Samantabhadri (female/feminine energy) represents the responsive nature of Mind. This means that she represents all manner of responses from coarse reactiveness to cravings and desire, to the response of empathy and compassion, to pure Awareness as omnipresent clear omniscience. Mind, then, is to be understood as the ground from which response or reaction spring. The feminine energetic of Mind represented by Samantabhadri is the birth point of feelings, sensations, formulations of thoughts or feelings, all conceptions and considerations, and thus is the birth point of consciousness itself.* As response, she represents all responses, reactions, avoidances, preferences, and aversions. She stands for all fears and that which is feared, that which surrenders or is conquered, as well as that which yields or gives.
Samantabhadra (male/masculine energy) represents the non-deviating nature of Mind. Non-deviating means non-responsive as in equipoise, composure, equilibrium, and steadfastness. When used by a poisoned and deluded mind, this non-responsiveness is what makes violence possible as well as other heinous forms of detachment or abdication of right humane response. Empathy is missing, heart-response is deleted in violence or abuse and neglect. When used by a clear and happy mind, non-deviation is the ability to focus, contemplate, or make art in any form. When used by a beginning meditator, non-deviation is used to train the coarse mind to stay with an object of meditation.
Male energy signifies the single or identifiable and, in this case, the single is the meditator as well as single-pointed concentration or one-pointed attention. In order to accomplish this, the meditator must learn non-deviation related to the object of meditation. Samantabhadra’s image is visual guidance to sit, gaze steadily (eyes open or closed), and have no reaction to thoughts or feelings that arise. In this way, one learns to reduce activity in the mind and increase the space.
* Footnote: Inference to Prajnaparamita. Prajnaparamita is the “Mother of Buddhas,” and is the name of both a Buddha as well as the Perfection of Wisdom sutra which identifies that the five aggregates of feelings, sensations, formulations, concepts and consciousness are empty of intrinsic or self-sustained identity. They are non from an ultimate point of Awareness. The realization of this is a step toward enlightenment. The undoing of all perception through any identified perceiver (as one’s Self) is an aspect of attaining of enlightenment. One has birthed oneself through the womb of non-duality and voidness into the Awareness that “sees all things as they are.” Samantabhadri is the Awakened Nature of Reality.