Green Tara (Tib.: Dolma)
editThe first verse of the famous ‘In Praise of the Twenty-One Taras’ goes as follows:
“Hail Tara swift and fearless,
Whose eyes flash like lightning;
She born from a lotus in an ocean of tears
of Avalokiteshvara, Lord of the Three Worlds.”
The legend tells the story of how Arya Tara was born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig) the Buddha of Compassion: Once Avalokiteshvara; the Bodhisattva of Compassion became dismayed on seeing that, even though he had striven with all his might to free the sentient beings from samsara, the number of sentient beings suffering in samsara was not significantly decreasing. He burst into tears, the waters flowing forth from his eyes formed a big pool, from where a lotus sprang forth. From this lotus, suddenly Arya Tara appeared, and her exquisite face embodied the delicacy of a million lotus blossoms.
A similar version has Green Tara born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara’s right eye and the White Tara born from those of his left.
The Mother of all Buddhas
Tara means 'free', or 'liberated'. The name indicates the state beyond the ocean of suffering.
Being a female term, it also refers to the state wherein all sentient beings are held with an equal love, where attachment and aversion have been overcome. Tara symbolizes the love for all sentient beings that resembles the love that a mother holds for all her children, being without discrimination and being equally strong for all.
Green Tara is the principal form of Tara, and the form most commonly seen in artistic representation.
Almost every Tibetan is familiar with the basic mantra and prayer of Green Tara and does some practice on the new, half and full moon days of the month.
Tara, the historical figure
Besides this mythical version of the tears there’s another version on Tara, where she’s a more historical figure:
Many eons ago there was this Princess called Yeshe Dawa (‘Wisdom Moon’, Skt.: Jnana chandra), she devoted herself to the teachings of a previous Buddha and made copious offerings.
Eventually, as the result of her untiring practice, she generated the pure, altruistic bodhichitta motivation and thereby became a glorious bodhisattva.
At that time some monks, recognizing her great potential, urged her to pray for an incarnation in a male body because they believed that only males would be able to reach enlightenment.
But the princess rejected this advice, she saw that ‘male’ and ‘female’ are both concepts and in reality do not exist. She stated:
“Here there is no man, there is no woman,
No self, no person, and no consciousness.
Labeling ‘male’ or ‘female’ has no essence,
But deceives the evil-minded world.”
Still, knowing how rare advanced female practitioners were, she made the following strong vow:
“Until samsara is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman’s body.”
Yeshe Dawa’s vow is striking because it went against traditional teaching, because typically, in Buddhist thought, a Bodhisattva takes the male form. So you could say that, through her inspiring independence, she was the first emancipated woman.
From that time onwards the princess dedicated herself to reaching full and complete enlightenment. By mastering extremely profound states of meditative absorption she developed great skills in liberating others and therefore the Buddha of her time (‘Drum Sound’) gave her the name Tara, the Savioress, the liberator.
She was guiding thousands, even millions of people to liberation. According to the legend, she would only have her breakfast, her lunch and or dinner after having guided thousands of people to liberation.
Tara was the first woman to practise bodhicitta and become fully enlightened. She gave teachings to many people and was very generous.
The Swift Liberator
Also referred to as ‘the Swift Liberator’, Tara is the most popular female deity in Tibet, and images of her can be found in almost every monastery and temple throughout Central Asia.
And this is exactly the attribute of Tara that makes her a favorite of so many devotees: her swiftness in responding to the calls of those who invoke her. In paintings and poetry she is often depicted as coming to the immediate aid of those in danger.