Red Tara
The Female Buddha of Power and Magnetism
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
A complete introduction to the Buddhist goddess Tara, with special emphasis on her form as Red Tara.
Tara is one of the most celebrated goddesses in the Buddhist world, representing enlightened activity in the form of the divine feminine. She protects, nurtures, and helps practitioners on the path to enlightenment. Manifesting in many forms and in many colors to help beings, Tara's red form represents her powers of magnetization, subjugation, and the transformation of desire into enlightened activity. Red Tara has gained popularity in recent years with practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide. She is considered to be particularly powerful in times of plague and disharmony.
This comprehensive overview focuses on the origins, forms, and practices of Tara, providing the reader with insightful information and inspirations relating to the goddess. Its second part focuses on Red Tara, a powerful and liberating form of Tara that is particularly important to connect with in a time of crisis. These chapters cover various forms of Red Tara found throughout the Tibetan Buddhist world, the particular qualities she represents, and how through prayers and meditation we can embody her principles and truly benefit beings.
An accompanying appendix includes prayers, songs, and meditations on the goddess, enabling readers to directly connect with their compassionate enlightened nature through practices associated with this powerful Buddhist female deity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Buddhist practitioner Stevens debuts with a meticulous if dense introduction to the red form of the Buddhist goddess Tārā. Stevens examines the origins of Tārā, the "embodiment of the feminine divine" who vowed to reincarnate as a woman until all sentient beings achieved enlightenment, and focuses on the goddess's red variant, which is associated with powers of attracting the objects of one's needs and submitting others to one's will. The author notes that practitioners often worship Tārā through tantric practices and rituals aimed at achieving liberation by embodying Tārā. Exploring the numerous manifestations of Red Tārā, Stevens describes how the Indian tribal goddess Kurukullā was "integrated into the Buddhist pantheon and came to be identified" as a variant of Red Tārā because of their shared association with subjugation. Stevens demonstrates a strong command of the Buddhist lore around Red Tārā, but the exceedingly academic and granular prose ("In most of her emanations Kurukullā is crowned with the deity Amitābha, and Day writes that Kurukullā is the ‘most widely revered of the Red Tārā emanations of the Dhyani -Buddha Amitābha'") mean that all but advanced practitioners will struggle. Still, scholars of Buddhism will appreciate this thorough volume.
