Hand-spinned Prayer Wheel Green Tara

This Table top Mantra Prayer Wheel is hand spun. It has a gold-plated top and bottom with clear acrylic outer cover. Inside contains a Green Tara mantra roll 13650 times.

  

MERITS AND BENEFITS

Extract from the Great Casket Sutra: The immense benefits of turning the prayer wheel includes: removal of past karmic debts and defilements; subjugate mara hindrances, physical and spiritual illnesses, hunger, imprisonment, wars, hatred , etc.  The mertis of turning the prayer wheel are so immense – one can attain wish fulfillment , peace and perfection in this life time.

 

BASIC DESIGN

The five-colour dharma wheel decals on the top and bottom of the mantra roll represents the 5 Dyani Buddhas. The dharma wheel is encircled by icons representing the dharma cloud.  Turning the dharma wheel atop the cloud will remove obstables. The eight different colours lotus on top represents the eight bodhisattvas. In the middle is the Yidam’s heart mantra, separated by Om Ah Hum, meaning the mantra is blessed by the Yidam’s body, speech and mind. The eight auspicious symbols decorate the bottom of the roll. 

 

Narration:

The Green Tara mantra has an important position in Tibetan Buddhism and is one of the most widely practiced Tara methods in Tibetan Buddhism. The following will briefly describe its influence, status and the origin of the myth:

 

**The influence and status of the Green Tara mantra**

Green Tara (Tara, Tibetan: སྒྲོལ་མ, Drolma) is an important deity in Tibetan Buddhism. She is an incarnation of Avalokitesvara and is famous for her compassion and salvation of sentient beings. Her mantra "Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha" is believed to have a powerful blessing power that can help practitioners eliminate fear and obstacles and quickly realize their wishes. Green Tara is revered as the "Mother of Salvation" and is especially known for her quick response to prayers and relief from suffering. Therefore, she is highly respected among Tibetan Buddhists.

 

1. **Religious influence**:

- **Eliminating obstacles**: The Green Tara mantra is believed to help practitioners overcome internal (greed, anger, ignorance) and external (disease, disaster) obstacles, and is particularly suitable for recitation in times of crisis.

- **Symbol of compassion and wisdom**: Green Tara combines compassion and action, representing the female power of rapid salvation, and has a high status among the female deities in Tibetan Buddhism.

- **Widely practiced**: Green Tara's practice is practiced in the four major Tibetan sects (Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug), especially in Nyingma and Kagyu. Her mantra is simple and easy to recite, suitable for both lay and monastic practitioners.

- **Cultural influence**: The image and mantra of Green Tara are not limited to Tibetan Buddhism, but also have an impact on Chinese Buddhism, Southeast Asian Buddhism and emerging Buddhist groups. She is regarded as a symbol of female power and resonates with modern feminist consciousness.

 

2. **Status**:

- Green Tara is the most important of the "Twenty-one Taras". Each of the Twenty-one Taras has different images and merits, but Green Tara is the most well-known for its universality and core status.

- Her mantra is regarded as a "quick success method" because it is relatively simple to practice and is said to quickly obtain the blessings of the deity, which is widely loved by believers.

- In Tibetan Buddhist thangkas, sculptures and temples, the image of Green Tara can be seen everywhere. She is often shown with a green body, right leg stretched out, and a lotus in her left hand, symbolizing that she is ready to save sentient beings at any time.

 

**Origin of the myth of Green Tara**

There are many versions of the origin story of Green Tara in Tibetan Buddhism. The following are the more common legends:

 

1. **The incarnation of Avalokitesvara**:

- According to Tibetan Buddhist legends, Green Tara is the incarnation of the compassionate tears of Avalokitesvara. It is said that when Avalokitesvara saw sentient beings suffering, tears of compassion flowed from his eyes. The tears from his right eye turned into Green Tara, and the tears from his left eye turned into White Tara. Green Tara thus carries Avalokitesvara's compassionate vows and is dedicated to saving sentient beings from danger.

- Another theory holds that Green Tara is a female image that Avalokitesvara incarnated to save sentient beings more quickly and directly, symbolizing the combination of compassion and action.

 

2. **Twenty-one incarnations of Tara**:

- Green Tara is the main deity among the twenty-one Taras. According to the Tara Sutra, Tara has twenty-one incarnations, each with different colors, postures and merits. Green Tara is the core, governing the merits of other Taras. Her green body represents the "wind element" (action and vitality), symbolizing the rapid realization of the practitioner's wishes.

 

3. **The inheritance of Atisha**:

- The popularity of Green Tara Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism is closely related to the Indian master Atisha (982-1054). It is said that Atisha received Green Tara's appearance and guidance many times during his practice, and Tara once saved him from danger with her magical powers. He introduced Green Tara Dharma to Tibet, which established its important position in Tibetan Buddhism.

- The "Twenty-one Praises to Tara" compiled by Atisha is an important classic for the practice of Green Tara, and it is still widely recited today.

 

4. **Folk Legends**:

- In the Tibetan folk, Green Tara is often regarded as a protective deity, especially related to travel safety, recovery from illness and career success. Many legends describe practitioners who received miraculous rescue after chanting Green Tara's mantra in danger, which strengthens her image of "quick rescue".

 

**The meaning of the mantra**

The Green Tara mantra "Om Tare Tuttare Dure Soha" contains profound meanings:

- **Om**: represents the fundamental sound of the universe, which activates the purity of body, speech and mind.

- **Tare**: symbolizes that Tara saves sentient beings from the suffering of reincarnation.

- **Tuttare**: eliminates fear and obstacles, especially the eight fears (internal and external obstacles).

- **Ture**: grants practitioners worldly and transcendental achievements.

- **Svaha**: indicates a request for blessings and perfection.

 

**Summary**

The Green Tara mantra is a symbol of compassion and salvation in Tibetan Buddhism. Its simple and powerful power makes it one of the most popular methods of practice. Her mythological story originated from the compassionate manifestation of Avalokitesvara, combined with the inheritance of Atisha and Tibetan folk beliefs, which shaped the lofty status of Green Tara as the "Mother of Quick Salvation". Whether it is to eliminate obstacles, pray for peace or pursue enlightenment, the Green Tara mantra carries the faith and hope of countless practitioners.