Arya Tara
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Tara (, ; , ), Ārya Tārā (Noble Tara), also known as Jetsün Dölma (Tibetan: ''rje btsun sgrol ma,'' meaning: "Venerable Mother of Liberation"), is an important female
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
in
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, especially revered in
Vajrayana Buddhism ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
and
Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...
. She may appear as a female
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
in Mahayana Buddhism. In
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
Buddhism, Green Tara is a female Buddha who is a consort of Amoghasiddhi Buddha. Tārā is also known as a saviouress who hears the cries of beings in
saṃsāra ''Saṃsāra'' (Devanagari: संसार) is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." ''Saṃsāra'' is referred to with terms or p ...
and saves them from worldly and spiritual danger. In Vajrayana, she is considered to be a
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
, and the ''Tārā Tantra'' describes her as "a mother who gives birth to the buddhas of the three times" who is also "beyond
saṃsāra ''Saṃsāra'' (Devanagari: संसार) is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." ''Saṃsāra'' is referred to with terms or p ...
and
nirvāṇa Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
."James B. Apple, "Atiśa’s System of Twenty-One Tārās", Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 66, Avril 2023, pp. 424-463. She is one of the most important female deities in Vajrayana and is found in sources like the '' Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa'', and the '' Guhyasamāja Tantra''. Key Indic Vajrayana texts which focus on Tārā include the ''Tantra Which is the Source for All the Functions of Tārā, Mother of All the Tathagatas'' (Skt. ''Sarvatathāgatamātṛtārāviśvakarmabhavanāmatantra'') and ''Tārā’s Fundamental Ritual Text'' (''Tārāmūlakalpa''). Both Green and White Tārā remain popular meditation deities or
yidams A ''yidam'' or ''iṣṭadevatā'' is a meditational deity that serves as a focus for meditation and spiritual practice, said to be manifestations of Buddhahood or enlightened mind. Yidams are an integral part of Vajrayana, including Tibetan ...
in
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
, and Tara is also revered in
Newar Buddhism Newar Buddhism is a form of Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It has developed unique socio-religious elements, which include a non-monastic Buddhist society based on the Newar caste system and pa ...
. Tārā is considered to have many forms or emanations, while Green Tara emanates ''twenty-one Tārās'', each with different attributes—colors, implements, and activities such as pacifying (''śānti''), increasing (''pauṣṭika''), enthralling (''vaśīkaraṇa''), and wrathful (''abhicāra''). The Green Tara (or "blue-green", Skt. ''Samayatara'' or ''śyāmatārā'') remains the most important form of the deity in Tibetan Buddhism. A practice text entitled ''
Praises to the Twenty-One Taras Praise to Tara in Twenty One Verses is a traditional prayer in Tibetan Buddhism to the female Bodhisattva Tara (, ; Tibetan སྒྲོལ་མ, Drolma) also known as Ārya Tārā, or Jetsun Dolma ( Wylie: ''rje btsun sgrol ma''). The text is o ...
'' is a well known text on Tara in Tibetan Buddhism and in Tibet, recited by children and adults, and is the textual source for the twenty-one forms of Green Tārā. The main Tārā
mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
is the same for Buddhists and Hindus alike: . It is pronounced by Tibetans and Buddhists who follow the
Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayas, Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct ...
as . The literal translation would be "Oṃ O Tārā, I pray O Tārā, O Swift One, So Be It!"


Etymology

''Tārā'' (
Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...
: ) is a feminine noun derived from the root ''√tṝ'', "to cross." It is
causative In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
, and as such means "to cause to cross," i.e., "to rescue." This is why the name is sometimes translated as "savioress" or "rescuer". For example, in Tibetan, she is known as ''Jetsun'' ''Drölma'' ( , Wylie: rje btsun sgrol ba), meaning "Venerable Saviour" which is derived from the Tibetan verb ''sgrol ba'' meaning "to save, rescue, liberate; to carry, transport, or cross; and to expel or drive away vil. The name ''Tārā'' may also mean "star" or "planet" (since they are celestial bodies which cross the sky and are thus literally "crossers"). In
East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
she is known as (
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
'': Duōluó Púsà''), with ''Púsà'' indicating
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
status. In Japanese she is ''Tara Bosatsu.'' The name means "Bodhisattva who catches many" or "Bodhisattva who collects numerous entient beings, derived from the
characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...
: , "to catch, gather, collect, sift," and "many; much; a lot of; numerous".


History

Three Taras at Ellora Caves, Cave number 12 Green Tara attended by White Tara and Cintamani Tārā (Yellow Tara). Sirpur, .">Sirpur,_Mahasamund.html" ;"title="Madhya Pradesh, Sirpur, Mahasamund">Sirpur, . thumb">Tara image from Tara statue from Lalitagiri, Odisha, c. 10th century Buddhist studies scholars generally agree that the worship of Tārā began growing in popularity in India during the 6th century. Evidence from
Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...
shows that her cult was established by the sixth century.Scherer, Bee. "Buddhist Tantric Thealogy: The Genealogy and Soteriology of Tārā", Buddhist-Christian Studies vol. 38 iss. 1. 2018 In the earliest sources, Tārā is seen as the personification of Avalokiteśvara's compassion. She often appears as part of a triad, with Avalokiteśvara and Bhr̥kuṭī, as can be seen in the Kānherī cave 90 (sixth-century ce). Another early identifiable image of Tārā is found at cave 6 within the rock-cut Buddhist monastic complex of the
Ellora Caves The Ellora Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Aurangabad, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 AD, including Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves., Quote: "The ...
in
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
(). Her worship was well established by the onset of the
Pala Empire The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda Kingdom, Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopala, Gopāla by the chiefs of Kingdo ...
in
Eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...
(8th century CE). One of the earliest textual references to the goddess is the ''
Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa The ''Āryamañjuśrī­mūlakalpa'' (''The Noble Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī'') is a Mahayana sutras, Mahāyāna sūtra and a Mantrayana, Mantrayāna ritual manual (kalpa) affiliated with the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjusri, Mañjuśr ...
'' (–8th centuries CE), which calls her the noble goddess who is the compassion of Avalokiteśvara (devīmāryāvalokiteśvarakaruṇāṃ). This text also goes on to call her “the mother of the illustrious Prince Mañjughoṣa”, giving her the title of a mātā devī (mother goddess) and associates her with
Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
and Prajñāpāramitā Devī. The origin of Tārā is unclear and remains a source of inquiry among scholars. Mallar Ghosh believes her to have originated as a form of the goddess
Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...
. Tārā is worshiped both in Buddhism as well as in
Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
(Hinduism) as one of the ten
Mahavidya The ''Mahavidya'' (, , lit. ''Great Wisdoms'') are a group of ten Hindu Tantric goddesses. The ten Mahavidyas are usually named in the following sequence: Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bag ...
s. According to Beyer, the enlightened feminine makes its first appearance in
Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
Buddhism as
Prajñāpāramitā Devi A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
, the personified
Perfection of Wisdom A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
, who is also called mother of Buddhas. Tara eventually came to be considered the "Mother of all Buddhas" by Indian tantric Buddhists, taking on this epithet from Prajñaparamita. The term mother of Buddhas usually refers to a transcendent awakened wisdom, though it also echoes the ancient Indian motif of the
Mother Goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...
(
Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...
Mata). With the composition of the ''Tārā-mūla-kalpa'', the main Buddhist tantra associated with the goddess and mahāvidyā, Tārā became a very popular
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
deity in north India. Tārā worship also spread to other parts of India, as well as to
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, where depictions of the deity have been discovered by archeologists. With the movement of Indian Buddhism into Tibet, the worship and practices of Tārā became incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism as well. As the worship of Tārā developed, various prayers, chants and mantras became associated with her. These came out of a felt devotional need, and from her inspiration causing spiritual masters to compose sadhanas,
stotra ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...
s, or tantric meditations. Independent of whether she is classified as a deity, a Buddha, or a bodhisattva, Tārā remains very popular in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
(and Tibetan communities in exile in Northern India),
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
,
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
,
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
,
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
and is worshiped in many Buddhist communities throughout the world (though in
East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
,
Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
is the most popular female deity). In Tibet, Green Tārā was also considered to have manifested as the Nepalese Princess (
Bhrikuti Bhrikuti Devi (), known to Tibetans as , Bhelsa Tritsun ("Besa" Nepal ) or simply (), was a princess of the Licchavi kingdom in Nepal. In c.622Dr Poonam Rana, "Role of Bhrikuti (Bhelsa Tritsun) in spread of Buddhism", Sirjana Journal, p.208-115. ...
), and White Tārā's manifestation as the Chinese princess Kongjo (
Princess Wencheng Princess Wencheng (; ) was a princess and member of a minor branch of the royal clan of the Tang dynasty, who married King Songtsen Gampo of the Tibetan Empire in 641. She is also known by the name Gyasa or "Chinese wife" in Tibet. Both Wencheng ...
).


Origin myth

Lokesvara flanked by two Tārās Tārā has many
origin stories In fiction, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist. In American comic books, it also refers to how characters gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances ...
which explain her origin as a
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
. According to one story, Tārā arose from Avalokiteshvara's compassionate tears when he wept on seeing all the suffering of all the beings in samsara. His tears turned into a lotus, out of which Tārā arose. The Indian master Sūryagupta explains this myth as follows:
What was Her origin? - Arya-Lokesvara, the Lord and Refuge of the Three Realms, Desire, Form, and Formless, which depend on the five or n the Formless Realmfour aggregates that perish in an instant, saw that however many migrating beings he removed from samsara, they grew no fewer, and He wept. Tara sprang from the opening filaments of his face - of an
utpala Utpala in Sanskrit is a neuter noun with two meanings, both given by ''Amarakosha, '' (a lexicon of circa. 400 AD). The first meaning is ''Nymphaea nouchali'', the "blue lotus", also known as ''kuvalaya'' in Sanskrit. The second meaning of ''utp ...
(blue lotus) that grew in the water of His tears.
Another tale begins with a young
princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...
who lives in a different world system, millions of years in the past. Her name is Jñanachandra or Yeshe Dawa, which means "Moon of Primordial Awareness". For quite a number of
aeon The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...
s she makes offerings to the Buddha of that world system, whose name was Tonyo Drupa. She receives special instruction from him concerning
bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind ( citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). ''T ...
—the infinitely compassionate mental state of a bodhisattva. After doing this, some monks approach her and suggest that because of her level of attainment she should next pray to be reborn as a male to progress further. At this point she lets the monks know in no uncertain terms that it is only "weak minded worldlings" who see gender as a barrier to attaining
enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. She sadly notes there have been few who wish to work for the welfare of sentient beings in a female form, though. Therefore, she resolves to always be reborn as a female bodhisattva, until samsara is no more. She then stays in a palace in a state of
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
for some ten million years, and the power of this practice releases tens of millions of beings from suffering. As a result of this, Tonyo Drupa tells her she will henceforth manifest supreme
bodhi The English term ''enlightenment'' is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably ''bodhi'' and ''vimutti''. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi'') means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakene ...
as the Goddess Tārā in many world systems to come. A similar story is told by the
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
:
There is a true feminist movement in Buddhism that relates to the goddess Tārā. Following her cultivation of bodhicitta, the bodhisattva's motivation, she looked upon the situation of those striving towards full awakening and she felt that there were too few people who attained Buddhahood as women. So she vowed, "I have developed bodhicitta as a woman. For all my lifetimes along the path I vow to be born as a woman, and in my final lifetime when I attain Buddhahood, then, too, I will be a woman.
Tārā, then, embodies certain ideals which make her attractive to women practitioners, and her emergence as a Bodhisattva can be seen as a part of
Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
Buddhism's reaching out to women, and becoming more inclusive even in 6th-century CE
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


Characteristics and symbolism

Tārā's name literally means "star" or "planet", and therefore she is associated with navigation and travel both literally and metaphorically as spiritual crossing to the "other side" of the ocean of existence (enlightenment). Hence she is known literally as "she who saves" in Tibetan. In the ''108 Names of the Holy Tara'', Tara is "Leader of the caravans ..... who showeth the way to those who have lost it" and she is named as ''Dhruva'', the Sanskrit name for the
North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...
. Due to her association with navigation and travel, she is thus popular as a savior and protector from danger. In modern
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
, Tārā is one of the most popular deities that are appealed to by laypersons and monastics alike for aid. Tara's main form is depicted as dark green in color, which is associated with awakened activity. In Himalayan Buddhist iconography, each color is typically associated with a specific kind of activity (for example white is pacification and red is power). Because dark green is seen as a combination of all other colors, the main form of Tārā, Green Tārā, is considered to be the source of all beneficial activities. Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā appears in many forms, each tied to certain colors, symbols, and beneficial activities. As Green Tārā she offers succor and protection from all the unfortunate circumstances one can encounter in the world of suffering. As White Tārā she expresses maternal compassion and offers healing to beings who are hurt or wounded, either mentally or psychically. White Tara is further associated with longevity, countering illness, and purification. Red Tārā meanwhile is associated with power, controlling and influencing others as well as with the transformation of desire into compassion. The manifestation of Blue Tārā (
Ekajati Ekajaṭī or Ekajaṭā (Sanskrit: "One wikt:plait, Plait Woman"; : one who has one knot of hair), also known as Māhacīnatārā,''The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India'' By David Gordon White. pg 65 is one of the 21 Tara (Bu ...
) is a ferocious female protector whose invocation destroys all obstacles. A copper Tārā from Nepal, c. 17th or 18th century Tārā is also a forest goddess, particularly in her form as ''Khadiravani'', "dweller in the Khadira forest" and is generally associated with plant life, flowers, acacia (khadira) trees and the wind. Because of her association with nature and plants, Tārā is also known as a healing goddess (especially as White Tārā) and as a goddess of nurturing quality and fertility. Her association with the wind element (vaayu) also means that she is swift in responding to calls for any aid. According to
Miranda Shaw Miranda may refer to: People * Miranda (given name), includes list of real and fictional people with given name Miranda * Miranda (surname), includes list of people with surname Miranda * Miranda (footballer, born 1947) (Deoclécio Manuel de Mir ...
, "
Motherhood A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case ...
is central to the conception of Tara". Her titles include "loving mother", "supreme mother", "mother of the world", "universal mother" and "mother of all Buddhas". As such, Tārā embodies many of the qualities of feminine principle. She is known as the Mother of Mercy and Compassion. She is the source, the female aspect of the universe, which gives birth to warmth, compassion and relief from bad karma as experienced by ordinary beings in cyclic existence. She engenders, nourishes, smiles at the vitality of creation, and has sympathy for all beings as a mother does for her children. Tārā is most often shown with the blue lotus or night lotus (''
utpala Utpala in Sanskrit is a neuter noun with two meanings, both given by ''Amarakosha, '' (a lexicon of circa. 400 AD). The first meaning is ''Nymphaea nouchali'', the "blue lotus", also known as ''kuvalaya'' in Sanskrit. The second meaning of ''utp ...
''), which releases its fragrance with the appearance of the moon and therefore Tārā is also associated with the moon and night.


As a popular saviour deity

Green Tara giving boons to Devotees: Folio from a Manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, ''Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita'',
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
Tawang monastery">file:Tara in Tawang university.jpg, Statue of Tara in Tawang Monastery, Tawang monastery file:White Tara - Google Art Project.jpg, Tibetan style painting of White Tara (Sitatara) (c. 19th century) depicting her pacification of the eight fears and dangers in eight narrative illustrations around the main deity. In general, Tārā is especially seen as a savior who provides salvation and protection from the eight fears (aṣṭabhaya) or eight dangers (aṣṭaghora). This is a common theme in her iconography and she is sometimes depicted in a specific iconographical style called "Tara who protects from the eight dangers" (Tārāṣṭaghoratāraṇī). According to ''The Noble Sūtra “Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers”'' (*''Āryatārāṣṭaghoratāraṇī­sūtra''), the eight dangers (aṣṭaghora) are: lions, elephants, fire, snakes, robbers, waters, infectious diseases, and demons. This sutra also contains an incantation (
dharani Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pa ...
) which is chanted to invoke Tārā's protection. In Tibetan Buddhism, each of these outer dangers is also associated with an inner psychological meaning. As such, lions represent pride, wild elephants represent delusion, fires represent anger, snakes represent jealousy, bandits represent wrong views, bondage represent avarice, floods represent desire and attachment, and evil spirits and demons represent doubts. With the development of esoteric or
tantric Buddhism ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
, two main ways of approaching Tara developed. In one, common folk and lay practitioners continued to directly appeal to her for protection and aid in worldly affairs, often chanting prayers,
dharani Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pa ...
s, or mantras to her and doing puja (worship rites). Tara's mantra and her twenty one verses of praise are widely learned and chanted by Tibetan laypersons. Tara also became a tantric deity whose secret practices and tantric sadhanas would be used by monks and yogis in order to develop her awakened qualities in themselves, ultimately leading to
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
. Another quality which Tara shares with feminine spirits (such as
dakini A ḍākinī (; ; ; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of goddess in Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the ḍākinī somewhat differs depending on t ...
s) is playfulness. As
John Blofeld John Eaton Calthorpe Blofeld (2 April 1913 – 7 June 1987) was a British writer on Asian thought and religion, especially Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. Early life Blofeld was born in London in 1913.Blofeld 2008, pg. 4 In his youth, he happened ...
explains in ''Bodhisattva of Compassion'', Tārā is frequently depicted as a young sixteen-year-old girlish woman. She often manifests in the lives of
dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
practitioners when they take themselves, or the spiritual path too seriously. There are Tibetan tales in which she laughs at self-righteousness, or plays pranks on those who lack reverence for the feminine. In ''Magic Dance: The Display of the Self-Nature of the Five Wisdom Dakinis'',
Thinley Norbu Kyabje Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (; ) (1931 – December 26, 2011) was a major modern teacher in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and patron of the Vajrayana Foundation. He was the eldest son of Dudjom Rinpoche, the former head of th ...
explores this as "playmind". Applied to Tārā, one could say that her playful mind can relieve ordinary minds that become rigidly serious or tightly gripped by dualistic distinctions. She takes delight in an open mind and a receptive heart, for in this openness and receptivity her blessings can naturally unfold and her energies can quicken the aspirant's spiritual development.


Pure Land and Buddha family

Tara also has her own
pure land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
(buddhafield), called Arrayed in Turquoise Petals (Tibetan: Yurlod Kurpa or Yulokod). It is described as "Covered with manifold trees and creepers, resounding with the sound of many birds, and with murmur of waterfalls, thronged with wild beasts of many kinds; Many species of flowers grow everywhere." According to Loppon Chandra Easton, this pure land is actually contained within
Sukhavati Sukhavati ( IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful"; Chinese: 極樂世界, lit. "realm of ultimate bliss") is the pure land (or buddhafield) of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. Sukhavati is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure L ...
, the pure land of Buddha Amitabha. Tara is thus associated with the Lotus Buddha family of Amitabha Buddha. Her association with Buddha Amitabha is also affirmed by
Thubten Chodron Thubten Chodron ( — De Lin), born Cheryl Greene, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the United States. C ...
, who discusses how Tara is part of Amitabha's buddha family (the Lotus family):
Amitabha Buddha rests on Tara’s crown. Buddhist deities may be divided into five “families,” related to the
five Dhyani Buddhas 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
. Amitabha Buddha is the head of the family to which both Tara and Chenresig belong. For this reason Amitabha sits on her crown. Amitabha is Tara’s
guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
, her spiritual mentor.
Furthermore, she is also said to have a pure dwelling within
Mount Potalaka Mount Potalaka (, Japanese: 補陀洛 ''Fudaraku-san''), which means "Brilliance", is the mythical dwelling of the Buddhist bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, said to exist in the seas south of India. Origins The mountain is first mentioned in the ...
, Avalokiteśvara's pure bodhimanda in this world.


In Vajrayana

Sand mandala of Green Tara, constructed by Tibetan monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery in India at Kentucky Center for the Arts, 2017 Tārā as a focus for tantric
deity yoga The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantric practice, Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), a form of Buddhist meditation centered on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''). Thi ...
can be traced back to the time period of
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...
. There is a Red Tārā practice which was given by Padmasambhava to
Yeshe Tsogyal Yeshe Tsogyal (c. 757 or 777 – 817 CE), also known as "Victorious Ocean of Knowledge", "Knowledge Lake Empress" (, ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ), or by her Sanskrit name ''Jñānasāgarā'' "Knowledge Ocean", or by her clan na ...
. He asked that she hide it as a treasure. It was not until the 20th century, that a great Nyingma lama, Apong Terton rediscovered it. It is said that this lama was reborn as
Sakya Trizin Sakya Trizin ( "Sakya Throne-Holder") is the traditional title of the head of the Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school), Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.''Holy Biographies of the Great Founders of the Glorious Sakya Order'', translated by Venerable ...
, present head of the
Sakyapa The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
sect. A monk who had known Apong Terton succeeded in retransmitting it to Sakya Trizin, and the same monk also gave it to
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche Chagdud Tulku (, 1930–2002) was a Tibetan teacher of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill ...
, who released it to his western students. Martin Willson in ''In Praise of Tārā'' traces many different lineages of Tārā Tantras, that is Tārā scriptures used as Tantric sadhanas. For example, a Tārā sadhana was revealed to
Tilopa Tilopa (Prakrit; Sanskrit: Talika or Tilopadā; 988–1069) was an Indian Buddhist tantric mahasiddha who lived along the Ganges River. He practised Anuttarayoga Tantra, a set of spiritual practices intended to accelerate the process of attaini ...
(988–1069 CE), the human father of the
Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, M ...
. Atisa, the great translator and founder of the
Kadampa file:Portrait of the Indian Monk Atisha.jpg, 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism, or Kadampa was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengalis, Bengali master Atiśa (982–1054) and his ...
school of Tibetan Buddhism, was a devotee of Tārā. He composed a praise to her, and three Tārā Sadhanas. Martin Willson's work also contains charts which show origins of her tantras in various lineages, but suffice to say that Tārā as a tantric practice quickly spread from around the 7th century CE onwards, and remains an important part of Vajrayana Buddhism to this day. The practices themselves usually present Tārā as a tutelary deity (thug dam,
yidam A ''yidam'' or ''iṣṭadevatā'' is a meditational deity that serves as a focus for meditation and spiritual practice, said to be manifestations of Buddhahood or enlightened mind. Yidams are an integral part of Vajrayana, including Tibeta ...
) which the practitioners sees as being a latent aspect of one's mind, or a manifestation in a visible form of a quality stemming from Buddha Jnana. As John Blofeld puts it in ''The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet'':


Mantras

The various systems of Vajrayana Tārā practice contain numerous
mantras A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
for Tara. Technically speaking, a Tārā mantra is termed a "vidyā" (the proper term for a mantra of a female deity). The main vidyā mantra of Tārā is: Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā. This is the most popularly recited mantra of the deity and is her root (mula) mantra. ''Tāre tuttāre ture'' is in the
vocative case In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numeral ...
. ''Tāre'' is the basic name of the deity ("O Tara"). ''Tuttāre'' (prefixed by ud-) refers to Tara as "the one who helps eingsto cross" the ocean of saṃsāra, and who "pulls
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
up" (''ut-tārā''). ''Turā,'' the third epithet, means "swift." Many Tārā mantras build off this base vidyā mantra by adding various mantric words which activate different functions of the deity, such as pacification or subjugation. As Beyer notes, one way to do this is to add a phrase like "sarva ____ śāntiṃkuru" (pacify all ____ ) in between ture and svāhā. Different terms may be inserted into the blank here, depending on what activity is required, such as grahān (evil spirits), vighnān (hindering demons), vyādhīn (diseases), upadravān (injuries), akālamṛtyūn (untimely deaths), duḥsvapnān (bad dreams), cittākulāni (confusions), śatrūn (enemies), bhayopadravān (terrors and injuries), duṣkṛtāni (evil deeds). Thus, for example, if one wanted to pacify evil spirits, one could recite: Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture sarva grahān śāntiṃkuru svāhā. Other appendixes may be added to the mantra in the same manner. For example, sarvapāpaṃ āvaraṇa viśuddhe (cleanse all evil and obscurations), or dhanaṃ me dehi (give me wealth). Other extensions of the basic vidyā mantra include a common mantra for wrathful forms of Tārā: Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture hūṃ phaṭ, and a common mantra for White Tārā used to increase lifespan is: Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture mama ayuḥ punya jñānā puśtiṃ kuru svāhā. Tara's seed mantra ( bijamantra) is tāṃ. This seed syllable is often visualized in Tara sadhanas (meditative rites. spiritual practices). This seed syllable may also appear in longer Tārā mantras. For example, there is a common Red Tārā mantra which goes: Oṃ tāre tāṃ svāhā. Some traditions also contain a mantra for each of the twenty one Tārās, which are used to invoke a specific activity of Tara, like Atiśa's lineage of Tara practice, which is one of the most popular systems in Tibetan Buddhism. The main source for this system is Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna’s (982–1054 CE) ''Sādhana of the Twenty-One Tārās'' (''sgrol ma nyi shu rtsa gcig gi sgrub thabs''). Thus, in Atiśa's tradition, the mantra of Swift and Heroic Tārā (used for subduing enemies and hindrances) is Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture vāśaṃ kuru svāhā, the mantra of White Tārā (for healing and longevity): Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture śāntiṃ kuru svāhā and the mantra of Golden Tara (for increasing and wealth): Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture puṣṭīṃ kuru svāhā. Other Atiśa tradition Tārā mantras require one to insert a specific name into it. For example, the mantra of Tārā who utters hūṃ allows you to influence or seduce a person, and thus is structured as follows: Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture ame of personākarṣaya hrī svāhā.


Prayers and dharanis

There are various prayers, odes (
stotra ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...
s) and
dharani Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pa ...
s associated with Tara. The most famous is certainly the '' Praise to Tara in Twenty One Verses (Namastāraikaviṃśatistotra)'' which is found in numerous sources, including in the ''Tara Tantra'' (Tohoku no. 726), which calls the prayer a ''
dhāraṇī Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhism, Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskri ...
.'' This prayer is recited daily by many monastics and laypersons of the Himalayan Vajrayana traditions. There are numerous commentaries to this praise, including three commentaries attributed to Sūryagupta. One popular short prayer or dhāraṇī is often found coupled together with the ''Praise to Tara in Twenty One Verses.'' This is called the "praise rooted in mantra" since it contains the basic Tara mantra. This is also a popular prayer in Vajrayana Buddhism. This prayer is:
namas tāre ture vīre tuttāre bhayanāśini ture sarvārthade tāre svāhā kāre namo’stute
Om! Homage! O TARE, Swift One, Heroine! TUTTARE who eliminates fears! TURE, the Saviouress granting all benefits! Sound of SVAHA, worshipped and praised!
An esoteric sūtra titled ''Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers'' (*''Tārāṣṭaghoratāraṇī'') teaches the following dharani which can be recited as an aid to liberation:
''oṁ'', bodhisattva great lady, goddess, please protect us! oṁ nama āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahā­sattvāya mahā­kāruṇikāya , tadyathā , oṁ tāre tuttāre ture sarvaduṣṭān praduṣṭān mama kṛte jambhaya stambhaya mohaya bandhaya hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā , nama āryāvalobhayā narā bodhisattvā mahā­sattvāni adhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite mama sarvakarmāvaraṇa svabhāva­śuddhe viśuddhe śodhaya viśodhaya hūṁ phaṭ svāhā ,
Another Tārā dhāraṇī is found in ''The Hundred and Eight Names of the Goddess Tārā'' (''Tārā­devī­nāmāṣṭaśataka''). This text also contains a set of verses that give one hundred and eight epithets of the deity.


Sadhanas

Sadhanas in which Tārā is the
yidam A ''yidam'' or ''iṣṭadevatā'' is a meditational deity that serves as a focus for meditation and spiritual practice, said to be manifestations of Buddhahood or enlightened mind. Yidams are an integral part of Vajrayana, including Tibeta ...
(meditational deity) can be extensive or quite brief. Most all of them include some introductory praises or homages to invoke her presence and prayers of taking refuge. Then her
mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
is recited, followed by a visualization of her, perhaps more mantra, then the visualization is dissolved, followed by a dedication of the merit from doing the practice. Additionally there may be extra prayers of aspirations, and a long life prayer for the Lama who originated the practice. Many of the Tārā sadhanas are seen as beginning practices within the world of
Vajrayana Buddhism ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
, however what is taking place during the visualization of the deity actually invokes some of the most sublime teachings of all Buddhism. In this case during the creation phase of Tārā as a yidam, she is seen as having as much reality as any other phenomena apprehended through the mind. By reciting her mantra and visualizing her form in front, or on the head of the adept, one is opening to her energies of compassion and wisdom. After a period of time the practitioner shares in some of these qualities, becomes imbued with her being and all it represents. At the same time all of this is seen as coming out of Emptiness and having a translucent quality like a rainbow. Then many times there is a visualization of oneself as Tārā. One simultaneously becomes inseparable from all her good qualities while at the same time realizing the emptiness of the visualization of oneself as the yidam and also the emptiness of one's ordinary self. This occurs in the completion stage of the practice. One dissolves the created deity form and at the same time also realizes how much of what we call the "self" is a creation of the mind, and has no long term substantial inherent existence. This part of the practice then is preparing the practitioner to be able to confront the dissolution of one's self at death and ultimately be able to approach through various stages of meditation upon emptiness, the realization of Ultimate Truth as a vast display of
Emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...
and Luminosity. At the same time the recitation of the mantra has been invoking Tārā's energy through its
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
seed syllable In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...
s and this purifies and activates certain energy centers of the body (
chakras A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...
). This also untangles knots of psychic energy which have hindered the practitioner from developing a Vajra body, which is necessary to be able to progress to more advanced practices and deeper stages of realization. Therefore, even in a simple Tārā sadhana a plethora of outer, inner, and secret events is taking place and there are now many works such as ''Deity Yoga'', compiled by the present Dalai Lama, which explores all the ramifications of working with a yidam in Tantric practices. The end results of doing such Tārā practices are many. For one thing it reduces the forces of delusion in the forms of negative karma, sickness, afflictions of kleshas, and other obstacles and obscurations. The mantra helps generate Bodhicitta within the heart of the practitioner and purifies the psychic channels (
nadis () is a term for the channels through which, in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual theory, the energies such as prana of the human body, physical body, the subtle body and the causal body are said to flow. Within this philosophical framew ...
) within the body allowing a more natural expression of generosity and compassion to flow from the heart center. Through experiencing Tārā's perfected form one acknowledges one's own perfected form, that is one's intrinsic Buddha nature, which is usually covered over by obscurations and clinging to dualistic
phenomena A phenomenon ( phenomena), sometimes spelled phaenomenon, is an observable Event (philosophy), event. The term came into its modern Philosophy, philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be ...
as being inherently real and permanent. The practice then weans one away from a coarse understanding of Reality, allowing one to get in touch with inner qualities similar to those of a bodhisattva, and prepares one's inner self to embrace finer spiritual energies, which can lead to more subtle and profound realizations of the Emptiness of phenomena and self. As Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, in his ''Introduction to the Red Tārā Sadhana'', notes of his lineage: "Tārā is the flawless expression of the inseparability of emptiness, awareness and compassion. Just as you use a mirror to see your face, Tārā
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
is a means of seeing the true face of your mind, devoid of any trace of delusion". There are several preparations to be done before practising the Sadhana. To perform a correct execution the practitioner must be prepared and take on the proper disposition. The preparations may be grouped as "internal" and "external". Both are necessary to achieve the required concentration.


Tibetan revealed texts

Terma teachings are "hidden teachings" said to have been left by
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...
(8th century) and others for the benefit of future generations.
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (, 1820–1892), also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement. Having seen how the Gelug institutions p ...
discovered Phagme Nyingthig (Tib. spelling: 'chi med 'phags ma'i snying thig, Innermost Essence teachings of the Immortal Bodhisattva rya Tārā/nowiki>). Earlier in the 19th century, according to a biography, Nyala Pema Dündul received a Hidden Treasure, Tārā Teaching and Nyingthig (Tib. nying thig) from his uncle Kunsang Dudjom (Tib. kun bzang bdud 'joms). It is not clear from the source whether the terma teaching and the nyingthig teachings refer to the same text or two different texts.


Forms

Green Tara, tempera on cloth, ''1160s-1180s.'' Collection of John and Berthe Ford, Promised gift to the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore Khadira forest Tara, black basalt, Bihar, 10th century White Tara and Green Tara There are many forms of Tārā, including various popular lists of 21 different forms or emanations of Tārā. "Green Tārā" (Skt. śyāmatārā), who is associated with peacefulness and enlightened activity, is the most depicted form of the goddess in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. This is generally considered Tārā's main form, out of which the other twenty one forms arise. One common variation of Green Tārā is known as Khadiravaṇi-Tārā (Tārā of the
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
forest) and appears in a forest with flowers in her hair while accompanied by her two attendants Mārīcī and Ekajaṭā. Another popular form is White Tārā (Sitatārā), often shown with two arms seated on a white lotus and with eyes on her hand and feet, as well as a third eye on her forehead (thus she is also known as "Seven eyed"). She is known for compassion, long life, healing, and serenity. Red forms of Tārā are also quite common, and their main activity is power and enthrallment or magnetizing (Skt. vaśīkaraṇa, the "power to control and subjugate"). Tārā is generally considered to have many forms, all of which are various adaptations to the needs of all living beings. According to Dharmachari Purna: There are numerous lists of "twenty one Tārās" found in Tibetan Buddhism, a tradition which is found in the Indic sources as well, beginning with the tantric '' The Praise in Twenty-one Homages'' (Skt. ''Namastāraikaviṃśatistotraguṇahitasahita'', in full: ''The Praise to Tara with Twenty-One Verses of Homage, and the Excellent Benefits of Reciting the Praise'', Derge no. 438). Indian authors like Sūryagupta (a.k.a. Ravigupta, c. 7th-8th century), Candragomin and Atisha also wrote texts discussing "twenty one Tārās" and the Tārā lineages of these figures are still found in Tibetan Buddhism. Another different list is found in the Indian ''Sadhanamala''. These Indian lineages have lists which contain different forms of Tārā. There are also other Tibetan lineages with different lists of twenty one forms of Tārā, including that of
Longchenpa Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (), or simply Longchenpa (1308–1364, "The Great One Who Is the Vast Cosmic Expanse") was a Tibetan scholar-yogi of the Nyingma school, the 'Old School' of Tibetan Buddhism. According to tibetologist David German ...
,
Jigme Lingpa Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798) was a Tibetan ''tertön'' of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the promulgator of the Longchen Nyingthig, the Heart Essence teachings of Longchenpa, from whom, according to tradition, he received a v ...
and Choggyur Lingpa.


Nine Tārā mandala

The ''Tārā Tantra'' contains a
mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...
of nine Tārās, each one is a different color, but all are depicted as young women covered in jewels, with earrings and ornaments. The nine Tārās are: # Green Tārā, with one head and two arms, who resides at the center of the mandala. One hand makes the gesture of granting boons (varada) and the other hand holds a blue
utpala Utpala in Sanskrit is a neuter noun with two meanings, both given by ''Amarakosha, '' (a lexicon of circa. 400 AD). The first meaning is ''Nymphaea nouchali'', the "blue lotus", also known as ''kuvalaya'' in Sanskrit. The second meaning of ''utp ...
flower. # Dark blue Tārā is found in the eastern quarter of the mandala. She is a youth who holds a trident and an uptala flower. # Gold Tārā is found in the southern quarter of the mandala. She holds a sword and an utpala flower. # Red Tārā is found in the western quarter of the mandala. She holds a wheel and an utpala flower. # Green Tārā in the northern quarter of the mandala. She holds a parasol and an utpala flower. # Hook Tārā in the eastern gate of the mandala. She is white, wrathful, and carries a hook in each hand. # Lasso Tārā in the southern gate of the mandala. She is yellow, wrathful, and carries a lasso in each hand. # Shackles Tārā in the western gate, red skinned, wrathful, holding shackles. # Bell Tārā in the northern gate, blue-green colored, wrathful, holding a bell in each hand.


Sūryagupta's Tārās

Sūryagupta was a devotee of Tārā and wrote at least five commentaries on the ''Praise in Twenty-One Homages''. His explanation of various forms of Tārā is the earliest one in the Indian tradition. In his tradition, which has been widely studied by scholars, each form of the goddess has different attributes, color and activity (such as pacifying, magnetizing, longevity, subduing enemies, etc). Each form of Tārā also goes by slightly different names. The Sūryagupta list of Tārās actually contains twenty two forms, with one main or central deity, which is Green Tārā, Khadiravaṇī, who is blue-green, and the twenty one Tārās. The order of the list below follows Sūryagupta's commentary:Thubten Chodron (2013) ''How to Free Your Mind: The Practice of Tara the Liberator'', the names are found throughout all of chapter 5's commentary, Shambhala Publications. * Swift Courageous Tārā or Heroic Tārā (Skt. Tārā Tura-vīrā or Tārā Pravīrā) - red in color "radiating fiery light,
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...
one face with two eyes, and eight arms." Her arms hold various weapons like a bow and arrow. This Tārā controls and reverses negative and evil influences, both internal and external influences. * Tārā White like the Autumn Moon or Brilliant Moon Tārā (Skt. Tārā Śuklakānti or Tārā Candra-kānti), this is a three faced twelve armed white Tārā with peaceful powers, she is particularly known for the pacification of defilement and disease. The three faces represent the
trikaya The Trikāya (, lit. "three bodies"; , ) is a fundamental Buddhist doctrine that explains the multidimensional nature of Buddhahood. As such, the Trikāya is the basic theory of Mahayana Buddhist theology of Buddhahood. This concept posits that a ...
. * Golden Coloured Tārā (Skt. Tārā Kanaka-varṇī), this ten armed gold Tārā specializes in the activity of increasing: increasing lifespan, resources, and wisdom * Tārā Crown Jewel the Tathāgatas or Victorious Crown Jewel Tārā (Skt. Tārā Tathāgatoṣṇīṣā or Tārā Uṣṇīṣa-vijayā), the
uṣṇīṣa The ushnisha (, Pali: ''uṇhīsa'') is a protuberance on top of the head of a Buddha. In Buddhist literature, it is sometimes said to represent the "crown" of a Buddha, a symbol of Enlightenment and status the King of the Dharma. Descriptio ...
is a protuberance on the Buddha’s head, this four armed gold Tārā is known for neutralizing poison, increasing life and preventing premature death. * Tārā sounding Hūṃ (Skt. Tārā Hūṃ-kāra-nādinī or Tārā Hūṃ-svara-nādinī), slight fierce in countenance and golden color. She is shown stamping her feet, an act that sounds the syllable Hūṃ, which reverses negative influences and draws sentient beings to the Dharma. * Tārā, Victor Over the Three Worlds (Skt. Tārā Trailokavijayā), depicted ruby red or reddish black, this Tārā subdues and controls all deities and spirits, including devas like Indra and Agni as well as yakshas. She also purifies obscurations and negativities. * Destroyer Tārā or Enemy crusher Tārā (Skt. Tārā Pramardinī or Tārā Apavādi-pramardanī), a fierce black Tārā with a wrathful looking face holding a sword who is known for subduing dark and demonic forces, external and internal. She is also associated with a
phowa ''Phowa'' (, ) is a tantric practice found in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It may be described as "transference of consciousness at the time of death", " mindstream transference", "the practice of conscious dying", or "enlightenment without medit ...
ritual which transfers the mindstream to the pure land at the time of death. * Mara destroyer Tārā (who bestows excellence) (Skt. Tārā Māra-mardaneśvarī or Tārā Māra-sūdanī-vaśitottama-dā) - a golden colored Tārā with a fierce frown who can destroy the four Maras (death, the defiled aggregates, the defilements, and the
Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...
the deity) which are the obstacles to awakening. * Tārā of the Khadira Forest (Skt. Tārā Khadira-vaṇī), a "shining blue-green" Tārā who holds a blue lotus and appears in a lush forest of fragrant Khadira trees. She is depicted accompanied by Marici and
Ekajata In the Shaivism and Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, the goddess Tara (, ) is the second of the ten Mahavidyas. She is considered a form of Adishakti, the tantric manifestation of Parvati. Her three most famous forms are Ekajaṭā, Ugratar ...
. She is the principal Tārā in the Sūryagupta tradition. Interestingly enough * Tārā granter of boons (Skt. Tārā Vara-dā), is sometimes depicted as a red Tārā who grants all precious things to all beings. * Tārā dispeller of sorrow (Skt. Śoka-vinodana Tārā), a red Tārā who fulfills desires and subjugates evil * Tārā magnetiser of all beings (dispeller of misfortune) (Skt. Tārā Jagad-vaśī or Tārā Jagad-vaśī-riṣṭa-nirvahaṇī), her power is to increase enjoyments, and wealth, she is the "color of darkness". * Auspicious light Tārā or Tārā giver of prosperity (Skt. Tārā Maṅgalālokā or Kalyāna-dā Tārā), a gold Tārā with eight arms and a crescent moon ornament. She gives off a white light for pacifying negativities and a yellow light for increasing goodness. She is sometimes depicted with Amitabha at her crown. * Tārā who ripens all (Skt. Tārā Paripācakā), a red fierce looking Tārā depicted amid a cosmic fire. She subdues the hindrances and protects from fear and danger. * Furrowed Brow Tārā, or Tārā the enthraller of all (Skt. Tārā Bhṛkuṭī or Tārā Vaśīkārī), a dark Tārā with three wrathful faces and a necklace of skulls. She is shown dancing, trampling a corpse and stamping her foot. She destroys all things which interfere with the Dharma and the welfare of sentient beings. * Great peaceful Tārā (Skt. Tārā Mahā-śānti), a white peaceful Tārā with six arms, associated with happiness, purification and pacification of negative karma * Tārā destroyer of attachment (Skt. Tārā Rāga-niṣūdanī), a beautiful red Tārā holding a trident who amplifies the power of mantras and removes negative thoughts. * Tārā who accomplishes bliss (Skt. Tārā Sukha-sādhanī), she is orange and holds a moon disk at her chest. She is known for eliminating dark magic mantras and for binding thieves. * White victorious Tārā (Skt. Tārā Vijayā or Tārā Sita-vijayā), a white Tārā known for dispelling disease, particularly leprosy * Tārā consumer of suffering (Skt. Tārā
Duḥkha ''Duḥkha'' (; , ) "suffering", "pain", "unease", or "unsatisfactoriness", is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "uneas ...
-dahanī), a white Tārā who eliminates conflict, nightmares, negative thoughts, and poisons. She is also associated with freedom from prison. * Tārā giver of attainments (Skt. Tārā Siddhi-saṃbhavā) an orange Tārā who grants special powers (siddhis) like invisibility and also heals diseases * Tārā who perfects all (Skt. Tārā Pari-pūraṇī), a white Tārā sitting on a bull who can take one to the
Pure land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
of Akanishta


Ferocious Tārā - Tārā of Greater China

One notable form of Tārā is the dark Ugra Tārā (Ferocious or Terrible Tara) also known as Mahācīnakrama Tārā (Tib: ''gya nag gi rim pa drol ma'', Tara in the Tradition of Greater China).Bühnemann, Gudrun
"The Goddess Mahācīnakrama-Tārā (Ugra-Tārā) in Buddhist and Hindu Tantrism"
''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 59''. 1996, pp. 472-493
This form of Tārā is notable because it was later imported into Hindu tantra from Buddhist sources like the ''Sadhanamala'' and the ''Sadhanasamuccaya''. This Hindu Tara remains an important deity in Hindu
Shakta Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the deity or metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, manifestations, or personificatio ...
traditions, where she is one of the ten Mahāvidyā goddesses. Ferocious Tārā is dark / black (nīla) with one face and four arms. She stands on a corpse, and holds a sword, a cutter (kartri), a blue lotus and a skullcup. She sports a single knot of hair with Aksobhya Buddha on her head. Iconographically, Ferocious Tara is almost identical to one form of another goddess, Ekajaṭā (also known as Ekajaṭī or Blue Tara). As such, some authors identify the two forms.


Other forms or emanations of Tārā

Prasanna Tārā, a fierce form of the goddess Bust of Vajratara A statue from Nepal depicting a very fierce form of Tara According to Shaw, there is a later trend of Tārā buddhology that began to see all other female divinities as aspects or emanations of Tārā or at least as being associated with her. Apart from her many emanations named Tārā of varying colors, other Mahayana female divinities that became associated with mother Tara include: Janguli, Parnashabari, Cunda, Kurukulla,
Mahamayuri Mahamayuri ( ("great peacock"), ''Kǒngquè Míngwáng'', , , ''Gongjak Myeongwang''), or Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī is a bodhisattva and female Wisdom King in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In the latter tradition, Mahamayuri is a popular ...
,
Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...
,
Vasudhara Vasudhārā whose name means "stream of gems" in Sanskrit, also known as "Gold Tara", is the Buddhist goddess of wealth, prosperity, and abundance. Her popularity peaks in Nepal where she has a strong following among the Buddhist Newars of th ...
, Usnisavijaya, and Marici. Based on the principle of Tārā as the central female Buddha, all other
devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...
s and
dakinis A ḍākinī (; ; ; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of goddess in Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the ḍākinī somewhat differs depending on t ...
were thus seen as emanations of her. Other forms or emanations of Tārā include: *Other wealth Taras like Yellow Cintamani Tārā ("Wish-Granting Gem Tara") and golden "Rajasri Tārā" holding a blue lotus. *
Vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...
Tārā - a tantric form first described in the ''Vajrapanjara Tantra,'' who is yellow with eight arms, sometimes shown with a male consort. *
Cintāmaṇi Cintāmaṇi (Sanskrit; Devanagari: ; zh, c=如意寶珠, p=Rúyì bǎozhū; ; Korean: 여의보주/yeouiboju; Japanese Romaji: ), also spelled as Chintamani (or the ''Chintamani Stone''), is a wish-fulfilling jewel resembling a pearl described ...
Tārā, a form of Tārā widely practiced at the level of Highest Yoga Tantra in the
Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...
School of
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
, portrayed as green and often conflated with Green Tārā *The Indic deity
Sarasvati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...
(Yangchenma), known for the arts, knowledge and wisdom, is sometimes seen as a form of Tārā * Kurukullā (Rigjema), a red fierce Buddhist deity associated with magnetizing all good things is sometimes seen as an emanation of Tara *
Sitatapatra Sitātapatrā (Sanskrit: "White Parasol") is a bodhisattva and protector against supernatural danger in Buddhism. She is venerated in both the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. She is also known as Usnisasitatapatra or ''Uṣṇīṣa Sitātapat ...
Tārā ("White Parasol" Tara), depicted as white with many arms, and is mainly seen as a protector *Golden Prasanna Tārā – a wrathful form, with a necklace of bloody heads and sixteen arms holding an array of weapons and Tantric attributes. *A yab-yum form in which Green Tara is depicted embracing the Buddha
Amoghasiddhi Amoghasiddhi (Devanagari: अमोघसिद्धि) is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism. He is associated with the accomplishment of the Buddhist path and of the destruction of the poison o ...
. *Pitishvari Uddiyana Tara - a red fierce dancing Tara with four faces and eight arms, a crown of skulls, a necklace of fresh heads and depicted as surrounded by fire. *
Yeshe Tsogyal Yeshe Tsogyal (c. 757 or 777 – 817 CE), also known as "Victorious Ocean of Knowledge", "Knowledge Lake Empress" (, ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ), or by her Sanskrit name ''Jñānasāgarā'' "Knowledge Ocean", or by her clan na ...
("Wisdom Lake Queen"), the consort of
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...
who brought Buddhism to Tibet, is seen as an emanation of Tārā in Tibetan Buddhism. *Rigjay Lhamo, "Goddess Who Brings Forth Awareness", seated in royal posture surrounded by rainbow light. Tārā's iconography such as the lotus also shows resemblance with the Hindu goddess
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, and at least one Tibetan liturgy evokes Lakshmi as Tārā.


Gallery

File:Solid bronze statue of goddess Tara.jpg, Bronze statue at the British Museum File:057 Cave 12, Four-Armed Tara (33768875920).jpg, Tara at Ellora Cave 12 File:The Buddhist deity White Tara Nepal Gilded copper repousse 1400-1500 CE (37330005032).jpg, Gilded copper White Tara, Nepal File:Another Tara Statue in Patan.jpg, Tara statue, Patan File:砂岩度母像.jpg, Sandstone Tara Statue File:025 Tara 10-11c Gaya (9221433136).jpg, Tara c. 10-11 century, Gaya File:Stone sculpt NMND -17.JPG, Tara, Sarnath File:Tara-british.museum.jpg,
Statue of Tara The Statue of Tara is a gilt-bronze sculpture of Tara that dates from the 7th–8th century AD in Sri Lanka. Some argue it was looted from the last King of Kandy when the British annexed Kandy in the early nineteenth century. It was given to t ...
, Sri Lanka, 7th–8th century File:Buduruwagala-Avalokitesvara.jpg, Tara and Avalokitesvara, Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka File:038 Syamatara, Candi Jago, Malang, East Java, 13th c (23464113816).jpg, Syamatara, Candi Jago, Malang, East Java, 13th c. File:KITLV 87797 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Sculpture of Tara in a museum in Yogyakarta - Before 1900.tif, Sculpture of Tara in a museum in
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
File:Qing Green Tara 2.jpg, Green Tara statue,
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
File:Qing Tara.jpg, Tara statue from the Qing dynasty File:Javanese - The Buddhist Goddess Tara - Walters 572282.jpg, ''The Buddhist Goddess Tara'', gold and silver, Central Java, Indonesia, . File:042 Bodhisattva (9222079046).jpg, Tara,
Mahabodhi Temple The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple") or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha is said to hav ...
,
Bodhgaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained e ...
File:White Tara.jpg, Sita (White) Tara by Öndör Gegeen
Zanabazar Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar (born Eshidorji) was the first '' Jebtsundamba Khutuktu'' and the first ''Bogd Gegeen'' or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism in Mongolia. The son of a Mongol ...
. Mongolia, . File:Tara statue near Kulu.jpg, Tara statue near
Kullu Kullu () is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport ...
,
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
, India File:Ratnagiri ei3-40.jpg, Medititating Tara,
Ratnagiri, Odisha Ratnagiri (Odia language, Odia: ରତ୍ନଗିରି, meaning "hill of jewels") is the site of a ruined mahavihara, once the major Buddhist monastery in modern Odisha, India. It is located on a hill between the Brahmani and Birupa rivers in ...
, India, 8th century File:White Tara statue manor place 291107.jpg, White Tara statue in a
Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, M ...
dharma centre A Dharma Centre (Sanskrit) or Dhamma Centre (Pali) is a non-monastic Buddhist centre in a community. According to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, the function of these centres is to preserve and spread the teachings ...
File:Sitting Tara.jpg, Late Pala era Tara, c. 10th-11th centuries File:Statue of Syamatara (9th century), Singapore Pinacothèque De Paris - 20160410.jpg, Syamatara (Green Tārā), 9th century Javanese Shailendran art, from
Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
, Indonesia File:绿度母坐像2.jpg, Green Tara c. 15th-16th century, copper with gilding, painted with clay and gold, held in the Tibet Museum. File:Green tara 1947 wk.jpg, Painting of Buddhist goddess Green Tara by Prithvi Man Chitrakari done in 1947 File:Yellow Tara Nako Monastery India.jpg, Yellow Tara, Nako Monastery, India File:Qing Green Tara 1.jpg, Qing Green Tara File:Beijing 2009-1019.jpg, Syama Tara. Reign of Qianlong, 1736-1795. Lama Temple, Beijing File:India, tara in bronzo, 01.JPG, Indian bronze, Museo di storia naturale (Florence)


See also

* * * * *


References


Citations


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


21 Taras at Tara Mandala
* {{Authority control Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattvas Buddhas Buddhist goddesses Newar Tutelary goddesses Wisdom goddesses Yidams