Tara—A Manifestation of the Divine Feminine
“GreenTara, the savioress, “she who ferries beings across the ocean of samsara” is the most beloved by the Tibetans of all the female goddesses. Her praises are sung and Tara is supplicated in all Tibetan monasteries and by many lay people as well. Tara is renowned for her swift and compassionate activity.
Whether devotees to Tara have worldly or spiritual motivation, Tara gives benefit to all, and leads people to awakening. The Tibetans call her Jetsun Drolma. Drolma is the Tibetan for the Sanskrit word Tara. Je means the power to liberate others; tsun means that she benefits herself and all others, that she is beyond samsara and that she has the stainless wisdom body. In other words, Tara is fully enlightened; she is inseparable with the absolute true nature, the dharmakaya. She is the field through which the six perfections manifest; the compassionate play of the unmanifest and the manifest.
She rushes to the aid of beings when we call upon her with heartfelt devotion. When hundreds of thousands of Tibetans were forced to flee their homeland, Tara was the one many chose to take refuge in. She is the essence of all the sources of refuge. Her mind is the mind of the Buddha’s and lama’s; her speech is the Dharma; her body is the noble sangha; her qualities are the protectors; her activity is the dakinis.
Tara is also known as “the Mother of all the Buddhas.” This is because she is a form manifestation of the prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom, the realization of emptiness, and as such she is what gives birth to all the Buddhas.
In addition to this, Tara is real and can transmit blessing to us when called upon. Many times I have heard Westerners ask a Tibetan Rinpoche, “are the deities real or are they archetypes?” Every time the master has answered that the yidams, the dakinis, the protectors are “as real as we are.” Just as we exist, so too do they exist.
On an ultimate level all phenomena is an illusion, but within the play of illusion there is pure manifestation of awakened mind and obscured manifestation of unawakened mind. When beings awaken they do not vanish into the void. Their capacity to benefit becomes infinite and vast. This is the basis of the Mahayana path: that we vow to become liberated in order that actual lasting benefit may manifest for ourselves and others: complete severing of the root of suffering.
The activity of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the yidams is through the Dharma, through the teachings of truth as it is, to help us transform our habitual negative tendencies and realize the nature of mind and reality. In that Tara is actually as real as we are, and much, much more than us in that she is awakened, we can call upon her for transmission, for blessing, for purification, for help. so especially Green tara is using to get free from negative thought and negative energy. to get free from suffering especially Green Tara practice is very good to get free from suffering.
Tara’s compassionate activity does not limit itself to spiritual benefit. There are many stories of her assisting people with worldly affairs as well and through this helping to turn the person to the Dharma. In meditating on Tara and praying to her we can talk to her like a best friend, we can pour out our hearts to her, we can cultivate a relationship with the divine feminine, the Divine Mother, and receive all the benefits that this implies.”