subject: The Muse of the Arts and the Great Dakini of Tantric Buddhism [print this page] The powerful, creative energy of the muse of poetry, painting, and other arts is thought by others to be a mythical personification of the spirit of creativity in beautiful and seductive female form, but not to the experiencer. Many artists entice and worship the muse who holds the key to their success. The often sudden departure of the muse is treated as more devastating than the ending of a love relationship, leaving the artist unable to function.
There definitely are signs that this is equal to the female creative energy of higher tantric practices called dakini. Even the longing and requesting to appear that is experienced by the tantric meditator has great similarity to the creative geniuses that rely on the muse. In the tantric scriptures, the phrases such as, "May the Dakas and Dakinis..." refers to the powerful sacred energies of enlightened beings connected to transcendent development. The dakinis are always female and the males are called dakas. The early tantric societies mimicked the inner society of powerful energetic beings who bring them the enlightened experience by performing song, dance and in some ways wild behaviors under their influence. The dakas and dakinis are of different qualities however, some are no more than playful and mischievous energies that disrupt the mind and others are high dakinis with bodhichitta as their stabilizing force for benefiting others. Still others are Buddha level beings such as Buddha Vajrayogini.
The mahasiddhas, their minds on fire with the effects of enlightenment, lived in the sphere of the dakas and dakinis, even seeing them instead of ordinary people around them. It was difficult for ordinary people to distinguish the mahasiddha from a crazy person but the effects of their great bodhichitta had a much different effect than the actions of an insane person. The Vajrayana path of Tibetan Buddhism gradually trains the practitioner to become capable of integrating the high and powerful sacred energies that arrive with our special muse, the great dakini!
