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The Practice of the Goddess Green Tara |
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By H.E. Chogye Trichen Rinpoche
 Regarding the practice of Tara, she is an enlightened being on the twelfth bhumi or stage of enlightenment, able to fulfill all the wishes of beings. Tara is the manifestation of the compassion of all the Buddhas of the three times. She is also the goddess who carries out and accomplishes the enlightened activities of the Buddhas.
There have been countless Buddhas of other aeons and eras. In the beginning of our aeon, there was a particular Buddha, the Buddha of that era, known as Mahavairochana. In the time of this Buddha, there was a great king who had a daughter by the name of Princess Metok Zay, Princess 'Beautiful Flower'. (1) Princess Beautiful Flower was devout in prayer, and carried out marvelous activities to benefit other beings. While still a young girl, Princess Beautiful Flower made vast offerings and dedications, performing generous, courageous, patient, and compassionate activities of the greatest virtue on behalf of sentient beings.
 When Buddha Mahavairochana asked the Princess what it was she
wished for, what was the intent of her heart, she replied, "I shall
remain in this world until every single being is fully liberated."
This
was a joyful surprise to the Buddha, who had never heard anyone offer
such a noble, selfless, and courageous aspiration. In response to her
personal sacrifices, her virtue and aspirations, and inspired by her
wishes on behalf of beings, Buddha Vairochana spoke spontaneously the
prayer of the twenty-one praises to Tara, a praise to twenty-one
qualities of Tara.
As a result of this praise spoken by Buddha
Vairochana, it came to be known that Princess Beautiful Flower was the
emanation of the goddess Tara, who had originally come forth from the
tears of compassion shed by the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, or
Chenrezig.
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva had immense compassion
for other living beings. Although he strove ceaselessly to help other
beings, he felt great sorrow that so many beings continued to fall
helplessly into the lower realms of existence such as the hells. He saw
that very few beings were making progress on the path to enlightenment.
In utter despair, out of unbearable compassion, Avalokiteshvara
cried in anguish, praying that it would be better that his body be
broken into pieces and he die, since he was unable to fulfill his task
of rescuing living beings from suffering. From his tears of compassion,
the goddess Tara arose.
Upon appearing miraculously in this
way, Tara spoke to Avalokiteshvara, saying, "O noble one, do not
forsake the sublime task of benefiting sentient beings. I have been
inspired by and have rejoiced in all of your unselfish deeds. I
understand the great hardships you have undergone. But perhaps, if I
assume the form of a female bodhisattva with the name of Tara, as a
counterpart to you, then that might assist you in your most worthy
endeavors."
Hearing this aspiration by Tara, Avalokiteshvara
was filled with a renewed courage to continue his efforts on behalf of
beings, and at this time both he and Tara were blessed by Amitabha
Buddha for their commitment to the bodhisattva path.
At the
time when Avalokiteshvara had cried out in despair, his body broke into
one thousand pieces. Amitabha Buddha then blessed his body so that
Avalokiteshvara arose in a new form with eleven heads, and with one
thousand arms with an eye in the palm of each hand. In this way, we can
see the close connection between Avalokiteshvara and Tara.
It
is said that since that time, whoever will recite this praise to the
twenty-one Taras spoken by Buddha Mahavairochana is sure to receive
incredible benefits. Buddha Vairochana was able to fulfill all of his
wishes. Even for Buddhas, there are times when they are unable to
satisfy the needs of some sentient beings. However, after giving rise
to this praise to the twenty-one Taras, Buddha Vairochana was able to
not only fulfill all of his own wishes, but he was also generally able
to fulfill all of the wishes of all who approached him.
Once
an old woman came to Buddha Vairochana. She was quite poor, but had a
daughter who was extraordinarily beautiful. This daughter had a royal
admirer who desired her hand in marriage. In ancient India, if a
peasant girl was to marry royalty, it was the custom that the girl's
family should try to provide at least the jewelry to be worn by the
bride. The impoverished old woman had no means with which to obtain
jewelry for her daughter's wedding.
This woman had heard that
Buddha Vairochana could grant anyone's wishes, and so she approached
him. She came before the Buddha, asking if he could give her some
jewelry so that her daughter might marry the king and fulfill the
wishes of many people. At that time, Buddha Vairochana was staying in
the Bodhi temple of Bodhgaya.
At the Bodhi temple there were
many images of Green Tara. As he had no jewelry of his own to give her,
the Buddha requested of one of the special images of Green Tara at the
Bodhi temple that she give her crown to him, so that he could please
the old mother and that her daughter might become a queen. This statue
of Tara removed her own crown, and presented it to Buddha Vairochana,
who was able to then offer it to the woman for her daughter's marriage.
It is said of Green Tara that not only will she give to beings
whatever they may need, but also that she is able to allay each of the
major fears of beings, such as the eight or sixteen common fears of
beings which include fear of robbers and thieves, fear of water, of
snakes, of poison, of imprisonment, and so on, as well as all the inner
fears. Whatever fears beings suffer from, whenever they would recite
the twenty-one praises to Tara, or even merely recite her ten-syllable
mantra, OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVAHA, their fears have been pacified, and
their needs have been fulfilled.
Buddha Mahavairochana
appeared in a very, very ancient time, far before the time of
Shakyamuni Buddha. It is also said that later, in our own era, Buddha
Shakyamuni himself spoke the exact same prayer, repeating the words of
Buddha Vairochana. This is recounted in the Kangyur collection of the
words of the Buddha.
Thus, Tara was also greatly praised by
Buddha Shakyamuni himself. In this way, the prayer to the twenty-one
Taras carries immense blessing and power. Countless Mahayana Buddhists
chant this praise every day; whether they are ordained or lay
practitioners, whether they are young or old, this prayer has resounded
as a constant murmur in the mouths of the faithful, since long before
our present aeon.
In much more recent times, Tara has been the
goddess relied upon as a meditational deity by many of the greatest
masters in Buddhist history, great Indian Mahayana Buddhist
philosophers and Mahasiddha adepts, such as in particular the esteemed
Indian masters Nagarjuna and Aryadeva. The Indian pandita scholar
Chandragomin had visions of Tara and received direct transmission from
Tara. So many of the greatest of these masters have been devoted adept
practitioners of Tara. The Indian Mahasiddha Virupa, founder of the Lam
Dre lineage of Buddha Hevajra, received blessings from Tara.
One
of the greatest Indian masters, who had a very important role in
introducing the practice of Tara in Tibet, was the Bengali pandita
scholar Atisha. Atisha had been invited many times to visit Tibet, but
he had always refused, having heard about the high altitude and harsh
climate of Tibet, as well as the unruly and uncouth character of the
Tibetan people. He doubted that he would be able to go there and really
turn their minds to the path of dharma.
The Indian master
Atisha, being a great devotee of Green Tara long before he journeyed to
Tibet, one day received a prophecy from Tara. Tara herself told Atisha
that he should go to the land of snows, Tibet, where he would, like the
sun, illuminate beings with the teachings of the Buddha, dispelling all
their darkness.
In this way, he would bring great benefit to
the sentient beings in the northern countries. Tara further told Atisha
that there he would meet a great disciple of his, one who would be in
fact an emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. She prophesied
that the combined activities of Atisha and this disciple would cause
the teachings to flourish for thousands of years and spread everywhere.
Only after hearing these prophetic words spoken by Tara did
Atisha relent in his judgments regarding Tibet and the Tibetans, and he
resolved to go to Tibet. Although Atisha did face some initial
difficulties in Tibet, such as not finding qualified translators and
meeting with harsh conditions, nonetheless in time he did meet up with
his prophesied disciple, Dromtonpa. Dromtonpa went on to become the
founder of the Kadampa school, which became the source from which the
Dalai Lama incarnations have arisen.
It is from the influence
of Atisha that the teachings of Green Tara came to flourish in Tibet.
Although the earlier Nyingmapa tradition worshipped the goddess in
various forms, this was not so widely spread until Atisha came to Tibet
and propagated the praise to the twenty-one Taras. These are some of
the blessings and gifts of holy Tara.
Chandragomin was another
of the great Indian masters who played a significant role in the
spreading of the traditions of Tara. He was not a monk, but was an
upasaka, a lay practitioner holding eight vows.
Due to such
masters, the praise to the twenty-one Taras, her mantra, and rituals,
spread to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, all of which continue to
rely on the practice of meditation on Tara. There are a great many
stories of spiritual masters in Tibet who relied on Tara as their
meditation deity.
In the sixteenth century in Tibet was a very
great master called Jonang Taranatha. 'Tara' means 'savior', 'Natha'
means 'protector' in Sanskrit. He was said to be in an almost
continuous direct communion with Tara herself. He sought out Indian
Buddhist traditions when there was almost nothing left of the
Buddhadharma in India, and was said to have found and recovered many
sources of dharma teaching.
Taranatha wrote an elaborate
history of Tara and her practices. He was very careful about dating and
identifying different Indian masters who were associated with the
practice of Tara. Taranatha's writings on Tara survive in his collected
works, and there are English translations of this work that include
explanations of the twenty-one praises to Tara.
There are
specific mantras for each of the twenty-one forms of Tara. Specific
forms of Tara can be invoked for particular obstacles or fears, and one
can practice them in this way once one has received empowerment and
transmission of the twenty-one praises to Tara.
To set the
benefit of these blessings of the Buddhas, of Tara, and of all these
masters, in motion, it is said that after receiving the transmission of
the twenty-one praises to Tara, one may choose to recite this praise,
or recite the long dharani form of Tara's mantra, or even just recite
the ten syllable mantra of Tara. One may recite any or all of these
three, whether it be early in the morning, or in the middle or the day,
or in the evening, or in the middle of the night. It is said to be
especially important and helpful to recite these whenever one's mind is
troubled and cannot be pacified by other means.
One whose mind
is so troubled may speak about their problems to some friends, but
still they remain disturbed. Friends may support our point of view and
understand our fears, yet still, our wishes are not fulfilled. Even if
they are supportive and agree with us, our problems still remain; just
because they are in sympathetic agreement with us does not mean they
are able to truly help us. It even happens that one may be worse off
than before as a result of such friendly consultations!
On the
other hand, any faithful devotee may recite the twenty-one praises to
Tara, or may recite the long dharani mantra or even the short mantra of
ten syllables, OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVAHA, whenever they may be in
crisis. When their needs and wishes are being denied or frustrated and
cannot be fulfilled, leaving them feeling crippled or confused, if at
this time they pray to her, she will be there to heal their fears and
tribulations.
This approach presents us with an alternative to
our ordinary response to difficulties. When we are troubled, normally
we would immediately seek out a friend or counselor to validate our
misery. Wishing to find comfort and pacify our turmoil, we may instead
stir things up and actually make them worse. Another approach worth
trying is that we might instead recite the praise to the twenty-one
Taras, or recite her mantra, and in this way find the comfort and
resolution we are looking for.
The practice of Tara is also
very beneficial and effective for dharma centers. Those centers that do
the pujas or prayer rituals of Tara find themselves rewarded with
success, as their wishes for the spread of the teachings of Buddha are
fulfilled! Deep and heartfelt wishes that we give rise to out of
inspiration and devotion are much more easily fulfilled, especially
when they are for the sake of others!
Virtually every Tibetan
monastery performs Green Tara puja prayer rituals every morning,
whether they have five monks or one thousand. The praise to the
twenty-one Taras has been chanted continuously by countless beings
stretching all the way back to Buddha Vairochana in an earlier age
long, long before our present era. The fact that this prayer is so
ancient and has been so popular and widely practiced over the ages
contributes to its great power and effectiveness.
All the
accumulated blessings of that have arisen due to the prayers of the
faithful throughout the ages come down to us and are received by us
when we pray with faith and devotion to Tara. Through regular practice
of the praise to the twenty-one Taras and the mantras of Tara, these
blessings are cultivated and can ripen in our mindstreams, in our
experience. It is for this reason that the worship of Tara makes such
an excellent daily practice.
This praise to the twenty-one
Taras is also very important to the Chinese traditions of Mahayana
Buddhism that have connections to Vajrayana Buddhism.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 December 2005 )
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