Machig Labdrön

Machig Labdrön (c. 1055–1149) was a renowned Tibetan yogini and lineage founder celebrated for systematizing the practice of Chöd, a radical meditative discipline that uses visualization, ritual, and the offering of one’s own body to cut through ego-clinging and fear. Trained in both sutra and tantra, she integrated Indian Prajñāpāramitā teachings with indigenous Tibetan elements, emphasizing direct realization of emptiness and compassion through engaging, rather than avoiding, what is frightening or unwanted. Her life as a mother, teacher, and wandering yogini challenged conventional norms for women practitioners, and her Chöd lineage continues to influence all major Tibetan Buddhist traditions, where she is revered as an emanation of Prajñāpāramitā and a model of fearless wisdom.