Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

lender bodies, skilled in the 64 arts of love” (Gyatso, 1991, p. 250).
In the Vajrayogini praxis a total of three types of symbolic female sacrifice are distinguished. Two of
these consist in the offering of inana mudras, that is of “spirit women”, who are drawn from the
pupil’s imagination. In the third sacrificial offering he presents his teacher with a real sexual partner
(karma mudra) (Gyatso, 1991, p. 88).
Once all the women have been presented to the guru and he has absorbed their energies, the image of
the Vajrayogini arises in his heart. Her body appears in red and glows like the “apocalyptic fire”. In
her right hand she holds a knife with a vajra-shaped handle, in her left a skull bowl filled with blood.
She carries a magic wand across her shoulders, the tip of which is adorned with three tiny human
heads. She wears a crown formed out of five skulls. A further fifty severed heads are linked in a chain
which swings around her neck. Beneath her feet the Hindu divinity Shiva and the red Kalarati crouch
in pain.
Thereupon her image penetrates the pupil, and takes possession of him, transforming him into itself
via an internalized iconographic dramaturgy. That the sadhaka now represents the female divinity is
considered a great mystery. Thus the master now whispers into his ear, “Now you are entering into
the lineage of all yoginis. You should not mention these holy secrets of all the yoginis to those who
have not entered the mandala of all the yoginis or those who have no faith” (Gyatso, 1991, p. 355).
With divine pride the pupil replies, “I am the Enjoyment Body of Vajrayogini!” (Gyatso, 1991, p. 57)
or simply and directly says, “I am Vajrayogini!” (Gyatso, 1991, p. 57). Then, as a newly arisen
goddess he comes to sit face-to-face with his guru. Whether the latter now enjoys sexual union with
the sadhaka as Vajrayogini cannot be determined from the available texts.
At any rate we must regard this artificial goddess as a female mask, behind which hides the male
sadhaka who has assumed her form. He can of course set this mask aside again. It is impressive just
how vivid and unadorned the description of this reverse transformation of the “Vajrayogini pupil” into
his original form is: “With the clarity of Vajrayogini”, he says in one ritual text, “I give up my breasts
and develop a penis. In the perfect place in the center of my vagina the two walls transform into belllike
testicles and the stamen into the penis itself” (Gyatso, 1991, p. 293).
Other sex-change transfigurations are also known from Vajrayogini praxis. Thus, for example, the
teacher can play the role of the goddess and let his pupil take on the male role . He can also divide
himself into a dozen goddesses — yet it is always men (the guru or his pupils) who play the female
roles.
Chinnamunda
The dreadful Chinnamunda (Chinnamastra) ritual also refers to a “tantric female sacrifice”. At the
center of this ritual drama we find a goddess (Chinnamunda) who decapitates herself.
Iconographically, she is depicted as follows: Chinnamunda stands upright with the cleaver with which
she has just decapitated herself clenched in her right hand. On her left, raised palm she holds her own
head. Three thick streams of blood spurt up from the stump of her neck. The middle one curves in an
arc into the mouth of her severed head, the other two flow into the mouths of two further smaller
goddesses who flank Chinnamunda. She usually tramples upon one or more pairs of lovers. This
bloody cult is distributed in both Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism.