Tara's Enlightened Activity: An Oral Commentary on the Twenty-One Praises to Tara by Khenchen Palden Sherab & Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal

Author:Khenchen Palden Sherab & Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Snow Lion
Published: 2007-11-25T00:00:00+00:00

RANG GI 0 CHI TSHOG NAM THRUG MA

She radiates turbulent light.

WORD MEANING

The first two lines call attention to Tara's gesture, or mudra. This "mudra that symbolizes the Three Jewels" is the mudra displayed not only by Sengdeng Nagchi Drolma but also by all the other Taras. It is also known as the protection mudra, so by praising this gesture of Tara's we are paying homage to her ability to protect from fears. How does she protect? With the "turbulent light" radiating from her palm which is marked with the universal wheel. Tara's love, compassion, and wisdom radiate and swirl unendingly, protecting every being in the ten directions from fear.

What are the eight great fears, according to Buddha's teaching? Because each fear has an outer, or physical, and an inner, or mental, manifestation, they are also referred to as the twofold eight fears. The first is described as the fear of elephants. Not only is a raging elephant physically very much to be feared, but the elephant also symbolizes the mental poison of ignorance. Thus we have a twofold fear-the external fear of elephants and the internal fear of ignorance. The second great fear is the fear of demonic forces, which in Tibet are called shaza, or cannibals. Demonic forces inwardly symbolize doubt. The third great fear is the fear of water and its associated inner fear, the ocean of desires. The fourth is the fear of fire, which at the inner level is the fear of anger. The fifth is the fear of robbers or bandits. That, at the inner level, is understood as the fear of wrong ideas and wrong beliefs. The sixth is the fear of poisonous snakes, which at the mental level is the fear of jealousy. The seventh is the fear of lions, the mental equivalent of which is the fear of pride or arrogance. And the eighth is the fear of chains, imprisonment, kings (or authority). These correspond to the inner imprisonment of attachments and greed. These, then, are the twofold eight great fears according to the Buddha. Tara the Heroine protects us from all of these fears and their causes. Briefly, then, Buddha is saying, "You, Sengdeng Nagchi Drolma, protect from all fears from the ten directions and the eight great fears. To you, great Mother, I pay homage."

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.