Management

Nan Zhang

Professor’s Name

Religion

Date

Tara Boddhisatwa

Introduction

Buddhism was born in India, in the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (modern day Bihar). Its founder was Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha (or the ‘Awakened One’). Buddhism as a way of life was protest against the elite Sanskritization that Brahminism came to be. With time, the Buddhist movement was divided into two main schools of philosophy- the Hinayana School and the Mahayana School. The concept of Boddhisatwa was popularized by the Mahayana School of thought. According to Buddhist belief, a Boddhisatwa is an enlightened being whose purpose in life is to guide every being to Nirvana through compassion.

Tara Boddhisatwa or Tara Drolma is an important deity in Tibetan Buddhism. She is a female Boddhisatwa belonging to the Mahayana School of Buddhism. Tara Boddhisatwa, from the feminist perspective, is an important Goddess to understand women in Buddhism. This is because Buddhahood or Bodhisattvas have traditionally been the masculine gender in Buddhism. She is also a Tantric meditation deity and has twenty one forms. In this respect, she is similar to the Shakti cult within Hinduism.

Literature Review: Encyclopedias

There are various stories regarding the nature of her birth. One legend says that she was born in the form of a tear of Avalokiteshwara, the Buddha of infinite compassion. Many also believe that she came out as a blue ray from the eye of the deity. This same legend has many variations. Some believe that a lotus came into being out of the tear of Chenresig from which Tara instantly appeared. Tara Boddhisatwa is most popular among the Tibetans who follow the Vajrayana School of Thought and practice. It is interesting that Vajrayana is regarded to be more Tantric in nature. There are several names for Vajrayana Buddhism- Tantrayana, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra etc.

New World Encyclopedia, however, mentions that Tara was originally a Hindu deity who was absorbed within Buddhism in...