Green Tara

Green Tara, Sculpture in wood.

Green Tara is the most widely worshipped and beloved of all Taras in the Indo-Himalayan Buddhist world. Tara means both 'Star Lady' and 'She who carries across', that is 'Savioress'.

Green is a calming and soothing colour, which suggests that the green form of Tara is particularly effective for those who want to overcome anxiety and develop fearlessness.

How Tara was born
In one version, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Lord of Compassion, appears in a cloudless blue sky, and seeing that despite all his efforts there is still so much pain and heartache evrywhere, he begins to shed tears. The tears fall to earth and form a great lake. From the lake grows a pale blue lotus , and on the lotus appears a pincess, her body made of green light.

Her mantra is Om tare tuttare ture svaha.

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The Tara you see above was given to me by my husband, when he came this time from Ladakh, interestingly enough he found the sculpture in Delhi !

She is beautiful and her beauty grows on me each day :) Prior to Green Tara I have only had with me two small Buddhas. One has to be ready for such a relationship with an image/sculpture of an evolved and compassionate being. Everything comes in its own time. Time being the sacred element. Earlier I would not have known how to relate to a deity but now I am able to which is perhaps why I asked Rigzin for a sculpture of Tara in the first place.

The Feminine Divine has always interested me which explains my being drawn to Tara. For this post, I have sourced two books - Female Deities in Buddhism by Vessantara, a nice informative slim volume, and Goddess Divine Energy by Jackie Menzies, a big book with full page colour templates, magnificent!


There is no realisation, within and without, so when I read and learn about these female figures ( female usually only in principle), I learn something not only about a culture through its mythology but I also feel myself being empowered.

It is as if I learned something about another aspect of myself, it could be a primordial 'me', which was dormant or unknown to myself and this knowledge, experience makes me feel more aware and complete.

Love & Light