What Little Girls Need

What Little Girls Need: Gifts from Avalokiteshvarya, and goddesses, animals, trees and flowers to protect them and make them feel safe.

Inspired by Sister Aya Yashey’s work with untouchable girls in India, whom I describe below, I painted this cosmos where every girl receives a precious gift and is protected by divine figures. Beginning with the one at the top and moving clockwise, the protectors include Quan Âm, Demeter, the Virgin of Guadalupe, White Tara, Yemayá, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, Pachamama, Green Tara, the nymph-like beings Aguane, my artist grandmother Ita, Ishtar, and Saraswati.

Animals and trees also offer their protective presence. I included several beloved trees: the cottonwoods of New Mexico, the royal poinciana, the ceiba and the beach grape trees of Puerto Rico, and the bodhi tree rising behind Quan Âm at the top.

The Avalokiteśvaras of the World

I first noticed Sister Aya Yashey, an Australian tall, striking nun, at Kuching airport. Days later, I was blessed to sit at her table, where she casually mentioned running two foundations, one of which—the Bodhicitta Foundation—serves untouchable girls in India. Known as “the Nun of the Slum,” she tends to the most discriminated-against groups, much like Mother Teresa.

Unlike many of the speakers at the conference, Sister Aya Yashey did not have a PhD, but of the presentations, hers was the most memorable. I loved her irreverence, her straightforwardness, and her compassion. One evening, I discovered that the young Indian nun who had joined us on one of our walks during the conference had in fact been rescued by Aya Yashey herself.Reading Aya Yashey’s biography, I discovered she had been ordained by Thích Nhất Hạnh (Thay). When I told her she was the highlight of the conference and that Thầy was my teacher, she simply replied, “Thầy is a true bodhisattva, one of the real ones.” Recently, on her Facebook page, she shared a photo of herself with Sister Chân Không standing behind her.

From my write-up on Opening Heart Mindfulness Community’s Website: How Right Speech and Deep Listening with Maha-Sangha Friends Healed Me