Green and White Tara: Buddhist Goddesses of Femininity
Tara is a great deity in Hinduism and Buddhism. Symbol of the sacred feminine par excellence, she personifies compassion, offers keys of salvation to humanity and frees us from our suffering.
Known for providing advice to those who know how to listen, Tara is a benevolent protector. His statues are great good luck charms, his mantras are chanted in every temple and his images are placed where sages meditate.
As a tantric deity, Tara's role is not to be an object of worship. On the contrary, through his spiritual and esoteric practices, the meditator will use the Tara (white or green, as we will see) to pursue his personal path towards enlightenment.
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Different Taras for different powers
Who is this divinity?
Tara is undoubtedly the most powerful female deity in the Buddhist pantheon.
Her name means "star" in Sanskrit and she is believed to have the ability to guide followers, like a star, on their spiritual path. In some Buddhist traditions in North India, she is considered a bodhisattva (i.e. an enlightened being). Also sometimes she is described as the companion of the most revered bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara. According to Buddhist tradition, the Dalai Lama himself is a reincarnation of this famous Avalokiteshvara, that is to say.
Historians still debate, but it appears that the goddess Tara entered India through Shaktism, an ancient religion that gave rise to early Hinduism. This theory is based on an ancient sacred text called the “ Prajnaparamita Sutra ”. Dating from the 2nd century, this document describes a total feminine being personifying absolute wisdom and the greatest love.
Depending on the regions and schools of thought, Tara will be seen as a divinity, a bodhisattva, a spirit or even a demon. The fact remains that the whole of Asia reveres her. India, Tibet or Nepal, through their ancestral religions, necessarily pray to it. In China, Tara is known as Chenrezig, and is believed to protect humans from suffering. In Japan also certain benevolent spirits seem to be able to be connected to him. In the West, some women today choose to use her image as a standard for their ideals of a total, caring and, above all, woman who has been respected for millennia.
Different Taras for different powers
Most Indian deities have several forms. Think of the Buddha himself: some statues show him as a big, paunchy sage, while others show him thin, with a placid and peaceful face.
The same goes for the Tara, whose forms are best expressed by the colors of her skin.
Green Tara: protector and helper in the face of obstacles
The Green Tara is the best known, most often prayed to and most powerful Tara. We also offer here a statuette of the Green Tara, reputed to be able to soothe energies and repel negative spirits.
This Tara offers help and protection against all misfortunes, all suffering that beings may encounter in the material world. It acts directly in samsara (the cycle of reincarnations) despite its great divine nature.
Spiritually , the Green Tara is an image of serene abundance, of an activity full of energy and which creates. They protect travelers who ask them to do so and provide security to others. It frees us from our negative emotions, our illusions and our chimeras.
White Tara: love and healing
The White Tara has a somewhat unusual origin. Legends tell us that she is the reincarnation of an ancient Nepalese princess, once the wife of King Songtsen Gampo (a legendary king and founder of the Himalayan region).
The energy of White Tara is that of a compassionate mother. Her maternal love brings healing and peace, allows you to grow (spiritually) and achieve your goals in sweet serenity.
White Tara is often represented with eyes on her hands and forehead, and for good reason: she sees everything, especially the suffering of men, and thus knows where to intervene to help us.
Buddhists pray to this particular Tara for healing and health, but also before undertaking our projects.
Other colors for this goddess
Indian tradition presents the goddess Tara in many other colors. All are positive lucky charms that bring something unique to humanity.
Here is a list of the main ones:
- Black Tara : Its representations are very close to those of the Hindu goddess Kali, the goddess of voracious and sometimes devouring power. She therefore shares its powers and will cast out demons.
- The Blue Tara : Blue is a particular color in Asia. It expresses anger and hatred. Here, the Blue Tara will transmute these emotions into something greater.
- The Red Tara : This Tara is said to be the emanation of Amitabha Buddha, a compassionate being who likes to attract blessings to his followers.
- The Yellow Tara : Here it is linked to the great Hindu goddess Lakshmi, and to wealth and prosperity.
The mysteries of the Orient
through the ancient wisdom of Hinduism
The Taras in Hinduism
In Hinduism, Tara is seen as a form of primordial feminine energy, energy also known as “ shakti ”.
We said it earlier: its name means "star" but, in certain Sanskrit dialects, it rather means "protection" (from the Indian root "tar", which translates as "to protect").
Hindu tradition sees the goddess Tara as the second of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of ten avatar deities of the great mother goddess Mahadevi. Primordial goddess, Mahadevi, can be seen as Mother Earth, the very source of life.
Sometimes also, Tara will be seen as a manifestation of Parvati, the mother goddess of Hinduism who protects her children, helps them to grow and grow. Along the same lines, some think that she is the reincarnation of the mother of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Hindu iconography is rich and, regarding the Tara, there are tons of esoteric symbols that carry meaning. The most important undoubtedly remains the “ lotus throne ”, a sort of giant blue flower on which Tara sits in an imperial posture full of wisdom. This image of the goddess placed on the flower is said to reflect endless compassion and work that, like the lotus opening and closing, continues in each day.
So, the Hindu religion intrigues you? Do its mysteries awaken astonishing sensations in you? Why not take a look at these some Hindu jewelry and symbols with astonishing powers.
The Taras Goddesses in Tibetan Buddhism
The goddess Tara (or rather the goddesses, since there are several forms) is worshiped everywhere in Asia, that is. However, it is in Tibet that it occupies its most important place.
In Mahayana Buddhism, Tara is the “essence of enlightenment” which guides men on the paths of wisdom. For the Vajrayana tradition, she is the spiritual mother of all sages, all gurus and all Buddhas. Its importance in the minds of Tibetans is even greater.
Despite what some people think, the Tibetan Tara is not a copy of Guan Yin (a Chinese goddess, queen of compassion). If a parallel were to be made, it would rather be with Chenrezig, another divinity from China.
Just like Chenrezig, Tara was born from the tear of a god that touched the ground. In Tibetan Buddhism, this god is Avolokitshevara (the one we spoke about earlier), the very personification of charity and mercy.
In short, in the Himalayan region, Tara will be seen more as the supreme goddess of femininity than as a “simple” bodhisattva. She is a saving divinity capable of freeing human souls from suffering and the infinite cycle of reincarnations. It chases away evil, demons and illusions so that our spirit reaches nirvana.
As such, she is the guide of all awakened beings, and even of all those who seek to be so. Tara is a goddess dedicated to the fight against suffering. She vowed to remain among men until all had experienced enlightenment, until all had merged with the consciousness of the world.
This goddess is therefore a precious ally in any spiritual quest, but she is not the only one that Buddhism offers us. To discover others, here is our collection of Buddhist lucky charms.
Use the energy of Tara every day
Of the many Hindu goddesses, Tara is undoubtedly the oldest still worshiped today. There are many older gods but, in the feminine register, she is the oldest. For that alone, she deserves our interest in how her image is (even today) used.
Meditate near its statues
Tara statues can have a wide variety of colors, and all are great good luck charms.
It is said that they carry an energy of balance and healing. Meditating with her would thus modify the benefits of our sessions towards something more intense.
Through her benevolent help, Tara can also help us enter a state of meditation. Meditating is a complex task that requires calmness of mind, a certain peace and quiet. For restless hearts this can be difficult. Meditating near a statuette of Tara will help them.
If the topic of Hindu statues interests you, here is the Wikipedia page describing the iconography of Hinduism.
Using it as a Feng Shui remedy
In some schools of Feng Shui, Green Tara is used to raise vibrational rates and invite compassion among students for one another.
The art of Feng Shui being based on the elements (water, air, earth, fire, wood), the color of the statue of Tara will be of capital importance here. For a green statue, it is the wood element that will be represented, and which will therefore express its qualities of rejuvenation, regeneration and growth.
As part of a Feng Shui interior decoration, placing such a lucky statue will therefore be a vector of good energies.
Chant your mantra
Hinduism and Buddhism are full of these sacred chants called mantras, which here is an encyclopedia article that will teach you more about them.
In Tibet, there is a mantra dedicated to the Green Tara, the one that wise people see as the Mother of all Buddhas. This mantra is called “ Tare Tuttare Ture Soha ”.
Without going into detail, here is the meaning of each of these words:
- Tare shows us that Tara frees living beings from samsara, from the earthly cycle of reincarnations.
- Tuttare frees us from our inner fears
- Ture frees us from bodily ailments, material suffering
- Soha connects the root of our being to our heart, tracing a fundamental energetic pathway
The mantra “Tare Tuttare Ture Soha” thus means something like “May I be liberated spiritually, emotionally and physically, and may I trace my primordial inner path”.
Lucky charm featured in this article
Green Tara Statue
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