Meeting Manjushri & The Ten Night Goddesses : Sacred Feminine 2016 with Isa Gucciardi Ph.D. + Robert AF Thurman at Menla
Using the Avatamsaka Sutra ‘Flower Ornament Sutra’ as a jumping off point Professor Thurman discusses the place of Manjushri + the Ten Night Goddesses and the importance of women & the feminine in the Buddhist mind training tradition.
“Let’s be clear: critical wisdom is fierce—unflinching, uncompromising, even ferocious—yet at the same time, subtle and tender. In Buddhist imagery, critical wisdom is represented by the sword of Manjushri, a divine bodhisattva (enlightenment hero) whose name means “gentle glory.”
In Tibetan icons, Manjushri’s sword is razor-sharp, with a golden handle and a blue steel blade with fire blazing from its tip. This sharp sword represents critical, analytical intelligence.
Critical wisdom carried to the furthest level can also be represented by a ferocious emanation of Manjushri, Vajra Bhairava (“Diamond Terrifier”) or Yamantaka (“Death-Exterminator”), an exquisite symbolic embodiment of immortal life as the “death of Death!” Also, to show the breadth of critical wisdom and its softer side, it is also represented by the beautiful goddess Prajña Paramita, or “Transcendent Wisdom.”
Known as the Mother of all Buddhas—because transcendent wisdom gives birth to enlightenment—she holds in her many hands not just weapons—a bow and arrow, and a sword and a scepter—but also a book and a lotus flower.”
Robert AF Thurman from Love Your Enemies
“Meeting Manjushri & The Ten Night Goddesses” is an archive recording of the second afternoon of Isa Gucciardi & Robert AF Thurman’s Tibet House US Retreat “Embracing the Sacred Feminine” recorded March 2016 at Menla in Phoenicia, New York.
To watch more videos from past programs & to learn more about the benefits of becoming a monthly supporter please visit: www.tibethouse.us.
To learn about upcoming programs with Isa Gucciardi Ph.D. + Robert AF Thurman at Menla in Phoencia, New York please visit: www.menla.us.
“Meeting Manjushri & The Ten Night Goddesses” photo by Rod Meade Sperry via www.flickr.com.
About Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D., holds degrees and certificates in trans-personal psychology, cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, hypnotherapy, and transformational healing. She has spent over 30 years studying spiritual, therapeutic, and meditative techniques from around the world.
Isa is the creator of the ground-breaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream.
In addition to training hundreds of people to be spiritual counselors in Depth Hypnosis, she has taught thousands of students seeking personal growth in the Foundation of the Sacred Stream’s academic programs of Applied Shamanism, Applied Buddhist Psychology, Integrated Energy Medicine, and Empowered Living.
She teaches nationally and internationally and has an active counseling practice in San Francisco, CA.. Her clients include corporate executives, ministers and religious officials from all faiths, supervisors of social agencies, business coaches, psychotherapists, midwives, medical doctors, parents and everyday people seeking deeper understanding about themselves.
Suggested Books by Isa Gucciardi Ph.D.
Coming to Peace: Resolving Conflict Within Ourselves And With Others | Return to the Great Mother
