🕊 White Tara: The Gentle Power of Longevity & Healing 🕊

At JDS, we work with deities not as far-off figures in the sky, but as archetypes that live within us and walk beside us - in our bodies, our breath, our becoming.

This week, we’re sitting with White Tara - a Female Buddha of longevity, healing, and wish-fulfilling grace. She’s an enlightened being who, as a young bodhisattva, made the vow to always appear in female form to protect all sentient beings from the eight great fears.

But before we dive deeper into her qualities, here’s a story — one that lives in the bones of our practice.

💧 The Birth of Tara

Avalokiteshvara - who we at JDS refer to as Kuan Yin - was once in deep meditation, eyes turned toward the vast suffering of the world. In witnessing the endless cries of beings across time and space, she wept. And from those tears, two lights emerged.

From one tear came Green Tara, the swift and fierce face of compassion in action.

From the other tear came White Tara, the soft, steady, luminous embodiment of long life and deep healing.

Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Yin) is the ever-present field of compassion.

Green Tara moves on that compassion, fast and fearless.

White Tara rests in it - extending her hand in healing and helping us stay alive long enough to fulfil our purpose.

All three are wish-fulfilling.

But White Tara, in this specific practice we’re working with, brings forward health, longevity, and the power to restore vitality in ourselves and others.

🌺 The Bodhisattva Backstory They Don’t Always Tell You

Now here’s a tale they don’t often teach in schools.

Tara wasn’t always a celestial figure. She began as a human practitioner, already so deeply accomplished that she had taken the Bodhisattva Vows - a commitment to walk the path of awakening not just for oneself, but for all beings. That means continuing to be reborn again and again in samsara - the spinning wheel of birth, death, and rebirth - until every single sentient being is free from suffering.

Let’s be honest - that’s some next-level compassion.

That’s divine stubbornness.

That’s not just love. That’s a wild, fire-hearted promise to keep showing up even when it hurts.

And then one day - here’s where it gets spicy - a monk came to Tara and said:

“Tara, you’re such a good practitioner. Why don’t you aspire to be reborn as a man next time, so you can attain full enlightenment?”

Tara blinked once, probably laughed internally, and said:

“Why would I want to be reborn as a man?”

The monk replied, with the full force of conditioned patriarchy:

“Well, so that you can actually attain enlightenment.”

To which Tara, in all her cosmic sass and supreme clarity, declared:

“I shall continue to be reborn as a woman, until all beings are liberated.”

And she did. And she does.

Sure, maybe it’s a slower route - at least by traditional standards.

But look around.

The divine feminine is waking up.

And more people are remembering that enlightenment doesn’t only arrive through conquest, logic, or force.

Sometimes it arrives through gentleness. Through staying. Through healing. Through birth and rebirth and birth again.

And if anyone still needs evidence - well, the sky is full of female Buddhas now. Enlightenment isn’t gendered. It’s embodied. It’s earned. And it’s shared.

👁 Why White Tara Has 7 Eyes

Her image may seem symbolic - and it is - but every detail carries wisdom.

•             Two eyes on her face - to see the suffering of this world and respond with compassion.

•             Two eyes on her palms - so she can reach out and offer help swiftly.

•             Two eyes on the soles of her feet - grounding her awareness in the pain of those in the lower realms.

•             One eye on her forehead - the eye of timeless wisdom, seeing reality beyond illusion.

She watches. She feels. She knows.

🕯 White Tara’s Mantra

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayur Punya Jñāna Puṣṭim Kuru Svāhā

This means:

“May White Tara grant me long life, merit, and wisdom.”

It’s not about chanting perfectly or loudly - it’s about tuning into her presence. Whether you sing, whisper, or just sit and breathe it in, this mantra carries healing frequencies that restore, replenish, and expand.

🌸 White Tara Practice at Kharchen Ling

Right now, the Kharchen Ling sangha is accumulating White Tara mantras as a prayer offering to our teacher, H.E. Dr. Kharchen Wangchuk Rinpoche, in honour of his birthday and for his continued health and long life.

We may have missed the birthday itself last month, but it’s not too late to offer our devotion.

Here’s what’s happening:

•             From today until 10 June, you’re welcome to recite the White Tara mantra as many times as you’d like.

•             If you wish to contribute to the offering, count your recitations and send them in by 10 June.

•             On 11 June 2025, which is Sangye Nyangde Düchen (an auspicious Buddha Day), we’ll offer a Tara Tsog and dedicate the merit to Rinpoche and all beings.

And to be clear - we’re not expecting all JDS’ers to do this.

This is something I’m personally engaging with, and I thought I’d share it as part of my practice.

If it resonates, come chant with us sometime.

And if you’re not a vocal chanter - no problem. You’re welcome to just sit with us, meditate, and absorb the healing energy being invoked.

This isn’t about performance.

It’s about presence.

🌼 Sarva Mangalam: Why We Say It

You’ll often hear us end our practice or messages with “Sarva Mangalam.”

In Sanskrit, it means:

✨ “May everything be auspicious.”

✨ “Blessings and wellbeing to all.”

It’s a gentle way of saying:

May this benefit ripple out. May you be well. May all be well.

That’s the White Tara spirit. That’s the JDS way.

With love,

Jambo & the JDS Crew 🐉