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Praises to Twenty-One Taras Lecture One Contents Contents2 1 Tara, She who Liberates2 Background for Teaching....................2 Prologue............................. 10 Drolma Nyurma Pamo..................... 18 Drolma Yangchenma...................... 24 Drolma Sonam Chokter..................... 30 Surely everyone has their own goals in life or in spiritual practice. In the process, when facing certain challenges that need to be dealt with immediately, pray to Tara. Then miraculously, these difficulties will be solved swiftly. – Khenpo Sodargye Tara, She who Liberates 1 Background for Teaching Praises to Twenty-One Taras Today, we will begin our study of Praise to Tara with Twenty-One Verses of Homage, often simply referred to as Praises to the Twenty-One Taras. It is a scripture that can be found not only in the Tibetan Kangyur but is also contained within the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Historically, in Tibet as well as in ancient India, many of the greatest masters of the past composed teachings and sadhanas for Tara which still exist to this day. In present day Tibet and India, a great many people continue to believe in and offer devotional practices to Tara, and in these regions, she remains as popular a figure as Manjushri or Avalokiteshvara. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Chinese Buddhism, where devotional practices, such as the recitation of prayers and mantra dedicated to Tara are not widely practiced. In recent years, some Tibetan masters have been trying to propagate Tara related teachings and practices in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other places. However, except in these few areas, at this time there is very little propagation of Tara worship in mainland China. This may be, in part, because throughout 1 Tara, She who Liberates 3 the course of Chinese history, only a very limited number of texts dedicated to Tara have been translated into the Chinese language. In Chinese Buddhism, Tara is known as the Bodhisattva Duoluo and in spite of the overall scarcity of scriptures concerning the Bodhisattva Duoluo in the Chinese Buddhist Canon, some do exist. Among these are a sutra describing rituals of Bodhisattva Duoluo translated into Chinese by the prolific translator, Master Amoghavajra, who lived during the Eighth Century. Additionally, during the Yuan Dynasty, the Academician Ansar, from Hanlin Academy, was probably the first to translate Praises to the Twenty-One Taras into the Chinese language. Having been initiated by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, over the next several dynasties, the Hanlin Academy grew in prestige and its members gradually became more and more highly regarded. Hanlin Academician Ansar was assigned by Kublai Khan, Emperor Shizu of Yuan Dynasty, to translate Praises to the Twenty-One Taras. I’ve read his translation in Chinese but was left with the feeling that some parts were translated word-for-word, a process that was my feeling left some parts difficult to understand. My translation was made by relying on the Tibetan version as well as referring to some of the commentaries made by recognized Tibetan Buddhist scholars∗. I believe that many of you who have chosen to attend this teaching may ∗ Regarding the English version of Praises to Twenty-One Taras, there are many different translations. Some are translated from Sanskrit version and some from Tibetan version. The English version used for this teaching is from the Lotsawa House, as it is translated from Tibetan and quite in accordance with the Chinese version translated by Khenpo Sodargye. Meanwhile, there are cases that some stanzas vary slightly from Khenpo’s Chinese explanation. In such cases, another version revised from that of the Lotsawa House is provided, so as to correspond to the teaching here, as well as to provide the audience a better understanding of the teaching. The revised translation is to be found in square bracket. 1 Tara, She who Liberates 4 be unfamiliar with Tara, thinking that it belongs to Tibetan Buddhism. In fact, practice and belief in Tara originated in India, where from the biographies of such eminent Indian masters as Nagarjuna, Nagabodhi, Shantideva, Lord Atisha, etc., we have learned that these renowned masters often received prophesies, blessings and instructions from Tara. Even those of you who may have heard such stories from your study of Buddhist history, are unlikely to have engaged much in the practices of Tara yourselves. Although some simple practices, sadhanas, and mantras of Tara do exist in Chinese and other languages, they are very few in number. So, it is my hope that through learning this text, from this point on, you will try to propagate the practice of Tara extensively in your own country and around the world, as that will greatly benefit many people. Because everyone will certainly encounter difficulties, adversities, obstacles, and troubles in life or in the course of spiritual practice, by praying to Tara, through the swift, fierce and sharp blessing of Tara’s wisdom, compassion and power, all obstacles can be dispelled. Meanwhile, wisdom, merits, talents and benefits of other aspects can be acquired naturally. That’s why Tara is also called "the embodiment of the activity of all Buddhas", just as Manjushri is often referred to as "the embodiment of the wisdom of all Buddhas" and Avalokiteshvara as "the incarnation of the compassion of all Buddhas". The activity of the Buddhas is to alleviate the suffering of sentient beings and to establish them in the fruition of happiness. In this regard, Tara has exceptional blessing and power. Whoever believes in Tara, prays to her respectfully and recites her prayers and mantras frequently, will certainly receive blessings 1 Tara, She who Liberates 5 from her that will transform his or her mindstream. "My Connection with Tara" Personally, I have had a strong faith in Tara since childhood. Perhaps some might think that this is a boast that I make about whichever topic that I’m teaching. That isn’t true. Whichever teaching I give, it’s always my favorite or at the very least, it’s one that I’ve studied, recited and practiced extensively. This is my way of doing my best to make the teaching the most beneficial for you. If I were to be skeptical of the practice or feeling indifferent towards it, then I wouldn’t be able to teach it to others. Even if I could say the right words, the teaching would be like an empty vessel with no content to fill up other vessels—in other words, you would gain no benefits from it. So, whenever I give a teaching, I first observe myself, and only if I truly like the teaching, do I feel happy about attempting to share it with others. This is my habit and this time is the same. A while ago, I taught The King of Aspiration Prayer. Compared to that teaching, I feel that I am far more of an expert on Tara. When I say this, I am not referring to the expertise or knowledge on how to give this teaching. I am saying from the aspect of devotion that I have a stronger faith in Tara. Based on this aspect alone, my teaching of the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras should bring you some benefits. When I think back, I was able to memorize Praises to the Twenty-One Taras at around the age of six and a half, when I didn’t even know how 1 Tara, She who Liberates 6 to read, and ever since that time, whenever I have been caught up with obstacles or suffering, the first thought in my mind is, "Tara will bless me. She will definitely help me." This conviction arises naturally. When I was around ten years old, there was a practitioner named Pema Tenzin who was a Dharma teacher of the Nyingma Dzogchen lineage. Although he later returned his monastic vows, nevertheless, his faith in the Three Jewels and his insight into Buddhadharma remained exceptional. At that time, this practitioner gave me a tiny statue of Tara, which I had kept throughout elementary school, junior high, high school, Garze Normal School, and even monkhood. Around 1991 when I returned from accompanying H. H. Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche to India, I still had it. I had kept it close to me for so many years, but later, this small statue of Tara, to say it nicely, flew away, or to be frank, was lost, I felt so sad that it was gone even though it wasn’t made as exquisitely as the sculptures that are made nowadays. Around that time, in the 70’s, when I was still in school, the state policy on religion was still very restrictive. It was much different from now, in that at that time, one would have been in big trouble if they were found to be engaging in religious practice, and sometimes even teachers and classmates couldn’t be trusted. Even in such a time as I am describing, I took the Tara statue with me wherever I went, wrapped in a piece of yellow cloth, praying to her secretly. I could truly feel the great blessing. 1 Tara, She who Liberates 7 The Auspiciousness for Teaching This Praise This time of giving the teaching on Tara is graced with many auspi- ciousness. Actually, the idea of giving teachings on Tara came up years ago, but there hadn’t been an opportunity with proper causes and conditions to actualize the idea. This year, however, the opportunity has finally arrived. For those who aren’t religious or who don’t believe in dependent arising, this might seem like nothing more than a matter of chance or coincidence. But to me, from the beginning of this year, many auspicious signs relevant to Tara have arisen one after another, suggesting that the timing of giving teachings on Tara was ready.

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