Namo Guru Lokeshvaraya!
The Lord of Three Kayas,
Treasury of activities of all the Victorious ones.
Ultimately, you are unelaborated great bliss: Samantabhadri.
I bow to you, the fearless swift mother of the Victorious
ones,
As I briefly explain the verses of praise with devotion.
Venerable noble mother Tara is Kuntuzangmo,Tib Samantabhadri,Skt in
the sphere of the dharmakaya , Dorje Phagmo,Tib or Vajravarahi,Skt
in the sphere of the sambhogakaya , and Arya Tara in her
nirmanakaya form. Dorje Yangchenma, Tib and Lhamo Palchenmo,Tib are
among her many other manifestations; each has a different name and
form. In the Land of Snow, (Tibet) in particular, beings are
benefited by her other inconceivable manifestations, specifically,
Yeshe Tsogyal,Tib or Jhana Dakini .Skt Just by praying to her, with
the help of her swift action, we can spontaneously accomplish the
two purposes . Therefore, it is of great benefit to persevere in
this practice.
There are many different Indian and Tibetan traditions explaining
this "tantra of praise". Motivated by devotion, I will explain this
tantra in accordance with "The Treasure Vase of Essential Great
Bliss of Inner Practice", which is the profound mind-treasure
teaching of the omniscient Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa. Each of the
twenty-one verses is praise to twenty-one manifestations.
Homage to mother Tara, swift and fearless,
Your eyes are like flashing lightning.
Born from the blossoming stamens
Of the lotus face of the Lord of Three Worlds.
The first praise is to Nyurma Palmo,Tib the "Fearless Swift Lady".
Here we pay homage to the lady of activity who liberates beings
from the temporal and perennial sufferings of samsara . She is
called "Swift Lady" because her impartial compassion benefits
beings without even an instant's delay. She is the "Fearless Lady",
because she has the unhindered power to subdue demons, as well as
the afflictions of beings. She protects beings from all fears. Her
wisdom eyes move like the flash of lightning as she fully cognizes
all phenomena. The lady endowed with omniscience, compassion,
power, and activity was born from "the teardrops of the stamen-like
eyes of the fully blossomed lotus-like face of Avalokiteshvara ,
the Savior of Three Worlds". The three worlds are the
sub-terrestrial, terrestrial and celestial realms, (the worlds of
nagas , humans, and gods, respectively).
Tara is seductive, and has the youthfulness of the rising sun, and
a semi-wrathful smile. Her right hand is in the boon-giving mudra ,
and her left hand holds a blue lotus upon which is a right-turning
conch. This symbolizes her mastery of the two truths and bodhicitta
: in this world, and in the god realm . The outer meaning of the
praise literally praises the nirmanakaya aspect of the Noble Lady.
In the inner aspect of the praise, if not taken literally, her
sambhogakaya and dharmakaya aspects are praised. The "Savior of the
Three Worlds" is the dharmakaya, and its manifestation is the
rupakaya, or "form body," (which is composed of the sambhogakaya
and nirmanakaya).
Homage to you whose face is like
The gathering of a hundred full moons in autumn,
Shining resplendent light
In the perfect, spacious constellation of a thousand stars.
The second verse is homage to Yangchenma,Tib the "Treasure of
Wisdom". The "Lady with a shining face like an array of hundred
autumn full moons," means her face is a hundred times fairer and
more beautiful than the moon. Her right hand holds a mirror, which
is like a full moon engraved with an HRI syllable. The "perfect
spacious constellation of a thousand stars," refers to the field of
her wisdom, which is abundantly spacious, and vast, like the
countless, resplendent rays of the full moon. This light clears the
darkness of the ignorance of practitioners, which is the cause of
dullness, disease and possession by evils. It opens the door to the
treasury of knowledge by illuminating the light of the four
specific perfect understandings. These are the perfect
understanding of the Dharma , (teachings) the perfect understanding
of the definitive meaning, perfect confidence (in the doctrine) and
the perfect knowledge of the Victorious Ones, (brilliance).
According to a tantra, the inner meaning is "to serve the mother of
the sphere" which means emptiness or the nature of mind. In order
to look at our innate self, the face of the ultimate Vajravarahi,
we must accumulate merit and purify our mind-streams , so that they
are like an "array of a hundred pure white moons." Because of these
practices, the door to her blessing will be opened by our true
inclination. In that way, we can see ultimate luminosity and ignite
our dynamic wisdom.
Homage to you, the golden lady
Whose hand is adorned with a blue lotus,
You are the lord of the domain of the activities of
generosity,
Diligence, austerity, tranquility, patience and meditation.
The third praise is to Sonam Thobkyedma,Tib the "Yellow Lady of
Good Fortune". She is beautiful; her skin is the color of pure gold
glittering in the early morning sun. Her left hand is adorned with
a blue lotus, upon which sits a gem that bestows all wishes. She is
the lord of the Bodhisattvas' sphere of activity, which encompasses
the transcendent perfections of generosity, patience, diligence,
ethics, tranquility, wisdom, and meditation. Austerity, (in this
context) is ethics, and tranquility is wisdom and meditation. We
pay homage to the unchallengeable lady who has the ten powers: the
power over life, the power over mind, the power over wealth, the
power over action, the power over birth, the power over
inclination, the power over aspiration, the power over miracles,
the power over primordial wisdom, and the power over dharma. The
outer meaning is that she has attained the completion of the six
perfections, in just one meditation. The inner meaning is that her
singular meditation is like a lotus, free from the flaw of
adherence to subject and object, and is endowed with the completion
of the six perfections.
Homage to you born from the Tathagata's crown
Who enjoys boundless total victory,
Relied upon by the Sons of Conquerors
Who have achieved perfection.
The fourth praise is to Namgyalma,Tib the "Victorious Lady", the
"One Who Has Accomplished Immortality." The "Wisdom Goddess" of
wisdom mantra, who emanates from the crowns of the Tathagatas ,
enjoys total victory over the boundless disruptive forces. Her
complexion is golden, and she holds a vase of longevity.
Bodhisattvas who have achieved the ten bhumis , the essence of the
ten transcendent perfections, without exception, rely on her
guidance as their spiritual mother. She enriches practitioners by
dissolving the fourteen subtle essences of the animate, inanimate,
and other subtle essences of samsara and nirvana . In reality, she
has achieved the sacred, unchanging body of eternity through the
intention of Atiyoga , the crown of nine yanas .
Homage to you who fills all of the realms of Desire,
Its Aspect and Space with TUTTARA and HUNG syllables,
You trample the seven worlds with your feet,
You have the power to command all forces.
The fifth is the praise to Rigyed Lhamo,Tib the "All-Knowing Lady"
who has the quality of magnetizing . This red Tara sits on blue
lotus and holds a bow and an arrow. She fills the desire realm, its
aspect, which is the form realm, and space, which is the formless
realm, with the brightly radiating TUTTARA mantra , and the sound
of HUNG. (Phyogs in Tibetan is an ambiguous word. In this instance,
the author of the commentary interprets it as "the aspect" of the
desire realm.) This is because beings in both the desire realm and
the form realm share the same aspect of having form. Likewise,
"space" is interpreted as the formless realm. The radiance of the
TUTTARA mantra and the sound of HUNG symbolize her realization of
emptiness and compassion. She conquers the seven worlds by just
trampling them with her feet. If she is able to summon all of these
forces without exception just by the power of the mantra, there can
be no doubt of her power over the lesser forces, for example:
sangha, kings, ministers, and landlords.
There are a number of different identifications of the seven
worlds. Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen points out they are the five goers,
and the two upper realms, which makes seven. Drolgon Zhab says the
seven worlds are the realms of the nagas, pretas, asuras, humans,
vidyadharas , kinaras and gods; the seven realms with power. In the
commentary by Gedun Gyatso, the seven realms are comprised of the
six realms: (the realms of the gods, jealous gods, humans, animals,
hungry ghosts and hell-beings), and the realm of the bardo, (which
is also known as the intermediate state).
Others write that the seven worlds are: the sky, the form and
formless realms, and the worlds of ten directions. Rigyed Lhamo
magnetizes and leads beings to the path of the three yanas. The
ultimate meaning is that through practice, when non-conceptual
neutral alaya's clarity is cognized, the formless realms dissolve.
When the simple pure luminosity of the undiscriminating clarity of
alaya-vijnana , or "base of consciousness" is cognized, the form
realms dissolve. When mental consciousness is free from delusion
and the five sensory cognitions, the desire realm ceases. These
cessations are the abiding purity, or the fruition of purification.
At this stage of awareness, the seven worlds are the seven
cognitions, where all the concepts of desire and the other three
realms without exception dissolve into dharmadatu .
Homage to you, who is worshipped by Indra,
Agni, Brahma, Vayudeva, Visvakarman and Ishvara,
And praised in your presence,
By a host of spirits, zombies, gandharvas and yakshas.
The sixth homage is to Jigyed Chenmo,Tib the dark red "Great
Terrifying Lady", who holds a phurba sparkling with HUNG syllables
that destroy all evils. Indra, the king of gods; Agni, the sage;
Brahma, the creator; Vayudeva, the wind god; the great Ishvara and
all the great ones of the world, and the main guardians of the
directions worship her. In front of her kneel a host of evil
spirits who harm beings by their misguidance. There are spirits who
cause insanity and memory loss, and spirits who turn corpses into
zombies. There are gandharvas of the bardo and the realm of Yama;
yakshas like Semo, who deceive by seducing; king spirits who makes
beings crazy and angry; and pishaca demons that eat flesh. All
these evildoers await her orders with humility and respect. Homage
is paid to Tara who crushes the heads of those difficult to tame,
and makes them faint into the state of dharmadhatu. The inner
meaning of this is that Indra and the other gods are the
personification of five elements , and the spirits are the
personification of the five aggregates . Their reverence symbolizes
the purity of the elements and aggregates, which are the base of
the male and female Buddhas .
Homage to you, who destroys malefic magical wheels,
With the sounds of TRAT and PHAT
And tramples with right leg outstretched and left leg drawn
in
Dazzling amidst whirling flames.
The seventh homage is to Tumo Zhenge Methubma,Tib the "Unchallenged
Furious Lady", who averts wars, lightning and hailstorms by
intoning TRAT and PHAT, which in Sanskrit means to tear and cut.
These syllables thwart the magical wheels of the intentional evil
deeds of the eight classes of spirits. They avert lightning strikes
and hailstorms, and destroy cannons and other weapons of war. To
depict that she has gone beyond of the extremes of samsara and
nirvana by her compassion and realization of emptiness, her right
leg is outstretched and her left leg is drawn in, and tramples on
malignant beings. She conquers all fears of nirvana and samsara
with her power of realization of emptiness and compassion. She is
black, and sits amidst flames. Her wrathful wrinkles whirl like
ocean waves. Homage is paid to the lady who wields a mystically
blazing sword held atop a blue lotus that burns all foes to ashes.
The inner meaning of her outstretched and drawn in legs is the
sensory cognitions; when the sensory cognitions perceive and
harmonize the sensory objects, the samsaric wars arise. By saying
tear and cut, she severs attachment to sensory objects and purifies
them. This is the base of the male and female Bodhisattvas.
Homage to TURE, the great terrifying lady,
Who defeats the champions of demons.
Your frowning lotus face
Slays all foes without exception.
The eighth homage is to the dark red frowning lady, Zhen Megyalvai
Palmo,Tib the "Invincible Fearless Lady". We praise the lady who
averts criticism and other harms, which are the source of
humiliation caused by our afflictive emotion of pride. Her hand
implement is a vajra . By reciting the mantra TURE, which means
"Swift Lady", another of her names declaiming her swift
compassionate action, she arises in wrathful form from the tranquil
dharmadhatu, and subjugates the demons difficult to tame: the
afflictions, the aggregates, the lord of death, and the maras
.
She transforms her blossoming lotus-like peaceful face into a
wrathful, scowling face, and destroys the evil mind of outer
enemies. She eliminates those who hate and abuse the dharma and its
upholders, those who cause obstacles for practitioners, and those
who harm sentient beings. In reality, she executes all foes without
a trace: the afflictive obscurations that are the foes of
liberation, and the knowable obscurations that are the foes of
omniscience. The definitive meaning is that the base of the
wrathful male and female deities, (the serving faculties) are the
pure abiding nature of the four attributes of body, and the four
classes of illusory conceptions. They eliminate the foes of
omniscience: the knowable obscurations, and the foes of liberation:
the obscuration of afflictive emotions.
Homage to you, who holds your fingers marvelously
In the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem at your heart.
Swirling masses of light adorn you,
Permeating every direction in beautiful circles.
The ninth praise is homage to Sengdeng Nagi Drolma,Tib the "Tara of
the Rosewood Forest" who protects from all kinds of fears. Her
color is dark green, with the dazzling radiance of emeralds. Her
right hand is in the boon-giving mudra, and the thumb and ring
finger of her left hand holds a blue lotus engraved with a wheel.
Her remaining fingers are held gracefully upright at her heart in
the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem . The swirling wheel of light,
(a metaphor for protection) adorns her like the finest of garments,
and it protects like a shield against all torments. Likewise, all
beings of the world in ten directions are protected from all kinds
of fears by the all-pervasive light that beams from her body,
clearing their fears in a display of extraordinary radiance.
The eight kinds of fears are:
1. The fear of elephants represents the power of
ignorance. When ignorance grows strong, one ignores the law of
cause and effect, indulges in alcohol, (here the use of alcohol is
a symbolic of wrong view) and becomes crazy.
2. The fear of iron chains symbolizes habituation to
lust and desire that bind together the senses and their
objects.
3. The fear of pishaca demons signifies the doubt that
steals the life force of nirvana, as it moves in the sky of
ignorance, and the doubt that harms the understanding of ultimate
meanings.
4. The fear of rivers (floods) is a symbol of desire,
acting savagely. By the possession of spirits, the current of
desire carries beings towards samsara in its tumultuous waves of
birth, sick, aging and death caused by karmic wind.
5. The fear of fire represents the power of anger that
burns the forest of virtue. Anger is the cause of anxiety, which in
turn causes quarrels, disputes, and partialities.
6. The fear of robbery corresponds to the wrong views
that steal the treasure of the supreme goal. This causes one to
wander aimlessly in the barren ground of wrong view, (and to)
believe in extremes and low ascetic practices.
7. The fear of reptiles represents jealousy, the
poison of intolerance of another person's prosperity. Jealousy
results in everything becoming a cause for agitation.
8. The fear of lions signifies pride, the conceit of
holding high ones own views and conduct. Pride causes one to
(metaphorically) develop claws as sharp as a lion's to belittle
others.
These and their casual factors are the eight fears.
Another set of eight fears, which are the fruition of secondary
afflictions are:
1. The fear of punishment by kings caused by
self-infatuation and harming others.
2. The fear of foes is caused by hypocrisy, gloom,
sloth and excitement.
3. The fear of evil spirits is caused by dishonesty
and deceit.
4. The fear of leprosy is caused by lack of shame and
dread of blame.
5. The fear of being lonely is caused by
disbelief.
6. The fear of poverty is caused by stinginess.
7. The fear of thunder is caused by anger and
enmity.
8. The fear of failure is caused by indolence and
carelessness.
Homage is paid to the lady who protects us from these two sets of
fears. The inner meaning is that her wheel of the three primordial
wisdom-minds, (the wisdom-minds of emptiness, clarity and
compassion, illustrated by the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem)
eliminates the nine bonds and other afflictions, which is a cause
for accomplishing the fearless vajra of self-cognized
luminosity.
Homage to you, lady who unfurls
Garlands of joyous majestic light from your crown.
By your piercing laughter of TUTTARE,
You subjugate the world and maras.
The tenth homage is to Jigten Sumgyal,Tib "Victorious Over Three
Worlds", who subjugates worldly beings. She is red and holds a
victory banner. Multi-colored lights radiate from her crown, giving
perfect joy and fulfilling the temporal and ultimate wishes
according to the desires of beings. By saying the TUTTARE mantra
melodiously with the eight attributes of laughter, (of the wrathful
deity) she confuses and subjugates the demonic lords of the
(sensory god realm), who are known as the "Controllers of Other's
Emanation". She also subjugates kings, ministers, sorcerers, and
wealthy householders and leads them to the path of liberation. In
the root text, "the outer phenomena change only when
self-appearances transform." Therefore, subjugation is possible if
the intention of the spiritual mother (non-dual
emptiness-compassion) is attained, and there is no alternate
method. The inner meaning is the four joys subjugate demons and
afflictions. The subjugation of the three doors by blissful
primordial wisdom is subjugation of the three worlds.
Homage to you,
Who can summon hosts of the protectors of earth.
By your frowning movements and HUNG syllable,
You bring freedom from all poverties.
The eleventh homage is to Thronyer Chenma,Tib the "Frowning Lady"
who bestows wealth and dispels poverty. She summons the goddess of
earth, the nagas, the god of wealth, yakshas and other lords of ten
directions and their retinues to serve her activities. She is holds
a treasure vase, and is orange in color. She is majestic, with a
scowling face and a furrowed brow. Light radiates from the HUNG
syllable at her heart, drawing in the wealth and prosperity of
gods, nagas and humans. She showers the poor and needy with wealth,
satisfying all their needs and freeing them from their sufferings.
The inner meaning is that by purifying the earth-like ignorance
that supports the world, the primordially perfect great merit is
revealed, clearing samsara and nirvana of all poverty. This also
indicates the Secret and Wisdom path.
Homage to you, whose diadem is a crescent moon,
All your adornments dazzle brightly.
Excellent perpetual light shines
From Amitabha at your topknot.
The twelfth homage is to Tara, Tashi Dongyed Dolma,Tib the "One Who
Bestows Auspiciousness" who brings timely rain, helps with
childbirth, and makes places auspicious. This golden Tara sits on
blue lotus and holds an auspicious knot. From the rays of her
crescent moon diadem, showers of nectar fall, improving crops and
vegetation. Clear and brilliant white light radiates from all of
her precious jewels and silken attire. Amitabha, the lord of her
Buddha family sits on her black hair knot. From him too, boundless
unceasing compassionate rays shine for the benefit of sentient
beings. These rays bring a shower of auspicious signs and articles.
They cleanse the poisonous bad omens of animate and inanimate
existence, causing all beings and their environments to enjoy
perfect, glorious, auspiciousness. The ultimate meaning of the
first line is 'direct perception,' the second line means the
'enhancing experience' and the last two of the lines mean 'the
completion stage of the expansion of primordial wisdom and kayas of
the fourth empowerment ,'(Word).
Homage to you, who dwells amidst garlands
Blazing like the fire at the end of an eon.
With your right leg outstretched and left leg drawn in
Your joyful turning destroys enemy forces.
The thirteenth homage is to Drapung Jomma,Tib the "Tara Who Averts
War". She averts wars and obstacles, and leads beings to victory in
the war with form and formless enemies. She is red in color and
dwells amidst garlands of wisdom fire swirling like the fire at the
end of an eon. Her right leg is stretched out and left leg is drawn
in. Sparks of fire fly from the prongs of the vajra she brandishes,
subduing all harmful enemies. She comforts them by gathering them
under the vajra-tent that protects them from their own evil. With
every skillful means , she turns the wheel of dharma, according to
the disposition of the beings to be tamed. She makes them content
and joyous, and subdues the malefic forces of the two obscurations.
The inner meaning is that this indicates the realization that
"exhausts all phenomena". Just as the fire at the end of the eon
consumes the world, when the primordial wisdom swirls in
dharmadhatu, the outer earth and stones, the inner animate body,
and the secret conceptions are also exhausted. So the foes of the
two obscurations are subjugated, and the joy of the great
tranquility of the core of inner clarity of primordial wisdom that
does not dwell in the extremes of samsara and nirvana is
experienced.
Homage to you, who strikes the earth with your palms,
And stamps upon it with your feet.
With wrathful grimaces and HUNG syllable,
You scatter the seven underworlds.
The fourteenth homage is to Thronyer Chenzed,Tib the "Wrathful
Wrinkled (Frowning) Tara" who subdues the eight classes of harmful
spirits and nine malignant spirit brothers. She is black like a
dark night, and holds a wooden pestle upon a blue lotus. She makes
the world tremble and quake by striking the mountains and islands
with the palms of her hands and stamping upon them with her feet.
By the power of her regal frowning, the resounding vibration of
HUNG, and the glare from her radiant vajra light, which is like a
fire-shower, she shatters the hearts and heads of all malignant
spirits: samaya breakers, demons and others from the seven
underworlds and above, and makes them faint into the state of
dharmata . The seven underworlds, which are like layers of seven
roofs, are: the abodes of demons, the general base, the higher
base, the baseless, the specific base, the base of essence, the
perfect base, and the pure base. In reality, the two soles striking
symbolize striking the crucial point of the path of the non-duality
of pristine wisdom and the basic sphere, which uproots the seven
latencies or seven cognitions with their objects.
Homage to you, who is blissful, virtuous and tranquil,
And enjoys the domain of peaceful nirvana
With (mantra) endowed perfectly with SVAHA and OM
You destroy all awful non-virtuous karma.
The fifteenth homage is to Rabtu Zhima,Tib the "Perfect Pacifier",
who pacifies the obscuration of negative karma . She sits on blue
lotus, and is peaceful. Her color is white like a crystal moon and
she holds an anointing vase. She is free from the fruition of
suffering, and as a result, she is blissful She has eliminated
non-virtue, and as a result, she is virtuous. Her afflictions have
ended, and as a result, she is tranquil. She has gone beyond the
sufferings of the two obscurations and she enjoys and abides in the
sphere of sublime tranquility. By her power of compassion, and
power of reciting perfectly in accordance with the sadhana her
twenty-three or eighteen syllable mantras, the five heinous
negative karmas that make beings fall into the lower realms, and
other karma that generates great sufferings are uprooted and
purified. The mantra includes the additional syllables, OM at the
beginning and SVAHA at the end. The ultimate meaning is that her
blissfulness and other qualities are connected to the five wisdom
minds: the wisdom of absolute space, mirror-like wisdom, the wisdom
of equality, discriminating wisdom, and all-accomplishing
wisdom.
Homage to you, who is surrounded by joyous ones
Who completely scatter the bodies of enemies.
You liberate all with your speech, adorned with ten syllables
And HUNG: your pristine awareness.
The sixteenth homage is to Drolma Barvai Odcan,Tib the "Tara Who
Averts the Enemies and Mantra's Spell," who is red like the fire at
the end of eon, sits on blue lotus, and holds a crossed vajra. She
is surrounded by a host of vidyadharas and mendicants who have
accomplished the practice of mantra and power of truthful speech
and are endowed with perfect joy of samadhi. Their radiance
scatters the bodies of the foes and overcomes the power of magical
spells and the power of sorcery, destroying them without a trace.
By reciting her mantra arrangement of the ten syllables, OM TARE
and so on, she At the heart of the wrathful lady, awareness rests
in the form of a HUNG radiating light that clears the outer, inner,
and secret obscurations of the beings to be tamed. The ultimate
meaning is that by subduing the foe of the impure appearance of our
body, the awareness body of the Mother of the Victorious Ones is
accomplished: the unchanging great blissful body endowed with the
ten powers.
Homage to you whose seed syllable is HUNG
Who utters TURE and stamps your feet.
Causing Meru, Mandhara and Vindhya mountains
And the three worlds to tremble.
The seventeenth homage is to Dolma Pagmed Nonma,Tib the
"Unfathomable Suppressor", who averts harm from hunters, thieves,
robbers and enemies. She is orange like saffron, sits on a blue
lotus and holds a stupa . By saying TURE, stamping on the ground,
and the radiating seed syllables from the HUNG at her heart, she
shakes all the abodes of the great gods, including Mount Meru,
Mandhara and Vindhya. The effect of her actions extends beyond the
three thousand worlds. Her stamping causes the three realms:
desire, form and formless, on the subterranean, terrestrial and
celestial worlds, to quake and quiver. By the power of her
frightening forces, she crushes butchers, thieves, and other
enemies under her feet and gives peace to all beings. The ultimate
meaning is that the quavering of the three worlds is purification
of the three doors, (body, speech and mind).
Homage to you, holding a hare-marked full moon,
Shaped like the god's ocean of nectar
By uttering TARE twice and PHAT
You dispel all poison without exception.
The eighteenth homage is to Maja Chenmo,Tib the "Great Peahen", who
averts and pacifies poison. She is as white as the moon, and sits
on a blue lotus. In her left hand, she holds a full moon marked
with a rabbit, which is the shape of the ocean of nectar of the god
realm. With her radiance and her chanting of the mantra, OM TARE
TUTTARE TURE SARVA VETRA TARA PHAT SVA HA, which has two TARES and
a PHAT syllable, she clears all poisons, both animate and
inanimate, without a trace. Generally, all obstacles arise from
poisons, and the base of all the animate and inanimate poisons is
our afflictions. She clears all the poisons of sentient beings
without a trace with the medicine of the truth of reality.
Homage to you, on whom kings, congregations of gods,
Minor gods, and kinaras rely.
Your armor of magnificent joy
Dispels all disputes and bad dreams.
The nineteenth is homage to Mipham Gyalmo,Tib the "Undefeated
Queen", who averts conflicts and bad dreams. She is white and holds
a white umbrella. Indra, Brahma, gods of the desire and form
realms, demons and local gods who harm beings, and the gods of
mountains, lakes and trees who help beings, honor her without
exception. In general, by the mantra that is blessed by her and the
visualization of her body as armor, all conflicts and bad dreams
can be averted. In particular, the multi-colored vajras and the
sparkles they emit avert religious and political critics, and make
their statements powerless. She wears a crown to symbolize honoring
lamas as deities, actualization of primordial wisdom, and
stabilization of bodhicitta. She wears earrings as a sign of
refraining from the humiliation of lamas. Her armlets, bracelets,
and anklets, six in number, signify that she refrains from killing
insects. Her necklaces represent her perfect recitation of mantra.
Her belt, lower garments and ornaments indicate that her body is
endowed with bodhicitta. All of her ornaments are like fine armor,
whose splendor can avert criticism and the bad dreams caused by the
imbalance of the winds, channels and seminal essence . The inner
meaning is that by having the karmic wind flow into the uma, the
central channel, the experience of the armor of emptiness is
actualized, averting the delusions that cause conflict and bad
dreams.
Homage to you, whose two eyes, the sun and the moon
Radiate sublime luminous light.
Uttering HARA twice and TUTTARA
You dispel all horrifying epidemics.
The twentieth homage is to Lhamo Rithrodma,Tib the "Mendicant
Tara", who averts all diseases. She is orange and her hand holds a
vase of nectar on a blue lotus. Her left eye is like the full moon
and her right eye is like the sun. Her right eye emits blazing rays
that burn all the lords of diseases, (those who command the evil
spirits that bring disease) like haystacks. Clear nectar flows from
the moon, (her left eye) curing the causes and effects of diseases
and epidemics. Her mantra, OM TARE TUTTARE TURE NAMA TARE NAMO HARA
HUNG HARA SVA HA has two HARA sounds and a TUTTARA. The mantra can
cure even the most dangerous incurable epidemics. The ultimate
meaning is that if the mother-sphere of transcendent wisdom is
realized, the most dangerous epidemics of afflictions, their causes
and fruitions, can be cured.
Homage to you, who is adorned by three Suchnesses.
Perfectly endowed with the power of serenity.
Destroyer of demons, zombies and yakshas.
O TURE! Sublime excellent lady.
The twenty-first praise is the homage to Lhamo Odser Chenma,Tib the
"Goddess with Brilliance", who can restore the life force. She is
white, her left hand is in the boon-giving mudra, and her right
hand is in the refuge-giving mudra, holding a blue lotus on which
sit the auspicious golden fishes. At her three places: crown,
throat, and heart, are OM, AH, and HUNG, respectively, which form
the sublime protection against all obstacles. The light rays from
these letters protect the three doors of beings from the harm of
all outer obstacles caused by evil forces, both form and formless.
They also protect beings from the inner obstacles of ill health,
and the secret obstacles of dualistic affliction. The rays have the
power to pacify them without a trace. Particularly, the rays from
the three letters can restore the life force stolen by spirits,
zombies, and yakshas, and eliminate their harmful intentions and
actions. The homage is to TURE, the great compassionate lady who
acts swiftly for the benefit of sentient beings. The true meaning
is that Tara has the power to guide the minds of beings to be tamed
in the "three approaches to liberation". These are: emptiness,
attributelessness and aspirationlessness, or, the suchness of an
entity, its nature and compassion, and the clearing of all its
obscurations. Ultimately the vajra body, speech and mind are the
primordially pure nature of all phenomena. By meditating on the
sphere of the indivisibility of the three vajras, the demons,
sufferings, zombies, and yakshas are transformed by the great bliss
of primordial wisdom.
This is the praise to Her root mantra,
And the Twenty-One Homages.