Tara - Instructions for the Short Red Tara Practice According to the Teachings of Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Instruct ions for the Short Red Tara Practice Accordi ng to the Teachin gs of Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

PREFACE These written instructions for the Red Tara practice b9ok come from my dsep wish that others gain at least as much benefit as I have from Tara meditation. My li~e has been very fortunate, but still, as with all b~ings caught in samsaric confusion, there have been times of emotional and mental turmoil, times of illness. In those times, by the compass ion of my heart's 1 am a, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, I have had a reliable method to work through obstacles, to find deep levels of comfort not dependent on outer circumstances, and to penetrate, if only momentarily, the obscuring ~over of my mind's delusion. This method is Red Tara practice, and since having been given this wishfulfilling gem, my life has gained rich m~aning and focus. As I wish blessing and full accomplishment of Tara praqtice for myself, I also w.ish this for you. I hope these instructions help you and clarify your practice. I apologize in advance for any mistakes in this first edition. The instructions are meant to be used in conjunction with the short Tara practice book published by Padma Publishing. They are not meant to stand on their own, but to supplement the oral transmission by a qualified teacher.

***** Even a small project such as these instructions has required enormous help from many of my vajra brothers and sisters. My heartfelt gratitude to Rick Brennan, Jamie Kalfas, Judy Abel, Robert Racine, Cary Groner, David Everest, Glen Sandvoss, Naomi ~attis, and Sandra Scales. Also, to Tsering Everest, without whose insightful and intelligent translation of teachings, these instructions could not be ~ritten. Beyond simple gratitude, I bow in reverence before my precious teacher, Chagdud Tulku, whose faith in Westerners' ability to comprehend the sacred Buddha·dharma is unsurpassed, and who displays Tara's blessings as wisdom ne9tar, rainbow light and fireworks.

Jane Tromge Cottage Grove, Oregon April 1986

TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Table of Contents Introduction

1

The Story of Red Tara

1

History of the Lineage of Red Tara

1

Preliminary Prayers

4

Seven Line Prayer

4

Invocation

4

Bodhicitta

5

Refuge

7

Main Practice

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

Visualization: Symbolic Aspects of Red Tara

11

Meditation and Recitation

15

The Prayer: A Word by Word Translation

17

Mantra

18

Prayers for Accomplishment .. ~ ....•.••.••....

19

Conclusion

23

Transformation into the Wisdom Body of Tara

24

Visualization

24

Completion Stage

24

Closing Prayers

26

Dedication

26

Prayer of Aspiration

26

Auspicious Wish

26

Tara as a Daily Practice

27

INTRODUCTION The Story of Tara Countless aeons ago, in a time beyond the beginning of, our time, a Buddha appeared in a worldly realm called "Various Lights'. There was a princess in that realm whose name wa·s Moon of Wisdom (Tib. Yeshe Dawa), and when the Buddha appeared ~he immediately developed great faith and devotion toward him. She thereupon paid homage with body, speech and mind, making measureless offerings to the Buddha and his retinue. When by virtue of her vast accumulations of merit and wisdom, the thought of supreme enlightenment awakened in her, the monks of the realm advised her that the moment had come to pray fbr rebirth in a male body, because a male pody would be a superior vehicle for enlightenment. Since she had realized the empty nature of all phenomena, she had-also realized there was no inherent reality in either( male body or female body. Nevertheless, confronted by the relative reality of the ignorance that insists on such differentiations, Yesh~ Dawa made the commitment. to always take rebirth in female form. She then attained a profound meditative state from which she was able to save innum~rable beings in all realms. In our own world system she manifested as 'Tara' through the compassion of Avalokitesvara (Tib. Kyan Razig), and here she made the particular vow to liberate beings from eight great fears that are th~projections of negativities within the mind. These are fear of elephants as the projection of ignorance; fear of fire as the projection of anger; lions as pride; robbers as the projection of false views; fear of floods as the projection of avarice; snakes as jealousy; fear of handcuffs (imprisonment) as the projection of miserl~ness; and fear 6f demons as the projecti~n of doubt. These categories of fears, however, are traditional delineations and can be understood as all the fears and phobias that arise frtim our habit of attachment and aversion. Ultimately Tara offers liberation fiom any fear of samsaric suffering. For this reason she is called the Swift Savioress. History of the Lineage of Red Tara Tara is the female aspect of the Buddha, and just as she is inseparable from the enlightened awareness of the Buddha,' so are all female deities aspects of and inseparable from her. We pay particular homage to 21 Taras who emanate as goddesses of the Padma, Vajra, Ratna, and Karma families. The methods we use to attain the enlightened qualities of Tara have been passed down through many 'perfect lineages . of hig_hly realized Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. 1

The lineage of this specific Red Tara meditation practiced under the guidance of Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche began in ~ most exalted way in the intentional mind of Am:i.t·abha Buddha. From Amitabha it passed to Av~iokitesvara and then to ~n emanation of Tara herself~ From Tara it went to the great Indian Buddhist master Nagarjuna, and from Nagarjuna to Guru Padmasambhava. Guru Padmasambhava gave this teaching to the son of the. great Tibetan king Trisonge Detz~n. He also gave it to his wisdom consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, and had her,hide it as a treasure to be discovered later, at a time when it would bring most fruit. Thus the treasure of the Red Tara eye le was opened more than a thousand years after Guru Padmasambhava, by Apong Terton, a great Nyingritapa lama who lived in this century. It's formal title is "The Condensed Essence of the Trea~ure of the Supreme Enlightened·Mind: The Mandala Ritual of the Noble Red Tara Called the Wishfulfilling Esserice". At the end of his life Apong Terton su~moned a monk whom he had initiated into Red Tara and told him, "Now I am dying, and you must do this for me. w·hen I am 17 years old in my next incarnation you must come to me and give the Tara initiation and the complete treasure." · After Apong Terton died, the Chinese consolidated their conquest of Tibet and the monk like so many others was forced to flee. He became a refugee in the little country of Bhutah. Apong Terton reincarnated as His Holiness Sakya Trizin, head of the Sakyapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. When Sakya Trizin was 17 years old, the monk tried to go meet him in Derha Dun in northern India, but he could not get a passport. It was not until several years later that he, appearing rath~r ordinary and ragged in the richly ornamented meditation hall of Sakya Trizin's monastery, was able to meet his former teacher. A few moment~ after the monk spoke to Sakya Trizin, the assembly of monks in the shrineroom was surprised to be dismissed and to learn that His Holiness would take initiation from the outwardly undistinguished visitor. The monk then gave the Red Tara initiaiion to Sakia Trizin and Sakya Trizin's remarkable sister Jetsuma. Sometime after all this occured, Chagdud Tulku was in Tso Perna, a very sacred site in the Himalayas of northern India where Guru Padmasambhava meditated with one of his great wisdom consorts, Mandarava. Chagdud Tulku had always had a connection to the Tara practice -- his mother, a very famous lama, was recognized as an emanation of Tara. He made an extensive Tara retreat, but despite his affinity for the Padma family deities, he had never received a Red Tara practice. In Tso Perna he had many auspicious dreams that soon his ability to benefit others would greatly increase. One day he met the monk who had_initiated Sakya Trizin, and after some time the monk initiated him into Red Tara. Chagdud Tulku then made a retreat to do the practice, and received many 1

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signs of accomplishment. Although Rinpoche became re,nowned for being able to achieve seemingly miraculous activitie~ as a Tara practi~ioner, he did not teach the practice widely or initiate many others into it until he came to the United States, and to Oregon. There in 1980, he began working with some students, guiding their development in the steps of visualization and offerings. The treasure of this Red Tara text is an extensive cycle which includes preliminary practices, dream yoga, healing, teachings on yogic visualization of the psychic channels, and extensive teachings on the nature of mind. The main prac~ice has been translated and is done each morning at Chagdud Gonpa, Chagdud Tulku's center in Cottage Grove, Oregon. The steps of the Red Tara practice are inte~persed with prayers of homage to the 21 Taras which were written by another great-Nyingmapa lama, a contempory of Apong Terton's named Kenpo Ngagar. Chagdud Tulku has al~o compiled a short book in English about the very essence of the practice, making it more accessible. Of the two levels af practice contained within the book, the first, visualization of Tara in the spa~e in front of oneself, does not require initiation. The second, visualization of oneself as Tara, does require initiation. Initiation formally transmits the blessing of the lineage and ripens one's mind to. realize the qualities of the practice at all levels. Chagdud Tulku uses the short English text as the framework for Tara dream yoga and healing practices. Like all Tibetan li-turgies (Sanskrit 'sadhanas ') , the book is divided into thre-e sections: the preliminary prayers, the main practice, and the dedication prayers. The explanation of the book that follows will be similarly dtvided and will close with some advice as to how to use Tara meditation in daily practi6e.

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PRELIMINARY .PRAYERS Seven Line Prayer The sadhana begins, as do ail sadhanas from the Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, wit.h the Seven Line Prayer to Guru Padmasamb.hava. The prayer invokes his blessings as the unsurpassed Buddhist master who brought Vajrayana to Tibet; and who is a lineage source of this Red Tara practice. The Tibetan term for Vaj rayana is 'sang ngag', meaning secret, very swift path. The direct methods of Vajrayana are used to fre~ the mind from the five mental poisons -- anger, grasping, ignorance, ]ealousy and pride. These obscurations block recognition of one's sky-like buddha nature, the uncontrived awareness that is intrinsic to all beings. The nature. of mind is the great secret that is revealed by Vajrayana meditatio.n. To gain realization within Vajrayana one mri~t rely on the lam~ who is able to show one the nature of mind. Invoking Guru Padmasambhava and recognizing the lineage lamas as inseparable from Guru Padmasambhava empowers one's practice, greatly increa~ing its benefit. This Red Tara practice, as a complete Vajrayana sadhana, holds full potential to remove mind's obscuring cover and reveal its natural qualities of compassion and wisdom. The realized lama holds the keys to the methods of the practice. The perfect qualities of the lama's realization are acknowledged and called forth in the prayer to Guru Padmasambhava. The prayer has many levels of meaning, but a full explanation is outside the scope of these notes on Red Tara. Praying, one should develop a visualization of Gur~ Rinpoche; but more important than the visualization is truly having faith in the power of Vajrayana and in the lama as the embodiment of Vajrayana. Invocation The second preliminary step· invokes the Noble Red Tara as the mother of all the Victorious Ones. At this point the luminous form of Tara appears in the space in front of you. Development of the visualization will be outlined in the aection on the main practice. The understa,nding one needs here is why Tara is the mother of all the Victorious Ones. Was she not Yeshe Dawa, the princess who paid homage to the Buddha? Was she simultaneously the mother of that Buddha? The answer is yes at the level of absolute truth. Tar~ is the mother space of e~ptin~ss, the Dharmakaya, t~e source of all phenomena. She is the source of Buddhas, and of princesses who realize the inseparability of their form with the mother space that is the origin of their form and thereby become enlightened Buddhas. As the Dharmakaya mother she is the source 4

of the spontaneous display of clarity that is the Samboghakaya, and the compassionate emanation of emptiness and clarity inseparable from form that is the Nirmanakaya. 'Kaya' is the Sanskrit word for 'body' and refers to bodies or spheres of truth. That the thre~ kay as are interdependent and inseparable, that Tara is the perfect accomplishment of the three kayas, is symbolically expressed as Tara's three eyes. This invocation of Tara establishes at the outset that the practice is based in an exalted level of understanding. Realization of Tara through meditation takes one beyond verbal descriptions of the three kayas toward conceptionless recognition of the absolute. Bodhicitta The third preliminary is the a~firmation of bodhicitta intention. Usually refuge is said before bodhicitta, but here the statement of compassion for the suffering of all beings and the altruistic iritention to gain happiness for them is stated first, as the motiva,tion for taking refuge in the perfect qualities of Tara. Buddhism is sometimes thought of as a bleak spiritual path, with its emphasis on the suffering of samsara. Yet, clearly acknowledging suffering is the first step in finding a way out. It is a tonic to all our false hopes, our tendencies to rely on ephemeral pleasures that leave an aftermath of disappointment. We only need to turn on the television news to be confronted by immense suffering, or to reflect upon the painful events in the lives of those around us, or explore the continual-undertow of our own problems. The sorrow and misery that pervade existence can overwhelm and weary us. We wonder how it came about without really expecting an answer. Buddhist teachings, however, are clear on this point. Suffering, in all its countless and various manifestations, has a singie source, the delusiqn of the dualistic mind. To understand this confusion at the source, imagine a prior state in which phenomena arise and subside naturally with no differentiations of self and other. Suddenly this undifferentiated awareness contracts around a very subtle notion of self, then selfc as opposed to other, then attraction ·and aversion, grasping and avoidance -- spinning out into all the complexities that become the habitual mind. Gradually, over countless cycles of existence, these dua 1 is tic tendencies bring about grosser ·formations, both elemental and mental, of self, and grosser perceptions of other. Beings take rebi~th in bodies that correspond to their tendencies, and the whole mind/body make-up becomes denser and denser. They are subject to the karmic results created by their tendencie~, but becaus~ the~ ar~ lost in the patterns of dualistic confusion, they are unable to trace karmic events back 5

to their source in the mind. In their ignorance, beings attripute tragedies as blows of fate, unexpected triumphs as luck. They do not see that every aspect of their situation, even the bodies they inhabit, have been self-created during countless lifetimes. The poisons of the dualistic mind, the mind that grasps at 'self' and gives ~elf-interest priority over inter~sts of others, arises as the five poisons. The poisons of the mind lead to six types o~ rebirth: ignorance to rebirth as an animal, greed or craving to rebirth as a hungry spirit, anger as a hell being. Jealousy combined with some virture results in rebirth as a jealous god (also called demi-god), and pride combined with virture as a long-lived god. Human rebirth comes about through a combination of the karma of great virtue and mixture of all five poisons. Knowing that such poisons are the inevitable cause of pain, of all th.e problems of existence, deep compassion should arise, and the heartfelt commitment to find a way out for all who "are lost in the ocean of samsaric suffer~rig." The way out of samsara is attainment of complete enlightenment, of Buddhahood. No one, not the terrorist, nor the child, nor ourselves in even the darkest moments of confusion -not the gods and demons of unseen realms nor the dull old family dog -- not the tiniest one-celled animal nor the grandest creature in the universe -- is ever apart from an innate potential for Buddhahood. For this reason there is an exalted hope that in se~king Buddhahood we may bring temporary and ultimate happiness to ourselves and all living beings. Those who seek Buddhahood for the welfare of all beings are the Bodhisattvas, the Awakened Warriors who in each moment dispel delusion by open awareness and find opportunity to benefit others. The Tibetan phrase for Bodhisattva is 'jang chhup sem pa'. 'Jang' mearis that self~grasping, self-importance are decreased until any obstacles to enlightenment are gone. 'Chhup' means that the qualities of a good heart and altruistic intention are increased until absolute compassion and wisdom are realized. 'Sem' means mind, and 'pa' comes from 'pawo' or 'pamo' -- hero or heroine respectively. Thus the meaning of Bodhisattva is ,the one of heroic mind who follows the path of purification and altruistic intention to benefit others". In Tibetan one name for 'Buddha' is 'jang chhup nyingpo'. 'Nyingpo' means 'heart', so the Buddha is one who follows the Bodhisattva path to the very heart of enlightenment. In the Buddha there is c.omplete illumination, without a tra-ce of delusion. Simultaneously the Buddha manifests the two facets of complete omniscience -- recognition of the true nature of all that is and the true nature of all interrelationship~ The Buddha is not only the historical Sakyamuni whose example we revere, nor the countless beings who have reached Buddhahood during the innumerable aeons in the infinite universe. The Buddha is our own intrinsic nature that is never lost but 6

which is unrecognized because of the dense clouds of obscuration in the habitual dua.listic mind. When w.e say 'I seek Buddhahood' we commit ourselves to following the examples of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and to uncovering the buddha nature within ourselves and all beings.

***** Where do we begin? How do we make the seeking of Buddhahood a vital ongoing process when we are so imm~rsed in confusion that 'Buddhahood' is a conc.ept almost beyond our comprehension? What are the first steps and methods of the path? ~he inspiration to follow the Bodhisattva path consists of four qualities: equanimity, compassion, love and joy. Equanimity inspires us to hold all beings equally without attachment for somei aversion for others. Similarly, compassion inspires us to alleviate the suffering of others; love to seek their happiness and the cause of happiness, which is virtue; joy to truly delight in whatever virtue and happiness they gain. As these four qualities are developed and increased into vast non-dual wisdom, they are known as 'the Four Imriieasurables'. We also are given the six perfect trainings of generosity, moral discipline, patience, joyful perseverence, concentration and wisdom. These six trainings, like keys that can open each moment into awareness, enable us to actualize our equanimity, compassion, love and joy. For example, the compassionate wish to free others from suffering is acted upon because we are generously willing to meet their needs. Compassion is a clear, strong choice that we can sustain when we have the moral discipline to know what to accept and reject. Our compassionate intention prevails in adversity because we are patient and persevere. It is one-pointed through concentration. The sixth training is wisdom, which is non-dual awareness of the true nature of existen9e. Wisdom should be understood as ins~parable from the first five trainings and the four immeasurables. As we work with these qualities in a contemplative, conceptual way, we begin to experience them as the non-conceptual, spontaneous expression of wisdom. Ultimately, as we are liberated from any trace of self-grasping, within the realization of absolute emptiness, they arise as tpe natural display of our intrinsic buddha nature. There is no barrier between their display and our manife~tation of body, ~peech and mind. This is complete actualization of buddha nature. It is enlightenment. Refuge 'For this reason I take refuge in Arya Tara Wh~n

we take refuge in Tara, we are taking refuge in her as 7

the Buddha, inseparable from the stainless iflqminatLon and omniscience of the Buddha -- the perfect refuge of enlightened mind. We take refuge in Tara as the dharma, the sacred teachings of' the Buddha -- the texts, oral transmissions, sacred mantras and prayers. ~his is the perfect refuge of enlightened speech. we· take refuge in Tara as the sangha, those who follow the teachings of the Buddha and all phenomena that manifest the pure form of the Buddha -- the perfect refuge of enlighened body. The Buddha, dharma and sangha are the supreme Three Jewels; the lama, yidam and dakini are the Three Roots. The lama is the Buddha, yet in a sense, the lama shows us kindness greater and more direct than the Btiddha by being present to guide us in this life. 'La' means high and 'rna' means mother. The lama is the one who is more'precious than life itself whose compassion is greater than a mother's for her only' child. Like the Buddha, the lama is a perfect and complete source of refuge. The yidam is the meditational deity with whom we have abiding connection. The yidam, in every aspect of body, speech and mind, expresses the qualities-of Buddhahood. 'Yid' means mind; 'dam' comes from 'damzig' which means spiritual commitment. By holding unwavering spi-ritual commitment to realization of the yidam, we are unwavering in our commitment to develop the pure, perfect qualities of the yidam as our own natural expression. The yidam is like a fully opened flower. We have the seed of the same flower within us. By our faith and meditation, and by the blessings ~of the lamas who show us the seed and how to cultivate it, we make it flourish into the full qualities of the yidam. Dpkini is the Sanskrit word which is 'khadroma' in Tibetan. 'Kha' means sky, 'dro' means goer, and 'rna' mother. The khadroma is the sky dancer, the incomprehensible feminine wisdom that goes without obstruction through space and is the agent of the Buddha's activities.

***** Taking refuge in Tara ~s the Thr~e Jewels and Three Roots, we acknowledge her as inseparable from them and from the aspects of enlightenment that they represent. Even as we recognize Tara as an object of refuge, we need to understand what 'refuge' itself means to us as the ones taking refuge. Alexander Berzin, translator for His Holiness the Dalai lama, recently visited Oregon and commented on the problem of the connotation of the word 'refuge' in English. He pointed out that 'refuge' has a sense of isolation,, of withdrawing into an ivory tower, whereas it really represents an active process, a constant engaging of the dharma path. He said he uses an alternative translation of 'wholehearted commitment'. Although our commitment to Tara, our faith, is one part of 8

refuge, once we have made that commitment there is an extraordinary sense of blessing and protection. We experience connection to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to all the lineage lamas who have realized the practice before us, and to Tara as the Swift Savioress whose vow is to protect all beings if they even call her name. Chagdud Tulku sometimes says that the blessings of the wisdom beings and our taking refuge is like a hook and eye. The infinite compassion and love of the wisdom beings is always there for us, absolute and unchanging. It is the supreme intention of the Buddha that all beings should find a way out of the ocean of samsara and reach pure awareness of the true nature of existence. Yet the hook of enlightened intention must connect with the eye of our own faith, and this is establ.ished by taking refuge. The interaction of our faith and the blessings of the wisdom beings creates a sense of refuge much greater than our commitment alone. It is like stepping through an open doorway and finding oneself in a realm of transformation where every phenomenon has spiritual meaning and can be used toward the attainment of ultim?te freedom and happiness. The basis of the refuge commitment is to cease doing harm. If we hurt others, and particularly if we kill them, this is exactly the opposite of the enlightened intention of the wisdom beings that all beings should be free of suffering and gain happiness. In terms of Tara, harming and killing contradicts her very name which in Tibetan is 'Drolma', literally, liberation (drol) Mother (rna) -- £he Mother of Liberation. Her vow and her example is to protect and save beings. A current issue in the United States is killing persons and animals to put them out of their misery. Chagdud Tulku was once asked what he thought 'idiot compassion' meant, and he said that he couldn't think of any way that the compassionate wish to alleviate suffering could be idiotic except 'mercy killing'. This is because, he said, we do not know what kind of rebirths others Will t~ke, and their rebirths may involve suffering much ~ore terrible than that experienced in this lifetime. He also said that one moment of suffering in the human realm purifies theXarma that would result in aeons of suffering in the hell realm, .because humans can maintain awareness that transcends pain. Hell beings are lost in fathomless pain and have no comprehension of anything outside of pain. They can only wait until the karma that caused their suffering is exhaus.ted by its exact measure of torment. True mercy, therefore, is using the power of our meditation, our prayers and our physical activities to turn the focus of suffering beings from the grinding limitations of the habitual mind, and toward the transcendent view of innate bud9ha nature. Ultimately, in a state of open, non-dual awarenesi, one iecognizes the emptiness of appearances, and kno~s that even the most solid of substances are impermanent' and changeable, having 9

no inherent reality. Likewise, one recognizes that the phenomena of pain, even in their- most intense physical and emotional manifestations, is in essence emptiness. It comes and goes, if not in another moment of life, then in death. If one can experience pain arid simul taneous1y sustain recogni tio"n of pain •s illusory nature, one frees oneself from great mental suffering, which may help decrease physical suffering as well. Our abi 1 i ty to bring about such recognition in others cOrresponds to the understanding we have developed in ourselves. The practi'ce of Red Tara is a supreme vehicle for developing both intellectual understanding and meditative realization of non-dual awareness. While the name Tara is 'Drolma•, the ~arne of this emanantion of Red Tara is 'Rigjhed Lhamo•, Goddess Who Brings Forth One's Own Natural Awareness.· In the end, when the practice is fully accomplished, it is pure, non-dual awareness itself that is the refuge. This is the great completion of our commitment to the practice, and Rigjhed Lhamo's great blessing·~to those who take refuge in her.

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MAIN PRACTICE Visualization: §ymbolic Aspects of Tara We visualize the luminous form of the Noble Tara in the space in front of us. She is the brillant ruby red of the Padma (lotus) family deities, red signifying desire in its most exalted aspect, the desire that all beings find liberation. The Padma family deities are associated with enlightened speech. Tara wears a crown s~udded with the .gems of the five Buddha families, and the other jewelled ornaments and silken garments of the Samboghakaya deities. (The eight ornaments are the cr6wn, earrings, three lengths of necklaces, bracelets, armlets, and anklets. The jive silken garments are a scarf that wafts into the breeze behind her head, a long stole, a short bib-like blouse, a long skirt and a short skirt.) Her Samboghakaya garb symbolizes that she enjoys the full wealth of pure perceptions, and that they are worn perfectly indicates they are merely adornments of her non-attachment. She is radiant, smiling, and very beautiful. Half her hair is in a knot at the cr~wn of her head, and h~lf flows down her back. Her three eyes symbolize that she embodies the three kayas. She is the emptiness of the Dharmakaya, the very foundation of existence. Yet this emptiness is not voidness, because the Dharmakaya holds the complete potential of all appearance. Perceived purely, in non-dual awareness, appearances are radiant, spontaneous, the display of clarity of the Samboghakaya. The Samboghakaya aspect of T~r~ is what we represent in art and what we visualize. Perceived through the habitual mind, appearances are the denser emanations of the Nirmanakaya. The Nirmanakaya is what we ordinarily experience as the elements -- earth, wind, water, fire, space -- and their infinite manifestations of forms as people, mountains, oceans, automobiles, plants, etc. Yet Tara is not apart from the Nirmanakaya. For the benefit ,of sentient beings she emanates as lamas and statues, a~ practioners and friends, as helpers who turn up suddenly in strange,_ situations. Ultimately, all that appears in the Nirmanakaya is recognized as her emanati6n and is experienced as absolutely inseparable from Dharmakaya emptiness and.Samboghakaya clarity. Her right hand is in the gesture of ,supreme generosity and holds· a long life vase. 'Supreme generosity' means she bestows supreme realization, enlightenment. However, supreme generosity in no way excludes ordinary generosity -- protection from the eight great fears and manifestation of wh~tever we need for temporary happiness and well-being. In particular, the long-life vase she holds in the same hand indicates she offers whatever is necessary to sustain one's long life. One of the paradoxes of Buddhist practitioners is that ~e achieve a certain detachment from our bodies and we lose some 11

measure of our fear of death. Yet, at the same time we co~e to understand how precious o~r human bodies really are· -- how·' useful for spiritual development -- and we pray that death will not interrupt our practite. We want to increase and stabilize our attainment and to accomplish as much as we can as Bodhisattvas working for the welfare of all beings. So, we ~hould not be reluctant to pray to Tara for the preservation of our lives or the lives of others. As we pray we acknowledge that every being tries to protect their own life and we request that Tara help whomever longer life will benefit. Srioner or later the forces of impermanence and de.ath do intervene, and we should have faith that Tara is as generous in death as in life, that-she can give complete liberation in the after-death transition. Because generosity and bountifulness is so characteristic of Red Tara, another point is important for us as practitioners who are dev~loping these qualities in ourselves: true generosity is devoid o~f attachment. Everything is an offering and is used to create temporary and ultimate happiness. Even in eating, in receiving food and taking it into our bodies, the food offered to one is increased through visualization and is offered as nourishment for the whole universe. The lamas themselves are wonderful examples of generosity, offering whatever is needed to whomever comes. If people need tea, they are given tea; if they need training, they are given training. One time a student brought her broken mala to Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, and he began to restring it. A visitor commented that it was odd that the lama ·should do this tedious task for his student, and Rinpoche replied, "Why? It is my virtue and it makes ~er happy." · Again, i:q Nepal, where Rinpoche lived before coming to the United States, he was in the habit of giving a meal to anyone who was around when he ate. He did not have so much money, and the student who did his cooking became concerned about making ends meet. The opportunity to discuss the matter privately came one day when Rinpoche went up to the roof of his residence and began to offer leftover 'tormas' (ritual sculptures made of barley flour) to the birds. As scores of raucous crows swooped down and snatched the pieces of torma, she explained that· there would soon be no money to feed anyone, not even Rinpoche himself, if he cont~nued to feed everyone who stopped in to visit. Listening p~tiently, tossing tormas to the crows, Rinpoche answered only, "Give. Don't worry, just g:j_ve ••. " · Suddenly .a crow overhead let his own little offering fall, plop!, on Rippoche's shoulder. Rinpoche burst out laughing. "You see? I give him these tormas and he gives me this ..• !" For the student the cro¥'s offering perhaps was a good omen because afterwards she noticed that as the guests multiplied, so did the food, and so did wealth and well being in general. As our realization of Tara increases, generosity becomes 12

easier, spontaneous and more accurate in terms of others' needs. We recognize the essential emptiness of all we offer, of ourselves as the offerer, of those who receive our offering. When these three Spheres (call~d 'kor sum' in Tibetan) are recognized as one, we attain complete generosity inseparable from wisdom. As the right hand is in the mudra of supreme generosity, so the left is in the mudra of the Three Jewels. Thi~ means that Tara is the embodiment of the Three Jewels and completely expresses the perfect qualities of Buddha, dharma and sangha. In her left hand she holds the stem of a red utpala fiower which blossoms by her ear and contains in its center a full-dra~n bow and arrow made· of smaller lotus flowers. The bow symbolizes skillful means; the arrow, wisdom. She sits on a red lotus which cups a sun disc. The lotus symbolizes faultlessness, the sun disc wisdom, and a full rising moon behind her symbolizes skillful means. Sitting in the posture of royal ease, her left foot is tucked up, signifying she is never ~part from the bliss. of nirvana; the right leg outs~retched shows she. manif~sts her perfection equally in samsara. She is surrounded by a glorious rainbow-light aureole containing the radiant colors of the five Buddha wisdoms -white, red, blue, green and yellow. These aspects of wisdom will be explained in the later section on meditation.

***** Tara is visualized as an effulgent light body, saturated with rich color, sparkling with brilliant jewels, surrounded by an orb of intense rainbow-light radiance. There is not a single particle of solidity in all this, yet we should develop a sense of Tara's presence which is as real as another person in the same room with us. At first this may be difficult. Somet~mes our minds are too distracted to visualize at all# or our sense of Tara's appearance is so dim that she seems faded, out of focus, ~ith details missing. When this happens we should concentrate on· some aspect we hold firmly -- her face or a hand gesture, or an ornament whose significance intrigues us. Or, we-might focus on her presence within her powerful field of radiance, and her emanation of purifying light and positive qualities. The important point is to bring our minds back to one aspect of practice or another. We want to hold a clear visual image of Tara so we study artistic representations, or we visualize some part of her form until it is very clear in our mind's eye. We wa~t to understand her qualities so we seek ~eachings on and contemplate Tara's symbolic aspects. At the time of_ meditation, however, we want to expand what we know 6onceptually into a non-dual state of awareness. To do this we must make meditation very natural, not straining too hard toward perfect visualization, not trying to remember every 13

detail. Instead we simply remain within the flow of meditation, without strayirig too far into ordinary thoughts, sensory distractions and emotioQs. Ordinary mind-forms~ particularly thoughts, will arise, but it becomes easier to let them dissolve into mind's ·natural spaciousness. And, again and again we turn to Tara. Chagdud Tulku says that the mindstream, continually redirected into meditation, flowing past mundane min,d-forms, is like a river flowing over boulders -- the water is purified each time it runs up against stone. One finally realizes that even stone, seemingly so impervious and solid dissolves into emptiness. However, when the flow of m~ditation becomes totally diverted and frustrated by the ob~tructions of ~he habitual mind, Rinpoche advises his students to return to the very source of spiritual attainment which is the Bodhicitta intention to benefit all 'beings. No obstacle in meditation can ever have more power than the power of Bodhicitta. By our remembering the profound suffering of others and reaffirming our intention to gain realization for their sakes as well as our own, obstacles give way. Afterwards we can look back and know those obstacles were only transparent roadblocks on an illusory road within the infinite expanse of Tara's wisdom.

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Meditation and Recitation Invoking the Noble Red Tar? in the space in front of self; the prayers of refuge and bodhicitta are recited, then the visualization is done. As the recitation of the two-line prayer begins, this sequence of visualization is £ollowed: "A brillant surge of rainbow light" beams from Tara's forehead, throat and heart; purifying a 11 negative karma, sickness, demonic affliction and obstacles. All positive qualities increase beyond measure. As Tara's light radiates forth, blue light pUrifies the karma of. anger; red light purifies desire; white light purifies ignorance; green light purifies jealousy; yellow light purifies pride. One should visualize this as really happening, that red light, for example, completely pervades samsara and empties every being in it of delusive desire -- that the whole spectrum of lusts, cravings, obsessions, desires, and attachments, from the most murderous· rapacity to the yogins's last trace of selfclinging vanishes, released into its own empty nature. It is~best to think about the meaning of Tara's liberating light outside of formal meditation. Then, within meditation, to Jet thoughts subside into a deeper, moie non-conceptual realization of her wisdom qualities. Using the example of desire again, we first check our own minds· for attachments~ and come to understahd how we hold on to everything -- people, pets, jobs, houses~ clothes, ideas, emotions, situations -- as real. As if this were not enough and our minds were not already clutching at countless passing phenomena, there is always the urge to gain more. When we comprehend the entrapment and suffering brought about by our deluded involvement with the objects of our attachment, and understand that entrapment and suffering_are IT\Ultiplied by the involvement of all other beings, we feel overwhelmed·. The meaning of the phrase 'ocean of sam sara', so often used in teachings, takes on great meaning for us. We are drowning in the sufferings caused by desire. Formal meditation gives us an arena in which to relax samsaric involvement and to recognize the actual empty nature of self and object, and of attachment itself. Freed from delusi6n by Tara's red light, attachment in its pure energy aspect is the Padma family's discriminating wisdom, the simultaneous recognit{on of the empty nature ahd comple~~ details of all things. · Similarly, the blue light of the Vajra family purifies anger into mirror-like w"i.sdom. When adverse situations arise the mind does not react wi~h anger, and it does not contract into the intense object-subject duality of alienation. Rather, immovable in non-dual wisdom, mind simply reflects whatever arises with the brillant clarity of a mirror. 15

The white light of the Buddha family pu-rifies stupidity and ignorance into the wisdom of space. The dullness of the uncomprehending mind is released into the limitless recognition of noh-dual awareness. The green light of the Karma family purifies jealousy into all accomplishing wisdom. The keen-eyed assessments of jealousy .give way to the non-dual recognition that accomplishment does· not belong to one. person or another, but exists as part of the perfection of the whole. · The yellow light of the Ratna family purifies pride into the wisdom of equa.nimity. Instead of self-elevation, the mind elevates all beings to the same lev~l, creating a vast expanse of equality. The five wisdoms are in essence one, although just as w~ have affinities to one color or another, we have affinities t0 different aspects of wisdom. Red Tara, though of the Padma family, emanates all aspects of wisdom and purifies all aspects of samsaric poison. In formal meditation we do not focus on the conceptUal meaning of all of this; we visualize Tara and experience her rainbow light as strongly as possible pervading equally all living beings. The infinite blessing of Tara, which is the full power of the Three Jewels and Three Roots and the full perfection of the three kayas, is truly the wi-sdom light that dissipates the force of delusion and brings about full illumination of our minds in natural awareness.

***** When the force of delusiQn diminishes, its reflections of negative karma, "sickness, demonic affliction and obstacles" also diminish. Tibetans mean various things by 'demon' including those who are reborn in the hungry ghost realm and, because of their dissatisfaction and suffering, inflict harm on us. We cannot see them, and they have no inherent reality, but they do have at least as much reality as we do in the human realm. They are constantly tormented and we should have great compassion for them and pray that they be liberated from their suffering. We are somewhat fascinated by the demonic beings, making horror movies about our grotesque imaginings, but these ex~ernal demons are less rele-vant to our situation than internal demons: the demon of the mind's p6isons who pollutes our mindstream with hatred, doubt, fear, greed, jealousy and all the other toxins of delusion; the demon of self-pleasuring who seduces us into making ourselves comfortable instead of adherlng to our altruistic intention- to benefit others, who prompts us to turn on the television, stereo or VCR just when we were about to meditate, who panders to our pride by whispering, "You'-ve done enough. You owe it to yourself ... "; the demon of aggregates whose insidious 16

self-identification causes us to contract around ficticious being and believe the )falsehood that our agg~egat~s (form, feeling, volition, perception and consciousness) comprise an inherently existing self; and the demon of death who ..plays a terrific joke on those under the sway of the demon of aggregates by stripping the 'self' of form, feeling, volition, and perception, and leaving only naked consciousness in the face of tbe winds of karma. Death likewise mocks those controlled by the demon of the mind's poisons by separating them from the objects of their poisons and leaving them exposed and helpless before the potential suffering they have created. And again, death tricks those allured by the demon of pleasure by taking away the objects of their pleasure, their bodies and their senses and leaving them a vaccuum of lost opportunities. If we do not recognize these four demons and understand how they manifest, our blind ignorance will allow their ne~ative influence on our activities of body, speech and mind. Yet taking a hard, clear look does not mean wrestling with them. We deal .with demons -- with all obstacles and obscurations -- by affirming our bodhicitta intention and engaging selfless work for the welfare of all living beings. We have faith and take refuge in Tara. We do the practice accord1ng to the lama's instructions, instructions that are the transmission of a perfect linea~e, and we trust that the processes of the practice will liberate us from the demons of delusion. This is not a violent purge of demons or an abrupt casting out of negativity. Rather they "evaporate like dew in the morning sun." When this short bbok was compiled from the extensive Red Tara sadhana, Chagdud Tulku was very specific about this image, and in doing the practice one realizes its meaning is profound beyond just the beauty of poetic expression. The illumination of mind brought about by Tara's wisdom blessing is the field in which all perfect qualities arise. They are Tara's qualities; they are the qualities of ou~ own buddha nature. They are the relative qualities such as wealth, wellbeing, beauty, longevity, and spiritual connections, and they are the absolute_qualities of pure perception and wisdom realization. They are the qualities of compassion, lo've, joy and equinimity -of gene r o s i t y , mora l disci p l in e , patience , per s e v·e r en c e , concentration and wisdom. All, without exception, "increas~ beyond measure." Thus, by the methods of this Red Tara meditation we not only empty the mind of delusion -- we also open the vast treasury of space where precious qualities flourish in the sphere of natural awareness. The Prayer: A Word By Word Translation As we recite the prayer, we think that all beings throughout 17

the six realms recite it with us, creating a reverberation tha-t expands to the limits of space. JETSUN PHAKMA -- 'Illustrious'. DROLMA -- 'Tara' CHHED CHEN NO -- 'Please be aware of me' GAL KYEN -- 'Obstacles' K;UN

I

All

SEL.

'Remove', or sweep away

I

SAM DON -- 'Excellent aspirations' NYUR

'Quickly'

DRUB DZOD -- 'Grant' Mantra Tara's mantra is the essence of her enlightened speech, which is described by 60 transcendent qualities, including the ability to make what is said understood in different languages simultaneously, to be able to project the voice without strain so all can hear perfectly, to convey meaning accurately whatever the listener's level of intelligence, and all qualities of harmoniousness, melodiousness, clarity, and so forth. Ultimately, the very sound of enlightened speech, sound iriseparable from emptiness, resonates with wisdom. It is somet.imes said this is 1 ike an "echo of the void." The mantra of Red Tara, Rigjhed Lhamo, comes through the same perfect lineage transmission as the visualization. When we recite it we establish bodhicitta intention and think that all beings throughout the six realms are reciting with us and that they all benefit from the connection with Tara, the purification of speech, and the increase of excellent qualities of speech that is the blessing of mantra practice. The mantra is recited 3, 7, 21, 108 times, or in multiples of 108, as counted on one's mala (rosary). It can be sung acco~ding to the tune Chagdud Tulku teaches, or chanted very softly (and rapidly if one wishes) as a vibration of the voice, or, more subtly, as a vibration of the breath. Whether it is sung outright or recited inaudibly, the mantra syllables al w:ays shou1d be disti'nct. A great benefit of mant-ra recitation is that it constantly channels the mind's processes back into meditation. More than a simple reminder, mantra,creates a strong current of concentration that reinforces the visualization and carries one into deeper 18

levels of realization. The pervasive power of sound, l~ke that of light, dissolves the illusory separation between oneself and others. In non-dual awareness all sound is experienced as the mantra of the deity, the spontaneous resonance of Tara's wisdom. Prayers for Accomplishment After the recitation of the prayers and mantra, one says the prayers for accomplishment while still visualizing the Noble Mother Tara in front of one. These prayers are requests for Tara's protection and blessings for ourselves and all beings. They are, from another point of view, the p~otection and blessings we ourselves hope to offer others by full realization of Tara's enlightened qualities. Certain aspects of the prayers have been explained in the previous sections, or are easily understood. The following explanation will focus on the aspects that are formally introduced at this point, and need some explanation. Over time, as we continue to do Tara practice and pray with deep faith, different phrases in the prayers take hold in the mind and acquire rich significance. We think about them as we go about our daily activities and they become sources of powerful insight. Complete, profound understanding, however, comes from meditative realization -- accomplishing the steps of the practice that precede the prayers and maintaining awareness as we actpally say the words. In this way, our understanding of the prayeri goes beyond their expression in words and concepts.

***** The first prayer was written by Kenpo Ngagar as part of his praises to the 21 Taras, which Chagdud Tulku has incorporated into the extensive Red Tara sadhana. "May the enlightened mind be mastered and appearance perceived purely as the ·Deity's body," refers to the state of natural awareness, completely free of del us ion, in which all appearances are seen as spontaneous expression of Tara's form. When the prayer says, "May harm from other beings and bad dreams be averted," one might wonder how dreams could cause harm. In one sense we ne~d protection from the negative energies that are presented to our consciousness in the symbolic form of dreams. In a somewhat different sense, we need protection from our own tendencies to become inf 1 uenced by the dream del usio·n~ The fear generated by nightmares, for example, can increase avers ion in d a i I y 1 if e , and in extreme cases can cause physic a I and mental illnesses. "May rebirth not occur in the eight states devoid of leisbre to practice." These eight states are the hell realms~ the hungry ghost realm; the animal realm; the realm of the long-lived gods; 19

rebirth in a time when there is no Buddha; rebirth among the 'border tribes• where there is no connection to the teachings; rebirth with mental or physical disabilities that make it impossible to comprehend the teachings; and rebirth among those with extreme wrong views, such as that killing is virtuous, or that there are no karmic consequences for actions. These states are called " devoid of leisure to practice" because they ceaselessly involve the mindstream with the delusion of samsara. Even the realm of the gods, where there seems to be endless leisure, is actually a state of endless involvement with the false pleasures of sams~ra. In thes~ eight states there is no 'thought of ultimate enlightenment, no opening in the mindstream where such a t~ought can occur. "From the ripening of karma caused by delusionJ grant the blessing that shields, protects and conceals." Here one should understand that all karma is caused by delusion. When one is completely beyond delusion and remains within the mind's natural awareness, phenomena arise and subside in and of themselves without karmic traces -- like, Chagdud Tulku sometimes says, "writing on water ... The question that is often asked is why one should pray for the blessing that 11 conceals11 one from one's own karma. We need to consider that we have experienced countless cycles of existence, that we cannot remember them (most people cannot even remember clearly their childhood) and we cannot know what kind of karma we have created until it ripens in this lifetime. When we begin spiritual practice and the purification of negative karma, we pray that past karma does not suddenly ripen and create massive obstacles that we cannot overcome at our level of practice. For example, the karmic result for killing is a short life. Who can say that in past lives they have never been a soldier caught in the violence of war, or a hunter, or ~ bird of -prey? If the full force of the karma of such a rebirth intervenes, we may die before our connection to spiritual practice is well established. The interuption of death then represents a lost or greatly delayed opportunity and much more suffering. We request protection and concealment until karmic obstacles are within the reach of our ability to purify them and can become a source of realization instead of samsaric suffering. We should not make this ~equest in the expectation that obstacles will nev~r appear. The very nature of human rebirth is sickness, old age and death, and even great Bodhisattvas, the spiritual masters who turn back from full enlightenment and emanate in the human realm for the benefit of others, are subject to these conditions. However, the experience of illness is very different for them than for the ordinary person or even a less realized practitioner. For them obstacles arise and subs~de within th~ sphere of non-dual awareness, and their abiliti to purify obstacles benefits all living beings.

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***** The second prayer of accomp.lishment comes from Apong Terton's extensive Tara treasure. It begins with four lines of profound homage to the absolute Tara, the all-encompassing Tara who is fully the "spontaneous accomplishment of the three Kayas"; who is the "mother whose activity ·gives rise to enjoyment in the three times" (past~ present, future times); and who is the "supreme guide of the three realms" (the formless, the form and the desire realms, the first two referring to certain worldly gods' realm experiences and the desire realm referring to all other realms including the human realm). One also pays homage to the "pureland of the conquerors" as Tara's spontaneous display of emptiness/clarity inseparable. This display is experienced by those whQ have conquered delusion and achieved pure perception. Emanating from Tara are "~lauds of exhaustless bliss of the three secrets" (vajra body, vajra speech and vajra' mind). In this way we acknowledge and bow in reverence to Tara as one who has attained enlightenment and who is the complete, limit.less, all-pervasive expression of innate, absolute buddha nature. The explanations are very condensed and abstract in words. Chagdud Tulku sometimes says words are like a finger pointing toward the moon. It shows the direction but it is not the moon, nor can we experience the moon if we-never look beyond the finger. Direct understanding of Tara as absolute buddha nature comes through meditative realization, and the revelation of one's own absolute buddha nature, which is no different from Tara's. "From now until the enlightened mind is achieved, I will rely on you as my sole source of refuge and protection." The question that is sometimes asked here, especially by those who do more than one deity practice, is why we rely on Tara as our "sole" source of refuge and protection. We need to understand that Tara is the ultimate nature of mind, of enlightened awareness, and in this respect Tara is the same as a 11 dei tires. When we take refuge in her we are taking refuge in all deities, in all lineage lamas, and in all aspects of enlighten~ent. The different practices have come from the intentional mind of the Buddha to meet the different needs of sentient beings, but these practices are of one wisdom essence. When the prayer refers to Tara's awakened mind and her commitment made "with compassion that will never diminish", it is referrihg to her unwavering Bodhisattva vow to lead all beings to enlightenment. We pray that Tara will bless us with the "stiength and spiritual power" of perf~ctly realized compassion, compassion that is never undercut by self-interest or weariness. One then prays that "whosoever sees me, hears me, touches me or remembers me" will find liberation from this connection. This may seem somewhat presumptuous to think that other beings might 21

find liberation'through such a slight conriection, but at the same time we practice and we pray that we become the pure expression of Tara's enlightened qualities. In th·is attainment is the potential to spark recognition in others and guide them toward the path of enlightenment. This is the essence of Bodhisattva activity, and the ability to carry it out corresponds to the depth of one's compassion and wisdom, and the development of one's skillful means. The pr_ayer makes clear that the practitioner d6es not spurn connection to any type of being, "positive or negative", but prays to be granted "whatever power may be necessary in accordance with the occasion" to turn their minds. The u 1 timate goal is for samsara to be completely emptied, and for all sentient beings to realize their innate buddha riature so completely that they "possess the major and minor marks of the enlightened form of the Conquerors" -- marks th~t include wheels on the palms and soles, a perf~ctly proportioned body, light shining from the forehead, slightly webbed fingers and toes, etc. The point about using "whatever po~er may be necessary in accordance with the occassion" is very importaht. In a recent teaching Chagdud Tulku was asked if the Bodisattva should give others what they want or what they need. 'Want' was defined in the discussion as the changeable desires of samsara, and 'need' as the underlying need to find the happiness of the dharma and to attain the ultimate, unchanging happiness of Buddhahood. Rinpoche answered that the Bodhisattva should always fulfill the spiritual needs of others to the extent possible, but he should not lose the connection by ignoring what they want. Even when Bodhisattvas are beleaguered by the poisonous minds of very non-virtuous persons, they are able, by working with great skill on many different levels, to turn the minds and ~eet the needs of these persons without breaking connection. Rinpoche has illustrated this point with. many stories of Yeshe Tsogyal, Milarepa, Drupa Kunley, various lamas, and Tara siddhas ('siddha' means realization holder) he has known. There once was a yogi who was teaching outdoors when a man nearby threw a ~ock at a dog. The yogi yelped as if in·pain and sank down on his cushion. The people in ~he audience felt he was dramatizing false sympathy for the do~. The yogi turned and showed them a swelling on his back. The surprised crowd suddenly unders~ood that through the power of his compassion, the yogi had taken the animal's pain upon himself. Again, Ye.she Tsogyal, wisdom consort of Guru Rinpoche and an emanation of Tara, was once offered nectar containing poison by a jealous queen. Though she knew it to be poison, Yeshe Tsogyal took the drink anyway, then sang this verse:

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Listen dear friend, this nectar is wonderful, the very essence of goodness~ My body is the Vajra Body, unsullied and indestructible. It has transmuted this nectar into the wonderous essence of immortality. Though this purpose of yours has not been fulfilled, I have turned it to great fulfillment. (Translated in

M~ther ~! !g~~ledg~,

Dharma Publishing)

Then she became filled with. many rainbows and shimmering lights that extended even to the tips of her hair. When the prayer says, "Temporarily may we be separate from fears, terror and negative omens", the word 'temporarily' mea·ns 'in the .relative sens·e•. In the ultimate sense there are no fears, terrors or negativities. "May the two yogic stages· naturally develop" refers to the development and completion stages of practice. The development stage is all the processes' of visualization and recitation, and the completion stage is allowing these to subside and resting in one's own natural awareness. The final stanza of the prayer for accomplishment is the request that all beings "attain the same level as the Noble Mother Tara." In this way full accomplishment is fulfillment of bodhicitta aspiration that all beings reach enlightenment.

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TRANSFORMATION INTO THE WISDOM ·BODY OF TARA Visualization If one has had empowerment and teachings, after the prayers of accomplishment and the dissol~tion of Tara into one, the next step of practice is transformatiori into the wisdom body of Tara. In the moment after Tara disiolves into one, there is a natural pause, a point of non-dual awareness, then the seeqsyllable TAM appears. The TAM transforms into the luminous form of Tara, meaning that you yourself have the appearanc~ of the pure light-body of Tara. It is customary to recite the visualiza~ion after this transformation has occurred, and then to begin the recitation of mantra. The. mantra is recited 7, 21, 108 or multiples of 108 times, and during the recitation the mantra mala revolves in a counter-clockwise direction, circling the TAM on the lotus in the heart. If one were standing where the TAM is, one could read the mantra from inside the circle. One should follow the steps of visualization as they are given in the practice book, but within the structure of these steps is some flexibility. For example, as one radiates blessing light to the beings of the six realms, often particular situations are prominent in our minds -- the problems of a friend, suffering caused by some natural disaster, or some aspect of samsaric suffering that we are contemplating. It is not incorrect to focus our meditation on such situations, but one should always maintain the understanding that just as our friends or relatives or those caught in events that evoke our strong sympathy need Tara's blessings, so do all beings. No one anywhere in samsara has true freedom or lasting peace. Completion Stage At the end of mantra recitation, Tara's form dissolves into emptiness. The syllable AH is the essence of emptiness and this is recited three times. One rests in effortless, utterly relaxed non-dual aw~reness until concepts intervene. At that point, before the ordinary mind takes over, one spontaneously reappears as Tara, radiant expression of enlightened perfection. Holding the pure perception of oneself as Tara, appearances are experienced as the body of the deity, sounds as the speech of the deity, and thoughts as the mind of the deity. This is the essential meaning of vajra body, speech and mind, but words really cannot convey this state. of being -- it is held within the experi~nce of the practitioner. Chagdud Tulku emphasizes: the importance of deepening meditative realization by sus~aining this pure perception outside of ~ormal sitting practice. As he points out, if one climbs a mountain one hour a day and waffles· on a plateau for the other 24

23, one goes up very slowly indeed. Ideally there should be no break in the continuity of meditation in the day or at night, when Tara dream practice is done (if one has received instruction) . · If one cannot maintain such extensive meditation., then at least one should turn one's mind toward practice as often as .possible throughout the day. Rinpoche says even a passing insect may benefit by one's murmured mantra or compassionate wish. How much more benefit can be created if one sustains the view of the body, speech and mind of the deity, and cionsistently expresses the pure qualities of Tara?

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CLOSING PRAYERS Dedication All Tibetan Buddhist sadhanas close with prayers of The merit of the practice is dedicated to the welfare of sentient beings, so that temporarily their happiness increases, and ultimately they find liberation. Nothing is lost by completely, open-handedly dedicating the merit of practice to others. Rather, like a raindrop dissolving into the ocean, one's merit becomes part of the limitless benefit the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas emanate for sentient beings. For practitioners, dedicating the merit protects them fro~ developing false pride in practice and from undercutting, by nonvirtue, the' merit they have generated. The merit is dedicated; there is no clinging; one generates more. Even in the moment that the merit is dedic~ted and one stands empty-handed, realization increases. ded~cation.

Prayer of Aspiration -Before Bodhisattvas become completely enlightened Buddhas, they make a prayer of aspiration to establish their Buddha intention. Tara's prayer of aspiration is to bring swift blessings and salvation to anyone who even calls her name. In this aeon there are 1000 Buddhas. This is the prayer of Moypa, the lOOOth Buddha, the last and the smallest. The Auspicious Wish The auspicious wish, written by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, head of the Nyingmapa lineage, rings out with clarity. It is what all people of good will wish for all humankind.

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TARA AS A DAILY PRACTICE The section on the completion .stage under "Transformation into the Wisdom Body of Tara" describes the profound mind practice of Tara in daily life. This section briefly outlines how a Tara practitioner might structure his or her day. Upon arising the Tara practitioner establishes the Bodhicitta intention that by his or her Tara practice, suffering be alleviated and benefit created for all beings. The practitioner reflects on the suffering of others and generates deep compassion and love for all beings equally, holding th~m as one would one's very kind mother. Knowing that without the strength of practice one has little power in the face of samsaric delusion, the practitioner then takes heartfelt refuge in Tara and prays that her blessing be a pervasive current throughout the day, directing every activity of body, speech and mind. Setting motivation and taking refuge does not have to be according to the prayers in the book when one is waking up and still in bed, but for some people it is helpful to allow a certain amount of time to contemplate and pray in this way. The red-sky times at sunrise and sunset are particularly powerful times to do Red Tara practice, so one may wish to accomplish a formal meditation session first thing in the morning, if schedules permit. The short practice book has all the elements of a complete sadhana, so one needs only to follow the steps of practice. For many Tara practitioners, a personal shrine becomes a focal point of meditation. This is not difficult to create. A tradition·al shrine would include an image of the deity (a ph6tograph, statue or painting), seven water offering bowls set out in a straight line, and an arrangement of special offerings of incense, flowers, food, tea and candles or butterlamps. Other items of dharma significance such as photographs of one's lamas and dharma gifts one has received cotild also be pLaced on the shrine. Texts should be placed on a shelf above the shrine if possible, or at least in a high place and never on the floor. In the morning the shrine is opetied by filling the water bowls, left to right, lighting incense and a ~andle, and offering tea and food (one might have a special bag of cookies on hand for this purpose)~ Each of these offerings are extensively visualized while reciting OM AH HUNG. The water is visualized as vast clouds of pure substances and pure qualit~ies that are presented to all the Buddhas a-nd Bodhisattvas, and parti.cularly to Red Tar.a and her retinue of twenty Taras. When they receive these offerings they rejoice in the display of virtuous intention, and their blessings shower on the practitioner and all sentient beings. Similarly, incense is imagined to pervade the universe with a delightful scent that purifies sickness and obscuration, and expresses the pure discipline of the dhar·ma. Light becomes 27

complete illumination, and when one offers flowers, they fill all of samsara and nirvana with beauty and with pleas~re in beauty. Food and drink are transformed into nectar, absolutely satisfying. After the initial .offering in the morning, one adds a bit of each food and drink one has during the day,. again offering nectar to all wisdom beings, then imagining that it is returned as wisdom blessing and nourishment to all beings. There aie many profound t~achings on the nature of offerings, especially as related to Tara practice. However, the essential point is to make offerings with the supreme generosity that is characteristic of Tara. Such generosity creates a foundation of non-attachment and open awareness that increases the accumulations of both merit and wisdom. The mind teachings of daily practice have been -