21
May
2020
Explaining Buddhist Deity Green Tara
Green Tara is a female Buddha and one of the most well-known goddesses in Buddhist women. She is known as an enlightened being ready to take action to benefit sentient. The color green represents the wind element. She moves quickly as the wind to help others.
Table of Contents
The life of the Green tara
In this section, we are going to talk about the life of Green tara, after the short etymological description of the word Green Tara itself, and finally we will highlight the spiritual power of the Green Tara.
Etymology of Green tara
Green tara means she who ferries across.
Green Tara is being the color of melted snow in a high mountain lake turquoise green. Her green color is indicative of the Buddha family. she belongs to Amogasiddhi.
Green Tara’s specialty is to remove difficulties, danger, obscurations, and fear and to transmit the blessing.
Spiritual power of Green Tara
Green Tara represents the aspect of a buddha that protects us from fear. Tara’s influence is the capacity to act, to move through life, and accomplish our aims.
Earlier, we studied the life of the Green Tara. Now we are going to learn about the iconography of Green Tara.
Iconography of Green Tara
In the Iconography of the Green Tara, we will learn about her body posture, hand and leg gesture, and different representations of Green tara thangka and statue.
Posture of Green Tara
Green Tara is peaceful in appearance. Green Tara is dark green like emerald and placidly gazing forward.
Green tara performs the mudra of generosity with the right hand resting on the knee while holding the stem of a pink and orange lotus flower.
The left hand of Green Tara holds to the heart in the mudra of blessing holds the stem of a white lotus blossoming at the left ear.
Green Tara is adorned with a tiara of gold and jewels, long black hair piled on the top of the head. And some falling loose across the shoulders, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.
She wears silk garments of various colors. She is seated at atop a moon disc in a green-blue lotus. She is sited in a relaxed posture with the right leg extended resting on a small lotus cushion.
Green Tara is surrounded by a nimbus of radiant light ringed with gold and wishing. Green Tara is accenting the head is a yellow areola ringed with blue.
A red table in front of the Green Tara which displays two golden bowls of heaped grain with a black begging bowl in the center filled with myrobalan fruit. Green Tara is wreathed with green foliage, orange, pink and white lotus blossoms.
Green Tara is completely surrounding the large central Tara and is 1,008 small Taras identical in form.
previously, we studied the life of the Green Tara and iconography of Green Tara. Now we are going to learn about depicting Buddhist Deity, Green Tara.
Depicting Buddhist Deity Green Tara Thangka
The thangka of Green Tara is from China. It was made in between 1700 AD to 1799 AD. It is from uncertain lineage. The base of the painting is ground mineral pigment on cotton. Presently, this painting is in the Rubin Museum of Art.
By Depicting this thangka, we will see how Green Tara is presented with Amitabha Buddha and Kurukulle.
Amitabha Buddha
Green Tara is the apex of the floral display surrounding Tara is crowned with buddha Amitabh. Amitabha Buddha is seated in a sphere of rainbow light.
Amitabha Buddha is red in color with the hands in the mudra of meditation. Amitabha sits in vajra posture.
Kurukulle
Kurukulle is in front of the table who is red in color. She has one face and two hands holding a bow and arrow in the first pair and a hook and lasso in the second.
Kurukulle is adorned with bone ornaments, a green scarf, and a tiger skin lower garment. Kurukulle stands in a dancing posture on the left leg above a corpse, sun, and lotus seat.
previously, we studied the life of the Green Tara, iconography, and presentation of Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha and kurukulle. Now we are going to learn about the representation of Green Tara with Shakyamuni Buddha.
Green Tara with Shakyamuni Buddha Thangka
Green Tara with Shakyamuni Buddha was painted around 1400-1499 AD. The size of this painting is 29.85×25.40cm. The base of the painting is cotton and the ground mineral pigment is used to color it. Green Tara belongs to Nyingma Lineage. This Masterpiece Thangka Art is still preserved and kept in the Rubin Museum of Art.
By depicting this thangka we will learn the representation of Goddess Green Tara with different Buddhist deities such as Amtaba Buddha, Kurukulle, Manjushri, Medicine Buddha, vajradhara, etc.
Green Tara is dark green in color. Buddha Shakyamuni is at the top left of the thangka which is followed by the buddhas of the five families, yellow Ratnasambhava, blue Akshobhya, white Vairochana, red Amitabha and green Amoghasiddhi.
Healing Buddha – Medicine Guru
Medicine Buddha is in the right of the thangka in descending order. Medicine is known as the buddha of healing. Medicine Buddha is blue in color.
Bodhisattva Maitreya
Maitreya Buddha is below the thangka, who is performing the teaching mudra. Maitreya is seated with the legs extended in front.
Orange Manjushri
Manjushri holding sword is seen in the below of the Green Tara with upraised and Utpala flower with the left hand.
Sakasari Avalokiteshvara
Sakasari Avalokiteshvara is below the Manjushri. He is the bodhisattva of compassion. He is white in color with four hands.
Vajradhara
On the left side of the thangka, there is blue Vajradhara with the hands crossed at the heart.
Previously, we studied the life of the Green Tara, iconography, presentation of Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha and kurukulle, and the representation of Green Tara with Shakyamuni Buddha. Now we are going to learn about the representation of Green Tara with Ushnishavijaya.
Green Tara with Ushnishavijaya Thangka
Green Tara with Ushnishavijaya was painted around 1800-1899 AD. The size of this painting is 88.90×63.50cm. The base of the painting is cotton and the ground mineral pigment is used to color it. Green Tara belongs to Nyingma Lineage. This Masterpiece Thangka Art is still preserved and kept in the Rubin Museum of Art.
By depicting this thangka we will learn the representation of Goddess Green Tara with Ushnishavijaya.
Ushnishavijaya is seated directly above the thangka. Ushnishavijaya is known as the peaceful goddess of longevity. Ushnishavijaya is white in color with three faces and eight hands.
Ushnishavijaya is seated on a lotus flower surrounded by billowing green and blue clouds. Filling all the space surrounding the central figure in neat geometric rows are 333 miniature forms of Green Tara.
Tara is a completely enlightened buddha who in a previous life promised to appear after enlightenment in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit of all beings. Her primary activity is to protect from the 8 and 16 fears. Practiced in all Schools of Tibetan Buddhism her various forms are found in all classes of tantra.
Earlier, we studied the life of the Green Tara, iconography, presentation of Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha and kurukulle, the representation of Green Tara with Shakyamuni Buddha, and Ushnishavijaya. Now we are going to learn about the representation of Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha
Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha Thangka
Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha was painted around 1700-1799 AD. The base of the painting is cotton and the ground mineral pigment. The lineage of this thangka is not certified. This Paragon Thangka Art is still preserved and kept in the Rubin Museum of Art.
By depicting this thangka we will learn the representation of Goddess Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha, Orange Marichi, Black Ekajati, White Shri Devi, and Wrathful Magzor Gyalmo, etc.
On an and eight-petalled lotus, there is Holy Tara who is reddish-green in color with one face and two hands. The right hand of Green Tara, there is in the gesture of supreme generosity. And the left hands of the Green Tara hold the thumb and ring finger a lily to the heart.
Orange Marichi
Orange Marichi is there on the right side of the thangka. Orange Marichi is holding in the left hand a branch of the Ashoka tree.
Black Ekajati
Black Ekajati is on the left of the thangka. Black Ekajati is holding a skullcup in the left. Both hold in the right hands a fly-whisk.
White Shri Devi
Shri Devi is on the left of the thangka. Shri Devi is white in color. Shri Devi is with one face and two hands holding an arrow in the right hand and a bowl in the left. She is the peaceful form of the wrathful goddess Shri Devi Palden Lhamo.
Wrathful Magzor Gyalmo
Magzor Gyalmo is at the right of the thangka. Magzor Gyalmo is dark blue and very wrathful with one face and two hands. Magzor Gyalmo is riding a mule. On each side, heavenly beings reside in the clouds above.
Earlier, we studied the life of the Green Tara, iconography, presentation of Green Tara with Amitabha Buddha and kurukulle, the representation of Green Tara with Shakyamuni Buddha, Ushnishavijaya. Finally, we learn about the presentation of Green Tara with divergent deities like Orange Marichi, Black Ekajati, White Shri Devi, and Wrathful Magzor Gyalmo, etc.
