This practice is focused on Black Tara,
A female Buddha whose form and mantra express the forceful qualities of love,
Compassion,
And wisdom that destroy all obstacles in our path.
The practice of this Tara comes from the teachings of the great Tibetan master Jigme Lingpa.
This specific Black Tara is also referred to as the unconquerable lady that cannot be defeated by others.
We hold Black Tara in meditation for the wisdom to connect with our own innate Buddha nature,
To defeat the learned helplessness so many of us absorb throughout our lives,
To clear away all afflictions of our mind,
And finally to create space so that we might dispel negative outer influences hindering our progression along the path.
To begin the practice,
I invite you to settle your body,
Speech,
And mind in a state of relaxation,
Stability,
And clarity.
Feel into any points of your body that are in connection with the earth or any place where your body is being supported right now.
If it's available to you,
With each out-breath,
Release any tension or limit any movement that you have access to.
When it feels best for you,
Connect with the silence of your speech,
Including the silence behind all the mental chatter and stories that your mind naturally stirs up.
Release any stories,
Any conversations,
Anything left unsaid as you breathe out.
Cultivate the spaciousness of the mind,
Inviting its clarity and the cognizance present behind all mental appearances.
Rest there,
Releasing any grasping and self-identification.
With this,
Generate the three foundational qualities of refuge,
Bodhicitta,
And devotion.
Turning toward refuge,
We think aspirationally of our own awakened mind,
Of the path leading to awakening,
And invite gratitude for those who would support us along the path.
In other words,
We take refuge in the Buddha,
The Dharma,
And the Sangha.
They are a source of guidance in our life,
Just as they serve to express our own great potential to become fully awakened.
To generate bodhicitta,
We hold courage and conviction as we remind ourselves that for the benefit of all sentient beings,
I will become a fully awakened Buddha,
Just like Mother Tara herself.
With compassion for others,
I too seek awakening.
Finally,
To generate devotion,
We allow ourselves to be inspired by the energy of the Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas,
And all of our ancestral masters of all lineages,
Whose practice has the amazing ability to quickly transform our mind if only we open ourselves to it.
Out of this luminous,
Inspired state arises a vision of Black Tara.
She appears in the sky in front of us,
Seated on a lotus flower and a moon disc,
Surrounded by the flames of wisdom fire.
Her color is blue-black,
Like darkened storm clouds.
Her right leg is extended,
As she is poised to rise up in support of those who need her.
Her left leg is drawn in,
As she is abiding in meditative absorption.
She rests her right hand on her right knee,
Palm out,
As her left hand holds a flower stem next to her chest.
This beautiful lotus flower blooms next to her left ear,
And on it stands a flaming sword with a handle shaped like a Vajra.
This sword blazes and sparks fire.
Tara's face has a wrathful frowning expression.
She is ready to use force to liberate all beings.
Although Black Tara appears in this wrathful form,
Her nature is nothing other than love,
Compassion,
And the wisdom of selflessness.
Generating these same qualities in our mind,
We call out to Tara by reciting her mantra,
Om Tarae Tu Tarae Ture Soha,
Or simply her name,
Tara.
With that,
We imagine that Tara's sword and her whole body emit powerful light and a fire of wisdom.
This blazing energy removes all obscurations and afflictions and especially destroys all the so-called destructive mandalas of beings.
All schemes,
Oppressive systems,
Violent speech,
Delusions,
And elaborate wrong views.
All of them are stopped and eliminated,
Transformed instead into wisdom and love.
Imagine now that this blazing energy extends outward and inward to where it is most needed right now,
Throughout all space,
Known and unknown.
Imagine that all beings are liberated from the sleep of their wrong views and afflictions,
Waking up to interdependence and compassion,
Fully becoming bodhisattvas.
With this,
Recite Tara's mantra or her name.
Om Tarae Tu Tarae Ture Soha,
Om Tarae Tu Tarae Ture Soha,
Om Tarae Tu Tarae Ture Soha.
Finally,
We imagine all negativities have been dispelled.
The environment transforming to become truly safe and free,
And all afflictions for all beings have been eliminated.
With a wish for us to stand firmly in our own inherent dignity and power,
Tarae dissolves and becomes a small sphere of blue-black light that absorbs directly into our heart.
With this,
We release all appearances and rest in union with Tarae.
When it feels right,
Rejoice in your practice and dedicate any merit created through your intention and effort to the happiness and freedom of all beings,
Yourself included.
May we all quickly gain the awakened state of Tara and guide others to this awakening.
May the altruistic wish of Bodhichitta immediately be born in the hearts of all,
And may it never decline.
May all beings connect to their Buddha nature and always be under the protection and guidance of Mother Tara.
With this,
We conclude the practice and invite the bell.
