By Hildegard Diemberger, Marilyn Strathern
Within the 15th century, the princess Chokyi Dronma used to be informed by means of the best religious masters of her time that she used to be the embodiment of the traditional Indian tantric deity Vajravarahi, recognized in Tibetan as Dorje Phagmo, the Thunderbolt woman Pig. After affliction an excellent own tragedy, Chokyi Dronma renounced her royal prestige to turn into a nun, and, in flip, the tantric consort of 3 striking spiritual masters of her period. After her loss of life, Chokyi Dronma's masters and disciples well-known a tender lady as her reincarnation, the 1st in an extended, strong, and influential girl lineage. this day, the 12th Samding Dorje Phagmo leads the Samding monastery and is a excessive executive cadre within the Tibet self reliant Region.
Hildegard Diemberger builds her ebook round the translation of the 1st biography of Chokyi Dronma recorded via her disciples within the wake of her loss of life. The account finds a rare phenomenon: even though it have been believed that girls in Tibet weren't allowed to acquire complete ordination such as priests, Chokyi Dronma not just persuaded one of many maximum religious academics of her period to provide her complete ordination but in addition proven orders for different girls practitioners and have become so respected that she used to be formally famous as one in all important religious heirs to her major master.
Diemberger bargains a couple of theoretical arguments concerning the value of reincarnation in Tibetan society and faith, the position of biographies in setting up a lineage, the need for spiritual lecturers to navigate complicated networks of political and fiscal patronage, the cultural and social innovation associated with the revival of historical Buddhist civilizations, and the function of ladies in Buddhism. 4 introductory, stage-setting chapters precede the biography, and 4 concluding chapters speak about the institution of the reincarnation lineage and the position of the present incarnation less than the especially contradictory communist process.