Kurukulla Puzzle

NEW! Kurukulla Thangka painted by ariya in India and Nepal (around 400 hrs), completed in August 2014 (P.S.: THE ORIGINAL HAND-PAINTED THANGKA IS STILL AVAILABLE! Just contact me if you're interested!) Kurukulla (also known as Red Tara) is a goddess with unlimited powers of enchantment. Her voluptuous body is bright, glowing red, the hue of passion and amorous desire. Glistening with ruby radiance, mistress of the art of seduction, Kurukulla displays the tools of her magical craft: the flowered bow and arrow with which she pierces the hearts of those she would enchant, the noose with which she binds them, and the elephant goad with which she draws them into her sphere of liberation. Kurukulla's magic has the power to sofen the hardest heart, dissolve disharmony, and bestow the highest bliss. Kurukulla represents the absorption into Buddhism of a popular genre of pan-Indian love magic. Her practice is clearly linked to a popular tradition of love potions and magical spells that were (and still are) dispensed by local folk practitioners. This form of sorcery has ancient roots in India's past. Her character was profoundly shaped by non-Buddhist elements of lndian culture. Kurukulla's iconography, as befits the mistress of enchantment, emphasizes the theme of passion. Her characteristic color is red, signifing her ardent nature, for red is associated with passion in Indian culture. Kurukulla's mood, as reflected in her facial expression, is generally characterized as the "amorous sentiment," for hers is the "essence of sweet desire." Her countenance should convey that she is "overwhelmed by desire" and has a "passionate heart," but she is also said to be loving as well as ardorous, for compassion and passion both stem from a deep capacity for sympathy and attachment. This emotional quality can blossom into an impersonal yet devoted affection that anchors an enlightened being in the phenomenal realm, among those who still suffer, to serve their needs with tenderness, empathy, and fervent commitment. Thus, a divinity who is free from personal desire may nonetheless be said to be "attached" to living beings, that is, devoted to their welfare. Kurukulla's implements reflect her roles in both ritual subjugation and meditative transformation. Her bow and arrow, appropriate implements for a goddess of enchantment, are used to pierce the hearts of the targets of her magic. If the aim is to gain a lover, her arrow inficts the coveted love object with desire, her noose binds them with passion, and her hook draws the captive to the waiting paramour. In other cases, her arrow inflicts someone who is sought as a friend or devotee with geniality, goodwill, and devotion, in a practice that may be used to win over an adversary, placate someone who is angry, or gain a political or military ally. At a subtler level of activity, her implements can effect a change in consciousness, transmuting passion into wisdom. She uses her flowery bow and arrow to penetrate the minds of her targets and subjugate their selfish desire and dualistic thought, the hook to summon them into her blissful presence, and the noose to fling her fortunate captives into a higher realm of consciousness. She also exhibits attributes shared with other female Buddhas: a dancing dakini pose, intense or impassioned countenance, upward-flaming hair, tiara of skulls, tiger-skin skirt, garland of severed heads, and ornaments of carved bone. Floating above her and surrounded by rainbow light emanating from her heart, is Amitabha, buddha of the Lotus family of the Dhyani (wisdom) buddhas. He is also red and represents discriminating awareness wisdom and its transmuted opposite, passion or grasping. The Lotus family is further associated with the element of fire. The amorous mood and sensuous body befitting a goddess of love are augmented in the Tantric conception by wrathful traits appropriate for the "subjugator of the three realms." The corpse or united couple upon which she dances and the severed heads garlanding her body represent persons, situations, and objects she has conquered, as well as mental states she can help the meditator bring under control. The five-pointed crown and bone jewelry signif her possession of the five transcendent insights of a Buddha: immovable concentration, impartial generosity, universal compassion, unimpeded liberative activity, and the ability to mirror reality without distortion. Kurukulla is a fully enlightened being, a female Buddha. Her sphere of influence expanded from the the original compulsion of love objects to the conquest of conceptual thought, Buddhist teachings, and primordial awareness itself. She is a female Buddha whose power of enchantment is her special art of liberation. The final goal to be won through the practice of Kurukulla is enlightenment itself. At this most spiritual end of the spectrum, Kurukulla accomplishes the ultimate form of magic, the transformation of conventional awareness into the transcendent bliss and nondual wisdom of a fully enlightened Buddha. The secret of Kurukulla's power is that she wields the unconquerable, irresistible force of love. To be pierced by her arrow is to be penetrated by her transcendent love and undergo a profound change of heart. Those who would invoke her in ritual and meditation must never do so for selfish ends. Kurukulla is motivated by wisdom and compassion. Kurukulla, like every Buddha, acts solely for the welfare, happiness, and liberation of all sentient beings. Mantra: Om Kurukulle Hum Hrih Svaha