By Khenmo Konchog Nyima Drolma,
“She Who Hears the Cries of The World” in Tibetan Buddhism is Tara. Beloved, Tara is an outward expression of the female wisdom principle in the activity of compassion, freeing us from fear. She can be depicted as peaceful or wrathful; just as a mother may need to appear angry in a crisis to call her children to immediate attention. There are two Taras for times of epidemics, revived for today’s COVID. Tara, clothed in leaves and carrying medicinal herbs is in her peaceful form, one of the 21 emanations of Green Tara, called Loma Jonma and Parnashavari in her wrathful appearance.
In the 1190’s when leprosy was rampant in Tibet, alone in a cave Lord Jigten Sumgon was dying. His thoughts turned with a profound compassion to all the suffering in the world, and Tara appeared in a vision. With this enlightenment, his strength returned and he founded our Drikung Kagyu lineage. Healing is understood as a mind of bodhicitta (an untranslatable word connoting a depth of compassion and lovingkindness that is boundless and nondiscriminatory like the sun’s rays) and is sometimes accompanied with physical health, other times such as with White Tara, the mind of Bodhicitta alone is wholeness. His legacy includes a simple tender Tara practice for times of epidemics.
This peaceful Tara prayer has four stages. First, we give rise to the mind of bodhicitta. We begin with our limited capacity and continue throughout our life to develop bodhicitta. Then we imagine ourselves as Tara or any personal Deity figure. Tibetan Buddhism works with thousands of such images so that each of us can find a path to transmute the unique combination of emotions and patterns of thinking that confine us, obscuring our inner seed of perfection. We understand that Tara’s wisdom is our innate nature, obscured by our own ignorance. At the same time, we are on the path to becoming her, the fruition of our potential- a fearless, limitlessly loving heart/mind. Imagining ourselves as unlimited love and compassion allows us to explore what a relaxed responsive, open heart feels like, setting into motion new mental patterns.
We envision bodhicitta, as green light, filling our whole body. This light eventually overflows to our palace(home), neighborhood and to wherever we hear the cries of suffering. Our helplessness is replaced with connection.
Remarkably for the prayer concludes with Tara becoming a protective face mask—we visualize her from in front of each nostril. Through Tara we meet the world fearlessly with compassion. We too can hear the cries of the world and respond with active compassion.
Vajra Dakini invites you to their Virtual Sangha: weekly meditation and Dharma talks, retreats and special events. Tara is part of our morning meditation Tues & Thurs 7am. vajradakininunnery.org
Link to the Tara Prayer
Upcoming Teaching with Khenmo on the Tara Practice Sept 15th 7- 9 PM hosted by Dharma Refuge dharmarefuge.com/calendarlisting.html
Khenmo Konchog Nyima Drolma has studied with the foremost spiritual teachers of our time including H.H. Dalai Lama. After her novice ordination by Drikung Kyabgon in 1997, she received attended multiple international gatherings as he transmitted the lineage and major Drikung teachings. Most recently, she was one of the teachers HH Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche trained personally to teach the new Shravasti curriculum. She received monastic training at Gampo Abbey guided by Ven. Pema Chödrön, and attended their shedra (philosophy college). In 2002 she took full ordination as a Buddhist nun in Taiwan. In 2004 she was installed as a Khenmo (Abbot) in the Drikung lineage, becoming the first woman and first westerner in her lineage to officially hold this responsibility. Her current responsibilities, in addition to Vajra Dakini Nunnery, include the Tibetan/Himalayan Nuns Leadership Program and she chairs the international committee for the Shravasti Bhikshuni Varsa Retreat sponsored by HH Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche.