MONGOLIAN COLLECTABLES

MONGOLIAN COLLECTABLES

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Rare and Precious “ Tara of the Acacia Forest” - Khadiravani Tara

(In the style of the Mongolian School of Zanabazar, late 18^th century)

Spaciously conceived and executed in a colour palette evocative of a paradise garden of light, this Mongolian “Twenty-one Taras ” thangka is a real treasure. Alive with saturated colour, it manifests a quite delightful visual charm while at the same time communicating deep and profound design symbolism. Tara is the manifestation of the compassion of all the Buddhas of the past present and future and is also the goddess who carries out and accomplishes the enlightened activities of the Buddhas. This thangka affirms her all-powerful role through its consummately uplifting presence

Tara is the premier saviour Goddess of Tibet and Mongolia and is the embodiment of all of the Buddhas’ activities. Though there are two main versions of Tara in Mongolian Buddhism, White Tara and Green Tara, the images of the Twenty-one Tara are in honour of Green Tara specifically. It is said of Green Tara that not only will she give to beings whatever they may need, but also that she is able to allay each of the major fears of beings. Whatever fears beings suffer from, whenever they would recite the twenty-one praises to Tara , or even merely recite her ten-syllable mantra, OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVAHA, their fears have been pacified, and their needs have been fulfilled.

This particular thangka centres on one of her most special emanations called Khadiravani Tara – Tara of the Acacia Forest. Named after a species of fruit-bearing tree that shelters, nourishes and has healing properties – not unlike the goddess herself. The Khadiravani Tara presides over a Buddha paradise known as “Land of the Turquoise Leaves”. It is the afterlife destination of devotees who are fortunate enough to be born into her presence – there they dwell with Buddha Tara until they attain enlightenment, without again taking rebirth in the realms of suffering. In this form the central Tara is flanked by her two acolytes Ashokanta Marichi (golden, serene and waving a branch or blossom) and Ekajata (dark blue, wrathful, and bearing a skull cup and flaying knife or other weapon). This dimension to this thangka’s design symbolism means that is it is practise support for devotion directed at auspicious rebirth.

Nonetheless, the thangka generally follows the traditional iconography for the twenty-one Taras and has a large central figure of Green Tara encircled by twenty-one images, each of which illustrates one of her aspects. Each image of Tara depicts one of her emanations which are painted in different colours according to their individual purpose. These four colours—white, yellow, red, and black acknowledge different facets of her abilities and benefits to her practice. The colours are thus iconographic code for her four activities (with mixed colours such as orange indicating a combination of qualities):

white images praise her pacifying abilities ,
yellow images celebrate enrichment through the clearing of mental and emotion obstructions to enlightenment,
red images evidence her subjugating powers through more fierce attack (even using laughter as a tool) on entrenched mental pattern; and
black rejoices her profound eliminating force thus liberating those locked in deep karmic circumstances

Although there are several different lineages of practice with the Twenty-one Emanations of Tara, prevailing Mongolian tradition has it that they are:

1. The Swift Heroine - red.

2. Saraswati -- white. Tara "The Great Pacifier" (of kleshas: negative obscurations.)

3. The Giver of Supreme Virtue - yellow (blue-tinged.) "Tara who Increases."

4. The All-Victorious - white. " Tara of the Life Force."

5. The Giver of Intelligence - reddish yellow (orange). " Tara Resonating With HUM."

6. The Terrifier- black (reddish). " Tara Victorious Over the Three Worlds."

7. The Invincible - black. "Tara Who Crushes the Forces of Others."

8. The Conqueror of Others - reddish black. "Tara Pulverizer of the Maras ."

9. The Saviour of the Scented Forest - white." Tara Embodiment of the Three Jewels."

10. The Conqueror of the Three Worldly Realms - red. "The Great Subduer."

11. The Giver of Wealth - yellow-orange. " Tara Eliminator of Poverty."

12. The Auspicious -- orange. "Tara Bestower of Auspicious Conditions."

13. The Destroyer of Opposing Forces -- red. " Tara Blazing in Flames."

14. The Wrathful - reddish-black. " Tara of Wrathful Gaze."

15. The Very Peaceful- white "The Great Pacifier."

16. The Blazing Light - red. "Tara Who Saves by Means of HUM."

17. The Subduer of Countless Harmful Forces orange. "Tara Trembler of the Three Worlds."

18. The Peahen - white. "Tara Who Eliminates Poisons."

19. The Invincible Queen - white. " Tara Eliminator of Conflicts and Bad Dreams."

20. The Mountain-dwelling Mendicant - saffron yellow. " Tara Eliminator of Diseases."

21. Rays of Light - white. "Tara Accomplisher of All Enlightened Activities."

No description of this splendid Mongolian thangka would have merit without citing the Twenty-one Praises to Tara and these are reproduced in translation below. All praise to White Tara – whose loving kindness and compassionate wisdom is a window for the soul to look through.

THE TWENTY-ONE PraiseS to tara¹

OM ! Homage to the holy and noble Tara !

Homage, TARE, quick one, heroine,

removing terror with TUTTARE,

savioress, granting all aims with TURE,

the syllables SVAHA: to you I bow!

VERSE 1

Homage, Tara, quick one, heroine.

whose eyes flash like lightning,

born from the opening corolla

of the lotus face of the Lord of the triple world.”

VERSE 2

Homage, Lady whose face is filled

with a hundred autumn moons,

blazing with the laughing beams

of the hosts of a thousand stars.

VERSE 3

Homage, Lady whose hand is adorned with a lotus,

a lotus blue and gold

whose field of practice is charity, striving,

austerity, calm, acceptance, and meditation

VERSE 4

Homage, Lady abiding in infinite victory

in the crown knot of the Tathagatha

served by the sons of the Conqueror

who have attained every single perfection

VERSE 5

Homage, Lady who fills all quarters of space

with the sounds of Tuttare and Hum,

trampling the seven worlds with her feet,

able to summon all before her

VERSE 6

Homage, Lady worshiped by Indra, Agni, Brahma,

by the Maruts and Vishveshvara,

honored by hosts of spirits,

of ghost, celestials, and the walking dead

VERSE 7

Homage, Lady who destroys the magic devices of others

with the sounds of TRAT and P'HAT,

trampling with right foot up and left extended

blazing with a blazing mass of fire.

VERSE 8

Homage, Lady who annihilates the heroes of Mara,

TURE, the terrible lady,

slaying all enemies

by frowning the brows of her lotus face.

VERSE 9

Homage, Lady holding her hand over her breast

with a gesture that symbolizes the Three Jewels,

her palms adorned with the universal wheel

radiating a turbulent host of its beams.

VERSE 10

Homage, Lady whose diadem spreads a garland

of shining and happy beams,

subjugating Mara and the world

with a laughing, mocking, TUTTARE!

VERSE 11

Homage, Lady able to summon before her

all the hosts of protectors of the earth,

saving from all distress by the movement

of her frowning brows and the sound of HUM!

VERSE 12

Homage, Lady whose diadem is a crescent moon

blazing with all its ornaments,

ever lit by the beams

of Amitabha in her piled hair

VERSE 13

Homage, Lady placed amidst a garland that blazes

like the fire at the end of the world era,

annihilating the army of the enemy

in her joyous posture of royal ease.

VERSE 14

Homage, Lady who strikes the earth with her hand,

who pounds upon it with her feet,

shattering the seven worlds

with the sound of HUM made by her frowning brows

VERSE 15

Homage, Lady blissful, virtuous, calm,

whose field of practice is calm nirvana,

possessed of SVAHA and OM ,

destroying great sins.

VERSE 16

Homage, Lady who shatters the bodies of enemies,

in her joyous posture,

the savioress manifested from HUM,

in the mantra arraying the sound of ten syllables

VERSE 17

Homage Lady who strikes with the feet of TURE,

whose seed is in the form of the syllable HUM,

shaking Mount Meru , Mandara, Kailasha,

and all the triple world

VERSE 18

Homage, Lady holding the deer-marked moon

in the form of an ocean of gods,

dispelling all poison

with the sound of P'HAT and twice-spoken TARA .

VERSE 19

Homage, Lady served by the ruler of hosts of gods,

by the gods and horse-headed celestials,

dispelling contention and bad dreams

with the brilliance of her joyous armor

VERSE 20

Homage, Lady in whose eyes is the brilliant light

of the sun and the full moon,

dispelling terrible fevers,

with TUTTARE and twice-spoken HARA.

VERSE 21

Homage, Lady endowed with the strength of calm

by the array of the three truths, [ OM AH HUM]

destroying the hosts of evil spirits, the walking dead,

TURE, most excellent lady!

1. Translation as found in The Cult of Tara by S. Beyer, pps. 211-214.

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