Tara is considered the mother of all Buddhas. She represents the enlightenment mind and the
feminine divine. Reciting Tara prayers and mantra is meant to remove obstacles one may
encounter in this life, such as fears and illnesses, as well as removing inner obstacles to the
realization of emptiness and interdependence, to go beyond one’s common experience of
duality.
These contemplations and meditations are part of creation and completion processes
found in Buddhist practices that train our mind to maintain a state of mindfulness and
awareness, meditative stability, aimed at cultivating loving kindness and wisdom or
discriminating awareness
Green Tara Sādhana practice
In the practice of the Sādhana, an invocation to Green Tara, we follow the text and are
instructed on various visualizations of Green Tara, images and symbols that represent
enlightened mind and Green Tara’s vast activity for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
White Tara Sādhana practice
This Sādhana is traditionally recited to promote longevity. White Tara is the mother, enlightened
mind, who represents expansive and unlimited compassion, steady mindful awareness and
protection.
As we follow the text, we are instructed on various visualizations of Tara, of
enlightened beings and of images and symbols that represent enlightenment mind.
We recite 21 Praises of Tara as a repeated invocation to Tara to be our refuge and protector, to
help us develop genuine compassion and loving kindness, to rejoice in her activities of
generosity, to support us, as we follow in her footsteps towards the realization of the true nature
of reality for the benefit of all sentient beings.
These practices were taught to us by Lama Phurbu Tashi Rinpoche, the spiritual leader of the Gampopa Meditation Center. Currently, Rinpoche leads 21 Praises of Tara practice on Thursdays
8:15-9:15pm (EDT) on Zoom.
