Tara The Liberator
by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
From two teachings given
at Kopan Monastery and Himalayan Yogic Institute, Nepal in May 1987.
Originally published as a Wisdom Transcript by Wisdom Publications
in 1993.
The ultimate meaning of life
First I would like to thank everybody from my
heart for coming to this meditation course. I rejoice greatly that
you want to make your life beneficial for other sentient beings by
developing your mind, that you are concerned about the happiness of
others. I thank all of you from my heart.
You do not do meditation courses and spiritual
practice to have a healthy body, and not even to have temporary
peace of mind; you do spiritual practice to have everlasting
mind-peace, with ultimate liberation from mental afflictions, or
disturbing thoughts. At this time you have a precious human body.
Using this to obtain even the ultimate happiness of everlasting
liberation from all problems and their causes—disturbing thoughts
and action-result, or karma—is still not the ultimate purpose of
your having this precious human body. The real purpose of taking
this precious human body at this time is to avoid giving harm to
other sentient beings; and on the basis of that, to benefit all
other sentient beings, each of whom wants happiness and does not
want suffering.
Having this pure attitude of wishing to avoid
harm to others in the very depths of your heart, you then act to
benefit them without discrimination. You do not recognize some
beings, such as relatives and friends, as close and help them, but
others as enemies and not help them—or even harm them. Rather than
these discriminating thoughts, you have a pure attitude of loving
kindness, thinking to benefit all sentient beings equaling the
extent of infinite space. With the attitude of loving kindness and
compassion towards all living beings, you should also act to benefit
them equally. This is the main purpose for which we have taken this
precious human body. This is the ultimate meaning of life.
Everlasting happiness
You should live each day, each hour, each minute,
in order to accomplish this ultimate purpose. This is why you try to
be healthy and to have a long life. The purpose of everything you
do—sleeping, waking, wearing clothes, eating, sitting, walking,
having medical treatment—is to develop the good heart towards every
sentient being, and to act to benefit each of them equally. Other
living beings are exactly the same as you in wanting even the
smallest comfort and not wanting the smallest discomfort, even in a
dream. They are exactly the same as you.
Just as you want to eliminate all your suffering
and to obtain happiness so does every other living being. They are
exactly the same as you. Therefore, you need to eliminate their
suffering and obtain their happiness.
And again just like you, other living beings want
the greatest, longest-lasting happiness. When you go shopping, you
try to buy the best quality, longest-lasting goods that you can.
Like this, every being wishes to have the greatest, longest-lasting
happiness—and that means great liberation. Great liberation means
removal of the two obscurations: the obscuration of the gross
disturbing thoughts and the obscuration of the subtle mental stains.
When the cessation of these is established on the mind, this is the
purest happiness of full enlightenment.
Why is the happiness of full enlightenment
everlasting? Because once the obscurations, the cause of suffering,
are completely removed, it is impossible for suffering to recur and
happiness to degenerate. Because the cause of suffering has been
removed, it is impossible for suffering to return.
For example, why is our mind controlled today by
disturbing thoughts such as ignorance, anger and attachment? Our
mind is obscured by these because they are the continuation of the
mental afflictions, or disturbing thoughts, that existed yesterday.
Because we did not remove yesterday's disturbing thoughts, the
continuation of these—today's disturbing thoughts—has arisen.
It is the same with our previous life: If we had
completely removed disturbing thoughts by actualizing the remedy of
the path within our mind in our previous life, it would have been
impossible for us to be born with these mental afflictions in this
life. There could be no such evolution if we had ceased the
continuation of disturbing thoughts. With nothing to cause
disturbing thoughts in this life, there would be no disturbing
thoughts—and no unhappiness or problems in this life.
For example, if a cloth that had been dirty for
many days was completely cleaned yesterday, there would be no
continuation of yesterday's dirt. In the same way, once the
disturbing-thought obscurations are completely removed, it is
impossible for them to arise again since there is no cause, and it
is impossible to experience suffering again. This is the everlasting
happiness of liberation. As I mentioned before, the ultimate purpose
of having this precious human body is to liberate all living beings
from all obscurations, or mental stains, and lead them to the
greatest liberation of full enlightenment, which is everlasting,
peerless happiness.
Developing the mind
Now, in order to accomplish this great work for
other living beings, you have to develop your own mind by putting
effort into listening to, reflecting and meditating on the
teachings. And in order for you to lead other beings to this
peerless happiness of full enlightenment, they have to follow the
path. Therefore, to lead them in the path to full enlightenment, you
must reveal the teachings to them. In order to reveal the teachings,
the means to guide them in the path to full enlightenment, you
yourself must see very clearly, without the slightest mistake, the
level of mind, characteristics and karma of every single living
being. As living beings have various levels and characteristics of
mind, the methods you reveal to them also have to be of various
types. Again you must realize clearly, without the slightest
mistake, all the various means to guide living beings.
The only mind that can see all these things fully
is omniscient mind. Therefore, in order to accomplish this great
work for sentient beings, this ultimate benefit of great liberation,
which living beings need and are lacking, you yourself need to have
omniscient mind.
For example, a teacher—whether in a school,
university or monastery—teaches different subjects to various
classes to educate students with knowledge of science, mathematics,
engineering, biology, medicine, psychology or whatever. It is
generally accepted that the more education a student has, the easier
it will be for him to find a job, earn a living and have an easy
life. The general aim of education is to have an easier life. And in
order to educate others, the teacher himself has to be educated and
knowledgeable in all the subjects he teaches. The less knowledge—or
more ignorance—you have, the more limited your capacity to educate
and help others. The more knowledge you have, the more you can
fulfill the wishes of other people.
If you are blind, you cannot guide others to
where they want to go. If you have no arms, you cannot help your
mother when she is in danger of falling down a precipice, or of
being swept away by a river and drowned. Like this, in order to
guide sentient beings perfectly to the peerless happiness of full
enlightenment, you should first have omniscient mind.
By having omniscient mind, you also have perfect
power and great compassion for every living being. Because of this
great compassion, which feels no discrimination, there is no danger
that you will help some beings and not others. There is no
partiality in your actions. And with omniscient mind, there is the
power to reveal every skilful means to guide living beings.
Developing compassion
How is it possible to achieve this? For this
mental continuum to become omniscient mind? You can figure this out
even from this simple example: When you memorize anything, in the
beginning your mind is completely ignorant. In the very beginning,
you do not even know the alphabet; but with the help of a teacher
and by applying effort, you gradually begin to learn. As you
continue, you learn more and more. It is the nature of the mind that
understanding can be developed. The mind has the power to understand
gross phenomena, and even subtle existence if you attempt to do this
correctly.
You have compassion for some beings now, even
though you do not have fully developed compassion, which means
compassion towards every living being. However, you can develop your
present small compassion for these beings so that it becomes greater
and greater. You can increase your compassion for these beings. By
understanding the teachings and practicing meditation, you can also
generate compassion for the other beings for whom you do not feel
compassion at the moment. In this way compassion can be developed.
With the compassion you already have for others,
with your present understanding of their wishes and the methods to
fulfill them, you have some capacity to help others. Even at this
present time, with this human body, with the understanding and
compassion that you have, you have some power to help others. As
your understanding of and compassion for all living beings develop
through actualizing the remedy of the path within your mind, your
obscurations will gradually become less and less, and you will gain
more and more understanding. When this process is completed, you
will have complete and perfect power to guide other beings.
Developing omniscient mind
How is it possible to separate the mind from
mental afflictions? In your everyday life you can see that even if
your mind is overwhelmed by anger in the morning, this anger does
not last; your mind is not continuously overwhelmed by anger. In the
morning you may be angry with someone, but in the afternoon there is
no anger—instead there may be attachment to that person, or
indifference.
Even without meditation, disturbing thoughts
arise and change. This proves that the nature of the mind is not
oneness with anger, attachment, ignorance, pride or jealousy. The
mind is temporarily obscured by these, but is itself not oneness
with them. If the mind itself were oneness with anger, it should be
spontaneously and continuously in the nature of anger. Or
spontaneously and continuously in the nature of attachment. Then, to
the one object, anger and attachment would be arising at the same
time.
If a mirror was oneness with the dirt on it, the
dirt could not be cleaned away—this would be like cleaning dirt away
from dirt. Because the mirror is not oneness with but temporarily
covered by dirt, it can be cleaned with water and a cloth. The more
the dirt is cleaned away, the clearer the mirror's reflection. In
the same way, as you listen to, reflect and meditate on the
graduated path to enlightenment, as you generate more realizations
of this path, your obscurations first become gradually thinner and
thinner, and are then removed completely.
The Mahayana, or Greater Vehicle, path to
enlightenment has five paths: the paths of merit, preparation,
right-seeing, meditation and no-more learning. And the Paramitayana
path has ten levels, or bhumis. Certain obscurations are removed
when you achieve the third, right-seeing path; and further
obscurations are removed when you reach the path of meditation. When
a bodhisattva achieves the eighth bhumi of the Paramitayana path,
the gross disturbing-thought obscuration is completely removed. By
developing his mind to the ninth and tenth bhumis, the bodhisattva
removes even the subtle obscurations, the mental stains, or
impressions, left on the mind by disturbing-thought obscurations
such as ignorance grasping the I as existent from its own side.
While the I is merely imputed on the aggregates
by thought, ignorance grasps the I as independent, existing from its
own side. Due to imprints left on the mind, everything appears as
existing from its own side. However, even these subtle obscurations
are completely removed when the mind is developed to the ninth and
tenth bhumis. When the remedy of the path is complete within the
mind, there is not even the slightest mental stain. At that time,
the mental continuum becomes omniscient mind, fully seeing all the
past, present and future without the slightest mistake; all the
minds and wishes of living beings; and all the various means to
guide them. Without the slightest effort or mistake, one is able to
guide all living beings perfectly.
Obstacles to success
Now, in order to achieve this, we have to
complete the realizations of the graduated path to enlightenment, or
lam rim. Developing your mind in the graduated path to enlightenment
is the most important and most beneficial thing for you, and
especially for other living beings. However, there are many
obstacles even to accomplishing some small happiness in this life.
Even finding a job can take many months, even years. Even in
business, which is small work to obtain happiness of only this life,
there are many obstacles. So of course there are many obstacles to
developing your mind and achieving the everlasting liberation of
omniscient mind for the sake of all living beings. There are many
inner obstacles created by disturbing thoughts: the dissatisfied
mind; the selfish mind; the mind of worldly concern, grasping to
this life and samsaric perfections.
Worldly concern brings so many problems in this
life: fear, worry, depression, even suicide. This grasping mind does
not allow your everyday activities to become virtue, the cause of
happiness. Besides interfering in your finding happiness in future
lives, which means receiving a good rebirth, worldly concern does
not even allow you to have happiness and mind-peace from hour to
hour in your present life.
Even if you try to practice Dharma, worldly
concern does not allow your practice to become pure Dharma. Grasping
samsaric perfections also causes you to take rebirth again, so there
is the suffering of death and the experience of all these problems
again and again. It does not allow you to achieve everlasting
liberation from suffering, and its causes.
Generally, the ignorance believing that the I,
which is merely imputed on the aggregates by thought, exists from
its own side is the main cause of suffering. This ignorance is the
root of all suffering. But also there is the selfish mind, which
does not allow you to have any mind-peace. As long as you constantly
follow the selfish attitude, you do not have any relaxation, any
happiness. Besides harming you, the selfish attitude gives harm to
all other living beings continuously—from day to day, month to
month, year to year, and life to life. It does not allow the
activities of your everyday life to become the cause of your
achieving full enlightenment, omniscient mind, for other living
beings. In a similar way, attachment grasping samsaric perfections
does not allow your everyday actions to become the cause of
liberation.
The hallucinated view that believes the I to be
independent, even though it is a dependent arising, does not allow
you to realize the absolute nature of the I. As long as you grasp
the I as truly existent, there is no way you can realize the
absolute nature of the I. In this way, there is no way to escape
from suffering, from samsara. Following ignorance in this way does
not allow the actions of your daily life to become a remedy to
samsara, to the cause of suffering and all the resultant problems.
Relying on Tara
There are so many inner obstacles to the
development of your mind, and these inner obstacles create many
outer obstacles. Therefore, for the success of your Dharma practice,
of your actualizing the graduated path to enlightenment, you must
rely upon a special deity, or buddha, such as Tara. All the actions
of the buddhas have manifested in this female aspect of buddha, Tara
the Liberator, in order to help living beings to accomplish
successfully both temporal and ultimate happiness.
Many Indian yogis relied upon Tara. By taking
refuge in Tara, they completed the path and did great works for the
teachings and for living beings, leading uncountable numbers in the
path to temporal and ultimate happiness. For example, the great
pandit Lama Atisha, who completed the whole graduated path to
enlightenment, relied upon Tara.
Lama Atisha was invited by the religious king of
Tibet, Yeshe O, to re-establish and spread Buddhadharma in Tibet.
Lama Atisha also wrote the text, Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment,
which established the term graduated path to enlightenment. By
listening to, reflecting and meditating on Lamp of the Path of
Enlightenment, so many people have achieved enlightenment.
Besides benefiting the Tibetan practitioners who
are experimenting on and accomplishing the path to enlightenment,
Lama Atisha's text is nowadays even benefiting extensively in the
West. The light of this lam rim teaching has dispelled so much
ignorance, even in the minds of many thousands of people living in
the West. Because Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment integrates all
the teachings of Buddha into a step-by-step practice by which anyone
can achieve enlightenment, many practitioners have been able to use
it to train their minds in the path to enlightenment.
Even though Lama Atisha passed away a long time
ago in Tibet, he is still benefiting us by having given us the
opportunity to understand the teachings of the graduated path to
enlightenment. Understanding and practicing this path gives you
confidence and much happiness. By understanding the cause of
happiness, you have the opportunity to obtain whatever happiness you
wish. These are Lama Atisha's actions benefiting all living beings.
Lama Atisha was able to offer these extensive
benefits to living beings and the teachings through depending upon
Tara. Throughout Lama Atisha's life, Tara always gave him advice.
When Lama Atisha had to make decisions about doing works for living
beings—such as traveling to Tibet—he always asked Tara, and then
followed Tara's instructions. Like this, even present-day Tibetan
yogis who are actualizing the graduated path to enlightenment,
having great success in developing their minds, also rely upon Tara.
The benefits of Tara practice
Tara is quick to grant success in obtaining the
ultimate happiness of enlightenment. You receive much good merit, or
cause of happiness; it prevents a suffering rebirth in your next
life; you receive initiation from millions of buddhas; and you
achieve enlightenment. Besides these, however, Tara practice has
many other benefits. Reciting the Twenty-one Taras' prayer with
devotion, at dawn or dusk—or remembering Tara, singing praises and
reciting mantras at any time of the day or night—protects you from
fear and dangers, and fulfill all your wishes. If you pray to Tara,
Tara is particularly quick to grant help.
There are also many temporal benefits from Tara
practice, either reciting the Tara mantra or the Twenty-one Taras'
prayer. Tara can solve many problems in your life: liberate you from
untimely death; help you recover from disease; bring you success in
business; help you to find a job; bring you wealth. When you have a
really serious problem, such as a life-threatening disease, if you
rely upon Tara, very commonly you will be freed from that problem;
you will recover from that disease. If you eat poison, if you rely
upon Tara, the poison will not harm you. By doing Tara prayers and
mantras, couples with difficulty having a child can have a child—and
whichever they want, a son or a daughter. These are very common
experiences. Through Tara practice, you can obtain any happiness of
this life that you wish.
If you recite the Twenty-one Taras' prayer once
every evening, it is impossible—I can put my signature to this!—for
you to die of starvation. It is also a very common experience for
lay practitioners, monks and nuns with financial difficulties to
have such problems relieved by doing Tara practice. In my personal
experience, I have seen many instances of people who have prayed to
and taken refuge in Tara and been saved from the danger of untimely
death from disease without taking medicine.
The meaning of tare
The Tara mantra is OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA. To
explain the meaning of TARE TUTTARE TURE: TARE means liberating from
samsara. This samsara means these aggregates: the aggregate of form,
or the physical body; of feeling; of recognition; of karmic
formations; and of consciousness. These aggregates, on which the I
is labeled, are caused by the contaminated seed of karma and
disturbing thoughts. Under the control of karma and disturbing
thoughts, the past-life aggregate of consciousness circled to this
life. Because these aggregates are contaminated by the seed of karma
and disturbing thoughts, on meeting desirable and undesirable
objects, the different disturbing thoughts such as attachment and
anger arise. As the seed of the disturbing thoughts is there, you
again create karma. And the karma and disturbing thoughts again
cause the aggregate of consciousness to circle, or join, to the
aggregates of the next life.
Even though this gross body has no continuum into
the next life, the aggregate of consciousness does continue to the
next life. From life to life, it continuously circles. From one life
to the next, from the past life to the present, the aggregate of
consciousness circles. It joins to these present aggregates, then
later joins to the aggregates of the next life. This is why these
aggregates are called samsara, or cyclic existence.
So, TARE shows that Mother Tara liberates living
beings from samsara, from true suffering, or problems. You can
relate this to the particular sufferings of human beings: birth, old
age, sickness and death; meeting undesirable objects and
experiencing aversion; not finding desirable objects or finding them
but gaining no satisfaction. No matter how much pleasure you enjoy,
there is no satisfaction. No matter how much you follow desire,
there is no satisfaction at all.
Also, nothing in samsara is definite. You have to
leave the body again and again, and take another body again and
again. Like this, again and again you experience the suffering of
joining to another body.
Your present-life mother came from her mother,
your grandmother; your grandmother came from another mother; and
that mother came from another mother. It is the same with your
father. You can see this body that you have now as a collection of
all the sperm and blood that has continued from parent to child for
inconceivable generations since this earth evolved, since human
beings began. This collection of sperm has come to you through your
father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and so on. It is
the same with the blood, which has come to you through your mother,
your grandmother, and so on. Since this body you have now is a
continuation of all this sperm and blood from all these other
beings, there is no essence to cling to; there is no reason to get
attached to this body, this samsara. The waste from all the toilets
in a big city is collected into one big sewer—the body is just like
this sewer.
By joining again and again to the body like this,
again and again you experience problems. If you have high status,
you fall down to low status. Again and again this happens. When you
are born, you are born alone without any companion; when you die,
you also die alone. Even this body does not accompany the
consciousness; the consciousness has to go alone to the next life.
All these are the problems of true suffering. If you rely upon Tara
by taking refuge in her and doing Tara practices—such as the
recitation of mantra or praises—with TARE, Tara liberates you from
all these true sufferings.
The meaning of TUTTARE
The second word, TUTTARE, liberates you from the
eight fears. There are eight fears related to external dangers from
fire, water, air, earth, and also from such things as thieves and
dangerous animals. However, the main dangers come from ignorance,
attachment, anger, pride, jealousy, miserliness, doubt and wrong
views. These eight disturbing thoughts that you have in your mind
are the main dangers. By taking refuge in Tara and doing Tara
practice, you are liberated from these eight internal dangers, these
eight disturbing thoughts. In this way, you are also liberated from
external dangers, as these external dangers come from the inner
disturbing thoughts.
This second word, TUTTARE, which liberates you
from the eight fears, frees you from the true cause of suffering:
karma and the all-arising disturbing thoughts. All-arising means
that disturbing thoughts bring all the sufferings. By taking refuge
in Tara and doing Tara practice, you are liberated from the true
cause of suffering: this is the meaning of TUTTARE.
The meaning of TURE
The third word, TURE, liberates you from disease.
Now, of the Four Noble Truths, TURE shows the cessation of
suffering, which is the ultimate Dharma. In terms of liberating from
disease, the actual disease we have is ignorance not knowing the
absolute nature of the I, and all the disturbing thoughts that arise
from this ignorance. These are the actual, serious diseases that we
have. With cessation of all these diseases of disturbing thoughts,
all the true sufferings, all the resultant problems, are also
ceased. By liberating us from disease, TURE actually liberates us
from the true cause, disturbing thoughts, and also the true
sufferings.
How can we achieve this ultimate Dharma, this
true cessation of the cause and result of suffering? What can lead
us to this state, the cessation of suffering, which is the meaning
of TURE? You achieve this by practicing the true path. As revealed
in the Lesser Vehicle paths of the Hearer-Listeners and
Self-conquerors, and in the Mahayana path, the true path is the
wisdom directly perceiving emptiness. This is the absolute Dharma.
Actualizing this wisdom within our mind leads us to the state of
cessation of suffering. This true path is contained in TUTTARE,
which liberates us from the eight fears—the word liberates
indirectly indicates the true path. And as I have just explained,
the third word, TURE, liberates you from the actual disease, the
disturbing thoughts.
The conclusion is that by taking refuge in Tara,
doing Tara practices such as recitation of the Tara mantra, and
practicing the path contained in that mantra, you can achieve the
fully enlightened state with the four kayas, which is the cessation,
liberated from the two obscurations. In short, OM TARE TUTTARE TURE
SOHA means "I prostrate to the Liberator, Mother of all the
Victorious Ones." Tara is the mother of all the Victorious Ones, or
buddhas. Why are buddhas called Victorious Ones? Because they are
victorious over the two obscurations.
Tara the Mother
Tara is called Mother because it is the mother
who gives birth to children. The actual meaning of Tara is the
transcendental wisdom of non-dual bliss and voidness, which sees the
absolute and conventional truth of all existence. This is the
absolute guru, the real guru—and we should understand this real
meaning of guru. Now, even though they have different aspects and
different names, all the buddhas are born from this transcendental
wisdom of non-dual bliss and voidness, which is the dharmakaya. In
reality, every buddha is the embodiment of this absolute guru: one
manifests in many; many manifest in one. The absolute guru manifests
in all these various aspects of buddha; the essence of all buddhas
is the absolute guru. The real meaning of guru, the absolute guru,
manifests in ordinary aspect as the conventional-truth guru, the
lama from whom you receive the teachings directly.
As Khedrup Sangye Yeshe explained: "Before the
guru, there is not even the name 'Buddha'." The whole Guru Puja
expresses that the foundation is the guru, the dharmakaya, the
transcendental wisdom of non-dual bliss and voidness. From the very
beginning, while experiencing great bliss, we manifest as the
guru-deity. Even the front-generation merit field comes from
inseparable bliss and voidness, and from this merit field we take
initiation; we request to be granted blessings to generate the
realizations of the graduated path to enlightenment from beginning
to end; and we also make the four types of offering (outer, inner,
secret and absolute). We train our mind with these meditations,
which evolve from non-dual bliss and voidness.
First we meet the guru externally and separately.
After receiving teachings, we listen, reflect and meditate on the
path that is revealed by this guru. On the basis of correct devotion
to the guru, we gradually actualize the remedy of the path and
remove our obscurations. When our obscurations are completely
removed, we meet the guru mentally.
On the basis of actualizing the Three Principles
of the Path, we receive the four perfect Highest Yoga Tantra
initiations, which definitely plant the seeds of the four kayas
within our mind. This allows us to practice the unification of the
clear light and illusory body. By gradually actualizing this path,
we can completely cut off even subtle dual view, ceasing even the
gross minds of the white, red and dark visions, which are more
subtle than the preceding gross minds but gross when compared to the
subtle mind of clear light.
When you achieve dharmakaya, the transcendental
wisdom of non-dual bliss and voidness, you have achieved the guru.
You have achieved the wish expressed in our usual dedication prayer:
"Due to all these merits may I quickly achieve the guru-Buddha's
enlightenment, and lead every single living being to the
guru-Buddha's enlightenment." In reality, by training your mind in
these meditations, developing your mind in the path, your mental
continuum actually becomes that of the guru. In the future, you
actually become the guru you have been visualizing.
So, all the buddhas are born from the absolute
guru, the transcendental wisdom of non-dual bliss and voidness,
which is the actual meaning of Mother. This transcendental wisdom,
this completely pure subtle mind, manifests in this female aspect
that is labeled "Tara".
Normally children feel much closer to their
mother than to their father. When they have some trouble, most
children seem to scream for their mother. I don't know about in the
West, but in the East even adults, when they have some severe pain
or problem, rely on their mother.
My father died when I was small, and I don't
remember at all what he looked like. People say that he had a beard,
was very good at reading texts, and did not speak much. All I can
remember clearly is my father's sheep-skin chuba. Everybody in the
family slept under that big chuba—it was our blanket. The whole
family tried to get underneath it. I can remember that very clearly.
I was introduced to my father's chuba—that is all I remember.
So my mother was the only adult in our home. My
sister, because she was a little older, was able to help my mother a
little by taking our animals out on the mountains and bringing them
back home. Otherwise, the rest of us—there were three, including
me—were useless. Since my sister had to look after the animals, all
the hard work was done alone by my mother.
One day my mother had to go into the forest to
get firewood. We waited outside the house. Because none of us could
cook, we waited outside for her to come home and give us some food.
She came back very late from the forest with a very heavy load of
firewood. After she returned, she could not make a fire because she
was sick, with much pain. There was no fire in the stove, and no
food. She lay down next to the fireplace, screaming for her mother:
"Ama! Ama!" My grandmother, who was still alive at that time, lived
quite near to us, maybe five or ten minutes' walk away.
The three of us—me, my brother Sangye, and
another young brother who had a small piece of tail, and later
died—didn't know what to do. We just sat around the fireplace
looking at our mother. There was no fire; none of us could make a
fire. We just sat and watched our mother.
Like this, somehow, naturally, even grown-ups
call their mother when there is some really serious pain or problem.
However, Tara is much closer to us than our mother.
The meaning of OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA
This female aspect, Tara, Mother of all the
Victorious Ones guides you and other living beings from the danger
of falling into samsara or the lower nirvana, and leads you to the
perfect state of enlightenment, which is qualified with the five
transcendental wisdoms and the four kayas.
The rough meaning of these three words TARE
TUTTARE TURE is: "To you, embodiment of all the buddhas' actions, I
prostrate always—whether I am in happy or unhappy circumstances—with
my body, speech and mind."
All the paths (Lesser Vehicle, Mahayana,
Paramitayana, tantra) from the beginning up to enlightenment are
contained in TARE TUTTARE TURE. The remedy of the path and all the
obscurations it removes are contained in TARE TUTTARE TURE. In
regard to the lam rim, TARE is the graduated path of the lower
capable being; TUTTARE, of the middle capable being; and TURE, of
the higher capable being. All the outlines of the lam rim
meditations are contained in this mantra. In the mantra TAYATA OM
MUNI MUNI MAHAMUNIYE SOHA, MUNI MUNI MAHAMUNIYE can also be related
to the lam rim in the same way.
The final word SOHA means establishing the root
of the path within your heart. In other words, by taking refuge in
Tara and doing Tara practice, you receive the blessings of Tara in
your own heart. This gives you space to establish the root of the
path, signified by TARE TUTTARE TURE, in your heart. By establishing
the path of the three capable beings within your heart, you purify
all impurities of your body, speech and mind, and achieve Tara's
pure vajra holy body, holy speech and holy mind, which are signified
by OM. Your body, speech and mind are transformed into Tara's holy
body, holy speech and holy mind. This is the rough meaning of OM
TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA.
Visualizing Tara
When you recite the mantra, visualize Tara in
space in front of you, level with your forehead, at a comfortable
distance of about one body-length. As I mentioned when explaining
the mantra, first think of the transcendental wisdom of great bliss
of all the buddhas, which fully sees all existence. Think of this
holy mind of dharmakaya, the absolute guru. Because the holy mind of
all the buddhas, the absolute guru, is bound by great compassion for
you and all living beings, who are obscured and suffering under the
control of karma and disturbing thoughts, it manifests in this
particular female form of Tara. This happens due to compassion. Just
as you act under the control of anger and attachment, the buddhas
work for you and other living beings under the control of
compassion.
The holy mind of all the buddhas manifests in
this female aspect, Tara. What does this aspect look like? Tara is
in the nature of green light, with one face and two arms. Her face
is very peaceful, with a slight smile. Her hair is very dark, half
tied up and half loose, and decorated with an utpala flower at the
crown. Tara is adorned with jewel ornaments of necklace, bracelets,
armlets, anklets, and so on. Her eyes, very loving and
compassionate, are not opened widely but are fine and a little
rounded. Tara's eyes express compassion for you, like the look of
loving kindness a mother gives her beloved only child. Tara's right
hand, holding the stem of an utpala flower, is in the mudra of
granting sublime realizations. Her left hand holds the stem of
another utpala flower, with three fingers standing upright to
signify refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
With fully developed breasts, Tara is adorned
with a jewel necklace and also with jewel garlands and various
scarves. Her right leg is stretched out, and the left one
contracted. Behind her is a moon disc. Tara is adorned with the
complete holy signs and exemplifications of a buddha. On her
forehead is a white OM, essence of the vajra holy body; at her neck,
a red AH, essence of vajra holy speech; and at her heart, a blue
HUNG, essence of the vajra holy mind.
White nectar beams come from the OM, strike your
forehead, and enter inside you to purify all the obscurations and
negative karmas you have accumulated with the body from
beginningless rebirths until now. From the AH at Tara's throat, red
nectar beams are emitted and strike your own throat; all
obscurations and negative karmas accumulated with your speech are
completely purified. Then, from Tara's heart syllable HUNG, blue
nectar beams are emitted and enter your heart; all the obscurations
and negative karmas accumulated with your mind from beginningless
rebirths until now are purified. Out of compassion for you and all
living beings, Mother Tara has purified you. Concentrate on this as
you recite the mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA. Or if you wish,
you can visualize Tara on your crown as in the short Tara sadhana.
When you finish the meditation, pray to Tara:
"Without delay of even a second, may I become Tara and in each
second free uncountable numbers of living beings from all their
sufferings and lead them to full enlightenment."
Pray to achieve this through generating
bodhicitta, the wish to achieve Tara for the sake of other living
beings. Because you are not following the selfish mind but have
changed your attitude to one of using your life to serve others, to
obtain their temporal and ultimate happiness, Tara is extremely
pleased with you. Your practicing the loving, compassionate thought
of bodhicitta and morality, which means keeping your vows, please
Tara the most. These essential Mahayana practices are the best
offerings you can make to Tara; these bring you closer to Tara, so
that she quickly helps all your actions to succeed. How much Tara
helps you depends on how much you practice the essence of the
Mahayana teachings.
So, because of your attitude of bodhicitta, Tara
is extremely pleased with you; she melts into green light, enters
through your forehead, and absorbs into your heart. Think: "My body,
speech and mind have been blessed to become Tara's vajra holy body,
holy speech and holy mind." By receiving the blessings of Tara with
a calm, devoted mind, you plant the seed to develop your mind and
actually achieve Tara.
After the absorption, if you wish, one-pointedly
concentrate on the nature of Tara's holy mind. Then conclude your
practice by dedicating the merits to the generation of bodhicitta
and to your achievement of Tara, in order to lead every living being
as quickly as possible to Tara's enlightenment.
by Lama
Zopa Rinpoche
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"We
hear religious people talk a lot about morality.
What is morality? Morality is the wisdom that
understands the nature of the mind. The mind that
understands its own nature automatically becomes
moral, or positive; and the actions motivated by
such a mind also become positive. That’s what we
call morality. The basic nature of the narrow mind
is ignorance; therefore the narrow mind is
negative."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
The above quote changes daily
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Lama Zopa
Rinpoche was born in 1946 in Thami, in the Mount
Everest region of Nepal, not far from the Lawudo
cave where his predecessor had meditated for the
last 20 years of his life. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is
now the Spiritual Director of the Foundation and
oversees all of its activities.
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