Tara- Buddhist GodDeity"Mother of Liberation"

Born from Tears

Avalokiteshvara had been working for countless eons to liberate all beings from suffering. He looked out across the six realms and saw that suffering beings were as numerous as ever. He wept. Green Tara emerged from his left eye, White Tara from his right. She was compassion given a body that could act.

The Vow of Yeshe Dawa

Another tradition reaches further back. In an ancient world system, a princess named Yeshe Dawa cultivated profound virtue over ten million years. Monks encouraged her to pray for rebirth as a male to more easily achieve enlightenment. She answered: "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."

She vowed to always take female form until samsara was emptied. For countless eons she entered deep meditation each day and liberated millions of beings before rising.

The Goddess Who Leaps

Green Tara sits on a lotus throne with her right leg extended, ready to spring into action. Her left leg is folded in meditation. She never loses her stillness even as she moves. Her body is emerald green, and in her left hand a blue utpala lotus blooms near her heart.

Devotional literature is full of her rescues: travelers snatched from bandits on mountain passes, boats steadied in storms at sea. She arrives faster than thought. White Tara sees further. She has seven eyes, three in her face and one in each palm and sole, watching suffering in every direction at once. Her practice is sought for longevity and healing.

Tara in Tibet

Atisha, the Indian master who arrived in Tibet during the second diffusion of Buddhism in the eleventh century, credited Tara with guiding him through visions throughout his life. She counseled him to make the dangerous crossing over the Himalayas into Tibet. He brought her systematic practice from the monasteries of Nalanda and Vikramashila.

Tara is woven into Tibet's founding. The Nepalese princess Bhrikuti and the Chinese princess Wencheng, both wives of King Songtsen Gampo who helped bring Buddhism to Tibet, are regarded as emanations of Green Tara and White Tara. The goddess who was born from tears had found a country where she would never be forgotten.