This site is sprinkled with droplets of inspiration for all beings who wish for wisdom, love, wholeness and liberation. It is dedicated to Yeshe Tsogyel and her manifestations as Kuntuzangmo (Dzogchen) Sarasvati (Arts), White Tara (Medicine) and Vajrayogini (Yoga and Meditation). The author is an artist and practitioner living in Ann Arbor, Michigan and this blog was published at the request of her Lama.
Mandala of Dechen Gyalmo, The Queen of Great Bliss, c. 2020
A Mandala is a pure dimension, a symbolic presentation of your real nature and the nature of reality. This is the womb of basic space/dharmadhatu, the source of all phenomena, which is her palace, her mandala. (See how it is shaped like a womb/uterus). It is red to show the transformative passionate dimension of space pulsating with vitality, the red bodhicitta. It is surrounded by green/wind to show the movement and blue/space/openness. The pink ring are the petals of a lotus, the lotus of the bhaga of space~ the lotus is unstained primordial purity, kadak. That is surrounded by a vajra sphere and a rainbow sphere of the five Dakini energies which dance as all phenomena. The interlocking triangles show the union of yin (downward/female triangle/emptiness) and yang (upward/male triangle/form), like the sperm and the ovum, these two unite like the sun and moon and give rise to the diety/seed syllable. This pure Vajra space is the alchemical chamber where the practice takes place which gives birth to the Buddha Dakini.
Christina Burch lives in retreat at Tsogyelgar in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Blazing Jewel Mountain in West Virginia. Her artwork is internationally recognized and held in collections around the world and can be viewed at christinaburch.com
Replica of the Yeshe Tsogyel Mandala by Christina Burch, Acrylic on canvas, 2019