Green Tara Mandalas | |
Thangkas with a black background like this one on the right, form a special category of contemplative paintings. They are a highly mystical and esoteric type, usually reserved for advanced practise. Black is the color of hate, transmuted by the alchemy of wisdom into the ultimate-reality-perfection wisdom. The dark connotes death, which enlightenment converts into the Body of Truth. It is used for terrific ritual actions, the radical conquest of evil in all its forms-conquest not by annihilating, but by turning even evil into good. Thus, in the black paintings (Tib. Nagtang) the black ground casts forth deities in luminous visions of translucent color. The word mandala itself is derived from the root manda, which means essence, to which the suffix la, meaning container, has been added. Thus, one obvious connotation of mandala is that it is a container of essence.
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The origin of the mandala is the center, a dot. It is a symbol apparently
free of dimensions. It means a 'seed', 'sperm', 'drop', the salient starting
point. It is the gathering center in which the outside energies are drawn,
and in the act of drawing the forces, the devotee's own energies unfold and
are also drawn. Thus it represents the outer and inner spaces. Its purpose
is to remove the object-subject dichotomy. In the process, the mandala is
consecrated to a deity.
In its creation, a line materializes out of a dot. Other lines are drawn until they intersect, creating triangular geometrical patterns. The circle drawn around stands for the dynamic consciousness of the initiated. The outlying square symbolizes the physical world bound in four directions, represented by the four gates; and the midmost or central area is the residence of the deity. Thus the center is visualized as the essence and the circumference as grasping, thus in its complete picture a mandala means grasping the essence. A Mandala is identified with the deity who resides in the centre. It is the power of this deity that the mandala is said to be invested with. The deity in this Mandala is the Green Tara. |
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The word Tara itself is derived from the root 'tri' (to cross), hence the
implied meaning:' the one who enables living beings to cross the Ocean of
Existence and Suffering'. Her compassion for living beings, her desire to
save them from suffering, is said to be even stronger than a mother's love
for her children.
This description by Nitin Kumar, Executive Editor, Exotic India.
"Homage! Tara, swift, heroic! With a glance like flashing lightning, born from a blooming lotus sprung from the tears on the face of the Lord of the World!" ... Chapter III, Tara Tantra The above verse refers to the legend of Tara's origin. Avalokiteshvara was looking down from his heaven on the world of suffering beings, and he wept to see that more and more of them were in pain. From the tears streaming down his face two Taras were born, a peaceful white one from the left and a fierce green one from the right. Tara is thus also often referred to as Avalokiteshvara's consort. Green Tara is Tara's most dynamic manifestation. She is depicted in a posture of ease with right leg extended, signifying her readiness to spring into action. The left leg is folded in the contemplative position on the lotus pedestal, the two together thus symbolizing the integration of wisdom and art. Her left hand, in the gesture of granting refuge holds the stem of a lotus that floats over her left shoulder as a symbol of purity and power. With her right hand she makes the boon-granting gesture. The followers of Green Tara believe that her special powers will help overcome dangers, fears, and anxieties, and that she will grant wishes. She is also believed to help one cross over from danger to safety or from suffering to happiness. Her femininity imbues her with soft and compassionate feelings, and she acts very quickly and directly as a savioress. Representing active compassion, she is particularly worshipped for her ability to overcome the most difficult situations. As the first Dalai Lama puts it, just by being called to help, she instantaneously saves the faithful from attacks by the following eight calamities:
lions and pride The top most layer of this beautiful Thangka is inhabited by five meditating Buddhas. By alternating between gold and silver colors for their halos and the lotus pedestals, the artist has achieved a superb effect. At the bottom most layer is shown a White Tara with a silver halo and seated on a golden lotus. The other corner is inhabited by three-faced and eight-armed Ushnishavijaya, she is one of the longevity deities in the Buddhist pantheon, along with White Tara. The visualization and concretization of the mandala concept is one of the most significant contributions of Buddhism to religious psychology. Mandalas are seen as sacred places which, by their very presence in the world, remind a viewer of the immanence of sanctity in the universe and its potential in himself. In the context of the Buddhist path the purpose of a mandala is to put an end to human suffering, to attain enlightenment and to attain a correct view of Reality. It is a means to discover divinity by the realization that it resides within one's own self. ----------------------------------------------------------------
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