Traditionally, a mantra has been described as a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or even a group of words in ancient Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers. A mantra may or may not have syntactic structure or literal meaning.
They come in many forms from single words or sounds such as the familiar Om (or Aum) mantra, through to complex requests and prayers. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Other mantras have no literal meaning, yet are musically uplifting and spiritually meaningful.
Within Buddhism, Tara, whose name means “star” or “she who ferries across”, is a Bodhisattva of compassion who manifests in female form. In Tibetan, Tara is known as “Dölma” (Sgrol-ma), or “She Who Saves”. In particular she represents compassion in action, since she’s in the process of stepping from her lotus throne in order to help sentient beings.
The most striking thing about Tara is also the most obvious: she is female. While there are many female representations of enlightenment, most are relatively obscure and male forms predominate. Tara, however, is very well known and is one of the most popular Buddhist deities in the Mahayana world, outside of the Far East, where Kwan Yin, the female form of Avalokiteshvara, predominates.
To Westerners, having a female form representing compassion may seem natural, but it should be remembered that in traditional Buddhist iconography the male form tends to represent compassion while the female form more often represents wisdom. Tara bucks that trend.
On Monday, 23 May, we will be recommencing Monday Night Meditations at The Goddess House with the Green Tara mantra.
Often referred to as the "grantor of wishes", Green Tara brings blessings into our lives. She radiates compassion, allowing her to quickly grant wishes and remove obstacles that are in our way. She guides and protects us as we journey though our minds. She aids in healing and transforming, shielding us from fear, anxiety and adversity. The Green Tara is praised for her ability to overcome the most difficult of situations.
Through practicing of the Green Tara mantra we practice unconditional love and compassion, see the beauty in all things, and allow abundant blessings to flow into our lives.
The Green Tara mantra is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha which literally means:- “Tare” is the vocative form of Tara, so it means “O Tara!”
- “Tu” is an exclamation that can mean “pray! I beg, do, now, then,” and so “tuttare” could mean something like “I entreat you, O Tara” or “I beg you, O Tara.”
- “Ture” is probably the vocative form of “tura,” which means “quick, willing, prompt,” and so it would mean something like “O swift one!”
Monday Night Meditations at The Goddess House are open to all and commence at 7.30pm. The Goddess House is located at the rear of a private residence in Parafield Gardens (Adelaide), 20 minutes drive north of Adelaide's CBD and handy to public transport. If you would like to attend, please email Frances for the address.
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