The Twenty-one Praises of Tara
Refuge vows, and the Tara empowerment from an accredited teacher is required for doing the complete liturgy with offerings. Anyone, though, can read, chant or sing the 21 Praises.
Prepare for this
practice by setting the proper motivation
and reciting the preliminary
prayers and practices:
| Sang gye cho dang tsog kyi chog nam la | To the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha |
| Jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi | I go for refuge until I am enlightened |
| Dag gi jin sog gyi pay so nam kyi | Through the positive potential I create by practicing generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes |
| Dro la pen chir sang gye drub par shog | May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. |
| Sem
chen tarn che de wa dang/ de way gyu dang den par gyur
chig Sem chen tam che dug ngel dang/ dug ngel kyi gyu dang drel war gyur chig Sem chen tam che dug ngel may pay de wa dang/ mi drel war gyur chig Sem chen tam che nye ring chag dang nyi dang/ drel way dang nyom la ne par gyur chig |
May all
sentient beings have happiness and the causes of
happiness; May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering; May all sentient beings never be separated from the happiness that knows no suffering; May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment and anger that hold some close and others distant. |
| Go sum
go pay go ne chag tsal lo
Ngo sham yi trul cho trin ma lu bul Tog may ne sag dig tung tam che shag Kye pag gay wa nam la je yi rang Kor wa ma tong bar du leg zhug ne Dro la cho kyi kor lo kor wa dang Dag zhen gay nam jang chub chen por ngo |
Reverently I prostrate with with my body, speech and
mind And present clouds of every type of offering, actual and mentally transformed. I confess all my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time And rejoice in the virtues of all holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until cyclic existence ends, And turn the wheel of Dharma for sentient beings. I dedicate the virtues created by myself and others to the great enlightenment. |
Visualize much radiant and blissful green light from the TAM and
mantra at Tara’s heart streams into you and into the sentient beings
surrounding you. View all sentient beings of this world system as now
having that TAM and mantra at their heart as a result of the earlier
recitation, that they are in their normal places around the world. View
that green light emanates from a multi-layered cloud of Taras of all forms
in the space around this world system. The light covers all space and all
sentient beings of this world system and even spreads on to all of space,
all world systems and all sentient beings. Also view all Buddhas and
bodhisattvas similarly arrayed joining in with light appropriate to them.
For trouble spots and situations add an ever widening tornado of Taras
superimposed with similar widening stacks of all Buddhas and bodhisattvas
over the place with intense blessing raining down to help. This light
purifies the imprints of all negative actions, and dispels all sickness
and harms from spirits. In addition, it brings inspiration and blessings
from Tara [and all Buddhas and bodhisattvas], thus enabling you to realize
the entire gradual path to enlightenment quickly. While doing the
visualization, recite as much as possible Tara’s peaceful mantra:
OM TARE TUTTARE TURE
SOHA
Wish that all subsequent such visualizations and recitations throughout the day be considered to be logically part of this practice at this point. Then continue this practice at all odd moments through the day, such as walking, driving, standing in lines, and any other activity that can allow divided attention. For things such as driving, you may limit the visualization effort so that the particular activity is not compromised in an unsafe way.
The Protection
Cakra of Arya Tara
.gif){kind=small}
You
are in your ordinary form. At your heart appears a white AH made of
light. This transforms into a white moon disc. At its center appears a
green syllable TAM, the essence of Tara's blissful omniscient mind
of wisdom and compassion. Standing clockwise around the edge of the moon
appear the letters of the mantra om tare tuttare ture
soha, made of green light
TAM
.gif)
From the TAM, rainbow-colored light goes out in all directions and invokes Tara to appear in the space in front of you. She is seated on a lotus and moon disc. Her body is made of emerald-green light, youthful and exquisitely beautiful. Her right hand on her right knee is in the gesture of giving; her left hand at her heart is in the gesture of refuge and holds the stem of a blue utpala flower that blooms by her ear.
Her left leg is drawn up and her right leg is slightly extended. Her face is very beautiful and she smiles with loving kindness at all sentient beings.
Surrounding her in space are twenty-one other Taras, as well as all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Surrounding you are all sentient beings. You lead them in reciting the prayers and requests to Tara.
