Exploring the Feminine Part 2: Reflections on women who have inspired me
There have been numerous women who have inspired me along the way. As a child, my mother had four sisters. There was a bond they had between them, and they held each other up despite their moments of tension. This has helped me to see how we are so much more when we support each other. This also came through in the early friendships I forged with women friends. To this day these friends are a lifeline of love and connection.
A very inspiring time for me was when I had temporarily ordained as a nun in Myanmar. I went to live amidst nuns to see what I could learn from how they lived their lives. The abbess of the nunnery was so refreshing to me, after having received most of my teachings from male teachers who often sat up at the front of the room with great majesty, that for me created a distance. Daw In Ye Tee, on the other hand, walked so lightly on the planet, even though she had great responsibilities. She was light-hearted, inquisitive, and a little bit mischievous. We would walk through Sagaign Hills, an area of Myanmar that felt very untouched by the modern world. I often felt like I could go around a corner and meet the Buddha. As we would walk, often hand in hand, she would be chanting. On our walks, we visited a number of beautiful pagodas and monasteries. Sometimes we would be in a place with a sign saying not to touch anything. In all her inquisitiveness, she would be touching everything. Meanwhile, people around her were taken in by her light playfulness as she helped put us at ease. When we would travel in a car together, she always wanted me to have the front seat. I was sure she would give me the clothes off her back if they were needed. To this day, I hold her in my heart as an inspiration for the everyday way that the feminine can appear with great profoundness.
As well as women in the flesh there are also women on the path from the past that deeply move me. Often their stories are not told, or are hard to find,although this is changing with great efforts being made now to share the stories of women. One such story is of Yeshe Tsogyal, who was a dedicated Vajrayana practitioner and is said to be the first enlightened Tibetan. She was the closest disciple of Guru Rinpoche, who helped bring Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet. Her path was not easy, and she was constantly faced with challenges. She spent years practicing in the high mountains of Tibet in solitude. Several times she nearly died, but always persevered. Resolve and tenacity are a few words that come to mind. She also wasn’t concerned just with her own path, but was instrumental in helping the teachings of Guru Rinpoche be preserved for generations to come.
So often when I face difficulty there can be a mind state of, “If only this wasn’t happening”. Through recalling the story of Yeshe Tsogyal, I find myself saying, “Yes, this too can help me wake up”.
Reflect on some of the women in your life and how they have inspired you. There may be some who are vibrant beacons, and also look for those who quietly hold the space for the depth of the human experience.