White Tara

The body of Tara radiates the white light of the yid-bzhin (Sanskrit: anuruddha) and she sits cross-legged on a lotus wheel throne. She wears a Five Buddha crown and her left hand is in the tri-ratna ("three treasures") mudra, symbolising overcoming the eight kinds of difficulties. Between the thumb and third finger she holds a lotus stem (in bronze images both hands hold a lotus, while generally in paintings a lotus stem is held only in the left hand). On the stem are three blossoms, symbolising the Buddhas of the three treasures. The meaning of this is that White Tara is the mother of all the Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future who overcame the eight conditions in which it is difficult to see a Buddha or hear his dharma. Prayer to White Tara records: "By practising the Dharma of White Tara one can prolong life and increase happiness and wisdom. This is the basis for breaking the cycle of birth and death, expelling all devils, demons, pestilence and suffering, and obtaining everything one's heart desires".