From your sublime abode at the Potala
O Tara – born from the green letter TAM
Whose light rescues all beings –
Come with your retinue, I beg you.

The gods and demi-gods bow
To your lotus feet, O Tara,
You who rescue all who are destitute
To you, Mother Tara, I pay homage.

OM JE TSUN MA PAG MA DROL MA LA CHAG TSEL LO
OM Homage to the Venerable Arya Tara.

(1)
Praising Tara by her life story
Homage to Tara, The Swift One, The Heroine,
Whose eyes are like a flash of lightning,
Who arose from the opening of a lotus,
Born from the tears of the Protector of The Three Worlds.

(2)
Praising Tara by the brightness and radiance of her face
Homage to you with a face like a hundred full moons in autumn,
Gathered together into one,
Blazing with brilliant light,
Like a thousand constellations.

(3)
Praising Tara by her colour, what she holds and her causes
Homage to you who are bluish gold,
Your hand perfectly adorned with a lotus flower;
Who arose from practicing Giving, Moral discipline,
Patience, Effort, Concentration and Wisdom.

(4)
Praising Tara by her being honoured by the Conquerors and the Bodhisattvas
Homage to you who surmount the Tathagathas’ Ushnishas,
Whose victorious actions are limitless
Who are greatly honoured by the Sons of Conquerors,
Who have attained every perfection.

(5)
Praising Tara by her subduing unfavourable conditions
Homage to you who with letters TUTTARA and HUM
Fill the realms of desire, direction and space.
With the seven worlds beneath your feet,
You are able to draw all beings to bliss.

(6)
Praising Tara by her being worshipped by the great worldly gods
Homage to you who are worshipped by Indra, Agni, Brahma,
Vayu, and the other mighty gods;
And before whom the host of evil spirits,
Zombies, smell eaters and givers of harm respectfully offer praise.

(7)
Praising Tara by her destroying opponents
Homage to you who by saying TRA (trey) and PHAT
Completely destroy the obstructions of the enemies.
You suppress with your right leg drawn in and your left extended,
And blaze with a fierce and raging fire.

(8)
Praising Tara by her purifying demons and the two obstructions
Homage to TURE, extremely fearsome one,
Who completely destroys the chief of demons,
With a wrathful expression on your lotus face
You vanquish all foes without exception.

(9)
Praising Tara by the object she holds in her right and left hands
Homage to you whose fingers adorn your heart
With the mudra symbolising the Three Precious Jewels,
Adorned with a wheel of all directions,
Whose radiant light outshines all.

(10)
Praising Tara by her crown ornament and the sound of her laughter
Homage to you whose very joyful and shining crown ornament
Radiates a garland of light.
Who with your mirthful laughter of TUTTARA,
Subdue the demons and worldly gods.

(11)
Praising Tara by her accomplishing divine actions through the ten directional guardians
Homage to you who are able to summon
All the directional guardians and their retinues.
Frowning and shaking, with the letter HUM,
You rescue all from their misfortune.

(12)
Praising Tara by her crown ornament
Homage to you with a crescent moon adorning your crown,
And all your ornaments shining brightly;
With Amitabha in your top-knot
Eternally radiating light.

(13)
Praising Tara by her wrathful posture
Homage to you who dwells amidst a garland of flames
Like the fire at the end of an eon.
With your right leg extended and left drawn in,
You destroy the hosts of obstructions of those who delight in the Dharma Wheel.

(14)
Praising Tara by the light that radiates from the letter HUM
Homage to you who strike the ground with the palm of your hand,
And stamp it with your foot.
With a wrathful glance and a letter HUM
You subdue all seven levels.

(15)
Praising Tara by her Dharmakaya Aspect
Homage to you who are happy, virtuous and peaceful,
Within the sphere of the peace of Nirvana,
Fully endowed with SOHA and OM,
You completely destroy heavy evil actions.

(16)
Praising Tara by her divine actions of peaceful and wrathful Mantras
Homage to you who completely subdue the obstructions
Of those who delight in the Dharma Wheel,
Rescuing with the array of the ten-letter mantra
And the knowledge letter HUM.

(17)
Praising Tara by her divine actions of wrathfully shaking the three worlds
Homage to TURE, stamping your feet
Born from the seed in the aspect of HUM
Who cause Mount Meru, Mandhara and Vindhya,
And all three worlds to shake.

(18)
Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling internal and external poisons
Homage to you who hold in your hand
A moon, the lake of the gods
Saying TARA twice and the letter PHAT,
You completely dispel all poisons.

(19)
Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling conflicts and bad dreams
Homage to you who are honoured by the kings of the hosts of gods,
And the gods and the kinnaras,
Through your joyful and shining pervasive armour,
All conflicts and bad dreams are dispelled.

(20)
Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling diseases
Homage to you whose two eyes are like the sun and the full moon,
Radiate a pure and clear light
Say HARA twice and TUTTARA
You dispel the most violent, infections diseases.

(21)
Praising Tara by her divine actions of subduing evil spirits and zombies
Homage to you who have the perfect power of pacifying
Through your blessings of the Three Thatnesses;
Subduer of the hosts of evil spirits, zombies and givers of harm
O TURE, most excellent and supreme!

Thus concludes this praise of the root mantra and the offering of the twenty–one homages.

Mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA

I am the diamond maiden, the player of games
The yogini is one of my forms
Showing that I am beyond earthly attachment
I am the shining revelation to the ascetic

The women in silk and roses
I am the harlot in black net and leather,
Who gives enjoyable punishmentI am the glass bead master, creating universes of form
And a spark of me is in each hand, for I dwell in karma.

I am the Trauma Goddess, the Lady of Pain
In return for devotion I pull thorns from the heart
In return for obedience
I untie the knots in the belly and the head (chakras)
I hold the vajra, which gives and receives
I reshape family karma

The Trauma Goddess is called for people in painful situations
Where anger and hatred block the path of the soul
I evaluate the benefits of revenge
And give better suggestions for spiritual growth.

I am not suited to polite society
To social striving, upward mobility, and making good impressions
I am radically honest, sensitive, brilliant, and blunt
I hold up a mirror to the best and worst facets of human life.

The Lady of Trauma is the mirror of pain
I reflect the disastrous ways that human beings interact
Then the reflections are stretched and distorted
With irony, and humour, and sadness
Loosening their grip on the heart
So that the person who seeks freedom
Can get a taste of being free.

(We fold our hands and entreat Her…)
“Lady of Trauma, Lady that absorbs pain
Ascetic and bhairavi and sannyasini and mistress
Pull me from the disaster that I have made of my life
Save me from the evil machinations of others.”

This is their prayer and I hear it in their hearts
As they chant my mantra.

“Saviour, Lady, Mother Goddess, Bodhisattva,
Love me as I love you
I am desperate and bound
Free me by your grace.”

I will give freedom, but not without realisation
Those who have been bound, bind others
Those who have suffered, cause suffering
I let them know how they have been affected
But also how they have affected others.

I do not wear bones because of death
I wear them because they represent what is beneath the surface
The blood that I drink is evil karma of those that I save
And the karma is then halted and does not pass to others.

I appear wrathful as I take on anger, hatred, fury, and the desire to destroy
Which are destroyed within me.
I am a dancer upon the pain of all mankind
I destroy the dark and corrupt.

My compassionate side is hidden
But for those whom I love
Who have taken on my dark grace
I open a path of shining light
With pain and sorrow left behind.

Source: J. Denosky

Those alluring honeybee eyes in that lotus face,
that long, dark blue hair, glowing with white light,
there before me in a pose of seductive dance.
Grant me, Saraswati, your power of speech.

Those beautiful, playful antelope eyes,
I gaze insatiably upon you, seducer of my mind.
Goddess of speech with a mother’s compassion,
make our speech as one.

More beautiful than the splendor of a full autumn moon,
a voice eclipsing the sweetest melody of Brahma,
a mind as hard to fathom as the deepest ocean,
I bow before the goddess Saraswati.

Mantra: OM SARASIDDHI HRING HRING

Tara has strongly manifested her presence, blessings and speech many times over to us, from the highest practitioners to the humblest devotees. Due to its quick and efficacious results, her practice has become widespread and prevalent throughout North Asia, and continues to spread through the world. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to practice this efficient yidam without lower or higher tantric commitments.

Homage to Guru Arya-Tara!

(1)
Three Infallible Jewels of Refuge combined
In one, Divine Mother Whose nature is Compassion,
I bow to You from my heart! Till I’m enlightened,
Support me, I pray, with the hook of Your Compassion!

(2)
I call the Jewels as witness – from not just my mouth,
But the depth of my innermost heart and bones, I pray –
Think of me somewhat! Show me Your smiling face!
Loving One, grant me the nectar of Your Speech!

(3)
Others cheat us with their made-up teachings,
Selling Dharma for money that’s marked by impermanence,
Proclaiming ignorance knowledge, puffed up with pride
Through the eight worldly Dharmas, Gurus great and small.

(4)
Since I cannot trust such Friends of degenerate times,
The principal Guru of mine is You Yourself.
Inspire me, Mother of the nature of love!
Arouse Your great power of Compassion! Think of me!

(5)
Relied on as Refuge, none of them will deceive us;
But, seeing the ways of this degenerate age,
Most Buddhas sink down into the bliss of Nirvana;
Some, though compassionate, have weak karmic connection.

(6)
Since I have no other Yidam deity,
My principal Deity is You Yourself.
Grant me siddhis, Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of compassion! Think of me!

(7)
Most protectors don’t show their powers and skills –
Disgusted with their practitioners, they do not act.
Others, proud of worldly fame, may be
Good for a while, but cheat us in the end.

(8)
Since I cannot trust protectors such as these,
My principal Protector is You Yourself.
Fulfill the Activities, Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of Compassion! Think of me!

(9)
Common worldly riches, the meaning like the name,
Arouse defilements and bind one in Samsara.
What jewels, except the Aryas, though they grant wishes,
Can let me take even a sesame seed when I die?

(10)
Since I cannot trust illusory riches,
The principal wealth I have is You Yourself.
Grant my desires, O Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of compassion! Think of me!

(11)
Not fit to be trusted even for one day,
Their thoughts determinedly set on misbehaviour,
Just acting friendly, these friends of no virtue
Play the friend when they wish, the enemy when they don’t.

(12)
Since I cannot trust these friends of degenerate times,
The principal friend of mine is You Yourself.
Be close to me, O Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of compassion! Think of me!

(13)
In short, my Guru, my Deity and Protector,
My Refuge, dwelling, food, wealth, friends and all
Everything whatsoever I wish, You are;
So make me accomplish everything easily!

(14)
Let me stop also my present stubborn mind,
And rouse the Compassion that even on coming to give
A billion times for every being’s sake
My body and life tires not – inspire me thus!

(15)
The uprooter of Samsara’s maker, self-grasping,
The deep Middle Way, so hard to understand,
Avoiding all errors of the two extremes,
Pure Right View – Please inspire me to realise it!

(16)
Wishing, for sentient beings’ sake, to win Buddhahood,
Let me not think for a moment of my own pleasure,
But dedicating all virtues to beings and Doctrine,
Perfect my renounced Bodhi-mind – inspire me thus!

(17)
Rich in the Aryas’ Treasures, faith and the rest,
Let me become the best of Buddha-sons, able
To keep the smallest precept taught by the Conquerors,
Never contemptuous of it – inspire me thus!

(18)
In outward behaviour keeping the Hearer’s conduct,
Let me, in inward belief, revere the Profound
Vajrayana, and practice the Two-Stage Path,
So winning Enlightenment swiftly – inspire me thus!

(19)
Whether I’m happy or troubled, whether things
Go well or badly for me, whatever I do
You know about it, Venerable Tara, so
Think of me lovingly, my only mother!

(20)
Myself and all the beings with hopes of me
I offer to You, Venerable Tara!
Make us Your own, and to the highest Pure Land
Make us go quickly, with no births intervening!

(21)
My mothers, who do not follow the Conquerors’ teachings,
All mother sentient beings, whoever they are –
With Your hook of compassionate skilful means
Please transform their minds into Dharma!

(22)
Reciting this at morning, noon and night,
And bearing in mind Venerable Tara,
Let all sentient beings with hopes of me
Be born in whatever Pure Land they desire!

(23)
May every member of the Three Precious Jewels,
Especially the Venerable Mother, compassionate-natured,
Look after me till I reach the point of Enlightenment
Letting me conquer quickly the four Maras’ hosts!

Mantra:

AH KHA SAMA-RANZA SHANDA-RASA MARAYA PHET

Lion-faced Dakini!

Because of the force and power of the recitation of Your Mantra,
Let enemies who torment us teachers, pupils and attendants,
hindering spirits who harm us, obstructive conditions, and in short,
every enduring inauspiciousness, be turned back!

Host of blazing wrathful females!
Smash into dust-motes the body and speech
Of all the nature of hindering foes,
And release their consciousness in Dharma-Dhatu!

Through recitation of Your mantra,
Let me quell all injury,
Achieve my aims just as I wish,
And spread the Doctrine in teaching and practice!

She is also considered the peaceful form of Palden Lhamo, wrathful Dharma Protector.

In Buddhist iconography she is frequently depicted with one face and two arms. Her body is white in colour, she holds a vina, a stringed musical instrument and sits on a swan.

Her vina represents her mastery of skills in all arts and composition and the 84,000 teachings of Buddha reverberate within the sound of her Vina.

Her spiritual energy in the form of sound that helps to transform the mind (Mantra):

OM SARASIDDHI HRING HRING