Female Deities
Farrer-Halls, G. (2002). The feminine face of Buddhism, Quest Books, Theosophical Publishing House: Illinois.
KUAN SHIH YIN
Kuan Yin is a great bodhisattva, a compassionate goddess and savior. Her full name is Kuan Shih Yin, which means she who listens to the cries of the world. She both leads Buddhist practitioners towards enlightenment and helps everyone who prays to her to overcome their worldly problems. Kuan Yin evolved in China from the Indian bodhisattva of compassion known as Avalokiteshvara. Because Avalokiteshvara is male we might wonder: How did Kuan Yin transform into several female forms and why? Artistic representations trace her transformation.
Avalokiteshvara, the male bodhisattva, was brought to China by traveling monks as early as the first century C.E., some five hundred years after Buddha’s death. The first indigenous Chinese form of Kuan Yin to appear was the Water Moon Kuan Yin. Though some earlier forms of the bodhisattva had moustaches, Water Moon Kuan Yin had a smooth face and androgynous features. These subtle changes helped the bodhisattva transform from male to female form. Indeed, from the tenth century onward, Kuan Yin was increasingly depicted in China as a woman. The first feminine form to appear is known as White Robed Kuan Yin. Though similar to the male Water Moon Kuan Yin, this figure is clearly female. This iconographic change was supported by various legends and miracle tales of the time that mention a “woman in white” who miraculously appeared to those in need of help. White Robed Kuan Yin wears her robe over her head in the hooded style of Chinese women of that period, which reinforced her connection to the people and made her broadly accessible.
The sutras do not recount Kuan Yin’s transformation to female form. Though the texts do mention Avalokiteshvara/ Kuan Yin as manifesting in various forms, male and female, to help sentient beings, the classical texts universally depict the bodhisattva as male. Because the feminine forms of Kuan Yin do not follow the scriptures, it seems clear that they developed alongside the traditional sutras, supported by later Chinese texts, legends and miracle tales.
Kuan Yin is often referred to as the Goddess of Compassion, The Goddess of Fertility and the Goddess of Mercy. From China, worship of Kuan Yin spread to other Asian countries. In Japan, she is venerated as Kannon or Kanzeon; in Korea, she is called Kwanse’um; and in Vietman, she is called Quan-am.
KUAN YIN
Standing atop a dragon symbolizing spiritual strength and drips actual water droplets (divine nectar of life) from a vase symbolizing divine compassion and wisdom.
TARA
Tara is one of the most popular Tibetan Buddhist deities. Because of her wish to help all beings, she can be many things to many people. Her various names reflect the many roles she plays. Literally, Tara means “star”, but the name is most often translated as “savioress”. Tara saves in that she leads those who wish to attain liberation from the uncontrolled cycle of rebirths known as samsara towards the freedom and peace of nirvana. But in the worldly sense, she also saves people from the eight great fears. In ancient India, these dangers were thought of as literal and physical: elephants, lions, snakes, fire, thieves, imprisonment, water (floods), and demons. However, the eight fears also have psychological equivalents, perhaps more relevant to us in the modern world. Thus Tara also saves people from the afflictive emotions of elephant-like ignorance; lion-like pride; snake-like jealousy; fiery anger; false views, thief-like stealing of our spiritual development; the prison of greed; the flood of desire and attachment; and demon-like doubts. Buddhism teaches that anyone in any kind of danger or trouble, who prays to Tara with real belief and with genuine sincerity, can enjoy her divine intervention and assistance.
Tara is also known as the Mother of all the Buddhas and, as Prajnaparamita, the Perfection of Wisdom or Knowledge. As such, she is not separate from the true nature of our own minds and the emptiness (shunyata) that realizes this nature of the mind. Everything that appears to this mind is beyond the dual nature of subject and object, perceiver and perceived. It is how the Buddhas see. But, as we are not yet Buddhas, everything we see appears to exist from its own side. Tara manifests as a deity to help lead us to the experience of non-dual perception, so that we can realize emptiness and eventually become enlightened. She exists on both the relative and absolute levels in order to help beings according to their level of understanding. On the relative level, Tara is a savioress and helper in times of troubles; on the absolute level, she is the wisdom mind that brings us closer to enlightenment.
Tara is also the Buddhist manifestation of the universal Mother Goddess, similar in this respect to Kuan Yin and is thus an expression of the feminine archetype. Knowing this helps us to understand her, as she shares characteristics with Western goddesses such as Demeter, Isis and Diana, as well as with Indian goddesses such as Kali and Durga. The all-encompassing Mother Goddess manifests in forms that reflect her various aspects. Green Tara reveals her association with the Earth Goddess, or giver of life, by her green colour and by the blue lotus flower or utpala she holds in her hand. Another of Tara’s forms, White Tara, is associated with the Moon Goddess; luminous white, she sits on a moon disc, with a full moon behind her back. Like the Greek Sophia, Tara is also the Wisdom Goddess of spiritual transformation.
White Tara
The physical form of Tantric deities is always symbolic. The number and colour of their faces, arms, legs, objects held in the hands and other details are meant to call spiritual qualities and ideas to the mind of the mediator. White Tara has one face representing the unified nature of reality and two arms representing the two truths, relative and absolute, that coincide to the make up that unified nature. Her divine form radiates the light of five colours- white, yellow, red, green, and blue- representing the spontaneous awareness of the Five Buddha Wisdoms. She has seven eyes, three in her face representing the purity of her body, speech, and mind and one in each of her two palms and soles of her feet, representing the four immeasurable qualities of compassion, loving kindness, sympathetic joy and equanimity towards all beings.
Her right hand is held with its palm opens, in the gesture or mudra of generosity with which she grants two types of realizations-magical powers or siddhis and the supreme realization of enlightenment. The thumb and ring finger of her left hand touch in the gesture symbolizing the innate union of the method of compassionate action and the wisdom of realizing emptiness, while the other three fingers of the left hand are extended, representing the Three Jewels: Buddha, dharma, and sangha. The left hand also holds a white utpala lotus flower, showing that Tara has accomplished all realizations and is free from negativity that needs to be abandoned. Her two legs, which indicate that she is beyond the duality of samsara and nirvana, are in the vajra or full lotus position, showing she is unaffected by emotional defilements.
Green Tara
Green Tara, another of Tara’s manifestations, helps to overcome both worldly and spiritual problems. Through she is reputed to dwell with Avalokiteshvara in the Pure Land or “heavenly realm” of Potala, the Pure Land called Harmony of Turquoise Leaves is also attributed to Tara.
Green Tara has one face and two arms. Her body colour is blue-green like an emerald signifying her awakened activity and her ability to respond compassionately to suffering beings with the swiftness of the wind. She sits with her right leg outstretched symbolizing her abandonment of all defilements and her readiness to respond to those who call her help. Her right leg is drawn in, showing that she had realized all positive qualities. Her right hand is held palm open in the wish-granting gesture and her left hand is held in the gesture of granting refuse or protection. She holds in each hand the stem of a blue utpala lotus flower symbolizing that all positive qualities have blossomed within her.
Green Tara is adorned with many beautify jeweled ornaments: a tiara of divine flowers and heavenly jewels, earrings, bracelets, anklets of white, pearl and amber and necklaces of pearl and coral. Collectively, these ornaments show her perfections in the development of method and wisdom. She is seated upon a moon cushion symbolizing her fully enlightened attitude which sits above a fully opened lotus showing she is free from obscurations.
Though White Tara and Green Tara are Tara’s two main forms, traditionally there are twenty-one manifestations of Tara.