Jack Kornfield - Ep. 49 - The Feminine in Buddhism

Jack Kornfield - Ep. 49 - The Feminine in Buddhism:
• Jack Kornfield - Ep. 4...
Jack Kornfield - Ep. 49 - The Feminine in Buddhism:
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This week, Jack discusses the divine feminine along with the past and present roles of women in the Buddhist tradition.
We each carry within us both the masculine and feminine nature. Jack explores the Buddha’s teaching on the matter and what it is to embrace them.
Show Notes
Mysteries of Incarnation (Opening) - Jack addresses the mysteries of incarnation. One of these mysteries, in particular, is the masculine and feminine aspects of the human experience.
There is a dance that we participate in as we incarnate, of the masculine and feminine. The mysterious dance itself is intrinsic to the process of awakening. When we look, what we find is the deepest relationship between masculine and feminine in the Buddhist cosmology and teachings.
Help from a Goddess (04:30) - In the myth of the Buddha’s enlightenment, Buddha is assailed with many temptations by the demon Mara. Her final temptation to the Buddha was that of doubt.
Mara asked the Buddha who he thought he was to sit on the earth and become enlightened. In response, the Buddha placed his hand on the ground and called on the goddess of the earth. In return for the Buddha’s work and virtue, the goddess let loose a flood that swept away the armies of Mara, allowing the Buddha to sit and become enlightened.
What this story speaks to is that this final struggle to reach realization did not come through his effort alone. Finally, the Buddha had to stop all struggle and shift from his masculine mode to the ground of the feminine.
“It is important to separate the roles that men and women play from the energies of masculine and feminine we have within.”
Reforming Tradition (13:45) - When Chogyam Trungpa founded Naropa University, Jack was one of the first faculty members. During a meeting, a group of women on the faculty challenged the male hierarchy of the University. Chogyam Trungpa began a dialogue about what it means to transform centuries-old tradition.
Changing Perspective (17:20) - A story from 1993 where Jack led a meeting between Western and Eastern Buddhist teachers. The same topic that Chogyam Trungpa addressed at Naropa was brought up by a Buddhist nun.
This nun brought several grievances about the way women in several Tibetan monasteries were treated. According to the nun, the men hoarded food and teachings while the women were left outside the walls hungry and illiterate.
“Remember that on one level, in the teachings of Dharma, there is no masculine or feminine.”
Not by Birth (22:45) - The Buddha said in many ways that not by birth, or cast, or gender, or race is one noble. It is the nobility of heart and quality of character that makes one noble.
Inspiration (27:20) - One of the earliest forms of Buddhist arts is found on stupas (monuments). These stupas featured depictions of the feminine on the gates and outside walls of the stupas while the masculine representations were all found inside.
“I can do anything that a man can do, thank you.” - Dipa Ma
Meaning for the Present (37:10) - So what does this all have to do with us in the West now? There is the outer level of representation, of how incredibly painful it is to be left out. Be it gender, race, cast, or sexual preference there are many ways to be disenfranchised.
Divine Soul (47:00) - There is for us, in our body, this mystery of masculine and feminine. Inside, there is joy and an ease to be found and enlightenment that is our birthright, this applies to all, no matter our incarnation.
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[@DavidEdwards-tl9fn]

Thank you

[@christianmarquez3143]

37:15 - "...how incredibly painful it is to be left out.". I keep reflecting on this. It makes me sad to know that this happens. It seems like a major over site for a compassionate loving kindness way of living. I'm glad that it seems to be changing, but wish it could happen faster.

[@leila8700]

Thank you. Beautiful and insightful lecture. A spring of joy.

[@rick262]

The beautiful artwork is an oil painting by Zeng Hao.

[@456mjb]

Where is that artwork from? Who made it? Title?

[@mayanaj788]

Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[@mpress469]

Spiritually speaking, (gender aside) feminine wisdom can begin with a fundamental understanding of the cyclical nature of reality (God). Represented by the snake in many creation myths, the living cycle has a trinity of a beginning (head), a middle and end (tail). As above so below, the sexes were created in the image of God's cyclical nature where Mother is the head and opening to all beginnings and Father holds the tail to all endings (through which the sowing of seeds allow for the next great matriarchal rebirth).The joining of the two (symbolized by the Ouroborus or the marriage ring) is the sacred union needed in assuring the creation and continuation of new life cycles. To speak of the present day God as "Our Father" is simply an admission to our collective positioning within the bigger cycle. As all mothers have direct experience with the creator quality of birthing, so is the direct experience of rebirthing the divinity within (baptism) belong to that which is spiritually matriarchal. (John 3, verse 3-8). Sekhmet statues (ancient Egyptian) carry most of their weight in symbolic memory of what was a mother culture dedicated to the direct experience of baptism. As the leg shaped hairlocks extend from maternal breasts to the womb of rebirth, the lioness's head proportions are such that they highlight the bust of a second animal figure. The Lioness's ears as eyes and eyes as nose (nostrils) brings to life the figure of a reptile. 'Neath the halo headress of the solar egg, the lioness's egg fertilization process being internal (Set) and the reptile's egg fertilization process being external (Setting), such being key components to the safety of entering the trans-egoic or "born again" state. The life threatening fear associated with the predatory nature of a lion and/or crocodile encounter are reflective of the intense ego death experiences associated with the trans-personal awakening process. In spiritually matriarchal times, illumination could be seen as wearing the false beard (ancient Egyptian funerary ego death mask) as the high state of cyclical self knowing; high awareness of both our upper matriarchal half and our lower (later) patriarchal half (compared with a mini lower body replica, an "as above so below" tail end beard extension); in full recognition of her civilizational Underworld - her inevitable cyclical destiny. The male pharaoh wears his beard tapered in reverse, indicating a pointing upwards towards the patriarchal head, divine representative of God's tail end cycle. Mary Magdalene's anointing and wiping of Jesus's feet with her hair can then be seen as "head to tail" (toe) imagery as she descends her matriarchal head to his patriarchal feet, thus reenacting the high understanding of the divine cyclical process. (John 12:3) To carry the Ankh was perhaps to symbolically carry that upper and lower understanding. As the upper matriarchal womb symbolised the fertile birthing of civilization, below, the now Christian cross is carried to place emphasis on the lower (later) "End Times" Father principle of the great cycle. Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed Hindu diety, displays a cyclical head to trunk symbolism and points to the Mother head of his matriarchal elephant society. In plain sight, Ganesha (like the elephant) wears God's cyclical nature on his face. A whole temple was dedicated to the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor, who is the matriarchal "Uterus" personified. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGHQYa2AiKp5gZI "See all women as mothers, serve them as your mother. When you see the entire world as the mother, the ego falls away. See everything as Mother and you will know God" - Neem Karoli Baba