Ayu Khandro
Ayu Khandro (Tibetan: ཨ་ཡུ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་, Wylie: A-yu Mkha'-'gro, "Long Life Dakini", 1839 – 1953), also known as Dorje Paldrön, was a Tibetan yogini, practitioner and terton of Tantric Buddhism in Eastern Tibet. An accomplished Dzogchen meditator, she is known for her extensive pilgrimages throughout Tibet, long periods of dark retreat practice, the gongter of the practice of the yidam Senge Dongma (the Lion-Faced Dakini), various forms of Chöd, and her lifelong dedication to spiritual practice.
Ayu Khandro | |
|---|---|
ཨ་ཡུ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་ | |
Painting of Ayu Khandro at Merigar West, the seat of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu and The Dzogchen Community in Italy | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1839 Dzong Trang, Kham, Tibet |
| Died | 1953 (aged 113–114) |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Nationality | Tibetan |
| School | Dzogchen |
| Senior posting | |
| Teacher | Togden Rangrig |
Much of the information we have about Ayu Khandro comes from the oral commentary that she gave in person to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu in Dzongsa in 1951. He wrote her namthar, or spiritual biography, which was later published in Women of Wisdom by Tsultrim Allione.
Ayu Khandro met, and was taught by, many great masters of her day: Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgon Kongtrul the First, Chokgyur Lingpa, Nyala Pema Dündul, Adzom Drukpa, Togden Rangrig and the ninth Tai Situpa, Pema Nyingche Wangpo.
She led the life of a hidden yogini, spending a significant amount of her life in retreat or as a wandering chodma. She was recognised as an emanation of Vajrayogini. She is reported to have lived to the age of 115.