green tara

Tara Mother Of All Buddhas

In both Hinduism and Buddhism, Tara is a female deity who personifies compassion and brings relief from the agony of reincarnation and death. She is frequently summoned for protection, direction, and deliverance from trying circumstances since it is believed that she was born out of pity for the suffering planet.

Tara is a savior deity in Buddhism who frees souls from sorrow. In Mahayana Buddhism, she is revered as a bodhisattva (the "essence of enlightenment"), and in Esoteric Buddhism, notably Vajrayana Buddhism, she is revered as a buddha and the mother of buddhas (also known as Tibetan Buddhism). According to one legend, she emerged from the tears shed by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara when he wept at seeing the misery of the world. She is consequently largely connected with compassion but has the ability to manifest in a variety of ways to aid and shield her followers, including as a wrathful deity that resembles Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and change.

Her name, which may alternatively be interpreted as "star," means "savioress" in Sanskrit. People who feel lost or have trouble finding their path in life expressly ask her for advice. Tara is seen as offering a solitary source of light that one may follow, much like a star.

She is linked with mother goddess figures in the Buddhist traditions of many different civilizations, but to a Western audience, she is perhaps best known as Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of compassion. She continues to be one of the most revered and powerful goddesses in Esoteric Buddhist traditions, and her worship is still practiced in contemporary Buddhism and Hinduism.

The Mother of Nirvana

There are different Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya forms. Mother Tara has emerged from all these various forms. Among them, Mother Tara arising as Nirmanakaya Tara is a crucial deity. She usually deals with us, confused and distracted beings. She does that by bringing us back to our original state. That is why they call her the mother of samsara and nirvana.

No boundaries can confine Tara's origination. It is because her nature is, in the end, nondual. The limitations of social systems or otherwise do not bother her. In relative truth, people's minds create these dualistic conceptions. These conceptions do not apply to Tara. She comes as they need her in various forms.

Mother Tara's Human-Like Form

She reaches out to every living being as her purpose is to help them. Thus she aids every type of being. It is inclusive of animals and the beings of other realms. Tara comes in a human form like ours for us humans. She comes with two arms, two legs, two eyes and so her features are familiar.

Thangkas depict her traditional costume and adornment. They depict her in the clothing of the ruling class of ancient India. Tara came in this form for human beings. She emanated this way for us to connect with her and bring us towards Enlightenment. She is compassionate and it is always ready. So, it requires our mind and heart to be ready too. This is the "Ring of Devotion". green tara statue

Click here to view Gold Plated Statue of Mother Tara

Different Emanations of Mother Tara

Her sambhogakaya emanations have many forms. Like, Vajravarahi, Vajrayogini, the five mother Dhyani Buddha, and the five wisdom Dakini. There are twenty-one originations of Tara. They all fall under her nirmanakaya emanations. Red Tara in fact activates our realization. It overpowers our ego-clinging and neurotic stages. 

Tara's forms that are popular in India are Dakini Mandarva and Niguma. In Tibet, it is Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal. The continual practice of Green Tara, White Tara, Red Tara, Yeshe Tsogyal does us good. It helps us remove fears and hindrances. We can also benefit all the sentient beings by gaining that ability. 

The Wisdom Dakini

Tara and the Wisdom Dakini are not separable. It is because they are the embodiment of enlightened energy. Dakas and Dakinis are Khandro and Khandroma in Tibetan. Dakini translates to "Sky-goer" or "Sky-walker" in literal terms. In this translation, the Sky means wisdom. The "Goer" refers to love, compassion, and well-being.

The Dakini's strength lies in these beneficial activities. Hence, Dakini is the activity of love and compassion. She is full of strength and moves with ease in the wisdom space. The Dakinis come in different forms. There is the wisdom Dakini, action Dakini, Dakini of the Earth, and so on. Artists portray Dakini to be young, beautiful, and often times dancing.

But some Dakinis have a terrifying appearance. For example, Singhamukha (lion-headed Dakini), or Troma Nagmo. They appear to be wrathful and unsettling. But there are Dakinis like Wisdom Dakini Mandarva and Yeshe Tsogyal. Both are Guru Rinpoche's disciples and great teachers.   

21 Forms of Tara

The answer to this question is beautifully clarified by Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyol in their book, "Tara's enlightened activity".

Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyol in their book, "Tara's enlightened activity" have magnificiently explained the reasons for the 21 forms of Tara. Buddha has provided us with a foundational set of 21 techniques for achieving enlightenment. The Mahayana Sutra system states that when we practice, we move through the 10 levels (Bhumis) until we achieve enlightenment. Right here, with the priceless endowment of our own human body and our own buddha-nature, lies the foundation for our enlightenment. Similar to the sutra system, Vajrayana or Tantra has approaches that are more narrowly focused.

According to tantric tradition, there are twenty-one knots within of the human body. These restrict or hinder our channels and come in pairs. Through repetition, we can get a certain experience or insight as we untie each of these pairs of knots.We are referred to be enlightened beings once we have undone all 21 knots and have gained Buddhahood.

Tathagatagarbha, a Buddha, is our fundamentally awakened condition and is a being who has attained enlightenment. We achieve the highest level of awareness, known as the Dharmakaya state, when we untie those 21 knots.

The Dharmakaya, in turn, possesses 21 naturally occurring properties. They go beyond effort or striving, dualism, the complex condition, permanence and impermanence. They continually appear because they are required for the welfare of all sentient beings.

The twenty-one emanations of Tara are these twenty-one active Dharma kaya attributes. As a result, Tara unites the three kayas' active energies, which are the energies that enable ourselves and other creatures gain enlightenment by allowing us to free our own and their knots.

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