Enlightened and mundane Dakinis

[Varis]

I've been reading a bit about Dakas/Dakinis, and I was hoping someone could give me some clarity on the subject.

Are enlightened dakinis still considered to be witches like mundane dakinis are, albeit, enlightened witches?
Is the state of being a Daka/Dakini a state of realization, an occupation (e.g. the village witch), or a form of rebirth? I've seen it described all three ways.

Thanks!

[Malcolm]

I've been reading a bit about Dakas/Dakinis, and I was hoping someone could give me some clarity on the subject.

Are enlightened dakinis still considered to be witches like mundane dakinis are, albeit, enlightened witches?
Is the state of being a Daka/Dakini a state of realization, an occupation (e.g. the village witch), or a form of rebirth? I've seen it described all three ways.

Thanks!

The only ḍākinīs that appear in the world are flesh-eating karma ḍākinīs.

[Virgo]

I've been reading a bit about Dakas/Dakinis, and I was hoping someone could give me some clarity on the subject.

Are enlightened dakinis still considered to be witches like mundane dakinis are, albeit, enlightened witches?
Is the state of being a Daka/Dakini a state of realization, an occupation (e.g. the village witch), or a form of rebirth? I've seen it described all three ways.

Thanks!

The only ḍākinīs that appear in the world are flesh-eating karma ḍākinīs.

Is that the premise of The Walking Dead on a secret level?

Kevin

[jkarlins]

I've been reading a bit about Dakas/Dakinis, and I was hoping someone could give me some clarity on the subject.

Are enlightened dakinis still considered to be witches like mundane dakinis are, albeit, enlightened witches?
Is the state of being a Daka/Dakini a state of realization, an occupation (e.g. the village witch), or a form of rebirth? I've seen it described all three ways.

Thanks!

Judith Simmer-Brown has a good about dakinis.

[Varis]

The only ḍākinīs that appear in the world are flesh-eating karma ḍākinīs.

Are they human beings or spirits?

[Malcolm]

The only ḍākinīs that appear in the world are flesh-eating karma ḍākinīs.

Are they human beings or spirits?

They are ḍākinīs.

[Varis]

They are ḍākinīs.

What are the causes for rebirth as a daka or dakini?

[cyril]

The only ḍākinīs that appear in the world are flesh-eating karma ḍākinīs.

Are they human beings or spirits?

They are ḍākinīs.

So, within the six realms scheme, which one do they belong to?

[Malcolm]

Are they human beings or spirits?

They are ḍākinīs.

So, within the six realms scheme, which one do they belong to?

In three higher realms. But not humans, not asuras, and not devas.

[Varis]

Malcolm, if you don't mind obliging me with the answer to extra question: What is the Sanskrit word for "witch" then, as in the western sense of a human female (and occasional male) with magical power?

Thank you for all your help.

[Malcolm]

What is the Sanskrit word for "witch"

ḍākinī, siddhayoginī, yoginī.

[climb-up]

What is the Sanskrit word for "witch"

ḍākinī, siddhayoginī, yoginī.

Wait, so the only dakinis that appear in this world are flesh eating karma dakinis,
Dakinis live in the three upperworlds, but are not humans, asuras or devas,
but one of the sanskrit words for a human female with magical powers is dakini?

[Malcolm]

What is the Sanskrit word for "witch"

ḍākinī, siddhayoginī, yoginī.

Wait, so the only dakinis that appear in this world are flesh eating karma dakinis,
Dakinis live in the three upperworlds, but are not humans, asuras or devas,
but one of the sanskrit words for a human female with magical powers is dakini?

Who said it was a Sanskrit word for a human female?

[climb-up]

ḍākinī, siddhayoginī, yoginī.

Wait, so the only dakinis that appear in this world are flesh eating karma dakinis,
Dakinis live in the three upperworlds, but are not humans, asuras or devas,
but one of the sanskrit words for a human female with magical powers is dakini?

Who said it was a Sanskrit word for a human female?

You may not have fully read the question that you responded to, which was"

What is the Sanskrit word for "witch" then, as in the western sense of a human female (and occasional male) with magical power?

[Malcolm]

Wait, so the only dakinis that appear in this world are flesh eating karma dakinis,
Dakinis live in the three upperworlds, but are not humans, asuras or devas,
but one of the sanskrit words for a human female with magical powers is dakini?

Who said it was a Sanskrit word for a human female?

You may not have fully read the question that you responded to, which was"

What is the Sanskrit word for "witch" then, as in the western sense of a human female (and occasional male) with magical power?

Since human beings with magical power are not considered unusual or necessarily frightful or taboo in Indian societies and literature, there really isn't a word that corresponds to the term "witch" in Sanskrit. But there is a correspondence in the sense that like European witches, ḍākinīs fly in the sky, meet on specific days of the month where there is feasting and other libidinous entertainment, and so on.

Of interest under Witch's Sabbath:

"(The concepts) represent a combination of three older mythical components, all of which are active at night: (1) A procession of female spirits, often joined by privileged human beings and often led by a supernatural woman; (2) A lone spectral huntsman, regarded as demonic, accursed, or otherworldly; (3) A procession of the human dead, normally thought to be wandering to expiate their sins, often noisy and tumultuous, and usually consisting of those who had died prematurely and violently. The first of these has pre-Christian origins, and probably contributed directly to the formulation of the concept of the witches’ sabbath. The other two seem to be medieval in their inception, with the third to be directly related to growing speculation about the fate of the dead in the 11th and 12th centuries."

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1 ... 014.896968

[dzogchungpa]

In the first talk of CTR's "Glimpses of Space" one finds the following exchange:

Student: What are dakinis?
Vidyadhara: One never knows. [Scattered laughter] One never knows!

[climb-up]

Who said it was a Sanskrit word for a human female?

You may not have fully read the question that you responded to, which was"

What is the Sanskrit word for "witch" then, as in the western sense of a human female (and occasional male) with magical power?

Since human beings with magical power are not considered unusual or necessarily frightful or taboo in Indian societies and literature, there really isn't a word that corresponds to the term "witch" in Sanskrit.

That's interesting.
Would there be a difference between someone who has magical powers naturally, or through accepted penance, and someone who gains magical powers illicitly or through transgression?

But there is a correspondence in the sense that like European witches, ḍākinīs fly in the sky, meet on specific days of the month where there is feasting and other libidinous entertainment, and so on.

Of interest under Witch's Sabbath:

"(The concepts) represent a combination of three older mythical components, all of which are active at night: (1) A procession of female spirits, often joined by privileged human beings and often led by a supernatural woman; (2) A lone spectral huntsman, regarded as demonic, accursed, or otherworldly; (3) A procession of the human dead, normally thought to be wandering to expiate their sins, often noisy and tumultuous, and usually consisting of those who had died prematurely and violently. The first of these has pre-Christian origins, and probably contributed directly to the formulation of the concept of the witches’ sabbath. The other two seem to be medieval in their inception, with the third to be directly related to growing speculation about the fate of the dead in the 11th and 12th centuries."

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1 ... 014.896968

Yeah, fascinating.
Perhaps (if it exists/existed) a human 'sabbat' might correspond to the mythical sabbat in a similar way that a ganapuja corresponds to the true ganachrakra of dakinis?
Maybe not, thats how I tend to imagine it.

In the first talk of CTR's "Glimpses of Space" one finds the following exchange:

Student: What are dakinis?
Vidyadhara: One never knows. [Scattered laughter] One never knows!

[Varis]

Since human beings with magical power are not considered unusual or necessarily frightful or taboo in Indian societies and literature, there really isn't a word that corresponds to the term "witch" in Sanskrit.

Weren't Yogis and Yoginis often portrayed in Indian literature as evil body snatchers.

[climb-up]

Since human beings with magical power are not considered unusual or necessarily frightful or taboo in Indian societies and literature, there really isn't a word that corresponds to the term "witch" in Sanskrit.

Weren't Yogis and Yoginis often portrayed in Indian literature as evil body snatchers.

I was hoping someone was going to give us some more information; but that is, of course, the point of David Gordon White's book "Sinister Yogis."

You probably already know that John Reynolds/Vajranatha wrote a book of the similarities between witches and dakinis. It looks like it isn't currently in print, but he has been doing talks in Europe on the topic.
I had actually e-mailed him the day before the OP about it's availability. No response yet, but I'm hopeful.

[TharpaChodron]

Since human beings with magical power are not considered unusual or necessarily frightful or taboo in Indian societies and literature, there really isn't a word that corresponds to the term "witch" in Sanskrit.

Weren't Yogis and Yoginis often portrayed in Indian literature as evil body snatchers.

I was hoping someone was going to give us some more information; but that is, of course, the point of David Gordon White's book "Sinister Yogis."

You probably already know that John Reynolds/Vajranatha wrote a book of the similarities between witches and dakinis. It looks like it isn't currently in print, but he has been doing talks in Europe on the topic.
I had actually e-mailed him the day before the OP about it's availability. No response yet, but I'm hopeful.

I emailed him once and he got back to me. He helped me sort out a random question about something and it was really nice. He actually at first said he could not find anything related to my question and then emailed me a few weeks later to say he was looking through some notes of his from Dudjom Rinpoche and found something relevant to my inquiry.