The Dance Of Sacred Union

“Yab-Yum invites us into joyful and profound play.” ~ Dorje Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam

How does Sacred Union spark enlightenment? In this video below, Dorje Lopön Charlotte tells us how.

The Yab-Yum image and teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism offer a powerful portal into exploring the nature of duality and relationship, both within us and externally. Yab-Yum is “father-mother” or masculine-feminine, pictured as a male and female deity in union. This evocative image suggests the creative possibility of meeting the “other” and the transpersonal potential of two becoming one.

We can explore the Yab-Yum in outer, inner and secret ways, a traditional way to unpack various layers of any given teaching. At an outer level, the teachings of Yab-Yum suggest that we can meet another being – however that “other” appears to us – as a path of practice in which we fully face our partner with no escape, no guarantee, no solid ground. Standing face to face we see a reflection of all that we are and all we are not. A totality larger than ourselves arises. Here in this complete meeting new life, physical or spiritual, is sparked.

At an inner level, we can understand Yab-Yum as a symbol of an internal balance of what might be called “masculine” and “feminine” aspects of ourselves: assertive and receptive, focused and open, competitive and collaborative, protective and nurturing, analytical and intuitive. Our internal practice is to recognize which parts of ourselves are awakened and which we have neglected or avoided. The path to wholeness involves an acknowledgement of that which has not been integrated or given full expression. Looking in the mirror, we meet ourselves with the courage of not turning away, of not being afraid of the totality within us.

At a secret level, the Yab-Yum is the union of the ground of being and the emanations of the ground, the fundamental non-duality of emptiness and form, of wisdom and compassion. The ground which is itself empty arises in any and all forms whatsoever. Usually, we mistake these phenomenal expressions as separate, solid, real unto themselves. We mistake ourselves as separate, solid, real unto ourselves. Yet the Yab-Yum reminds us that all things are the expression of the ground; we remember we are not other than the ground of being.

At whatever level we meet it, Yab-Yum invites us into joyful and profound play. In meeting otherness straight on we recognize that we have never been separate. And yet the other does not dissolve into nothingness. We meet in the dynamic tension, the spark of life. This is the dance of “not-two and not-one.”

Wisdom Rising: Journey into the Union of the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine

With Magyu Dorje Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Lopön Pieter Oosthuizen • March 14 – 20

The Yab-Yum represents our inherent wholeness which holds all dualities in a dynamic totality. As we enter the Yab-Yum Mandala we recognize the completeness of our true nature and engage the “other” with openness, curiosity and compassion. In this retreat, you will receive the transmission for and learn the Yab-Yum Mandala practice developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione, deepen your study of the five Buddha families, and explore relationship as a path of spiritual practice … Read more »