The Green Tara and The White Tara and their Significance in Tibetan Buddhism

Certain schools of Buddhism place a special importance on the deities and Buddhas. In Tibetan Buddhism, the goddess Tara is often seen in images and symbols. An exploration of Tara when studying Tibetan Buddhism is important to understand Buddhism in a more in-depth manner.

Tara is known as a savior goddess who impacts Buddhists in many different ways. Mantras using Tara's name are some of the most important and most often used in Tibet. The goddess Tara is symbolic of virtue and compassion. These two attributes are necessary traits for those seeking enlightenment as well. Because of this Tara is considered an important guide for those who wish to attain enlightenment.

Tara is also often associated with achievement and success. She represents the life's goals of a committed Buddhist. Although Tara appears in schools of Buddhism other than Tibetan Buddhist as well, in Tibetan Buddhist she used in meditation as well. By meditating on the goddess Tara, one can strive to gain wisdom and insight into the human condition and learn to become a complete person. This contributes to the notion of Tara as a savior, in addition to saving us from others through her compassion and wisdom, she can teach us to save ourselves from ourselves.

The concept of the goddess Tara takes on many different forms. There is both a Green Tara and a White Tara, and there are other forms and colors the Tara embodies as well. The Green Tara and the White Tara, however, are considered the most well-known, and beneficial to those who worship her.

The White Tara is a symbol of calm and compassion. The Green Tara is more active than the White Tara and she represents the process of achieving enlightenment itself. Both the Green Tara and the White Tara can be said to be different sides of the same coin. It is impossible to reach enlightenment without compassion, or learning how to be calm. This duality is often found in many different ways in Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, green is considered to be the color that contains all other colors.

When you see images of the Green Tara and the White Tara, the White Tara is traditionally shown as an older, motherly figure, while the Green Tara is a very young and lively woman. This can be said to represent the mother-daughter aspect of the same goddess. The mother imagery is also more divine, concerned with the esoteric parts of Buddhism, whereas the Green Tara works to promote action and striving for enlightenment for humans.

The duality of the Green Tara and the White Tara are also a form of the yin and the yang. You could not have a daughter without a mother or a mother without a child, and so you cannot have the Green Tara without the White Tara. There is a duality between the Green Tara and the White Tara when they are both prayed to, and a benefit that cannot occur when praying for just one of these Taras alone.