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China / Tibet: Dorje Pakmo, the 'Diamond Sow', Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist manifestation of the Hindu Goddess Varahi, embraced by her consort Demchok (Samvara). Detail from a Tibetan thangka.

China / Tibet: Dorje Pakmo, the 'Diamond Sow', Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist manifestation of the Hindu Goddess Varahi, embraced by her consort Demchok (Samvara). Detail from a Tibetan thangka.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Dorje Pakmo (pronounced 'Dorje Phakmo'; Sanskrit: Vajravārāhī, a form of Vajrayogini; Wylie Tibetan script transliteration: Rdo-rje phag-mo; English: 'The Diamond Sow'), also known as Sera Kandro, is believed to be the reincarnation of the consort of the wrathful deity Demchok (Heruka).

She is the highest female incarnation in Tibet and the third-highest ranking person in the Lamaist hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. She was listed among the highest-ranking reincarnations at the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, recognized by the Tibetan government and acknowledged by the emperors of Qing China.

Her seat, Samding (literally, 'the temple of soaring meditation') was in many ways unique in that about half of the inhabitants were monks and the other half were nuns, while the head of the monastery with all its branches was (and still is) a woman. It is a Geluk Ani gompa (or nunnery) - which also housed some monks - and is built on a hill on a peninsula jutting into the sacred lake, Yamdrok Tso.

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