WHITE TARA

Legend tells that the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara spilled two tears to earth out of despair for humanity and that each formed a lake on which grew a lotus; the left one opened to reveal a Green Tara, from the right emerged the White Tara. Historically, the white Tara has been identified with the T'ang Chinese Princess Wen-che'ng, who married the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo and helped bring Buddhism to Tibet. The White Tara symbolises purity, long life, and, as an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, compassion as well. She is an incredibly popular deity in both Nepal and Tibet, bringing protection and longevity. Her right hand gesture (varamudra) offers help in the form of both material and spiritual blessings, while her extra eyes on the forehead, palms and soles symbolise the ever-alert nature of her compassion, in the same way as the thousand hands of Avalokiteshvara. Her left hand holds a lotus symbolising compassion and the three raised fingers symbolise the triple gem of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. In her hair, sits the figure of the Amitabha Buddha, the spiritual father of Avalokiteshvara, while the figure above is Amitayus, the deity of longevity, also closely associated with Amitabha. The phoenix to her left is a symbol often associated with Avalokiteshvara, and can represent receiving the gift of dharma. The dragon can be asociated with the inherent strength of Buddha nature. The sun and moon represent the universe, making the thangka a complete representation of reality.

WHITE TARA
Artist Name:	Chandra Lama
Painting size:	52.5cm X 39cm

470