Arya Tara

Arya Tara is a female Buddha who appears in the form of Bodhisattva or goddess to benefit sentient beings. 'Tara' means "One Who Saves". Tara is seated upon a moon disc which is on a lotus arising from the waters of a lake. Her right hand is in the mudra of supreme generosity indicating her ability to provide beings with whatever they desire. Her left hand at her heart is in the mudra of bestowing refuge: her thumb and ring finger are pressed together to symbolise the united practice of method and wisdom, and the three remaining fingers are raised to symbolise the Three Jewels of Refuge - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. In each hand she holds the stem of a blue utpala flower. Each flower consists of three blossoms indicating that Tara, the embodiment of enlightened activities, is the Mother of the Buddhas of the past, present and future. Tara is dressed in the silken robes of royalty. She wears rainbow colored stockings, a white half-blouse and various jeweled ornaments. These symbolise her mastery of the perfections of generosity, morality and so forth. The tiara fastened in her black hair is adorned with jewels, the central one is a red ruby symbolic of Amitabha, her spiritual father and the head of her Buddha family. She is seated in a distinctive posture, her left leg withdrawn to symbolise her renunciation of worldly passion and her right leg extended to show that she is always ready to arise and come to the aid of those who need her help. With a warm compassionate gaze she looks down upon each sentient being as a mother regards her only child. Her emerald-green color - related to the wind element and hence to movement - signifies her ability to act swiftly and without delay to bring benefits to sentient beings.

During the time of Buddha Dundubhisvara, in the universe called Manifold Light, there lived a princess by the name of Moon of Wisdom-knowledge. She was a very devoted disciple and would daily set out many offerings to the Buddha and His Sangha. Eventually she generated bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain Enlightenment and become a Buddha herself, in order to help all living beings. Some bhikshus came to know of this, and urged her to dedicate the merits she had created to be reborn as a male. However, she rejected the advice and made this vow:

"There are many who desire Enlightenment in a man's body, but none who work for the benefit of sentient beings in the body of a woman. Therefore, until samsara is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman's body."

From that time onwards the princess dedicated herself to winning full and complete Enlightenment. Once she accomplished that goal, she came to be known as Tara, the Liberator.

There is another source saying that Avalokiteshvara, the Lord of the World, was looking down from his heaven on the world of suffering beings, and he wept to see that more and more of them were in pain no matter how many he delivered. From the tears streaming down his face two Taras were born, a peaceful white one from the left and a fierce green one from the right. As the quintessence of the miraculous activities of all Buddhas, they gave him courage not to give up striving in his impossible task. Tara is the female companion to Avalokiteshvara, "Mother of Buddhas of all three times", (as expressed in the Tara Tantra) and the compassionate savior of all beings.

There are many inner obstacles to our mental development, and these inner obstacles can create external obstacles. Tara overcomes unharmonious conditions and destroys external threats and obstructions. She is the savior from the eight dangers. Just by being called to help, she instantaneously saves the faithful from attacks by: 1) lions and pride; 2) wild elephants and delusions; 3) forest fires and hatred; 4) snakes and envy; 5) robbers and fanatical views; 6) prisons and avarice; 7) floods and lust; and 8) demons and doubts. His Eminence Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche explains that through practising Tara we can obtain the following benefits:

- we can create a great deal of merit
- we can avoid a suffering rebirth in the next life
- we can quickly attain Enlightenment
- we receive initiation from millions of Buddhas
- all our wishes can be fulfilled, e.g. it can help us with our health, business, getting a job, having a child, etc.
- it protects us from fear and dangers

Tara has 21 primary emanations which perform different activities such as pacification, increase and so forth. Based on that, there are 3 well known and distinct lineages: Pandita Suryagupta, Jowo Atisha and the lineage from the Nyingma Lama - Longchenpa Rabjampa. The 3 lineages do not share the same iconographic forms. In the Palden Atisha's system, all the Taras appear in the same basic posture and only differ with the colour of the body. Basically, the colours are correspond to the 4 different types of enlightened activity, as explained by Ven. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche:

"Tara is the female Buddha of Enlightened Activity (Tib: trinley), of which there are 4 types: pacifying, increasing, overpowering and wrathful. Each of these is represented by a different colour:

White represents the Enlightened activity of pacifying, for example overcoming sickness, causes of untimely death and obstacles to success in one's life or one's practice. Yellow represents the Enlightened activity of increasing the positive qualities conducive to a long life, peace, happiness and success in one's Dharma practice. Red represents the Enlightened activity of power, or overpowering external forces that cannot be tamed through the first two activities, for example, removing obstacles to sickness, untimely death, etc., and forcefully accumulating conducive conditions for one's Dharma practice. Black represents the Enlightened activity of wrath, which involves using forceful methods for accomplishing activities for Enlightened purposes that cannot be accomplished through other means."

Below is a list of the 21 Taras, their names in English and Tibetan, and their colours:

01. The Swift Heroine (Nyur.ma.pa.mo) -- red.
02. Saraswati (Yang.chen.ma) -- white. This Tara is also known as "The Great Pacifier" because she pacifies negative obscurations.
03. The Giver of Supreme Virtue (Sö.nam.chog.ter.ma) -- yellow (with a slightly bluish hue). Also known as "Tara who Increases."
04. The All Victorious (Nam.gyal.ma) -- white. Also known as "Tara of Life Force."
05. The Giver of Intelligence (Rig.je.ma) -- red/yellow. Also known as "Tara who Resonates with HUM."
06. The Terrifier (Jig.je.ma) -- black with tinge of red. A.k.a. "Tara who is Victorious over the Three Worlds."
07. The Invincible (Shen.gyi.mi.tub.ma) -- black. A.k.a. "Tara who Crushes Others' Forces."
08. The Conqueror of Others (Shen.le.nam.par.gyal.ma) -- red/black. A.k.a. "Tara the Pulverizer of the Maras."
09. The Saviour of the Scented Forest (Jig.ten.sum.la.gyal.ma) -- white. A.k.a. "Tara who embodies the Three Jewels."
10. The Conqueror of the Three Worldly Realms (Jig.ten.sum.la.gyal.ma) -- red. A.k.a. "The Great Subduer."
11. The Giver of Wealth (Nor.ter.ma) -- red/yellow. A.k.a. "Tara who Eliminates Poverty."
12. The Auspicious (Ta.shi.dön.je.ma) -- red/yellow. A.k.a. "Tara Who Bestows Auspicious Conditions."
13. The Destroyer of Opposing Forces (Da.pung.som.ze.ma) -- red. A.k.a. "Tara Who Blazes in Flames."
14. The Wrathful (To.nyer.chen) -- red/black. A.k.a. "Tara of Wrathful Gaze."
15. The Very Peaceful (Rab.shi.ma) -- white. A.k.a. "The Great Pacifier."
16. The Blazing Light (Bar.wä.od.chen.ma) -- red. A.k.a. "Tara Who Saves by Means of HUM."
17. The Subduer of Countless Harmful Forces (Pag.me.nön.ma) -- red/yellow. A.k.a. "Tara Who Causes the Three Worlds to Tremble."
18. The Peahen (Ma.ja.ma) -- white. A.k.a. "Tara Who Eliminates Poisons."
19. The Invincible Queen (Mi.pam.gyal.ma) -- white. A.k.a. "Tara Who Eliminates Conflicts and bad Dreams."
20. The Mountain-dwelling Mendicant (Ri.tö.ma) -- red/yellow. A.k.a. "Tara Who Eliminates Diseases."
21. Rays of Light (Öd.zer.chen.ma) -- white. A.k.a. "Tara Who Accomplishes All Enlightened Activities."