Toh 1741A Sādhana of Various Practices Associated with the Compassionate Tārā

Exposition of the Sadhana of Practices Associated with Compassionate Tara

Context

This work is a sadhana — a scriptural text guiding practical cultivation — belonging to the Mahayana tradition of the Tibetan Northern canon, compiled in the Tengyur (Treatise Collection), the largest collection of Buddhist treatises translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan between the eighth and twelfth centuries. Toh 1741 is the standard Tibetan designation for classifying Buddhist works.

This sadhana venerates Tara, the supremely important female bodhisattva in Tibetan Buddhism. Tara symbolizes unconditional compassionate action and the ability to liberate all beings from suffering. The name “Karuna-tara” emphasizes her aspect of compassion (karuna), manifest through flexible and swift acts of rescue. “Visvakarma” (endless activity) indicates that the related practices are not limited to a single form, but are diverse and comprehensive.

Context of practice: in the Tibetan tradition, a sadhana is a specialized instrument for using imagination, mindfulness, and ritual in order to transform consciousness. They are not groundless fantasies, but skillful means (upaya) for developing qualities such as compassion, wisdom, and the absence of a subject in the mind.

Main Content

The Sadhana of Compassionate Tara gathers diverse practices with the aim of mobilizing the compassionate power of this female bodhisattva. The principal practice includes: imagined abode (abhiseka), establishing aspiration (adhisthana), inviting the presence (avahana), and making offerings (puja).

The process of practice begins by purifying the mind through recognition of emptiness (sunyata), so that it is not bound by illusions. The practitioner imagines that they transform into Tara, with a green form (symbolizing action), seated upon a lotus and moon (mind and compassion).