Tara

File:Whitetaramasterdet.jpg

In Buddhist iconography, Tara is depicted in various forms. Here "White Tara" represents compassion, long life, healing and serenity.

Tārā (meaning "Star" or “Saviouress”), also known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan, is a popular female deity and bodhisattva primarily worshipped in Tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism. Originally a Hindu goddess, Tārā was absorbed into the Buddhist pantheon during the 6th century C.E. and is represented in different forms in Buddhism iconography. Known as a bodhisattva of compassion, as well as a tantric deity and Mother Goddess, it is said that Tārā guards and protects her devotees their whole life. She is popularly worshipped for her role in saving her devotees from worldly dangers and therefore great trust and reliance is placed in the ability of Tārā as a savior in times of need.

In Tibet, Tara is a tantric deity whose mantra and visualization are used by practitioners of Vajrayana to develop certain inner qualities and understand outer, inner and secret teachings about compassion, mercy and emptiness.

Historical Origins

Within Tibetan Buddhism Tara is regarded as a Buddha of compassion and action. She is the female aspect of Avalokitesvara and in some origin stories she comes from his tears that were shed in pity as he observed the vast suffering in the world.

Tara originated not in Buddhism but in Hinduism, where she was seen as a Mother Goddess. Known as a manifestation of the queen of time, Kali, Tara was seen as the unquenchable hunger that propels all life. Hindu oral tradition states that Tara first apperaed during the Hindu creation myth of the churning of the ocean. In this legend, Shiva has drunk the poison that was created from the churning of the ocean, thus saving the world from destruction, but has fallen unconscious under its powerful effect. Tara appears and takes Shiva on her lap. She suckles him, the milk from her breasts counteracting the poison, and he recovers. This myth is reminiscent of the one in which Shiva stops the rampaging Kali by becoming an infant. Seeing the child, Kali's maternal instinct comes to the fore, and she becomes quiet and nurses the infant Shiva. In both cases, Shiva assumes the position of an infant vis-à-vis the goddess.

In the 6th century C.E.., during the era of the Pala Empire, Tara was adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as an important bodhisattva figure. Not uncoincidentally this was just a few centuries after the Prajnaparamita Sutra had been introduced into what was becoming the Mahayana Buddhism of India. Tara made her first appearance in Buddhism as the "Mother of Perfected Wisdom" and then later came to be seen as an expression of the Compassion of Perfected Wisdom. However, sometimes Tara was also known as "the Mother of the Buddhas", which usually refered to the enlightened wisdom of the Buddhas, so in approaching Buddhist deities, one learns not to impose totally strict boundaries about what one deity represents. Be that as it may, Tara began to be associated with the motherly qualities of compassion and mercy. Undoubtedly for the common folk who were Buddhists in India of that time Tara was a more approachable deity. One reason for her popularity was that Tara came to be known as a Buddhist deity who could be appealed to directly by lay folk without the necessity or intervention of a lama or monk. Thus, as Tara was accepted into the ranks of Buddhist bodhisattvas, she became popular among the common folk, and for monastics, as an entry way into understanding compassion and mercy as part of one's evolving path within Buddhism. (Beyer, 3).

By the 7th century C.E., Tara then became very popular as an object of tantric worship and practice. With the movement and cross-pollination of Indian Buddhism into Tibet, devotion to Tara became incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism. Independent of whether she is classified as a deity, a Buddha or a bodhisattva, Tara remains very popular in Tibet and Mongolia to this day. Such is her popularity that she has also been woven into creation myths in Tibetan culture that pre-date Buddhism's arrival in Tibet. For example, in the myth telling of the birth of the Tibetan people, Tārā was the Goddess that gave birth to their people; hence she is not only a patron deity, but their mother as well (Beyer, 4). The introduction of Tārā into Tibet is also alluded to in the account that Nepalese princess Tr’itsün, wife of the great Tibetan king, Songsten Gampo (617-650), brought with her a statue of Tārā to Tibet. It is, however, historically unclear whether this sparked a devotional cult to Tārā (Beyer, 4). Some accounts describe the Tibetan King’s two wives, Nepalese princess Tr’itsün and Chinese princess Wen-ch’eng, each as versions of Tārā (Green and White Tārā, respectively). Tibetan devotion to Tārā may also have become widespread after Atīśa, a Buddhist monk from India, traveled to Tibet in 1042. Tārā was Atīśa’s personal deity throughout his life, and he may have popularized devotion to her in Tibet (Beyer, 11).

Description and Iconography

Tārā embodies several different identities and roles such as Bodhisattva, Mother Goddess, and Tantric Deity. Each of these roles is associated with particular representations, stories, symbols, and iconography. While Tara's forms are diverse, her main representations are as follows:

Tara as Bodhisattva

Tārā as Bodhisattva represents a central feature of Mahayana Buddhism; the Bodhisattva is one who has taken a vow to help all other beings attain enlightenment, so that they may be free of the suffering of the cycle of rebirth. It is interesting to note that Tārā is said to have attained enlightenment state within female form. In her capacity as Bodhisattva, Tārā is closely linked to the male Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara; in many cases, she is considered an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. Indeed, Tara is known as the one who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in samsara and seeks to save them. Tārā is also known as the “Mother of All the Buddhas”, which is a title linked to the feminine trait of Wisdom seen to reside in perfection within Tārā.

Representations of Tārā typically depict her as green in colour (although she may be portrayed in other colours as well). She is often portrayed as a young woman seated in the contemplative position, with one hand in the open-palmed gesture of welcoming, and adorned by silken garments, jeweled ornamentations, and lotus flowers. Tārā is also closely tied to nature; she is associated with many features of the Earth, including plants, animals, as well as human beings. In many of her forms, flowers adorn her body, and she herself is often depicted as being green in colour. She also displays an innate connection with many animals, and many of the eight fears that she is said to protect against are threats from wild creatures (Willson, 17). She is well-renowned for protecting against the eight great dangers: lions, elephants, fire, snakes, robbers, imprisonment, water, and man-eating demons. There are many stories and accounts of Tārā’s helpfulness at saving those beset by such dangers. Alternatively, these dangers may also take on a symbolic form, portraying the eight fears as personal obstacles to be overcome, such as pride, delusion, anger, envy, wrong views, avarice, attachment, and doubt (Willson, 14). Eventually each fear was assigned its own particular representation of Tārā and it became very popular for artists to depict these different forms in their work (see below).

Tara as Mother Goddess

Tārā can also be seen as an expression of the sacred and ancient Feminine, a universal concept. Tara also embodies many of the qualities of feminine principle. She is known as the Mother of Mercy and Compassion. She is called 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 in the form of great Mother Goddess shares strong links with many Brahmanical goddesses, such as Durgā and Kali. The similarities in appearances between Kali and Tara are striking and unmistakable. They both stand upon a supine Shiva, identifiable here by his damaru. Both goddesses are black. Both wear minimal clothing. Both wear a necklace of severed human heads and a girdle of severed human arms. Both have a lolling tongue, and blood oozes from their mouths. Their appearances are so strikingly similar that it is easy to mistake one for the other. Indeed, they are often said to be manifestations of each other; for example, in their thousand-name hymns they share many epithets as well as having each others names. Tara, for example, is called Kalika, Ugr-kali, Mahakali, and Bhadra-kali. Furthermore, like the Goddess Kali, Tara in her Hindu context enjoys blood. In her hymn of a hundred names from the Mundamala-tantra, she is called She Who Likes Blood, She Who Is Smeared with Blood, and She Who Enjoys Blood Sacrifice. The Tara-tantra describes Tara's delight in both animal and human blood but says that the latter is more pleasing to her. The blood of devotees is to be taken from specified parts of the body, such as the forehead, hands, breasts, head, or area between the eyebrows; some of these areas may correspond to the different chakras, spiritual centers within the body. She appears on the Tibetan Wheel of Life as the ogress, a destructive aspect symbolizing the suffering that is the cycle of life.

Tara as Tantric Deity

File:RedTara4.jpg

Red Tara is the fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things.

As a Tantric Deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, Tara encompasses all the powers of an Enlightened Buddha, yet remains in the worldly realm to assist others with her compassionate actions. She is said to swiftly come to the needs of those in distress when her mantra is spoken, although sometimes only a simple thought is needed (Willson, 21). Tārā may also take on a plethora of different roles as well as forms within this capacity. Tara is actually the generic name for a set of Buddhas or bodhisattvas who may be understood as different metaphors for Buddhist virtues. The iconography of each of these representations is distinct. A practice text entitled "In Praise of the 21 Taras," is recited during the morning in all four sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Tara has 21 major forms, each tied to a certain color and energy, and each offers some feminine attribute, of ultimate benefit to the spiritual aspirant who asks for her assistance. The most widely known forms of Tara are:

• Green Tara, known as the Buddha of enlightened activity
• White Tara, also known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; also known as The Wish-fulfilling Wheel, or Cintachakra
• Red Tara, of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things
• Black Tara, associated with power
• Yellow Tara, associated with wealth and prosperity
• Blue Tara, associated with transmutation of anger
• Cittamani Tara, a form of Tara widely practiced at the level of Highest Yoga Tantra in the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism, portrayed as green and often confused with Green Tara
• Khadiravani Tara (Tara of the teak forest), who appeared to Nagarjuna in the Khadiravani forest of South India and who is sometimes referred to as the "22nd Tara."

Best and most widely known as Green Tārā (young, compassionate, and peaceful), she is also popular as White Tārā, who is more mature, and specializes in matters of health and longevity. She may also appear in Yellow and Blue forms which perform other functions. At her most fierce, she is the four-armed Red Kurukullā Tārā who is paradoxically subjugating and magnetizing, violent and seductive. A central aim of Tantric practice is to visualize becoming the deity one is focused on. In meditation, one strives to take on the body of the deity, and embody that deity’s Enlightened perspective. If one seeks to identify with Tārā and seeks to mold oneself after her, this means emanating an unwavering compassion towards all other beings. As Green Tara she offers succor and protection from all the unfortunate circumstances one can encounter within the samsaric world. As White Tara she expresses maternal compassion and offers healing to beings who are hurt or wounded, either physically or psychically. As Red Tara she teaches Discriminating Awareness about created phenomena, and how to turn raw desire into compassion and love. As Blue Tara (Ekajati) she becomes a protector in the Nyingma lineage, who expresses a ferocious, wrathful, female energy whose invocation destroys all Dharmic obstacles and engenders good luck and swift spiritual awakening.

Another quality of feminine principle which she shares with the dakinis is playfulness. As John Blofeld expands upon in Bodhisattva of Compassion, Tara is frequently depicted as a young sixteen year old girl who manifests herself in the lives of practitioners when they take themselves, or 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 explores this as "Playmind". Applied to Tara one could say that her playful mind can relieve ordinary minds which become rigidly serious or tightly gripped by dualistic distinctions. She takes delight in an open mind and a receptive heart then. For in this openness and receptivity her blessings can naturally unfold and her energies can quicken the aspirants spiritual development.

Worship and Sadhanas of Tara

Worship of Tara can involve the use of prayer, chanting, mantras and visualizations depending on the level of the practicioner. Two ways of approach to her are common. First, lay practitioners directly appeal to her to ease some of the travails of worldly life. In order to adequately wield the protective power of Tārā her mantra is to be invoked. Tārā’s mantra is widely known and often repeated among her devotees. Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha (pronounced sometimes as "Om Tare Tu Tare Ture Soha"), which translates into “One who saves, save me.” The mantra is said to ward against a particular fear or danger, especially those outlined in the eight terrors. considered effective in invoking the protection of Tārā. There are countless stories and accounts of ones who are beset by danger and certain death, and then having cried out Tārā’s name, or recited her mantra, have gained her protection and are then saved. The speaking of such a mantra is so central and important in practice that it holds tangible power itself, detached from and beyond the deity (Beyer, 242). Beyond the spoken use of her mantra, it may also be carved into some substance to ensure continual protection.

Second, Tantric meditation practices developed advanced visualition techniques. Seen as a Tantric deity, visualization practice would be used by monks or tantric yogis in order to develop her qualities in themselves, ultimately leading through her to the source of her qualities, which are Enlightenment, Enlightened Compassion, and Enlightened Mind. Alternatively, an image of Tārā may perform the same function to great effect (Beyer, 236). Visualization is a very important process in invoking Tārā for protection; it is through this method that an object may become a vessel for the protective power of Tārā and her mantra. Visualization is often characterized by visualizing oneself as the deity, in as detailed a manner as possible; the power of the deity can thus be invoked. For specific reasons, one may want to visualize a particular variation of Tārā, to suit a specific need. Therefore, if one desires health and longevity, White Tārā should be the subject of visualization, and alternatively a devotee may use Red Tārā as the subject of visualization for subjugating, or Yellow Tārā if he or she desires to increase their wealth. The accompanying mantra would also be altered accordingly. In this manner, a devotee may use the basic components of praise and devotion to Tārā, recitation and visualization, and apply it to any problem that is encountered (Beyer, 242). One must thoroughly contemplate a mantra to be able to apply it successfully; often this requires extensive ritual service to the deity. Merit must be accumulated, and recitations of a mantra may be recommended in the tens or hundreds of thousands. All faults or interruptions in recitation must be made up for by further recitations. Faults are characterized by reciting improperly: too slowly, too quickly, too softly or in an incoherent manner. Interruptions may include coughing, sneezing, falling asleep, stumbling or allowing the mind to wander. Indication that one’s mind has been adequately prepared through this ritual service to the deity include twelve signs. They consist of the following: little hunger or thirst is felt, one is free of fatigue, as well as illness, and the body begins to glow and pleasant warmth is experienced. Understanding grows, and comprehension of scripture progresses, dreams are auspicious and become true. One feels no reluctance towards reciting the mantra and is instead inclined towards doing so. Finally, not only does one willingly strive towards preserving such qualities, but devotion to the patron deity becomes great (Beyer, 244). Magical powers may also indicate contemplative mastery, signaling attainment of great merit. These magical attainments may include invisibility, invincibility, youth, levitation, instant self transportation, and domination over all other things, as well as many other godly powers (Beyer, 246).

Sadhanas in which Tara is the yidam (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 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 Tara sadhanas are seen as beginning practices within the world of Vajrayana Buddhism, however what is taking place during the visualization of the deity actually invokes some of the most sublime teachings of all Buddhism.

During meditation, Tara is seen as having as much reality as any other phenomena apprehended through the mind. By reciting her mantra and visualizing her form. It is said one is opening to her energies of compassion and wisdom. After a period of time the practitioner is thought to become imbued in all her being represents. 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. 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 the realization of Ultimate Truth as a vast display of Emptiness and Luminosity. At the same time the recitation of the mantra has been invoking Tara's energy through its Sanskrit seed syllables and this purifies and activates certain psychic centers of the body (chakras). 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 Tara 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 Tara 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) within the body allowing a more natural expression of generosity and compassion to flow from the heart center. Through experiencing Tara'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 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.

Tara as a focus for tantric deity yoga can be traced back to the time period of Padmasambhava. There is a Red Tara practice which was given by Padmasambhava to Yeshe Tsogyal. He asked that she hide it as a treasure. It was not until this century, that a great Nyingma lama, Apong Terton allegedly rediscovered it. This lama was reborn as His Holiness Sakya Trizin, present head of the Sakyapa sect. A monk who had known Apong Terton succeeded in retransmitting it to H.H. Sakya Trizin, and the same monk is said to have given it to Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, who released it to his western students.

Martin Willson in In Praise of Tara traces many different lineages of Tara Tantras, that is Tara scriptures used as Tantric sadhanas. For example a Tara sadhana was revealed to Tilopa (988-1069 C.E.), the human father of the Karma Kagyu. Atisa, the great translator and founder of the Kadampa school of Tibetan Buddhism, was a devotee of Tara. He composed a praise to her, and three Tara Sadhanas. Martin Willson's work also contains charts which show origins of her tantras in various lineages, but suffice to say that Tara as a tantric practice quickly spread from around the 7th century C.E. onwards, and remains an important part of Vajrayana Buddhism to this day.

The practices themselves usually present Tara as a tutelary deity (thug dam, yidam) 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 his The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet:

The function of the Yidam is one of the profound mysteries of the Vajrayana...

Especially during the first years of practice the Yidam is of immense importance. Yidam is the Tibetan rendering of the Sanskrit word "Istadeva" — the in-dwelling deity; but, where the Hindus take the Istadeva for an actual deity who has been invited to dwell in the devotee's heart, the Yidams of Tantric Buddhism are in fact the emanations of the adepts own mind. Or are they?

To some extent they seem to belong to that order of phenomena which in Jungian terms are called archetypes and are therefore the common property of the entire human race. Even among Tantric Buddhists, there may be a division of opinion as to how far the Yidams are the creations of individual minds. What is quite certain is that they are not independently existing gods and goddesses; and yet, paradoxically, there are many occasions when they must be so regarded.

Significance

Tārā has long proven to be exceedingly popular in Tibet, and with many who practice Buddhism the world over. There are many references to deities much like her in many different cultures in all parts of the world. Her unwavering compassion towards all those that are in distress makes Tārā appealing and accessible to all her devotees, regardless of their social class or location. The adaptability of Tārā as a deity to fit many circumstances, as well as rituals associated with devotion to Tārā, ensures her help and protection extends to all those in need. It is said that anywhere that suffering is experienced, Tārā’s compassionate protection may be invoked.

With this story in mind it is interesting to juxtapose this with a quote from H.H the Dalai Lama about Tara, spoken at a conference on Compassionate Action in Newport Beach, CA in 1989:

"There is a true feminist movement in Buddhism that relates to the goddess Tara. 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 women. 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."

Tara 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 Buddhism's reaching out to women.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Beyer, Stephen. The Cult of Tara: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0520036352
• Blofeld, John. Bodhisattva of Compassion: The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin. Shambhala Publications, Boulder, Colorado, 1977
• Blofeld, John. The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet. Prajna Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1982
• Dalai Lama, H.H. Deity Yoga: In Action and Performance Tantra. Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York, 1987
• Dalai Lama, H.H. Worlds in Harmony: Dialogues on Compassionate Action. Parallax Press, Berkeley, CA, 1992
• Getty, Alice. The Gods of Northern Buddhism. Charles E. Tuttle, Co. Rutland, Vermont, 1974
• Govinda, Lama Anagarika.Creative Meditation and Multi-Dimensional Consciousness . The Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, Ill., 1976
• Kalu Rinpoche. Gently Whispered: Oral Teachings by the Venerable Kalu Rinpoche. Station Hill Press, Barrytown, New York, 1994
• Kathar, Khenpo (Rinpoche). The Wish-Fulfilling Wheel: The Practice of White Tara. Rinchen Publications, Kingston, New York, 2003.
• Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses:Visine of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Reigious Tradition (ISBN 8120803795)
• Kongtrul, Jamgon. Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation. Translated by Sarah Harding. Wisdom Publications, Boston, Mass., 1996
• Norbu, Thinley. Magic Dance: The Display of the Self-Nature of the Five Wisdom Dakinis. Jewel Publishing House, New York, N.Y., 1981
• Taranatha, Jo-nan. The Origin of the Tara Tantra. Library of Tibetan works and Archives, Dharamsala, India, 1981
• Sherab, Khenchen Palden (Rinpoche). The Smile of the Sun and Moon: A Commentary on The Praise to the Twenty-One Taras. Sky Dancer Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2004
• Tromge, Jane. Red Tara Commentary. Padma Publishing, Junction City, CA, 1994
• Tulku, Chagdud (Rinpoche). Red Tara: An Open Door to Bliss and Ultimate Awareness. Padma Publishing, Junction City, CA, 1991
• Vessantara. Meeting the Buddhas: A Guide to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas & Tantric Deities. Windhorse Publications, 1996
• Willson, Martin. In Praise of Tara: Songs to the Saviouress. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1986.

External links

• Tara: Buddhist Goddess in Green and White - from ReligionFacts.com
• Green Tara and White Tara - Feminist Ideals in Buddhist Art
• http://www.khandro.net/deities_Tara1.htm
• http://www.padmaloka.org.uk/aloka.html Picutre of White Tara at Padmaloka
• About Green Tara - The Buddha of Swift Compassion
• Tara in the Hindu tantric tradition
• http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/dasmahavidya_mantra2.php
• Tara - The Goddess who guides through Troubles

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Tara_(Buddhist)  ^history
• Tara_(Devi)  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Tara"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.