21 tara commentary

COMMENTARY ON THEPRAISE TO THE TWENTY-

ONE TARAS

BY VEN GESHE DAWÖ

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be repro-duced in any form or by any means, electronic or me-chanical, including photocopying, recording, or by anyinformation storage and retvial system or technologiesnow know or later developed, without permission in writ-ing from Fedor Stracke.

The parts coming from the teachings by Ven GesheDawö are © Geshe Dawö. The parts translated directlyfrom the commentaries are © Fedor Stracke.

The Tara verses are ©FPMT, and are used with permis-sion from FPMT.

The Tara picture used for the cover is © Andy Weber.The flower picture is courtesy of Jaqueline Rossi.

Happy Monks Publication

Other Happy Monks Publications:

Collected TopicsA Drop from the Ocean of Consciousness A Drop from the Ocean of Aggregates A Drop from the Ocean of Mind and Mental Factors

EmptinessA Debate Between Wisdom and Ignorance The Sun Illuminating the Profound Meaning of Empti-ness (Heart Sutra commentary)

BiographyChandrakirti - The One Clarifying Nagarjuna’s Superior Point of View

MeditationOm Ah Hum Meditation by Lama YesheHow to Be a Happy MeditatorA Commentary on the Praise to ManjushriA Commentary on the Refuge and Bodhicitta Prayer

Available for download from www.aryatara.de, or onorder from [email protected]

Homage to Arya Tara 3Praise by Way of Her Story

Swift Heroic Tara 7

Praise by Way of Peaceful Enjoyment Body AspectThe Extremely Peaceful Tara 11The Golden Tara 13Ushnisha Victorious Golden Tara 17Tara Proclaiming Hum 19Tara Victorious Over The Three Worlds 23Tara Destroying Spells 25

Praise by Way of Wrathful Enjoyment Body AspectTara Destroying Demons and Enemies 27Tara Symbolizing The Three Jewels 29Tara Subduing Demons and Worlds 31Tara Eliminating Destitution 33Tara Creating Auspiciousness 35Tare Blazing Fire 37Tara Wrathfully Frowning 39

Praise by Way of the DharmakayaGreat Peaceful Tara 41

Praise by Way of the Enlightened ActivitiesTara Liberating Through Hum 43Tara Moving Worlds 45Tara Pacifying and Eliminating Poisons and Sicknesses 47Tara Eliminating Disputes and Bad Dreams 49Tara Eliminating Plagues 51Tara Accomplishing Virtuous Activities 53

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Twenty-one Taras

IntroductionThe basis for this book is a commentary on theTwenty-one Taras given by the Ven. Geshe Dawö inTenzin Ling Centre/Melbourne on the 15.12.01. Theteaching was based on the commentary by NgulchuDhamabadhra called the A Bouquet of Utpala Flow-ers Captivating Minds, and other sources.

It was later supplemented with passages from theFirst Dalai Lama’s commentary on the Twenty-oneTaras, called the Precious Garland, as well as someadditional quotes from Ngulchu’s commentary.

The part in Helevicia Neue normal font is fromGeshe-la’s teaching, and includes the seat positionand the vase held in her hand, which is according tothe sadhana of the Twenty-one Taras.

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Twenty-one Taras - Homage

OM JE TSUN MA PHAG MA DROL MA LA CHHAGTSHAL LO

OM I prostrate to the noble transcendent liberator.

Homage to Arya TaraOM: The Sanskrit letter OM, which shows the objectof prostration, is a combination of the letters A, U andMa, respectively signifying the vajra body, vajraspeech and vajra mind of the buddhas. In Tibetanlanguage the base letter is A. Then on top of the A isa naro, which makes it O, and on top of the naro is atikle, which stand for Ma. Thus it becomes OM.

Since OM is a combination of these three letters, itis the unification of varja body, varja speech and varjamind, which is Tara, who is the object of prostration.

Je: The word Je means someone higher, such as alady. Tara is also referred to as the mother of con-querors, because through her enlightened activitiesand magical emanations she led countless sentientbeings to the state of buddhahood.

Tsun-ma: This denotes someone who is pure in train-ing, here pure in training in the bodhisattva practicesof the six perfections, and in practicing the three setsof vows. Someone who has extensive listening iscalled a scholar and someone who practices purelyis tsun-pa/ma.

Gyalwa Gedun Drub: Virtuous because she possesses on the outside thevows of individual liberation, on the inside the moralityof bodhisattvas and in secret the tantric vows.

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Phag-ma: This word means superior. Tara is freefrom the two extremes of existence and peace. Ingeneral all beings that have attained liberation fromsamsara and are free from the extreme of existenceare called superior. But because Tara benefits sen-tient beings continuously, while remaining in medita-tive equipoise on cessation, she is also free from theextreme of peace.

Drol-ma: The word Drolma is Tibetan for Tara, whichis Sanskrit and means Liberator. She received thisname because she rescues countless sentient be-ings from their sufferings.

Chagtsäl-lo: One pays homage with one’s body,speech and mind.

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Twenty-one Taras

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Twenty-one Taras - Praise by Way of Her Story

1 Chhu kye means waterborn, which is a typical Tibetan poeticeuphemism for lotus, i.e., here the lord of three world’s lotusface.

CHHAG TSHAL DROL MA NYUR MA PA MOHomage! Tara, swift, heroic!

CHAN NI KA CHIG LOG DANG DRA MAEyes like lightning instantaneous!

JIG TEN SUM GON CHHU KYE1 ZHAL GYISprung from op’ning stamens of the

GE SAR JE WA LA NI JUNG MALord of three world’s tear-born lotus!

Praise by Way of Her StorySwift Heroic TaraShe sits on the first seat on a moon disk and is red incolour with one face and two arms. The right hand,in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, holds in itspalm a red vase containing the nectar that con-denses power. The left hand is in the mudra of thethree refuges, and holds a wide Utpala flower.

She is adorned with various ornaments such as a di-adem, and is beautified with an upper and lower gar-ment of transcendental cloth. She has the marks andsigns of the enjoyment body and sits, with the rightleg stretched out and the left drawn, in the center ofan aura of light emanating from her body. She hasan OM at her crown, AH at her throat and HUM atthe heart.

The right hand mudra signifies that she bestows thecommon and supreme attainments. The left handmudra signifies to sentient beings that she is a refugefor them and that they do not need to be afraid of thehundreds of dangers and fears in samsara.

Since the qualities of all enlightened beings areequal, she is a refuge for them just like ShakymuniBuddha and embodies the Buddha, Dharma andSangha in the same way.

She is the liberator because she liberates sentient

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beings from their sufferings; she is the swift one be-cause her enlightened activities work especially fastand she is the heroine because she has completelysubdued the four maras1.

Her transcendental wisdom eye sees all of existencein one instant of lightning. Our physical eyes can takein only so much at one time and to see more we haveto look around. But the transcendental wisdom eyeof Tara sees all of existence in one instant.

She was born on an expansive lotus from the tearsof Avaloketeshvara, the protector of the three worlds.After Avaloketeshvara had liberated hundreds of mil-lions of sentient beings and then checked how manywere still left, he found that there were still countlesssentient beings in samsara.

Seeing this he was saddened and cried and as histears fell to the ground, an expansive lotus flowergrew from the first tear, on which Tara appeared. Shesaid to Avaloketeshvara that he should not be sad,because now she would help him until the end ofsamsara to free sentient beings from their sufferings.

This verse pays homage to Tara by explaining a partof her story.

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1 The four maras or demons are: Afflictions, Lord ofDeath, contaminated aggregates, and the Son of Gods.

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Twenty-one Taras - Praise by Way of Peaceful Enjoyment Body Aspect

CHHAG TSHAL TON KAI DA WA KUN TUHomage! She whose face combines a

GANG WA GYA NI TSEG PAI ZHAL MAHundred autumn moons at fullest!

KAR MA TONG THRAG TSHOG PA NAM KYIBlazing with light rays resplendent

RAB TU CHHE WAI O RAB BAR MAAs a thousand star collection!

Praise by Way of Peaceful Enjoyment Body AspectThe Extremely Peaceful TaraGyalwa Gedun Drub: Regarding the first1 there are six homages, and the firstof these is by praising the clear luminous countenanceand radiating light. The completely full autumn moon,unobscured by clouds or mist, is a full moon of com-plete splendour, before the waning has set it. Her faceis even more luminous than one hundred of suchmoons stacked together. This face exudes a radiancebrighter than groups of thousand-fold stars. She iscalled the White Radiant Liberator.

She sits on the second seat2 on a moon disk, is whitelike an autumn moon and holds in the palm of herright hand, which is in the mudra of bestowing thesublime, a white vase containing the nectar that paci-fies sickness and spirits.

She has a face white as the sum of a hundred fullmoons in a clear autumn sky after a rainfall thatcleared the air. She is radiant as a thousand starscombined. This is very poetic. The significance of theautumn moon is that in autumn there is a little rainthat clears the air, but not as much rain as in summerand therefore the sky is not obscured by clouds andthe full moon can shine very brightly. The one hun-dred autumn full moons exemplify the whiteness andbeauty of her face. The thousand star collection ex-emplifies the radiance of her body.

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1Praise by Way of Peaceful Enjoyment Body Aspect 2 Anticlockwise

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CHHAG TSHAL SER NGO CHHU NA KYE KYIHomage! Golden-blue one, lotus

PA MA CHHAG NI NAM PAR GYAN MAWater born, in hand adorned!

JIN PA TSON DRU KA THUB ZHI WAGiving, effort, calm, austerities,

ZO PA SAM TAN CHO YUL NYI MAPatience, meditation her sphere!

The Golden Tara Gyalwa Gedun Drub:Secondly, praise by way of the colour of her body, herhand implements, and her causes.

She is the increasing Tara and sits on the third seaton a moon disk, is golden blue in colour, and holdsin the palm of her right hand, which is in the mudraof bestowing the sublime, a golden vase containingthe nectar that increases life, power, wealth and mer-its. She is of smooth pure golden colour with a bluetone1 and holds between the thumb and ring fingerof her right hand a lotus.

Gyalwa Gedun Drub:A lotus born from within water, with the stem of an Ut-pala flower, is adorning the thumb and ring finger of herright hand at the heart, and is flowering beside her ear.This shows that she has purified the ten perfections.

The last two lines explain her causes, which are thesix perfections:

Generosity •Morality (ascetics, difficult to practice) •Patience •Enthusiasm •Mental stabilisation •Wisdom•

The last two, mental stabilisation and wisdom, are

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1 Gyalwa Gedun Drub.

the principal causes for enlightenment and are facil-itated by the first four. If we want to benefit sentientbeings we need to make them happy and protectthem from harm, and for this the practices of gen-erosity and morality are essential, as generositybrings happiness to sentient beings and our practiceof morality protects them from harm.

There are four types of generosity: Material generosity Generosity of love Generosity of giving protection from fear Generosity of the dharma

If we give protection from fear to a poor insect beingswept away in a stream by picking it out of the water,this sentient being will be very grateful to us.

Our practice of the morality of abstaining from theten non-virtues and five uninterrupted karmas pro-tects sentient beings from receiving this harm fromus.

Patience is essential in bringing the six perfectionsto completion. Otherwise we will give up working forsentient beings even after having already done a lotfor them. But if we integrate patience within our prac-

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tice of generosity and morality, then we will remem-ber our original aim and stick to it, regardless of whatother sentient beings are doing to us.

Enthusiasm is also very important. It means that weactually like what we are doing and are not just push-ing ourselves to do something we do not take joy in.

Mental stabilisations, such as calm abiding, areneeded to realise the various attainments. Simplyput it means we need to meditate a lot. Calm abidingmeans abiding within the calm of having pacified thedisturbing thoughts and delusions.

This needs to be combined with wisdom. The con-centration that is the unification of calm abiding andwisdom is the actual path that is the main antidoteto the delusions, and the principal cause for enlight-enment.

This verse shows that if we want to attain the enlight-enment of Tara we need to practice the six perfec-tions for many lifetimes in the same manner. It isimportant to remember while paying homage to Tarathat she is not an everyday person from the street butan enlightened being practicing the six perfections.

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CHHAG TSHAL DE ZHIN SHEG PAI TSUG TORHomage! Crown of tathagatas,

THA YA NAM PAR GYAL WAR CHO MAActions triumph without limit

MA LU PHA ROL CHHIN PA THOB PAIRelied on by conquerors’ children,

GYAL WAI SA KYI SHIN TU TEN MAHaving reached ev’ry perfection!

Ushnisha Victorious Golden Tara Gyalwa Gedun Drub:Thirdly, praise by way of being the object of homagefor the conquerors and their children. Since she is themother of all conquerors they carry her on their crownlike a crown protrusion. She victoriously conquered theinfinite obscurations, such as the shortcomings of thislife, the afflictive obscurations and the obscurations toomniscience, such as what falls in the three circles.

The conquerors’ children rely on her because the bod-hisattvas of the ten grounds, who have attained the tenperfections, place her on their crown with extreme ven-eration. She is called the Tara Adorning Ushnishas.

She is the Tara of longevity, eliminating the danger ofthe timely and untimely lord of death, and sits on thefourth seat on a moon disk. She is of orange colourand holds in the palm of her right hand, which is inthe mudra of bestowing the sublime, a vase contain-ing the nectar that increases life.

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CHHAG TSHAL TUTTARA HUM YI GEHomage! Filling with TUTTARE,

DO DANG CHHOG DANG NAM KHA GANG MAHUM, desire, direction, and space!

JIG TEN DUN PO ZHAB KYI NAN TETrampling with her feet the seven worlds,

LU PA ME PAR GUG PAR NU MAAble to draw forth all beings!

Tara Proclaiming HumGyalwa Gedun Drub: Fourthly, praise by way of stomping on opposing con-ditions.

Nglchu Dharma Bhadra:Light radiating from the mantra Tutara and sound emit-ting from the Hum syllable1, which signifies emptinessand compassion, fills the seven worlds:

The five streams of migration of the desire realm of•hells, hungry ghosts, animals, human and divine. Direction, i.e., the form realm. •Space, i.e., the formless realm. •

Not only does she fill these seven transitory worlds withlight and mantra sound, she also presses down onthem with her feet, and crushes them. Hence she hasthe power to draw forth without choice all beings, with-out exception, from these realms.

Gyalwa Gedun Drub: She can place them all, without exception, in happi-ness.

She sits on the fifth seat on a sun disk and is red incolour. In the palm of her right hand, which is in themudra of bestowing the sublime, she holds a vasecontaining the nectar that overwhelms the mind ofothers and robs them of their senses.

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1Gyalwa Gedun Drub: ... at her heart.

The mind of the beneficiary is overwhelmed and hasno choice but to enter one’s entourage or circle offriends. This Tara can also be used to become amagnet for women or men.

She can draw forth all beings of the seven worlds,which are the hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals,humans, gods of the desire realm, gods of the formrealm and gods of the formless realm. This she doeswith light rays from the mantra rosaries at her heartand in the vase and with the sound Hum, that aresent out filling the seven worlds, as well as by stamp-ing her foot on the seven worlds.

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CHHAG TSHAL GYA JIN ME LHA TSHANG PAHomage! Worshipped by the all-lords,

LUNG LHA NA TSHOG WANG CHHUG CHHO MAShakra, Agni, Brahma, Marut!

JUNG PO RO LANG DRI ZA NAM DANGHonored by the hosts of spirits,

NO JIN TSHOG KYI DUN NA TO MACorpse-raisers, gandharvas, yakshas!

Tara Victorious Over The Three WorldsGyalwa Gedun Drub: Fifth, praised by the great worldly gods. This Tara ismade offerings to by the powerful god Indra, the firegod Agni, Brahma, the wind god Vayudeva and otherpowerful main gods. She is also praised by Ganesha,the lord of spirits, by the great Indra, the lord of zom-bies, by the Gandharva King Surpü Ngaba, by the Yak-sha lord Vaisravana and many of his entourage. She iscalled the Victorious Liberator.

This Tara subdues spirits and disperses those thatcannot be subdued. She sits on the sixth seat on asun disk and is dark red in colour in slightly wrathfulaspect. In the palm of her right hand, which is in themudra of bestowing the sublime, she holds a vasecontaining the nectar that subdues demons.

The worldly gods of the four directions Indra, Agni,Brahma, Vayudeva and Ishvara and their entourageof zombies, smell-eaters, etc., pay homage to thisTara.

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1The buddha Boundless Light.

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CHHAG TSHAL TRAD CHE JA DANG PHAT KYIHomage! With her TRAD and PHAT sounds

PHA ROL THRUL KHOR RAB TU JOM MADestroying foes’ magic diagrams!

YA KUM YON KYANG ZHAB KYI NAN TEHer feet pressing, left out, right in,

ME BAR THRUG PA SHIN TU BAR MABlazing in a raging fire-blaze!

Tara Destroying SpellsGyalwa Gedun Drub: Sixth, praise by way of destroying opponents. She de-stroys with wrathful mantras the spells cast by oppo-nents, the sorcery of black magic and the obscurationspreventing final happiness, and hence is called The Lib-erator Destroying Opponents.

Regarding the posture with which she pacifies these,that her right leg is drawn signifies her realisation ofemptiness, and that the left is stretched signifies com-passion. With these feet of emptiness and compassionshe is stomping on the three worlds. Intensely burningwith raging fire means that externally she is wrathful,and also here she poses with a slightly wrathful appear-ance in the midst of a wreath of fire.

This Tara opposes evil mantras. She sits on the sev-enth seat on a sun disk and is black in colour andslightly wrathful. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that rescues from fearsand dangers.

She destroys evil spells and harmful mantras andstops black magic with the sounds of Trat and Phat.Her right leg, which symbolises wisdom, is bent andthe left leg, which symbolises method, is stretchedout. She abides within a garland of transcendentalwisdom fire. That her left leg is stretched out signifiesthat she is wrathful.

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Twenty-one Taras - Praise by Way of Wrathful Enjoyment Body Aspect

CHHAG TSHAL TURE JIG PA CHHEN POHomage! TURE, very dreadful!

DU KYI PA WO NAM PAR JOM MADestroyer of Mara’s champion(s)!

CHHU KYE ZHAL NI THRO NYER DAN DZAShe with frowning lotus visage

DRA WO THAM CHA MA LU SO MAWho is slayer of all enemies!

Praise by Way of Wrathful Enjoyment Body AspectTara Destroying Demons and EnemiesGyalwa Gedun Drub: Secondly1, the first is by way ofthe qualities of purifying demons and obscurations.Ture is the Liberator, the Greatly Frightening WrathfulOne. The hero of the maras are the afflictions, and sheis the one destroying the four maras and so forth. Fur-ther, her eyebrows and forehead are wrinkled to giveher waterborn face a wrathful frown, with which shekills the enemy of the afflictive obscurations, whichmainly obstructs the attainment of liberation, and theenemy of the obscurations to knowledge, which mainlyobstructs the attainment of omniscient consciousness,including their imprints. She is called The Liberator Be-stowing Supreme Power.

Ngulchu Dharma Bhadra: The greatly frightening one,i.e., the extremely wrathful one, destroys with her fierceaspect the four demons, even the most difficult to sub-due demon of the afflictions. Her beautiful water bornface, as beautiful as a blossoming lotus, is displayingthe appearance of a wrathful frown, with which sherestlessly destroys also all external enemies. The enemyof liberation are the afflictions, and the enemy of omniscientconsciousness are the obscurations to knowledge.

She sits on the eighth seat on a sun disk and is darkred in colour. In the palm of her right hand, which isin the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holds avase containing the nectar that destroys foes.

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1Out of the seven homages by way of praising the wrath-ful enjoyment body aspect.

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CHHAG TSHAL KON CHHOG SUM TSHONCHHAG GYAIHomage! At the heart her fingers,

SOR MO THUG KAR NAM PAR GYAN MAAdorn her with Three Jewel mudra!

MA LU CHHOG KYI KHOR LO GYAN PAILight-ray masses all excited!

RANG GI O KYI TSHOG NAM THRUG MAAll directions’ wheels adorn her!

Tara Symbolising the Three JewelsGyalwa Gedun Drub: Secondly, praise by way of right and left hand mudrasand implements.

This Tara protects from the dangers of this and futurelives. She sits on the ninth seat on a moon disk andis white in colour, youthful and in peaceful aspect. Inthe palm of her right hand, which is in the mudra ofbestowing the sublime, she holds a vase containingthe nectar that rescues from fears.

She holds the left hand at her heart in the mudra ofthe Three Jewels. This shows to sentient beings thatthey do not need to worry, because she will helpthem just like the Three Jewels. Sometimes the indexfinger and the thumb are joined and sometimes thering finger and the thumb are joined, but in each stylewe have three fingers signifying the Three Jewels.

According to Ngulchu Dhamapada these three arethe index, middle and small finger, hence the ring fin-ger and thumb are joined.

Her right hand is in the mudra of bestowing thesupreme, and the palm of her right hand is adornedwith a wheel, from which light rays emanate, filling alldirections. These light rays outshine any other kindof light in the universe. Reciting her mantra becomesthe supreme protection.

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CHHAG TSHAL RAB TU GA WA JI PAIHomage! She so joyous, radiant,

U GYAN O KYI THRENG WA PEL MACrown emitting garlands of light!

ZHE PA RAB ZHA TUTTARA YIMirthful, laughing with TUTTARE,

DU DANG JIG TEN WANG DU DZA MASubjugating maras, devas!

Tara Subduing Demons and WorldsGyalwa Gedun Drub: Thirdly, praise by way of crown ornament and laughter.With her ornament she beautifies the very joyful stu-dents who have faith and aspiration, by fulfilling theirwishes. Yet other light rays are the garland of lightwhich outshines, and the crown ornament of jewels,which blazes. With the loud laughter of Tutara she sub-jugates the demons and the eight great worldly gods.She is called the Tara Clearing Away Misery.

Ngulchu Dharma Bhadra:She is the Radiant One, generating great joy by fulfillingthe wishes of the faithful and outshining the faithlesswith radiating garlands of increasing light in various col-ors from her precious splendorous crown ornament.With her intense laughter of Tutara she subjugates themara Garab Wangjuk, the lord of the desire realm, andall the other world systems under the control of others.

She sits on the tenth seat on a moon disk and is redin colour. In the palm of her right hand, in the mudraof bestowing the sublime, she holds a vase with thenectar that destroys demons and condenses power.

This Tara makes those having faith in her very happyby fulfiling their wishes with light rays from her crownornament and subdues those without faith with lightrays from her crown. She subjugates Garab Wangjukand the worlds with her laughter of Tutara.

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CHHAG TSHAL SA ZHI KYONG WAI TSHOGNAMHomage! She able to summon

THAM CHA GUG PAR NU MA NYI MAAll earth-guardians’ assembly!

THRO NYER YO WAI YI GE HUM GIShaking, frowning, with her HUM sign

PHONG PA THAM CHA NAM PAR DROL MASaving from every misfortune!

Tara Eliminating DestitutionGyalwa Gedun Drub:Fourthly, praise by way of accomplishing the activitiesof the ten dharma protectors. Protecting the groundrefers to the ten dharma protectors, and the hosts areall their entourages, and this Tara can draw them allforth, and make them engage into their actions.

The moving frown means that whilst adopting a wrath-ful aspect, light rays go out from the Hum at her heartand frees all sentient beings, who are destitute of hap-piness, and squeezed by suffering. She is called Draw-ing Forth Liberator.

She sits on the eleventh seat on a moon disk and isorange in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that rescues from des-titution.

There are various types of destitution, such as a lackof friends, wealth and health. But the more significantone is lack of wisdom, compassion, dharma, etc. Sherescues from destitution with the power of hermantra.

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CHHAG TSHAL DA WAI DUM BU U GYANHomage! Crown adorned with crescent

GYAN PA THAM CHA SHIN TU BAR MAMoon, all ornaments most shining!

RAL PAI KHUR NA O PAG ME LAAmitabha in her hair-knot

TAG PAR SHIN TU O RAB DZA MASending out much light eternal!

Tara Creating AuspiciousnessGyalwa Gedun Drub: Fifth, praise by way of the crown ornament. The actualcrown ornament is the crescent moon, which blazesintensely with light, brighter than all moons, clearingaway suffering. The second crown ornament resides inher hair knot in the midst of infinite light, continuouslyemitting many intense light rays for the benefit of sen-tient beings. She is called The Liberator Projecting Aus-piciousness.

Ngulchu Dharma Bhadra:The homage is to the One Spreading Happiness. Hercrown is adorned with a crescent moon, i.e., a moonof the first of the month. She is the one most shiningand radiating white light that clears away suffering fromthis and her other, i.e., all her ornaments. In her ... ...hair knot resides the buddha Amitabha1 as the lord ofthe lineage, from whom also eternally many collectionsof light rays emanante for the benefit of sentient beings.

She sits on the twelfth seat on a moon disk and is or-ange in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that creates auspicious-ness.

She wears a crescent moon on her crown and lightrays emanate for her ornaments. Buddha Amitabharesides on her crown, which signifies that she be-longs to the lotus lineage.

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CHHAG TSHAL KAL PAI THA MAI ME TARHomage! She ’mid wreath ablaze like

BAR WAI THRENG WAI U NA NA MAEon-ending fire abiding!

YA KYANG YON KUM KUN NA KOR GAIRight stretched, left bent, joy surrounds you

DRA YI PUNG NI NAM PAR JOM MATroops of enemies destroying!

Tara Blazing FireGyalwa Gedun Drub: Sixth, praise by way of wrathful posture. The fire at theend of the aeon is hotter than seven suns combined,and can burn the earth and stones. She shows thewrathful aspect of residing in the midst of a comparablewreath of flaming tongues of transcendental wisdomfire, with her right leg stretched out and her left legdrawn in.

She destroys completely the host of afflictions, theenemy of the faithful to be subdued, who rejoice in theturning of the wheel of dharma. She is called the TaraBringing Forth Ripening.

She sits on the thirteenth seat on a moon disk and isred in colour. In the palm of her right hand, which isin the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holds avase containing the nectar that destroys foes.

She resides within a garland of transcendental wis-dom fire that likens the fire destroying the universeat the end of the aeon. She takes joy in turning thewheel of Dharma and ripening disciples in this way.She completely destroyes all inner demons.

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CHHAG TSHAL SA ZHII NGO LA CHHAG GIHomage! She who strikes the ground with

THIL GYI NUN CHING ZHAB KYI DUNG MAHer palm, and with her foot beats it!

THRO NYER CHAN DZA YI GE HUM GIScowling, with the letter HUM the

RIM PA DUN PO NAM NI GEM MASeven levels she does conquer!

Tara Wrathfully Frowning Gyalwa Gedun Drub: Seventh, praise by way of light emitting from the sylla-ble Hum.

Ngulchu Dharma Bhadra:She presses down violently with the palm of her hand,in the mudra of threat, on the surface of the world, in-cluding Mount Meru and the four continents, and withher foot she stomps on them.

She sits on the fourteenth seat on a sun disk, has aslightly wrathful frown and is black in colour. In thepalm of her right hand, which is in the mudra of be-stowing the sublime, she holds a vase containing thenectar that subdues interferences.

She covers the surface of all the worlds with herpalms and stamps on them with her feet. From theblue Hums at her palms and soles, vajra fire em-anates and subdues the beings living in the sevenlevels underground such as nagas, asuras, evilsprites and various other harmful beings and delu-sions.

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Twenty-one Taras - Praise by Way of the Dharmakaya

CHHAG TSHAL DE MA GE MA ZHI MAHomage! Happy, virtuous, peaceful!

NYA NGAN DA ZHI CHO YUL NYI MAShe whose field is peace, nirvana!

SVAHA OM DANG YANG DAG DAN PAShe endowed with OM and SVAHA,

DIG PA CHHEN PO JOM PA NYI MADestroyer of the great evil!

Praise by Way of the DharmakayaGreat Peaceful Tara Gyalwa Gedun Drub:Happy one because she has uncontaminated happi-ness, Virtuous one because she is free from the afflic-tions, that are to be abandoned, and Peaceful onebecause she has pacified the suffering result.

She sits on the fifteenth seat on a moon disk and iswhite in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that pacifies negativities

Happy one because she experiences happinesswithout suffering, Virtuous one because she createsonly virtue, and Peaceful one because she has paci-fied the delusions. She continually abides peacefullyin the concentration beyond sorrow, taking cessationfree from the two obscurations as her object.

Because she has all the above mentioned qualities,reciting her mantra can purify the ten non-virtues, thefive uninterrupted karmas and can complete one’saccumulation of merit and place one in the state be-yond sorrow.

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Twenty-one Taras - Praise by Way of the Dharmakaya

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Twenty-one Taras - Praise by Way of the Enlightened Activities

CHHAG TSHAL KUN NA KOR RAB GA WAIHomage! She with joy surrounded

DRA YI LU NI NAM PAR GEM MATearing foes’ bodies asunder,

YI GE CHU PAI NGAG NI KO PAIFrees with HUM and knowledge mantra,

RIG PA HUM LA DROL MA NYI MAArrangement of the ten letters!

Praise by Way of the Enlightened ActivitiesTara Liberating Through HumGyalwa Gedun Drub:

Out of six homages, the first is the enlightened activityof peaceful and wrathful mantras. The arranged ten syl-lable mantra is Om Tare Tutare Ture Svaha, the knowl-edge Hum is Om Nama Tare Namo. Ha Re Hum Ha ReSvaha is the wrathful mantra.

With these two she destroys the enemy of the liberationof the faithful to be subdued, who rejoice in the turningof the dharma wheel. This enemy is the attachment toself inside the body, and attachment to mine outsidethe body. She is called the Tara Destroying Attachment.

She sits on the sixteenth seat on a moon disk and isred in colour. In the palm of her right hand, which isin the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holds avase containing the nectar that increases mantras.

She delights in turning the wheel of Dharma and sub-duing disciples in that way. She subdues interfer-ences and foes with light rays from the ten-syllablemantra at her heart and with the sound HUM.

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CHHAG TSHAL TURE ZHAB NI DEB PAHomage! TURE! With seed letter

HUM GI NAM PAI SA BON NYI MAOf the shape of syllable HUM!

RI RAB MANDHARA DANG BIG JEBy foot stamping shakes the three worlds,

JIG TEN SUM NAM YO WA NYI MAMeru, Mandara, and Vindhya!

Tara Moving WorldsGyalwa Gedun Drub:The second is the enlightened activity of moving thethree realms with wrath. Ture born from the seed in theaspect of Hum can move the three outer transitoryworlds of Meru, Mandara and Bhige, by stamping withher foot. She is called the Tara Establishing Happiness.

She sits on the seventeenth seat on a moon disk andis orange in colour. In the palm of her right hand,which is in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, sheholds a vase containing the nectar that subduesmantras.

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CHHAG TSHAL LHA YI TSHO YI NAM PAIHomage! Holding in her hand the

RI DAG TAG CHAN CHHAG NA NAM MAHare-marked moon of deva-lake form!

TARA NYI JO PHAT KYI YI GEWith twice spoken TARA and PHAT,

DUG NAM MA LU PA NI SEL MATotally dispelling poison!

Tara Pacifying and Eliminating Poisons and Sick-nessGyalwa Gedun Drub:The third is the enlightened activity of clearing the sta-bilising and moving poisons.

In her hand she holds a moon like a celestial ocean,which is a sign that she eliminates the misery of the af-flictions, the poison of stability. Verbally she uttersTutare twice and the syllable Phat, which clears all mov-ing poisons. She is called The Conquering Tara.

She sits on the eighteenth seat on a moon disk andis white in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that eliminates poisonsand sickness.

She holds in her hand a moon that is as white as thecelestial ocean and on it are the reflections of peace-ful animals such a deer, hares, etc. With this moonshe can pacify and eliminate poisons and sicknesses

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CHHAG TSHAL LHA YI TSHOG NAM GYAL POHomage! She whom gods and their kings,

LHA DANG MI AM CHI YI TEN MAAnd the kinnaras do honor!

KUN NA GO CHHA GA WAI JI GYIArmored in all joyful splendor,

TSO DANG MI LAM NGAN PA SEL MAShe dispels bad dreams and conflicts!

Tara Eliminating Disputes and Bad DreamsGyalwa Gedun Drub:The fourth is the enlightened activity of eliminating dis-putes and bad dreams. The King of the host of godsrefers to Indra of the desire realm and the great Brahmaof the form realm, who are the kings of the hosts ofgods. She is the liberator who is put respectfully ontheir crown by all kings of gods and humans, such asthe Great Chonba.

She eliminates disputes and bad dreams with thesplendour of her blessing, if one respectfully and sin-gle-pointedly meditates on the armor of joyfully vener-ating her peaceful and wrathful bodies, and herpeaceful and wrathful mantras. She is called the TaraBurning Suffering.

She sits on the nineteenth seat on a moon disk andis white in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that eliminates disputesand bad dreams.

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CHHAG TSHAL NYI MA DA WA GYA PAIHomage! She whose two eyes bright with

CHAN NYI PO LA O RAB SAL MARadiance of sun and full moon!

HARA NYI JO TUTTARA YIWith twice HARA and TUTTARE

SHIN TU DRAG POI RIM NA SEL MAShe dispels severe contagion!

Tara Eliminating PlaguesGyalwa Gedun Drub:The fifth is the enlightened activity of the Tara eliminat-ing plagues. Although it says the right eye is like a brightsun and moon, and the left like a bright moon, thewrathful eye is like a bright sun and the peaceful eye islike a bright moon.

From both eyes intensely clear light rays emanate, andverbally she recites the wrathful mantra Hara twice, andthe peaceful mantra Tutara, through which she elimi-nates strong plagues. She is called Tara, Source of At-tainments.

She sits on the twentieth seat on a moon disk and isorange in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that eliminates plagues.

By uttering Hara twice and Tutara she dispelsplagues.

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CHHAG TSHAL DE NYI SUM NAM KO PAHomage! Full of liberating

ZHI WAI THU DANG YANG DAG DAN MAPow’r by the set of three natures!

DON DANG RO LANG NO JIN TSHOG NAMDestroys hosts of spirits, yakshas,

JOM PA TURE RAB CHHOG NYI MAAnd raised corpses! Supreme! TURE!

Tara Accomplishing Virtuous ActivitiesGyalwa Gedun Drub:The sixth is the enlightened activity of destroying Donand Zombies. The suchnesses of body, speech andmind are the essence of body, an OM at her crown, theessence of speech, an AH at her throat, and theessence mind, a HUM at her heart.

Through the power of being endowed with the threeessences she can pacify the poison of the afflictions.She is the very Liberator Ture who is the supreme oneto destroy the moving poisons of don, zombies and thehost of yakshas. She is called the Perfectly CompletingLiberator.

She sits on the twenty-first seat on a moon disk andis white in colour. In the palm of her right hand, whichis in the mudra of bestowing the sublime, she holdsa vase containing the nectar that accomplishes var-ious virtuous activities.

She is adorned with the three essences of a whiteOM at the crown, a red AH at the throat and a blueHUM at the heart. She accomplishes the enlightenedactivities of all the previous Taras.

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SARVA MANGALAM

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Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Tara is a special deity, a manifestation ofall the buddhas’ holy actions of body,speech, and mind. Therefore, she iscalled “mother.” By depending on Taraone receives enlightenment, as all thosewho in the past have depended on thisspecial deity, this manifestation of all thebuddha’s holy actions, have received en-lightenment. Thus, Tara is the motherfrom whom all the buddhas of the threetimes have been born and from whomwe receive enlightenment.

Ngulchu Dhamabadhra:In short, one will achieve all one’s tem-porary and ultimate wishes, because nonew obstacles and interferences willarise, and those already arisen will bedestroyed through the power of the indi-vidual Taras.

21 tara commentary

Documents

tara victorious

tara picture

tara pacifying

tara verses

tara proclaiming hum

dharmakayagreat peaceful

tara subduing demons

storyswift heroic tara