Dakini's warm breath (Shambhala Publications Inc)

The primary emblem of the feminine in Tibetan Buddhism is the dakini, or "sky-dancer, " a semiwrathful spirit-woman who manifests in visions, dreams, and meditation experiences. Judith Simmer-Brown, an accomplished scholar and an experienced practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, demonstrates how the dakini symbolizes levels of spiritual realization: the sacredness of the body, the profound meeting point of body and mind in meditation, the visionary realm of ritual practice, and the empty, spacious qualities of mind itself.