Om Tara
/I have been searching for a small statue to put on my altar. An altar is any space where you put special, sacred items that hold meaning to you. I was hoping to create the perfect space for where this statue, still unknown to me, would stand (or sit!).
I've been wrapped inside a joy bubble of creating and writing for the last few months. That is a good time to go searching!
I was on Facebook and on the side there was a sponsored ad for a place that had statues. I went to it and was looking around and after lots of searching my eye fell to the Green Tara. She was beautiful, small and perfect. I decided to do a little research and find her meaning.
And what did I find?
The secret words of the Joy Mantra on "dalieh du dalieh dulieh souha" is the Green Tara mantra of Tibetan Buddhism sung by Chinese artist Su Ching-yen.
In Tibet "Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha"
In Sanskrit "Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā"
Tibetan culture, and some others, green is
considered to include all the other colors.
The practice of Green Tara helps to overcome fear and anxiety, but devotees also believe that she can grant wishes, eliminate suffering of all kinds and bring happiness.
And I promise you, if you take time to learn this, to sing it, the joy starts flowing in even more. My kids learned it and when things are feeling really tight, stressed and full of anger, I start to chant this and the boys join in. Lucas did all 108 with me the other day. Beauty.
So when we start to look around for what we need it is always there. It takes opening up our hearts and minds and souls. It takes asking for help when we need it. It is accepting that help or the message or the guidance.
So a green tara will be joining me one of these days, when it is time.
And I'll remember the calm that this mantra brought me today when things were really, really tough.