Outward Beauty, Hidden Wrath: An Exploration of the Drikung Kagyü Dharma Protectress Achi Chökyi Drölma

• Other Authors: Muldowney, Kristen Kail (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Religion
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-4677

Despite her popularity within certain sects of Tibetan Buddhism, little focuses work has been done on the dharma protectress Achi Chökyi Drölma. Venerated as the guardian of the Drikung Kagyü tradition, as the maternal great-grandmother of its founder, Jikten Sumgön (1143-1217), and as a human embodiment of the fully-enlightened female Buddha Vajrayoginī, this little-researched but influential deity maintains numerous diverse roles within her community of lay and monastic devotees. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, this thesis examines Achi's uncommon characterizations beyond the typical mundane Buddhist dharma protector, which I categorize into three separate but at times overlapping personas: 1) Hagiographic Achi, as seen in her portrayal as a Tibetan Buddhist saint 2) Ritualized Achi, as portrayed in her roles of fierce protecttress and boon-granting goddess, and; 3) Historical Achi, or rather, the possible viability of the existence of such female teacher in the history of Jikten Sumgön's genealogy. This is done first with an exploration of Achi's iconography and ritual associations, which have roots in Indian tantric traditions, followed by the history of the domain over which she is sovereign, The Drikung valley region. I then provide a full translation of one of her more recent hagiographies and examine its meanings and implications in relation to the genre of Tibetan religious biography, an end with a look at the impact the roles of women and issues of gender in Buddhist narrative and Tibetan culture have had on the portrayal of Achi as a mother, ritual consort, an teacher. This single case study, therefore, sheds light not only on the construction of religious figures and divine entities within a given cultural sphere, but at the influence gender and normative social values play on the perception of such constructions. In conclusion, I argue these two points: First, that Achi, and other semi-wrathful deities like her, as able to assume different and seemingly contrary roles because they embody a specifically Tibetan Buddhist cultural repertoire grounded in indigenous beliefs and imported religious and social constructs, and second, that while the deity's voluntary assumption of a female body specifically to give birth to a lineage may appear to exemplify the presence of an androcentric gaze in Buddhist narrative, reducing her to a mere reproductive function and an association with a male authority figure, such activities actually stem from a legacy of both religious male and female figures who have used the activities of the house-holder life as skillful mean in spreading the Buddha's teachings. === A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. === Spring Semester, 2011. === March 18, 2011. === Includes bibliographical references. === Bryan Cuevas, Professor Directing Thesis; Kathleen Erndl, Committee Member; Jimmy Yu, Committee Member.