Tsogyel Garuda

line drawing by Khandro Déchen

Yeshé Tsogyel in the form of the dark blue Garuda. She holds two phurbas which she destroys each nuance of dualistic perception in each moment and with each movement. She wears the human bone cemetery ornaments with the u-mèd letter ‘A’ at her heart. ‘A’ is the primordial sound and one of the main symbols of Dzogchen. The Garuda is spontaneously born full grown from its egg. The Tsogyel Garuda appears immediately in full flight, and as such represents the nature of the Dzogchen yogini or yogi. Her two horns impale the illusion that samsara and nirvana are divided. The razors of her wings and tail lacerate all dualistic concepts in the instant they arise.