8 Taras Who Protect from the 8 Dangers
Arya Tara (or Jetsun Dolma) means ‘rescuer’. She is aptly called Tara as she rescues us from the 8 personal obstacles that binds us to samsara: pride, ignorance, anger, jealousy, wrong views, attachment, miserliness and deluded doubts. The 8 corresponding worldly fears are: the fears of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, thieves, water, bondage, and evil spirits.
So, each of the physical dangers corresponds to a mental state of mind. On one hand, Tara will directly assist you in your worldly fears, e.g. reciting Tara’s mantra during supernatural encounters. On the other hand, Tara rescuing you from evil spirits is also symbolic of Her rescuing you from your constantly flitting mind of doubt and hesitation.
Tara’s protection of these “dangers” works on two levels: the outward physical dangers to our life and the inner “dangers” that our mental afflictions cause us. Prayer to any of these Taras can help us to overcome literal threats or dangers, or to transform negative emotions into positive, enlightened qualities.
Tara is known as the Mother of Liberation, and through liberating us from our 8 fears, she guides us to enlightenment. Just as how the practice of the 21 Taras are part of a voluminous collection of prayers, “The Eight Taras Who Protect from the Eight Dangers” are part of a collection of dharanis that are altogether known as the Zang Du. Tibetans frequently sponsor monks, nuns or mediums to recite the Zang Du on their behalf… because it is so voluminous, it takes 1 full day for 4 experienced and senior ritualists to complete reciting the Zang Du.
Most Tibetans do not memorize the Zang Du, but are more familiar with the Lek Trima. The Lek Trima is a hymn written by the 1st Dalai Lama which refers to the 8 Taras… and it is because of the Lek Trima that there are many paintings of the 8 Taras protecting us from our 8 fears in many Gelugpa monasteries.
There are usually 2 different artistic depictions of “The Eight Taras Who Protect Us From The Eight Dangers”:
- Tara seated at the centre and the 8 Taras arranged around her. The “dangers” which these 8 Taras protect us from are also usually depicted.
- Eight different paintings dedicated to each Tara (and the dangers which each Tara protects us from), and 1 painting of Tara without any of the 8 dangers.
Do take a look at the thangkas below. It’s interesting to see how each thangka can illustrate so much… and how Tara’s practice is multi-fold, effective and necessary.
Tsem Rinpoche
The Thangka of Eight Taras Protecting from the Eight Dangers
The Centrepiece of the Taras who protect from the Eight Dangers
Tara who protects us from the danger of lions
Tara who protects us from the danger of snakes
Tara who protects us from the danger of elephants
Tara who protects us from the danger of fire
Tara who protects us from the danger of thieves
Tara who protects us from the danger of imprisonment
Tara who protects us from the danger of water
Tara who protects us from the danger of ghosts
The Thangka: Eight Taras Protecting from the Eight Dangers
In this thangka, beautiful Arya Tara sits at the centre of the thangka amongst the 8 Taras who protect us from the 8 fears.
The Eight great fears are depicted as follows:
- Elephants = blindness
- Lions = pride
- Fire = anger
- Poisonous snakes = jealousy
- Thieves = erroneous philosophies
- Imprisonment = greed
- Water = desire and attachment
- Ghosts = doubts
Above Arya Tara is Amitabha Buddha in meditative position. All Taras in this thangka are painted in gold as an offering.
On Arya Tara’s right hand side is the Tara who protects us from the danger of water. A lay person petitions Tara to save him.
On the left side of Amitabha Buddha is the Tara who protects us from the danger of lions. Below her is the Tara who protects us from the danger of fire, symbolised by her sitting on a dense rain cloud and holding a vase in her right hand from which constantly flowing water is poured. The lower left corner sits the Tara who protects us from the fear of snakes and is seen protecting a lay woman.
On the right side of Amitabha Buddha is the Tara who protects us from the dangers and fear of rampaging elephants, shown here to be protecting a lay woman. Below her is the Tara who protects us from the dangers and fear of robbers and thieves, shown here a lone traveller being defended by her from two plundering thieves riding on horses. Below her, Tara is shielding a fervent petitioner from the danger and fear of imprisonment from unjust rulers.
At the bottom centre of the thangka, Tara is depicted as protecting a lay couple from red demons. She is sitting beside a cluster of wish fulfilling jewels and precious objects.
The prosperous couple in the house on the lower right hand corner shows us what we can achieve in this life if we practice the Eight Taras sincerely and consistently.
The Centrepiece of the Taras who protect from the Eight Dangers
Traditional Tibetan paintings are usually done in sets and designed to be hung in a row on a single wall. As such, the main subject of the art work will be a separate centerpiece and is typically painted to be looking straight ahead.
The subjects of the thangkas to be hung on either side of the centerpiece will be shown in profile, all looking at the main subject in the centre of the whole art work. This is how the thangka of the 8 Taras protecting from the 8 Dangers is designed. Tara in the center gazes straight at us with eyes of compassion, with 4 paintings to her left (with the profiles of the respective Taras looking right), and 4 paintings to her right (with the profiles of the respective Taras looking left).
Surrounding this centerpiece Buddha Tara are scenes of peace and tranquility, because the 4 Taras on either side of her have established complete protection from the 8 fears/dangers.
Only those who remember to invoke Tara are shown as being safe and happy. This is depicted as a couple sitting happily on the upper-storey of their large house enjoying the beautiful sights the world has to offer. Their worldly success and prosperity are illustrated by the precious jewels, rolls of cloth, and bags of goodies sitting on a shelf at the back. Everyone in the house is happy, wealthy and enjoying the peace and beauty which surrounds them. Tara’s celestial place of abode is similarly beautiful with gardens, ponds streams and so on. Her divine palace is filled with beautiful sounds, cooled by gentle breezes and trickling streams, and lotus flowers blooming perfectly in surrounding ponds.
Tara who protects us from the danger of lions
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote a hymn, entitled Lek Trima, to Tara:
“He dwells between the mountains of wrong views
of selfhood, puffed up with holding himself superior,
With long claws of contempt for other beings,
The Lion of Pride – please save us from this fear!”
At the bottom right of the thangka, Tara (emanating as Parnashavari, “The Leaf-Clad Female Buddha”) is shown with her left hand pushing an attacking snow lion away from a lone traveller. With her right hand she pulls the lone traveller to safety.
The first of the eight dangers is the lion, whereby the wild beast represents our pride. It is our pride that provides us with a false perception and wrong understanding of reality. As the 1st Dalai Lama describes the lion as dwelling “on the mountain of wrongly held views”, we hold oneself as superior whilst belittling others/the world.
At the bottom left are two deer depicted as undisturbed and grazing calmly. They represent compassion and wisdom, as well as symbolize peace and harmony that is achieved by meditating on Tara. The lotus flowers blooming in the lake on the lower right symbolizes purity and beauty inspired by Tara’s practice.
Tara who protects us from the danger of snakes
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“Attached to its dark hole of ignorance,
It cannot bear seeing the wealth and excellence of others,
But quickly fills them with its vicious poison,
The Snake of Envy – save us from this fear!“
In this thangka, a lady is seen to be attacked by a snake, who creeps up to her through the trees and coils menacingly around her. Tara emanates as a fierce dakini, who runs up to her to cut the snake away and free her from its dangerous bite.
Then, in the main part of the thangka, the lady kneels humbly in front of Tara to offer thanks to this powerful Buddha for rescuing her from the grip of the snake.
Tara’s supreme protection from the dangerous snake represents her powerful ability to quell our jealousy. Like a snake, jealousy wraps its way around us – often without us even realising – and soon has us firmly in its grip. At its worst, the snake bites before we can do anything to stop it. The results of jealousy are like this – we act impulsively and hurtfully towards others when we are jealous, often causing irreversible damage; realising our harm and suffering its after-effects comes at a time when it is too late to do anything.
Reliance on this Tara will help us lessen our jealousies – usually arising out of attachment or greed – and therefore cause less harm to ourselves and others.
Tara who protects us from the danger of elephants
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“Untamed by the sharp hooks of mindfulness and awareness,
And dulled by the maddening liquor of sensual pleasures,
He enters wrong paths and shows his tusks of harming,
Delusion’s Elephant – save us from this fear!”
The thangka depicts a lady carrying a basket full of medicinal herbs or wild greens on her back. As a wild elephant is about to charge at her, she recites Tara’s mantra and is able to subdue the wild elephant and avert the danger.
The drunken elephant is a symbol of ignorance in its two forms: misinterpretation and unknowing. The “drunken elephant” represents our mind, which is intoxicated with craving and indulgence. This constant deluded state leads us down the wrong paths – the path to pain and suffering.
Just as reciting Tara’s mantra subdued the wild elephant, meditating on Tara subdues the elephant of ignorance in our minds. She thus protects us from the dangers arising from ignorance, which is the cause of suffering. The resultant effect is that Arya Tara reveals the true nature of reality.
The following story dating back to Buddha Shakyamuni’s time illustrates the might of spiritual power in subduing an enraged elephant:
Once someone wanted to kill the Buddha and his weapon was an elephant. He plotted to do the deed when Buddha walked through a narrow road at a particular time, as per his usual routine. As the time was approaching, he gave the elephant a big cask of toddy to drink and the elephant became extremely drunk. He then viciously prodded it with a sharp iron hook and this enraged the elephant, which he then released in Buddha’s direction. The elephant charged towards Buddha in a drunken fit of rage, destroying everything that crossed its path and raised huge suffocating clouds of dusts everywhere. When the elephant was right in front of Buddha, Buddha beheld the elephant with great compassion, looked deeply into its eyes and gently recited a mantra. Upon hearing the mantra, the elephant instantly crumbled onto the ground and fell into a peaceful deep slumber.
Buddha’s words (Dharma) has the power to tame all sentient beings who are deluded by the iron chains of our karma.
Tara who protects us from the danger of fire
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“Driven by the wind of wrong attention,
Amidst a tumult of smoke – clouds of misconduct,
It has the power to burn down forests of merits,
The Fire of Anger – save us from this fear!”
At the bottom right of the thangka, a 2-storey building is shown to be engulfed in flames. Despite the house being built by a river, the fire is uncontrollable and ravages the building. The couple turn to Tara for help. Tara appears to be holding a conch shell, apparently filled with water to douse the fierce flames. As the couple calls out to Tara, they manage to escape a painful death.
The parallel connotation to the damaging, raging fire is our anger. Fire (anger) ignited by our negative thought and distorted perception of reality may result in negative actions. These actions are akin to the thick and black smoke which comes from a fire that could raze down a whole forest… A forest which took a long time to grow and cultivate. In this instance, prayer to and reliance on Tara promises to quell the fire of anger in our minds, helping us to find greater peace and the tranquility to deal with situations in a more patient and beneficial manner.
Tara who protects us from the danger of thieves
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“Roaming the fearful wild of inferior practice,
And ghastly desert plains of the two extremes,
They sack the towns and retreats of ease and bliss,
The Thieves of Wrong Views – save us from this fear!”
At the bottom center of the thangka, a group of travellers are shown to be besieged by bandits. As one of the travelers has been stabbed in the throat, another writhes on the ground in agony, a third is skewered on a tree stump… and their cargo loaded on a horse and elephant stands helplessly to the left.
At a time of great distress, one of the travellers remembers Tara. Making a fervent prayer to her, Tara immediately sends down 2 of her courageous men. They are depicted racing down the steps of Her palace towards the disaster, poised to strike at any time to rescue the group. One of them holds a bow and arrow, whilst the other wields a sword.
Here, thieves are representative of our doubts. Like a thief, doubt robs us of all our faith, knowledge and everything we have accomplished through our practice. A single doubt can erase years of practice, and eventually lead to us giving up the path completely. By remembering Tara, we develop a firm, stable mind which grows in the Dharma and finds success, instead of doubt.
Tara who protects us from the danger of imprisonment
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“In this unbearable prison of samsara,
It binds embodied beings, with no freedom,
Clasped by the lock of Craving, hard to open –
The Chain of Avarice – save us from this fear!”
The first of the six perfections of an aspiring Bodhisattva is the perfection of generosity. Much to the dismay of worldly law enforcers, giving relief and helping those being chased by the government and/or law are one of the three forms of a Bodhisattva’s generosity.
The lower left of the thangka illustrates a scene within a 2-storey building. On the lower level is a shackled, naked man suffering in a cold, dark prison. Outside, a rich relative seemingly attempts to buy the prisoner’s freedom. On the upper level is a palace where a wealthy person enjoys life as usual with his loved ones. Fortunately for the prisoner, his wife petitions to Tara. The rainbow phoenix diving down from Tara’s transcendent residence signals his impending freedom.
This Tara also protects us from greed, likened to prisons which entrap us and keep us forever unsatisfied. While the Bodhisattvas extend their generosity to all beings, the rest of us think mostly of gain for ourselves and how to protect our assets. Eventually, we become imprisoned by our own possessions, wealth, ownership and our attachment to these things. Tara helps us to transform that energy into one that is more giving and less attached.
Tara who protects us from the danger of water
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“It sweeps us towards the stream of Becoming, so hard
To cross, and, conditioned by karma’s stormy blast,
Waves of birth, age, sickness and death convulse it,
Attachment’s Flood – please save us from this fear!”
The bottom of the thangka illustrates how petitioning Tara can rescue those in danger, in relations to water, and all the dangers associated with it (such as while out at sea). At the bottom left, the artist illustrates 3 passengers on a boat that is being attacked by a sea monster. On the boat they offer reverent petitions to Tara. At the bottom right, the 3 passengers successful escaped unscathed and their boat is at the gateway to Tara’s palace. With great devotion, they make offerings at Tara’s feet.
Sometimes, this Tara is known as the Tara who protects us from the fear of the ocean or fear of drowning. The deeper meaning to water in this context are our attachments. If we are not careful, we may become overwhelmed by attachments, which can be likened to drowning. Tara protects us from one of the three “poisons”, attachment (the other two being ignorance and hatred). She helps to quell our desires and learn to let go of the attachments that keep us bound in samsara and its continuous suffering.
Tara who protects us from the danger of ghosts
The 1st Dalai Lama wrote:
“Refuge thus worthy! From all dangers such
As evil spirits, demons, sickness and plague,
Untimely death, bad dreams and evil signs,
Please protect embodied beings swiftly!”
The bottom of the thangka illustrates what engaging in Tara’s practice can achieve. At the bottom left, the artist illustrates 2 menacing spirits disturbing a monk. At the bottom right, a menacing spirit makes offerings to the monk. Engaging in Tara’s practice removes the disturbances of menacing spirits and ghosts for the practitioner. Her all-compassionate practice also blesses the spirits and ghosts and brings them onto the path of enlightenment, serving as protectors of sincere practitioners.
The 1st Dalai Lama further explains that the spirits/ghosts are not necessarily supernatural references, but instead refer to our monkey-like mind. One spirit represents doubt and the other hesitation. As in the illustration, the monk’s attention is flitting between the two ghosts. A person troubled with persistent doubts and hesitation cannot focus in making decisions in all important life situations. By relying upon and meditating on Tara, our hesitation and indecisiveness can be dispelled and we create a link to Buddha’s activity.
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Tara Arya Tara, also known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan Buddhism, is an important figure in Buddhism. She appears as a female bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who appears as a female Buddha. She is the mother of liberation, and represents the virtues of success through liberating us from our 8 fears such as pride, ignorance, anger, jealousy, wrong views, attachment, miserliness and deluded doubts. She will guides us to enlightenment. Beautiful paintings of the 8 Tara with each thangkas illustrate who protect us from the 8 fears. Interesting to see how each and every thangka can illustrate us a thousands words . Knowledgeable write up about 8 Taras and the 8 fears for us to understand better of Tara.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
This incredible White Tara was discovered in Indonesia. It is said to be 800 years old and made by Nagarjuna. A local person Mr. Supriyono dreamed of a bluish red dragon surrounding the village and splashing down into the well before finding Her. This beautiful White Tara was discovered in Indonesia. See video: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96dW0Ms1oR0
I feel happy and blessed to notice this article from traffic feeds. It’s such a wonderful write up about 8 Taras and the 8 fears. And I love those beautiful thangkas of these 8 Taras. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for this simple and wonderful article.??