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Green Tara
Green Tara
Visualization
Visualize Green Tara in the space in front of you. She has a radiant green light
body, so beautiful. Sitting on a multi-colored lotus, her left foot drawn in (like
when we sit meditating) and her right foot out resting on a little multi-colored
lotus.
Her left foot drawn in indicates her complete and effortless control over desire
energy and her right foot out indicates her willingness and capability to get up
and act for sentient beings. Often she's referred to as the wish-fulfilling Buddha.
She represents the quick capacity (represented as female) to cut through
problems, to get things done, to remove obstacles.
Imagine her as beautiful as possible: young, radiant, full of energy, full of bliss,
she wears colored silken garments, and jewelry on her ears, ankles, arms and
neck.
Imagine that she is the manifestation of your lama. It is their mind manifesting in
this aspect of GreenTara for your benefit. Now, recite three times the Refuge and
Bodhicitta prayer.
Then imagine one chakra at a time, powerful, blissful light coming from each of
her five chakras, entering your chakras and filling you completely, first purifying
you and then filling you with blessings.
First, Tara sends powerful blissful white light from the OM at her brow chakra,
which enters your brow chakra and completely fills you. You imagine that all
your problems and sufferings and heaviness and grossness of your body are
purified by this light, and all the harm you have ever done to any living being
with this body and all your infinite past bodies is also purified, eradicated
completely, not one atom left. After a little time, you again imagine the light
coming, this time visualizing that your body has become a blisful light body, just
like Tara's; nothing gross; indestructible, just like it will be when you attain the
deity's body, the sambhogakaya.
Second, she sends red light from the AH at her throat chakra, which purifies all
the problems of your speech, inappropriate speech, useless speech, the inability
to express yourself appropriately, and that all the harm you have ever done to
any living being with your speech of this life and in infinite past lives is also
totally purified, eradicated by the blissful red light, not one atom left. Then the
light comes again, and this time you imagine that you are totally full of all the
blissful, perfect, compassionate, wisdom, appropriate speech of Lama Tara, such
that whatever sound you utter is necessarily beneficial to any living being who
hears it, all of which is your potential. Feel full of this powerful energy.
Third, Tara sends powerful beams of dark blue light from the blue HUM at her
heart chakra, which enters your heart chakra. Imagine that all the unhappiness of
your mind: your confusion, arrogance, anger, jealous, pride, resentment, hurt,
anxiety, self-hate, whatever, is all totally purified, and that all your delusions,
including the root ego-grasping, which are the cause of your own suffering and
of why you harm others, is totally eradicated by the powerful blue light, not one
atom left. The light comes again and this time you feel full of the blissful,
omnisicent, compassionate mind of Lama Tara, which is your potential.
Fourth, you visualize that Tara sends from the yellow SVA at her navel chakra,
four finger-widths below her navel, powerful laser beams of yellow light that
penetrate your navel chakra, filling you completely. It purifies totally all your
hopelessness, powerlessness, inability to act effectively, all the blocked energy.
Then you imagine that the light from Lama Tara's navel chakra fills you with
power, the ability to act effortlessely, to do what needs to be done, with wisdom
and compassion for the benefit of all living beings.
Fifth, you visualize that Tara sends from the green HA at her secret chakra
powerful beams of green light that penetrate your sex chakra, filling you
completely. Imagine that it totally purifies all your out-of-control, unhappy
attachment energy, all the yearning, the desire, which makes you miserable and
unclear and unsatisfied, not one atom left. Then you imagine this blissful green
light penetrating your sex chakra, filling you completely with transformed desire
energy, complete bliss, satisfaction, contentment, fulfillment, happiness,
pleasure.
Then you visualize all the five lights coming from Tara's five chakras
simultaneously, penetrating your five chakras, this time feeling that even the
subtle stains of all delusion are totally eradicated, not one atom left. Feel very
blissful.
Stay in this blissful state, concentrating on being oneness with the energy of
Mother Tara.
Tara's lotus dissolves upwards into her body. Then she comes to sit above your
crown, facing the same way as you. Then, out of her wish to be oneness with
your mind - and she is your guru, remember - she dissolves into green light and
melts into your crown and goes down your central channel - which is closer to
the back of your body and runs just in front of your spine - to your heart chakra,
where she merges with your subtle consciousness, your clear light
consciousness. You think: Tara's mind, the guru's mind, my mind: same thing.
And you feel blissful.
Then you visualize all sentient beings surrounding you - in front, above, below,
to the sides everywhere (anyway, it's said that there's not an atom of space where
there aren't sentient beings). Recite Tara's mantra –
om tare tutare ture soha –
as many times as you like, imagining that the energy of the mantra goes out and
hooks all Tara's energy, which then goes out to all sentient beings, liberating
them, and comes to you filling you with bliss and wisdom and all her sublime
qualities, your own potential.
Now you dissolve every thing into what they call space-like emptiness. As Lama
Yeshe says, this is not the actual meaning of emptiness but in tantra it is a very
powerful way of getting to emptiness. First you imagine that the entire universe
dissolves into empty space: your place, the planet, the galaxies. This universe,
and all the beings in it, which we cling to as so real, as existing from its own
side, just dissolves into vast empty space, not one atom left: zero as Lama says.
Then you dissolve your body, the basis of this I , the thing we know most,
identify with most: you imagine that from your feet up towards your heart chakra
and from your crown down towards your heart chakra it just dissolves; you feel
that everything absorbs into your heart chakra.
Then you dissolve your thoughts, these elaborate conceptual constructions, all
the thoughts of I, which have no basis in reality, which are completely made up,
a hallucination as Lama Zopa says. All of it dissolves into empty space, not one
atom left, zero.
All there is left is your Lama Tara consciousness, very subtle, pure, as vast as
space: '' I am the dharmakaya,'' you think, ''This is who I am.'' Feel completely
blissful - this is your nature. And you feel that you are in the nature of emptiness.
For a moment you meditate conceptually on emptiness, at whatever level you
understand its meaning. Then you let go of all thoughts and you abide in this
vast, blissful, space-like emptiness for as long as you like.
When it's time to finish, you would be roused out of this blissful emptiness by
your compassion, your wish to benefit others: you manifest again in your body
and imagine that your mind is oneness with Mother Tara 's mind. And you make
strong prayers that with this body and speech you will benefit whichever sentient
beings you come into contact with: human, animal, whatever, that the purpose of
your body and speech is to benefit others. And then you do the dedication
prayers.
Dedications
Through the merits of these virtוous actions
May I quickly attain the state of a guru-buddha
And lead all living beings, without exception,
Into that enlightened state.
ge wa di yi nyur du dag
lama sang gyä drub gyur nä
dro wa chig kyang ma lü pa
de yi sa la gö par shog.
May the precious bodhi–mind
Not yet born arise and grow
May that born have no decline
But increase forever more.
Prayer for the Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
In the land encircled by snow mountains
You are the source of all happiness and good
All-powerful Chenerezig, Tensin Gyatso,
Please remain until samsara ends.
gang ri ra wä kor wäi zhing kham dir
phän dang de wa ma lü jung wäi nä
chän rä zig wang tän dzin gya tso yi
zhab pä si thäi bar du tän gyur chig.
Chantable Dedications
Due to this merit may I soon
Attain the enlightened state of Guru-Buddha
That I may be able to liberate
All sentient beings from their sufferings.
May the precious bodhi mind
Not yet born arise and grow.
May that born have no decline,
But increase forever more.
In the snowy mountain paradise
You’re the source of good and happiness,
Powerful Tenzin Gyatso Chenresig,
May you stay until samsara ends.
From Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara
May all beings everywhere May there be timely rains
Plagued by sufferings of body and And bountiful harvests;
mind, May all medicines be effective
Obtain an ocean of happiness and And wholesome prayers bear fruit.
joy
May all who are sick and ill
By virtue of my merits.
Quickly be freed from their
May no living creature suffer, ailments,
Commit evil or ever fall ill, Whatever diseases there are in the
May no one be afraid or belittled, world,
With a mind weighed down by May they never occur again.
depression.
May the frightened cease to be
May the blind see forms afraid
And the deaf hear sounds, And those bound be freed;
May those whose bodies are worn May the powerless find power
with toil And may people think of benefiting
Be restored on finding repose. each other.
May the naked find clothing For as long as space remains,
The hungry find food; For as long as sentient beings
May the thirsty find water remain,
And delicious drinks. Until then may I, too, remain
To dispel the miseries of the world.
May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy,
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.
Multiplying Mantras