar de ...

Description

According to the curators of the

Himalayan Art Resources Himalayan Art Resources (HAR) website is a "virtual museum" of Himalayan and Tibetan art, cataloging and exhibiting images of art (painting, sculpture, textiles, ritual objects, murals, etc.) from museum, university and private collections throughou ...

, the wisdom Dakini Simhamukha is visualized

Retinue

According to John Reynolds, Simhamukha

Lineages

There are at least two major lineages of transmission, one in the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

and another in the Sakya school. Although according to the

tertön Tertön () is a term within Tibetan Buddhism meaning a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or '' terma''. Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the twenty five main disciples of Padmasambhava ( Guru Rinpoche), who foresa ...

Nyangral Nyima Özer, the Nyingma Simhamukha is based on the Sakya tradition of

Bari Lotsawa This is a chronological list of important Tibetan writers. 7th-10th century 11th century 12th century 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 20th century (cont ...

Nyingma

According to the terma (in Tibetan: gong ter, 'a treasure of the mind') tradition of the Nyingma school, Senge Dongma is a manifestation of Padmasambhava, a secret spiritual form of Guru Rinpoche specifically for removing spiritual obstacles and negativity. Accomplished practitioners often visualize Padmasambhava as Simhamukha during their meditative practices. According to

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (, 1820–1892), also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement. Having seen how the Gelug i ...

Sakya

The Sakya lineage began with a terma discovered by

(1040–1111), who transmitted the teachings to

Sachen Kunga Nyingpo Sachen Kunga Nyingpo () (1092–1158) was a Tibetan spiritual leader and the first of the Five Venerable Supreme Sakya Masters of Tibet. Sachen Kunga Nyinpo was the 3rd Sakya Trizin and son of Khon Konchok Gyalpo (1034–1102) who was the first ...

. According to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo,

Termas

* Tertön Sogyal is credited with discovering and transcribing a terma he found in a remote hermitage. * Tsasum Lingpa, ''Lion-Faced Dakini Practice that Subdues All Devils''.

Sadhanas

* Dudjom Rinpoche, ''A Daily 'Hand-Clapping' Practice of Siṃhamukhā''. *

, in ''The Excellent Vase of Precious Jewels'' (Rin-chen bum bzang), provides three sadhanas composed by Padma Gargyi Wangchuk (Jamgon Kongtrul). *Lama Kunga Tartse Rinpoche, ''Sadhana of the Blue Lion-headed Dakini''.

References

Citations

Works cited

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External links

Simhamukha Main Page
at

Siṃhamukhā Series
at

Lotsawa House Lotsawa () is a Tibetan word used as a title to refer to the native Tibetan translators, such as Vairotsana, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa Lotsawa, Tropu Lotsawa Jampa Pel and others, who worked alongside Indian scholars or panditas to translate Buddh ...

Dakinis Mythological lions