Tara Willow - Names, meanings

[xita]

Pisceswaternym posted this on Willtara. It gave me a chuckle. It can be found Here







Tara is the Goddess of compassion in Tibetan Buddhism, and the willow tree is a medicinal plant. Tara takes the form of the willow here because trees are purifiers, and this painting is about the purification of pain and suffering. It is compassion which liberates the tormented souls in the background and soothes the torment in us. It spirals out from the heart in a universal embrace of that which is in need of healing.

Edited by: xita  at: 5/25/02 10:42:10 am

[reposty]

That's really cool, Xita. That's much more interesting that the Willow/Tara cafe sign I've seen posted elsewhere. This on ehas groovy religious significance! Woo hoo!

You should seriously send this picture and the info to Joss.

I

[tommo]

An interesting little thing I found in a book I bought at the weekend. It's from 'The Book of Goddesses' by Roni Jay.



TARA - TIBETAN GODDESS OF WISDOM AND COMPASSION



Tara is the great mother goddess of Tibetan Buddhism, and the wife of Avalokitesvara - the original bodhisattva who achieved enlightenment but rejected a life in Nirvana in favor of staying on earth to help humans. According to legend, the Tibetan people - and even the Buddha himself - are descended from Tara and Avalokitesvara.



~~~~~~~~~~



Tara is deeply compassionate, and particularly concerned for people who are in danger at sea; she is sometimes described as the 'mistress of boats'. However, her greatest gift is wisdom. She helps those in contemplation and meditation on their journey to enlightenment, and leads her followers over the river of experience to the land of spiritual freedom. Tara often appears sitting on a lion and holding up the sun, or as a young woman holding a lotus flower.



~~~~~~~~~~



Tara can appear in many aspects, each of which has a different colour. Her gentlest colours are white and gree, but she can be dangerous in her red, yellow or blue aspect. For example, Yellow Tara is Bhrkuti, mother of Buddha, a cruel aspect with three eyes. On the other hand, Green Tara is said to have been born from a teardrop of Avalokitesvara, and is believed to make worldly anxieties disappear.





Now, so many things were flying through my head when I read this, that I'm sure you will understand why I had to post this. All of the ideas about enlightenment, a journey and protection, especially of worldly anxieties.



Nice to know our Willow's in such good hands.

[Under Her Spell]

I was reading a book on world mythology yesterday, and I came across this passage;

Quote:

---

The goddesses

Just like the gods of Hinduism, the Buddhas too have their saktis, who take the form of goddesses and for the benefit of mankind dispense supramental knowledge ( prajna) or compassion ( karuna), while sages accompanying them furnish the path of salvation ( upaya).



The most highly revered is Tara, who shares the cult dedicated to Avalokitesvara, at least in Tibetan Tantrism. She originated from his tears. When red, yellow or blue she is an a menacing mood; white or green she is gentle and loving.

---

It seems to me like Tara's name was chosen for a reason!



Tara' is also the name of an ancient Irish city, but I don't think that's relevant.

[Willow wtch]

I was doing the inca trail last summer and the guide showed us some trees called "Tara".

[urnofosiris]

The woman who painted that Tara spread beneath her Willowtree is called Willow herself. Just one of those cosmic signs pointing to Willow and Tara.



Meant. To. Be. Forever.

[Under Her Spell]

I was wondering if the colours mentioned have any deep significance when related to Tara's wardrobe, bad or otherwise..?

-------------

Maybe we should focus on the gobbledygook?

Tara, 'The Yoko Factor' shooting script



¦ Slain by Buffy ¦

[girlwiththebraids]

well, didn't tara wear a lot of green for a while?



braids

"when your hope is all but shattered, when your faith is all but killed, you can give up bitter and battered, or you can slowly start to build..."

[Fuzz WT]

Hmm...spread beneath my Willowtree.



*Fuzz*

*******


Hey! You're gonna back off! She said no and that's it. ~ TARA

[willow vixen]

wow, this is truly enlightening. i never knew that Tara has such precense in the eastern religions, and she's very much like Kuan Yin in her characteristics & personalities. i think i'll have to go read up about this.

[fairydust]

WOW. That is really cool(Im not a cunning linguist at 1:30 am)

[urnofosiris]

Quote:

---

Tara is the Goddess of compassion in Tibetan Buddhism, and the willow tree is a medicinal plant. Tara takes the form of the willow here because trees are purifiers, and this painting is about the purification of pain and suffering. It is compassion which liberates the tormented souls in the background and soothes the torment in us. It spirals out from the heart in a universal embrace of that which is in need of healing.

---

That is what watching Willow and Tara just looking at each other does for me, watching them kiss and breath each other in almost kills me, "almost" unfortunately, what a way to go.

---------------------------



"I am giving you what you need, not what you want"
-The perfect excuse to be an asshole

Edited by: DrG at: 5/25/02 9:25:36 am

[Hemiola]

Hi tommo!

Something in your post struck me as particularly interesting: the fact that the goddess Tara is frequently shown seated on a lion.



Did you know that in the cult of the Magna Mater in classical times, this goddess (the mother of Attis) is frequently depicted sitting on a lion or a leopard, and that one of her epithets is "Tamer of Beasts"! Archaeologists have found literally hundreds of figurines of the goddess seated on a lion/leopard all over the classical world.

[Pagan singer]

Hi kitties! This thread is an old one but I just wanted to add something that hasn't be mentioned yet I think, and that some of you might find interresting.. regarding the W/T cosmic signs that Garfield was mentioning..

I've been interrested in buddhism for years, and here is something I read a long time ago.. I'm not quoting (i gave some of my books to a friend who wanted to read about buddhism), but it goes something like this, in my memory:



Târâ (meaning 'the one who saves' in Tibetan, I think), one of the main feminine figures of buddhism, was indeed born from the tears that his husband was shedding because of the suffering he could feel in the world and the compassion he felt for humans.

What is interresting, is that this husband of hers, Avalokiteshvara, was represented as a man at first.. But soon, he was described and represented as a woman figure because of his power to protect preignant women, amongs others. This cult was particularly big in Japan. The representations of 'him/her' as a woman are beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever saw an illustration of the couple.. neither as a woman/woman couple or as a m/w couple.. But then it's not easy to find illustrations of famous buddhist figure couples anyway..



So.. was the first Târâ actually married to a woman..?

It looks like she was..







PS: I'm not sure my memory is accurate on this, so please correct me if I'm wrong..!

Edited by: Pagan singer at: 7/19/02 10:05:40 am

[tabularasa]

Oh this is an awesome thread. I was aware of the fact that Tara was a goddess but I didn't have all of the cool factoids that are found here. Thanks kittens.



And the pic is awesome! Thanks Xita.

Willow: "...believe me, I'm nothing special..."
Tara: "No, you are..."

[feena191]

I read all these posts & Googled (I love that site!!) - there is quite a lot



www.jewelheart.nl/_algeme...etara.html

Healing and Self-Healing Through White Tara by Rimpoche Gehlek

A fragment from chapter 1: Introduction



Who is Tara?

The being Tara has been worshipped throughout the Buddhist world. Not only in Tibet, but also in traditional India, China, Japan, everywhere. Wherever Buddhism has traveled – whether as sutrayana alone or in combination with tantra – Tara has been worshipped.



Even today in India we find the physical shape of Tara carved in stone or wood everywhere. She has become so popular that antiques-dealers throughout the world have those female figures. She may have a slightly different posture here and there, but that indicates she has been popular. Popular means commonly accepted. ‘Commonly accepted’ gives you one more criterion, because when a lot of people accept it, it cannot be wrong. It cannot be that everybody is wrong.



In Tibet she is called Drolma, in China Kwan Yin or Kwan Shi Yin. In the Chinese tradition Avalokiteshvara and Tara are combined together and have become a female figure. In the Tibetan tradition and in the Sanskrit tradition in India Avalokiteshvara is seen as a male figure and Tara as a female figure [both being the embodiment of the compassionate activities of all buddhas]. In Mongolia and the areas around half the Tibetan and half the Chinese way is followed; depending on whether it is outer or inner Mongolia. The Japanese tradition calls her Kannon.



The Canon-company is named after Tara. They once invited the Dalai Lama to Japan and took him to their treasury house. The Japanese have so many strict rules! When they invited the Dalai Lama to the treasury house on the way a number of vice-presidents had to be dropped at the different doors. True! At each door the Japanese dropped a vice-president and they told the Tibetans that one of them must stay behind too. It is said that when they were inside, the only people that remained among the Japanese were the president and his executive director, and among the Tibetans His Holiness and his brother. Then they opened this huge safe and what was inside was an image of the secret Avalokiteshvara, red, with consort. And they said, ‘This is Kannon!’ So even in Japan she is very popular. All the Canon cameras throughout the world are named after her. me - This is SO cool!!



Whether or not there is a division between the male, Avalokiteshvara, and the female, Tara, I think is cultural. One thing about Buddhism is that it is always adaptable to the different cultures.



Where does this Tara come from? What is she? How does she function? There are a number of different stories by different masters but the most reliable and commonly accepted source is The origin of the Tara tantra written by Taranatha. That says: At first Avalokiteshvara was very active and busy helping beings. He got almost overwhelmed, worried to the extend of shedding tears. So he said, ‘I need help’. It is said in a Hindu-Buddhist mythological story that Avalokiteshvara seeking help and crying, pinched a tear out and threw it away and suddenly Tara appeared out of the tear-drop and said, ‘I am here to help you’. It is a long story, but that is what it boils down to.



It is also told that Tara is a human being like we are, who has committed:

a.        to help other beings,

b.        to help through the physical form of a female,

c.        to remain a female throughout.



Why did she choose to remain female? Because of the importance of the feminine energy and because a lot of cultures treat females as inferior, as being of lower quality. That is true throughout the world, like it was true here in the West in the medieval period.



Somehow the world-culture in a certain period decided that the female body was inferior. Whatever the reason may be, culture or not, it is there. That is why Tara made the decision that she would like to remain a female and function as an enlightened being in female form. Maybe Tara was the first feminist.



So Tara is very special and particularly very effective. It does not take millions of years to have effect. The second verse of The praise in twenty-one homages, a praise to Tara, you find, ‘Homage! Tara, swift, heroic! With regard like instant lightning!’ That is her quality of quickness, it does not need a million years to be effective. Therefore it is very special that we can work through Tara.



There are different physical appearances of Tara; some are green, some are white, some are yellow, some are red and they carry different implements. These are what we call manifestations of Tara. One of the twenty-one manifestations of Tara is called ‘Swift One’. That does not mean she is the only manifestation that is swift, it means that each manifestation of Tara manifests a different quality.



These different manifestations, Wrathful Tara, Powerful Tara, Peaceful Tara, etc, are all one Tara with different qualities and a different effect on the individual practitioner. This is why these manifestations are there. Red Tara, White Tara and Green Tara and so on are not separate personalities, but at the same time they are not the same personality either. It is the same Tara, but different aspects of her quality have taken different physical forms. We call these nirmanakayas, meaning manifestations and remanifestations and re-remanifestations.





www.crystalinks.com/tara.html

It is important to remember that in Buddhism, the male energy is potential only - latent and inactive.



It is the female energy that activates this potential into movement and creativity. Hence, Tara is the energizer of Avalokiteswara, the bodhisattva of compassion.



Offered incarnation as a male, Tara refused, choosing to be ever incarnated as a female. Tara is called upon in times of need to provide protection, and to help steer a clear path through the dangers of ego and attachment.



The vibrations of the name 'Tara can is found in other cultures.



In the Latin we find Terra, Mother Earth.



The Druids called their mother goddess Tara.



An ancient saga of Finland said to be 5 million years old speaks of Tar, Women of Wisdom.



An ancient tribe of indigenous peoples in the South American jungles call to their goddess, Tarahumara.



The Cheyenne people tell of a Star Woman who fell from the heavens to the Earth. Out of her body all essential food grew. She sent her people to mate with the more primitive inhabitants of Earth, thereby giving them the capacity for wisdom.



This legend is echoed in the more modern research of Zecharia Sitchen who tells of IshTar who came to Earth from another planetary system and instructed her people to intermarry with Earthlings, making them capable of many things. [This takes us back to creational tales linked Sumer - Nibiru - Sirius - Dogons, etc.]



Tara is known to the Tibetans as The Faithful One, The Fierce Protectress and to this day there are stories carried out of Tibet by refugees fleeing from the horrors of Chinese occupation that tell of her intervention and assistance in their lives.



In the system of mind training practices offered by the great masters of Tibetan wisdom, Tara is an archetype of our own inner wisdom. They speak of a transformation of consciousness, a journey to freedom. They teach many simple and direct means for each person to discover within themselves the wisdom, compassion and glory that is Tara.

--------------------------

"Everytime I... even at my worst, you always make me feel special. How do you do that?"

"Magic!"

[Hemiola]

Well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I wouldn't be at all unhappy if JW chose to bring Tara back by revealing that she couldn't actually be killed because she was really the goddess Tara .

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It hurts."

Tara expressing her divine sense of compassion to Xander

Edited by: Hemiola at: 7/20/02 6:30:19 am

[supermus]

To build on that idea, hemiola, maybe she took the human form to help Willow through her difficult time and help guide her to her destiny(because she obviously has a great one), but fell in love with her anyways. And when she was "killed" she returned to goddess form, kinda like in Dogma. But then she can take human form again and return to us. *sob*

--------

"An earring? How rebellious, in a conformist sort of way."


"Damn you Rock 'em Sock 'em robots! Can't we all just gedt along!"

[Hemiola]

Oh, Supermus, perhaps one of our super-talented fic writers could tackle the idea. I'm not very talented, but maybe the scene could play out something like this--



[Willow is sobbing in her bedroom, remembering her lost love. Suddenly the goddess Tara appears before her.]

Willow: Tara! It's you! But...you're all blue!

Tara: I was never dead, Beloved. The divine essence of love and compassion cannot be killed. I could feel your pain even in the Blessed Realms. Put away thy sorrow; I am yours once more.

Willow: But...Tara....I mean, Divine One. I still love your human form. How can we be joined again if you are not in human form?

Tara: Behold! [Blue Tara is immediately transformed into the appearance of the "original" Tara] As Krishna did unto the ghopi girls, so shall we do. Come. Let us love, that thou mayest feel no further pain.

[segue to a marathon love-making session straight out of the Kama Sutra]

[willow vixen]

...then we hear the words from Tara once again:

You know.... I'm yours.





awwwwwwww.

[werewolf123]

Tara=Terra (how willow says it)= Gaea , you heard the last name before if you watched graves. I think you will hear "no body messes with my girls>"

[Pagan singer]

That's a great idea.. Actually, two month ago, since I've known the story of the first Târâ for a long time, I was telling my sister how great it would be if Willow, at the start of season 7, was in Tibet trying to find apeasement and forgiveness (just like Oz had), and Tara came back from the tears of a grieving non violent and merciful Willow/ reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara.. I started writing it, but I realized that the great pen writers of the kitten board could do that better.. Hence my previous post to draw your attention on the brilliant topic Xita had launched a month ago..

[WebWarlock]

Cause I can't let this go by...



From the Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities by Coulter and Turner.



Tara (A) (Brahmanic, Hindu; India) Also known as: Kali, Taraka.

Tara, a stellar deity, is the mate of Brihaspati who represents Jupiter, or Soma (the moon), and the mother of Buddha (Mer- cury). In some legends, she married her brother Sugriva. She is a furious destroyer and slayer of evil beings. On one occasion, the god Soma (the moon), intoxicated with power, abducted Tara (the star). Brihaspati, a learned man who instructed the gods, attempted to rescue his wife unsuccessfully. Soma would not relinquish the goddess even when instructed to do so by the great Brahma. A war, known as the Tarakamaya, erupted with Tara leading the gods and Soma the demons. In some interpretations, Brihaspati formed the party of the gods and fought against Soma. During this encounter, Shiva slashed Soma's face in half with a trident. The goddess appealed to Brahma for assistance and finally Soma gave his captive her freedom. Pregnant, she returned to her husband. He refused to accept her until after the child was born. A miracu- lous birth occurred immediately. The male infant was so beautiful that Soma and Brihaspati both claimed to be the father . Brahma asked the goddess who was the father of the child and she replied that it was Soma. Soma, as the lord of constellations, embraced his son and named him Buddha. Buddha later became the founder of the lunar dynasties. (This Buddha is not Gautama, the great Buddha of the Buddhist tradition.) Tara is not to be confused with Rama's monkey general's wife of the same name. Tara is a gracious and lovely figure, but when she is depicted as an aspect of Kali, the wife of Shiva, she appears as a dark goddess wearing skulls. See also Brahma; Brihaspati; Kali; Shiva; Soma; Sugriva.



Tara (B) (Buddhist, Jainist, Lamaist; Country of origin, India) Also known as: Bhrkuti (Yellow Tara), Bribsun (Green Tara),

Dol Jyang (Green Tara, Tibet), Dolma (Tibet), Ekajata (Blue Tara), Hlamo (Tibet), Janguli, Konjo (White Dolma, China), Kurukulla (Red Tara), Kwan-Yin (China), Mamaki, Nila Tara (Blue Tara), Parnasavari, sGrol-mas (Tibet), Shveta Tara (White Tara), Sitatara, Syamatara (Green Tara), Tara-Amba, Tara- Dharani, Tara Utpala (Green Tara), Tara White (Nepal), Taraka, Wen-Ch'en (White Tara, China).

In early times, Tara, a stellar goddess, was invoked for safe passage across the seas. Later she became the protector of all mortals as they crossed the ocean of existence. She is the destroyer of fears, remover of obstacles and bestower of boons. She is the wife and female counterpart of Avalokitesvara in his role as the Savior from the Eight Perils. As Tara White and Tara Green she is the spouse of Avalokitesvara and shares his qualities. She is the three-eyed goddess of daytime depicted with a wheel on her chest, playing a lute. She is usually shown seated but occasionally, she is in a standing or dancing position, dressed and crowned like a boddhisattva. As Tara White and Tara Green she is kind and gentle. As Tara Yellow, Red and Blue she is threatening. Tara was born from tears which fell from Avalokitesvra's eye as he gazed with pity upon the suffering world. As Tara Utpala (Green Tara), she helps her believers through the night. Utpala is the most popular aspect of Tara in Tibet. Sometimes she is shown with a rosary and a book. Often her right hand is in the varada mudra which is the charity pose, with the arm pendant and all fingers extended outward. Her left hand is in the vitarka or argument mudra with the arm bent and all fingers extended upward, except the index finger, which touches the tip of the thumb. Sorrow is relieved in her aspect as Tara-Dharani. As Tara-Amba she represents the "Mother." As Nila Tara she is the consort of Akshobhya, the second Dhyani Buddha. She holds a half-closed water-lily or lotus, often blue, in her left hand. As the consort of Amoghasiddhi her mount is a roaring lion and her emblems are the kapal and visvavajra. Tara has one hundred and eight names. She is comparable to Kuan Yin (China). Princess Konjo was one of two princesses j who are thought to have introduced Buddhism to China. She j is said to be an incarnation of the White Dolma and is named !

1Wen-Ch'en. She married the King of Tibet, Srong-btsangombo ( al~o spelled Srong-tsan -gampo ) .See also A.moghasiddhi; A val- okrtesvara; Chandamaharoshana; Dhyam Buddhas; Khadga : Jogina; Vairocana.



Warlock

-----

Web Warlock

The Other Side, home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

Oh Tara... What monsters are they that think you could deserve this? Who judged you, and said "No more?" I can't let it end here. I won't. - Endless, Mike of the Nancy Tribe

[miss calendar]

First can I just say AAAARGHH! I wrote a long post to this thread which wasn't accepted because the board wasn't recognising me. So I went back to Ezboard to sort it out and had another go which I also lost when I tried to post.

So rather than a long post I'll just say a few things about Tara and if anyone is interested I'll post more another time.



As a Buddhist I'm familiar with Tara as a Bodhisattva figure and Tantric 'deity' but as people have pointed out there are many different interpretations of Tara around the world so anything I say comes from my personal experience and my limited knowledge/understanding of Tara as a manifestation and embodiment of the Dharma. I'm not a Tara practitioner but I have always been drawn to her and she is one of the Bodhisattvas I most love particularly in the form of Green Tara and White Tara.



' The name Tara, although it could mean 'star' is almost always interpreted as 'the saviouress', She who Leads Across.' As She Herself says in The Hundred and Eight Names,



I, O Lord, shall lead (beings) across

the great flood of their diverse fears;

Therefore the eminent seers sing

of me in the world by the name of Tara. '



from 'In Praise of Tara' by Martin Willson



Tara is said to have acquired her name through releasing inumerable beings from samsara. (The 108 names is a text devoted to Tara naming many of her different aspects. I'm sure kittens will appreciate, ' Tara, Granting All Desires ' and ' Tara, Accomplisher of All Bliss '. )



Tara is also seen more literally as saving people from wordly dangers and fears. Green Tara is famous for saving people from the Eight Great Fears: lions, elephants, fire, snakes, robbers, captivity, water/shipwreck and demons. These are also understood symbolically as the dangers of pride, delusion, anger/illwill, envy, wrong views, avarice/craving, attachment and doubt.



Green Tara is said to act with lightning swiftness to aid those in distress. She is often depicted sitting half in meditation posture but with her right foot stepping down and her right hand open in the mudra (hand gesture) of giving. Her left hand is in a mudra bestowing protection and fearlessness. The pose shows her ready to step down to give assistance to those who need her help. Green Tara belongs to the 'action' family of the green Buddha, Amoghasiddhi and is often depicted as his consort. They are both associated with fearlessness and all accomplishing, compassionate action.



White Tara is associated more with the Wisdom aspect of Enlightenment and is a more contemplative figure. She belongs to the lotus family of the red Buddha, Amitabha, Buddha of meditation and infinite compassion. She is often depicted sitting in full meditation posture. She is traditionally shown as having 7 eyes, with additional eyes on the sole of each foot, in the palm of each hand and in the centre of her forehead. In his book, 'Meeting the Buddhas' Vessantara suggests that,

' White Tara's seven eyes communicate that to be fully effective, compassion must spring from awareness, from a balanced attitude and ultimately from wisdom. '



White Tara is also associated with long life (rather ironic given M.E treatment of the BTVS Tara). An ancient Indian teacher called Vagishvarakirti wrote a series of 3 texts about her called, 'Cheating Death'. White Tara is said to bestow long life on her devotees. Her mantra includesan extra phrase which means, ' increase my life, my merits and wisdom ' and this can be chanted in dedication to a particular individual to wish them long life.



Lastly I wanted to say something about Tara's Bodhisattva vow. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas once began as humans like ourselves and anyone is said to be able to achieve Enlightenment through prolonged, dedicated and effective Buddhist practice. All Bodhisattvas have achieved Buddhahood but have made a specific vow to remain working in samsara helping all sentient beings until all beings attain nirvana.

When she took the Bodhisattva vow Tara made a personal vow (going against tradition) that she would forever work for the benefit of all beings in the form of a woman.



(feena 191 my understanding is that Tara the Bodhisattva/Tantric deity though once human has now transcended human, physical form, in fact gone beyond all form and dualities such as male/female. However since we have not she has chosen to appear to us as an archetypal, mythic figure in female form. From a Buddhist perspective, Tara like all Bodhisattvas is neither male nor female even though we perceive them this way.)



Here is an account of Tara taking her Bodhisattva vow from The Golden Rosary, a History Illuminating the Origin of the Tantra of Tara by Taranatha



Homage to the Guru!



Homage to You, for whom all dharmas are simple from the start!

Homage to You who do pervade all things with great Compassion!

Homage to the supreme salvation of all migrating beings!

Homage to You, O Tara, who are the Mother of the Conquerors!



Let us relate here the stories told of the beginning of the teaching of the Tantra of Tara.

Of yore, in beginningless time, there appeared in the universe called Manifold Light the Bhagavan Tathagata Dundubhi-svara (Drum Sound). There was a princess called Moon of Wisdom-knowledge who was extremely devoted to his Teaching. For a million years she made offerings to that Buddha and his countless attendant Sangha of Sravakas and Bodhisattvas, every day setting out offering materials of value equal to the ten directionspacked tightly for twelve yojanas all around with jewels.



Finally, she produced the Thought of Enlightenment ( Bodhicitta ); this was her first generation of Bodhicitta .

At that time some bhiksus urged her, ' Because of these roots of virtue, if you pray in this body that you may become a man and perform the deeds according to the Teachings, then you will be thus transformed. Therefore that is what you should do.'

It is said there was much discussion. Finally, the princess spoke, saying :



Here there is no man, there is no woman,

No self, no person and no consciousness.

Labelling 'male' or 'female' has no essence,

But deceives the evil-minded world,



etc. And she made the vow, ' There are many who desire Enlightenment in a man's body, but none who work for the benefit of sentient beings in the body of a woman. Therefore, until samsara is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman's body.'



Then for a million million years she remained in the royal palace. Behaving skilfully towards objects of the five senses, she practised concentration, and thereby attained the acceptance that dharmas are unproduced ( anutpattika-dharma-ksani), and realized the samadhi called 'Saving all Sentient Beings'. By the power of this realisation, every day in the morning she then freed a million million sentient beings from worldly thoughts, and would not eat until they were established in [that] acceptance. Every evening also, she established a similar number. Because of this, her previous name was changed and she became Tara, the Saviouress. Then the [Tathagata[/i] Dundubhi-svara prophesied, ' As long as you manifest the unsurpassed Enlightenment , you will be known only by the name of Goddess Tara.'

Edited by: miss calendar at: 7/28/02 6:45:50 am

[Mrs Vertigo]

Oh! There’s also another meaning to the name Tara, and it’s so distant from the ones that have been mentioned here, its really weird. I came across it watching some Science Channel show about physics, so I’m not counting out the possibility that they might spell Tara differently and mean a different word. But anyway, here goes - Tara means the opposite of “net”, as in ‘net weight’. Gross weight, the total weight of something, is made out of net weight and tara weight. Net weight is the significant material, so tara is the disposable stuff, the throwaway.



That’s really ironic, in that Joss plot-device evil policy sort of way. The bastards!

[Tulipp]

Hi, Pagan singer. I couldn't help but notice that a few posts ago, you said this:

Quote:

---

I started writing it, but I realized that the great pen writers of the kitten board could do that better...

---

There ARE so many writers doing great things in Pens, but I haven't seen anyone do precisely what you're talking about, and anyway, I just wanted to say [unsolicited and perhaps out of line] that if you are feeling like writing some fanfic, you should do it. As Pens shows, there can never be too many versions of a good thing.

We're sorcerers. The night is still our time. A time of magic.
–Ethan Rayne.

[Hemiola]

Actually, Mrs.Vertigo, you're referring to the tare (rhimes with the verb "tear" -weight . In shipping, this is generally understood to mean the weight of the package or carton. For example, if you go to a supermarket and buy, say, cole slaw, the clerk has to subtract the tare (i.e. the weight of the plastic container) before calculating the cost of the slaw.



On other fronts, will someone please let us know here when the "Tara-as-goddess" story appears on Pens? I'm really anxious to read it!

[the vamp nurd]

'allo.

I always thought Tara was irish me self. Celtic roots etc...

But it there any thing about Willow?

I mean is Willow just a tree or is there a higher purpose?

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The vamp nurd.

[Pagan singer]

Thank you Tulipp for your encouragement! The only problem is: I'm not a native English speaker.. I'm a frenchie, actually! So I feel I don't have the right to mess with writing english as a form of art that I could share with english speakers.. I'm not confident enough.



Anyways.. As to the Willow tree: in french (saule) it originally comes from the celtic langage (meaning "by the water" in celt I think), and some druids used its leaves to apease fever and physic pains. Actually, I think that's from some of its components, amongs others, that our modern aspirin comes from (correct me if I'm wrong). In different cultures, its essence was considered as being wise and apeasing. It was also used to provide a shelter for meditation..

That's about all I know on the matter!

Edited by: Pagan singer at: 7/29/02 8:26:30 am

[Hemiola]

Alors, Pagan Singer, écris-le en français! Je le lirai avec grand plaisir !!



In fact, if you'll post it on Pens, I'll try and find the time to translate it for non-francophone Kittens .