Dharma talk—Prajna and the Feminine Principle

If you are interested in finding out more about the dialogue between Tibetan Buddhist sanghas on Treasuring the Feminine, have a look at the online symposium that took place in June 2021. The full compilation of the symposium is available on Prajna.

The wish was to gather and reflect on where we are at in our tradition when it comes to treasuring the feminine. It was also clear that the problems Vajrayāna Buddhist communities had faced in the student-teacher relationship between men and women had been greatly amplified by the many misunderstandings about Vajrayāna Buddhism itself.
 
 On this occasion the main contributors were Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, Sangye Khandro, Chagdud Khadro, Marcia Schmidt, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Lama Tsultrim Allione, Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown – in order of intervention.
Find out more at rigpa.org

Elizabeth has studied and practiced the Buddhadharma for 35 years under the guidance of her teacher and husband Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. She is the retreat master of Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado and has spent over six years in retreat. She holds a degree in anthropology and an M.A. in Buddhist Studies. She teaches throughout the U.S., Australia, and Europe. She is the author of The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha’s Path to Freedom and The Logic of Faith: the Buddhist Path to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt.

Elizabeth is known for her use of inquiry as a means to reach a place of genuine practice and awakening. She asks audiences to engage in the practice of open questioning with her while she takes a fresh look at all the assumptions and beliefs we have about spirituality. In particular, Elizabeth is fascinated with the Buddha’s essential teachings on the natural principle of pratityasamutpada, dependent arising. Audiences repeatedly comment on how her approach has reinvigorated their meditation practice and the way they relate to their lives as a whole.