Green Tara manifests in 21 forms, each wielding its own specific power. But where does this practice originate, and how was it transmitted to us? The answer unfolds across three levels of reality.
The Levels of Truth
Those who ask about the “origin” of Tara usually expect a historical answer: a date, a place, perhaps a name. Buddhist traditions, however, provide a more complex explanation. They do not speak of a single origin, but of three levels on which Tara exists and can be understood.
The Ultimate Level: On the level of absolute reality beyond time and space, Tara did not “arise.” She is, as long as there is suffering. She is the spontaneous response of compassion to the calls of sentient beings. This is why She is called the “Mother of all Buddhas”: She is wisdom itself, the source from which enlightenment arises. Here, there is no history, no beginning. Tara is a principle identical to the nature of awakening itself.
However, there are also levels where beginnings can be told:
The Bodhisattva Level leads us to Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of boundless compassion, and to a tear that became Tara.
The Manifestation Level leads us to a princess named Yeshe Dawa (Wisdom Moon), who made a vow that changed the spiritual landscape forever.
We will now examine these two stories.
Two Origins, One Essence
The Tears of Avalokiteshvara
The first narrative leads us to the Bodhisattva level, that dimension of boundless compassion where compassion itself takes form.
Avalokiteshvara had taken a vow not to enter Nirvana until He had liberated every sentient being from the cycle of suffering. For eons, He worked tirelessly. He led countless beings to liberation, emptying entire realms of existence. Finally, it seemed to Him, His task was nearly complete.
But when He looked down from the summit of Mount Potalaka upon the six realms of existence, He saw that the ocean of suffering remained unchanged. As soon as He emptied one realm, it immediately refilled through the ignorance and greed of beings. For every liberated being, countless new ones plunged into suffering. The infinity of this task overwhelmed even Him.
In a moment of deepest compassion, He doubted whether He could ever fulfill His vow. From each of His eyes, a tear fell. Where they touched the earth, a lake formed. From this lake, a lotus flower instantly grew and opened. In its center sat a young woman of radiant beauty.
She saw Avalokiteshvara’s suffering and spoke to Him:
“Do not weep, Noble One. I have arisen from your tear of compassion. I will stand by your side and help you. I will appear in countless forms to guide and protect beings until Samsara is empty.”
From the tear of the left eye, White Tara emerged, the embodiment of healing compassion. From the tear of the right eye, Green Tara emerged, the embodiment of active protection.
Princess Wisdom Moon
The second narrative leads us to the Manifestation level, in a past age called “Manifold Light.”
There lived the princess Yeshe Dawa (Wisdom Moon), a daughter of a royal house who was devoted to the Dharma. Over immeasurable periods of time, she served the Buddha Dundubhisvara (Drum Sound) and his Sangha.
One day, the monks advised her that she should accumulate merit to be reborn as a man in her next life. Only then, they said, could she reach enlightenment more quickly. The princess refused. Her answer was a vow that resonates to this day:
“Here there are no ‘men’ and no ‘women,’ no ‘self,’ no ‘person,’ and no ‘consciousness.’
These designations are meaningless; they deceive ordinary beings.
Because the minds of people are weak and misled, many strive to appear as men. Therefore, until Samsara is empty, I will work for the benefit of beings only in female form.”
The princess kept her word. From that moment on, she meditated incessantly. Every morning and every evening, she led millions of beings to liberation. She liberated so swiftly that the Buddhas gave her the name “Tara,” the “Liberator,” derived from the root tar, which means both “to cross over” and “to rescue.”
Are these two different beings? No. The tear of Avalokiteshvara describes the principle: Tara as a spontaneous manifestation of enlightened compassion that exists as long as there is suffering. Princess Yeshe Dawa describes the manifestation: Tara as a conscious decision, as a vow, and as a historical role model for all who walk the path.
Both narratives are true. They show the same reality from different perspectives.
But where do we encounter this power in the recorded history of the Dharma? The answer leads us to the pivotal night under the Bodhi tree.
The Night Under the Bodhi Tree
The story of Tara does not end in a mythical past. It is part of the night Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha: the night under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya where He attained perfect enlightenment.
Traditional teachings often describe this night as a solitary struggle. Mara, the ruler of the realm of desire, sent his armies to overwhelm Siddhartha with fear and temptation. Siddhartha remained unmoved. When Mara claimed the throne beneath the tree, Siddhartha touched the earth. The Earth Goddess rose to witness his merits from countless past lives. Mara retreated, and the Buddha awakened.
Tantric traditions add another dimension to this story: at the moment Mara’s attack reached its peak, it was not only the Earth Goddess who appeared. Tara herself manifested as a spontaneous response of enlightened compassion. She was the power of wisdom that Siddhartha projected from the depths of his own mind to cut through Mara’s illusions.
The Laughter That Tears Apart Illusion
At midnight, the texts report, Mara’s attack reached its greatest intensity. The eight great fears, those inner lions, fires and serpents that rage through the mind as pride, anger and jealousy, were projected as fearsome appearances: wild elephants, roaring flames, poisonous snakes, armed bandits.
Tara responded with eight great laughs. These were not merriment but seeing through. The sound of wisdom recognizing the substancelessness of projections.
The traditions describe these laughs as four pairs of sounds that echoed through the night:
- HA HA: a thunderous laugh that shakes pride and brings the arrogance of ego crashing down
- HI HI: a joyful laugh that transforms the heat of anger into the coolness of wisdom
- HE HE: a playful laugh that exposes jealousy in its ridiculousness
- HO HO: an overwhelming laugh that subdues fundamental ignorance
This laughter was not mockery but liberation. It showed: The demons had no substance of their own. They were projections of the mind that dissolved in the light of realization like mist in the morning sun.
This night is still told in the 10th verse of the praises, dedicated to the “Happy Subduer”:
“Your laughter covers all of samsara,
Your TU TA RE mighty light and power.”
Through this laughter, Tara created the space in which Siddhartha could attain complete awakening at dawn. She had torn down the illusory barriers that stood between the seeker and his own Buddha nature.
From Potalaka Into the World
The First Teaching
Immediately after his enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, Shakyamuni Buddha proclaimed the Tara Tantra. Even before He gave his first teaching in Sarnath.
This proclamation did not happen in the ordinary world. It took place on Mount Potalaka, the dwelling place of Avalokiteshvara. Potalaka is not a physical location but a pure realm, a dimension beyond ordinary perception where Buddhas reveal the secret teachings to advanced Bodhisattvas. The teaching was directed at an assembly of Bodhisattvas, Devas and Nagas who were witnesses to His awakening.
There, the Buddha taught the complete instructions of the Tara Tantra: mandalas, visualizations, secret mantras, rituals.
The Transmission
How did this teaching reach the world of ordinary people from a pure realm?
Spiritual masters brought it. They are called Mahasiddhas, “the great accomplished ones.” These Indian masters had attained deep spiritual realization.
In deep meditation they reached Potalaka. Through visionary experiences and samadhi states they received the teachings and translated them into instructions that ordinary people could also practice. The transmission was initially oral, from master to student. Later, the tantra was written down and preserved.
What exactly was written down, which masters brought it to Tibet and China, and how the various traditions arose from it is shown in the history of the transmission lineages.