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Green Tara – 8 Fears

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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The 8 Great Fears
 
Tara is a completely enlightened buddha. As a young bodhisattva she promised always to appear in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit of all beings and especially to protect them from the eight fears. These eight fears are further classified as internal and external depending on their source of origin and are as follows:

Internal External
fear of fire (anger) fear of imprisonment (avarice)
fear of lions (pride) fear of floods (attachment)
fear of elephants (ignorance) fear of demons (doubt)
fear of snakes (envy) fear of robbers (wrong views

Tara can also help us learn to protect ourselves from the eight fears. These are not the common fears we share with most human beings, such as fear of dangerous animals, nightmares, illness, or untimely death. In this practice, we use the power of Tara’s mantra, Om Tare Tutare Ture Soha. Om represents Tara’s enlightened body, speech, and mind. Tare means one who liberates from suffering. Tutare means one who liberates from the eight fears. means one who liberates from ignorance with the wisdom that brings the true cessation of suffering. Soha means may the meaning of the mantra take root in my mind. This mantra is used to overcome the eight fears of the spiritual practitioner, which are:

The lion of pride: As the king of the jungle, the lion looks down on everyone and listens to the counsel of no one. Our pride will isolate us from help and keep us locked in the control of ignorance.

The elephant of ignorance: The metaphor for ignorance is the elephant—not an ordinary elephant but a wild, drunken one. This elephant will not hesitate to trample anyone who gets in his way. That is what ignorance does to us.

The fire of anger: The fire of anger is fanned by the wind of wrongdoing. Wrongdoing is caused by the elephant of ignorance, which give strength to the fire.

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The snake of jealousy: Like a snake in the shadows, jealousy hides in the darkness of ignorance. When we see others doing better than us, the snake strikes and poisons us. Then we spread that poison to others as soon as we are able.

The thief of wrong view. What does a thief do? He steals our valuables. Likewise, wrong view steals our opportunity to make any progress on the spiritual path.

The shackles of stinginess: Everyone views generosity as something positive. Stinginess is just the opposite. It binds us so that we are incapable of acting positively. It keeps us hopelessly trapped in samsara.

The waters of attachment: Attachment functions like a violent, rushing river. It keeps us trapped in the current of samsara, carrying us further and further from the shores of liberation.

The ghost of doubt: Ghosts usually function at night. Likewise, doubt functions in the darkness of ignorance. It frightens and confuses us, preventing us from making our way to the light of freedom.

Using the power of Tara’s mantra, we meditate on each of these fears and its antidote. We counter pride with the humble recognition that we don’t know everything—just trying to name all the bones of one’s own body is proof of that. Ignorance is ultimately conquered by the wisdom that recognizes emptiness. Until then, we can apply mindfulness to grow more aware of the consequences of our actions. The antidote to anger is patience. We can use patience to help us trace our anger back to its source to help us see the folly that is generally its cause. Jealousy can be countered by compassion. Through insightful analysis, we come to recognize that all beings share the desire for happiness. Rather than resenting another’s good fortune, we can begin to rejoice in their happiness. Wrong view can be countered by understanding that our actions have consequences. Our negative actions will ultimately result in suffering for ourselves. Our positive actions will ultimately bring us peace and joy. Stinginess is countered by the practice of generosity. That may seem obvious, but it requires recognizing that generosity begins with generosity toward ourselves. When we meditate on how miserliness is actually stealing all our joy and appreciation of life, we will begin to practice generosity. Attachment can be conquered through understanding the impermanent nature of reality. And doubt is subdued by intelligent faith. This is the kind of faith in the teachings that we develop through personally examining and testing what we have learned. As Buddha put it, we should examine each of his teachings as thoroughly as we would if we were buying a piece of gold.

Source

shaktishaman.wordpress.com