Himalayan Buddhists meditate upon many deities that, like Simhavaktra, feature fierce imagery. These deities are fierce because they are “equal to what must be tamed,” that is, the violent thoughts and emotions that create the matrix of unsatisfactory experience called samsara, the world of ordinary reality. Their ferocity enables meditators to overcome obstacles to spiritual development that would otherwise prove intractable. Simhavaktra’s flaming hair and toothy grin are aspects of her ferocity.