Item: Tara (Buddhist Deity) - Green

Green Tara (Tibetan: drol ma jang ku): the bodhisattva - saviouress from all suffering, symbol of enlightenment in a female form.

Tibetan: Drol ma jang ku

With one face and two hands, emerald green in colour, she performs the mudra (gesture) of generosity with the right hand extended over the knee holding the stem of a lotus flower blossoming by the right ear. With the left hand held to the heart in a mudra of blessing she holds the stem of a lotus - blossoming to the left side. Adorned with gold and jewels in the form of a tiara with five gems, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and the like, she wears various silks in a variety of colours, orange, yellow, violet and red. With the right leg extended, resting on a small moon and lotus cushion, and the left drawn up, she sits in a relaxed posture on a moon disc and white lotus seat; surrounded by an orange nimbus and red areola. In front, on an earthen landscape, from a lotus pond, stands a heap of coloured wishing jewels, the uppermost blazing with orange flame. Auspicious white clouds fill the sky above.

The popular practice of Tara is found in all the various traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and the multitudes of forms, white, yellow, red, and the different sets of 21, can be found in all classifications of Tantra - Nyingma and Sarma.

Jeff Watt 9-98