A Short Practice of Green Tara (Including Praises to the Twenty-One Taras): Transliterated Text and Translation

"Tara is the embodiment of the holy actions of all buddhas. By practicing Tara meditation you can eliminate inner and outer obstacles to the development of your mind, create much merit, and achieve quick success in attaining enlightenment."-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The practice of Tara, "The Liberator," is especially used to ensure success in all of our endeavors, whether they are worldly or spiritual in nature. By cultivating the wish that all of our endeavors ultimately benefit others, we can call upon the power of Tara to get things done in a most amazing way. Whether you are looking for the right partner in relationship or wishing to find the conditions for entering into a life of solotary retreat, the practice of Tara is the perfect recipe for success.

Introduction

The venerable Tara, a female aspect of the Buddha, was originally born as a princess called Yeshe Dawa in the world called Manifold Lights. She was greatly devoted to the teachings of the Buddha of that period whose name was Drum Sound, and for many hundreds of millions of years made offerings to the numberless Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats of the time. Each day she would prepare offerings of precious cloth in each of the ten directions and because of the merits of this, she received bodhichitta.

Some monks of that period told Tara that if she made prayers to receive a male body and to be of benefit to the teachings, her prayers would be successful. However, she replied, "Many work for sentient beings with male bodies, but few with female. Therefore, I shall work for all sentient beings as a female until samsara ends."

Remaining in the palace, unattached to the sense objects she enjoyed, she practiced meditation and attained the state known as "Releasing All Living Beings." Through the power of this, each and every morning she released hundreds of millions of others from worldly thoughts, bringing them to the same level, and every afternoon she did the same. Then she changed her name to "Tara" - the Liberator - and consequently, the Buddha Drum Sound prophesied that she would be known as the Goddess Tara until all sentient beings received enlightenment.

A great number of Indian pandits and yogis have become enlightened through the practice of this method. Among them are Tilopa, Naropa, Kandhapa, Lalavajra and Dipankara (Atisha).

Similarly in Tibet, countless Tibetan lamas have accomplished all the sutra and tantra realizations by relying on Tara. Among these are: Dromtonpa; Lama Tsong Khapa; the venerable lama, embodiment of all buddhas and manifestations of Tara herself in a human body, Losang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso; the venerable, depthlessly kind Lama Lobsang Tsondu, who understands completely every single teaching of the Buddha and is the second Buddha of wisdom, Manjushri; and innumerable others.

Therefore, as long as we continue to observe the law of karma, we need never doubt that Tara will help us also to reach enlightenment.