Satisfied Buddhist - Domo Geshe Rinpoche

The powerful, creative energy of the muse of poetry, painting, and other arts is thought by others to be a mythical personification of the spirit of creativity in beautiful and seductive female form, but not to the experiencer. Many artists entice and worship the muse who holds the key to their success. The often sudden departure of the muse is treated as more devastating than the ending of a love relationship, leaving the artist unable to function. There definitely are signs that this is equal to the female creative energy of higher tantric practices called dakini. Even the longing and requesting to appear that is experienced by the tantric meditator has great similarity to the creative geniuses that rely on the muse. In the tantric scriptures, the phrases such as, “May the Dakas and Dakinis...” refers to the powerful sacred energies of enlightened beings connected to transcendent development. The dakinis are always female and the males are called dakas. The early tantric societies...

I believe the spirit of enlightenment, the yearning to awaken this great aspiration, is like calling the muse. Great artists and great creative people might cultivate a mind capable of drawing the creative spirit close to them. I understand it used to be personified as the Athenial spirit of creativity. I didn’t know about muses before, but it certainly sounds like the dakinis doesn’t it? What we Tibetans would call the dakini might be called the muse in other cultures. An artist or poet might sit with their pen raised in the air while praying or entice the muse to arrive in order for them to be able to put their pen to paper and cause their work to become extraordinary. The powerful creative energy of the muse is the same as the creative energy of the higher tantric practices. The references in sadhanas to “May the Dakas and Dakinis...” is not ordinary because they are sacred energies connected to transcendent evolutionary development. However, we can make some connection betwee...