Machig Labdrön [also »Ma gcig Lab sgron«, Tib.: »མ་གཅིག་ལབ་སྒྲོན«་, c. 1055–1149] was one of the most important female masters of Tibetan Buddhism. Her name roughly means »Unique Light from Lab«, with »Lab« referring to her home region.
As shown in the thangka you presented, Machig Labdrön is usually depicted as:
- a dancing yogini in a dynamic pose,
- holding a hand drum [“damaru”] in her right hand
- and a skull cup [kapala] in her left hand
- adorned with bone ornaments and jewelry
- standing on a lotus throne
- with a peaceful facial expression
This depiction symbolizes the union of wisdom and compassion, as well as the overcoming of self-attachment.
Machig Labdrön is extraordinary because her teachings were not simply adopted from India. The Chöd practice is considered one of the few major Buddhist teaching traditions that was developed in Tibet itself and later even transmitted back to India.
She is best known as the founder of the Chöd teachings [Tib.: »gCod«, »cutting through«]. The goal of this practice is to sever attachment to the self and thereby overcome fear, ego, and delusion. Chöd is traditionally practiced in secluded places such as cemeteries, caves, or remote locations in order to directly confront one’s own fears.
She combined the teachings of the Prajñāpāramitā [»Perfection of Wisdom«] with a highly practical meditation method that is still practiced today in all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism [Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug].
The image you provided corresponds much better to a classic iconographic depiction of Machig Labdrön than the first drawing I created. If you would like an authentic line drawing in the style of a traditional Tibetan woodblock print [without modern liberties, I can create a design that closely follows this classic iconography.