Green Tara: The Mother of Compassion and Protection

Green Tara - སྒྲོལ་ལྗང་ - 綠度母

Green Tārā, also known as Droljang in Tibet, embodies awakened activity and swift, compassionate action. Celebrated as the most popular form of the goddess, she is honored widely across Tibetan monasteries and spiritual traditions. Beyond Tibet, especially in the southern side, she is revered simply as Tārā. While she is generally regarded as the consort of Amoghsiddhi, the Lord of the Action Family, scholars have argued that her origin stories, which claim she emanated from Amitābha Buddha and Avalokiteshvara, thus place her in the Lotus family. Although this discrepancy might appear problematic Although this discrepancy might appear problematic, in the case of Tārā, depending on the cycle of teachings, their lineage, the context, or the function she is required to perform, Tārā is found in either the Lotus or Action Family. 

Seated in the posture of royal ease—with one leg folded in tranquil wisdom and the other extended in readiness—Green Tārā remains poised to rise instantly in response to the suffering of sentient beings. Her right hand, in the mudrā of giving, offers both worldly accomplishments and profound spiritual realization. In contrast, her left hand, in the mudrā of fearlessness, assures refuge through the unity of wisdom and compassion. Adorned with the radiant ornaments of the six perfections and crowned by Amitābha, she is the compassionate mother whose beauty and presence awaken joy, clarity, and liberation. In every detail, Green Tārā channels active compassion, guiding all sentient beings toward liberation with wisdom and grace. 

    Association in Lotus and Action Family

    As mentioned above, Green Tārā is often described as appearing alongside Amoghasiddhi in his maṇḍala, not as a passive consort, but as the very embodiment of action itself. In tantric tradition, she is known as Vajra Tārā, the karma devī, whose presence signals the unceasing work of liberation. On the other hand, she is also associated with Amitābha and Avalokiteshvara, as it is said that she emanated from them.  

    Her Mantra’s Interpretation

    She is invoked through a mantra whose syllables carry the essence of the path itself. According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Thubten Yeshe, founders of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), the mantra from oṃ to svāhā signifies the path of the deity, and that the essence of the four noble truths is contained within the syllables of tāre tuttāre ture. 

    The First Dalai Lama taught that through this mantra, she increases life force, wisdom, and renown; pacifies distractions; removes obstacles; and turns aside even dark dreams. This is her promise—revealed not in mythic feats, but in the daily, compassionate unraveling of suffering.  

    References

    Rinpoche, B. (1999). TARA: THE FEMININE DIVINE. Clear Point Press. 

    Stevens, R. (2022). Red tara: The female Buddha of power and magnetism (1st ed.). Shambhala Publications.

    Stevens, R. (n.d.). Red tārā: Lineages of literature and practice [Phd Thesis]. University of Oxford.