In times of uncertainty, when life feels unstable or presents us with more than we feel able to hold, we long for steadiness, for a reservoir of strength. Tara practice speaks directly to this longing by revealing our innate capacity to meet fear with wisdom, clarity, and courage.
Praises to the Twenty-One Taras is a foundational text in the Indo-Tibetan tradition, and it has given rise to a corresponding practice—a method of invoking Tara’s enlightened activity through devotion, visualization, and mantra. In the first article of this series, published in the May issue, we explored Green Tara, the central figure from whom the twenty-one Taras emanate. She is the wellspring of the protective responsiveness expressed through all her forms. In this second installment, we turn to the first seven Taras, who together form a mandala of swift protection. These seven address the earliest stirrings of fear and destabilization, meeting experience the moment it arises. The remaining fourteen Taras will be explored in the July and September issues, each revealing another facet of Tara’s awakened activity.
“Tara’s swift protection is reliable because it points to our innate ability to remain uncontracted in the midst of difficulty and to respond with attuned care and courage.”
Tara’s roots reach back to India, and in Tibet she is among the most beloved figures—someone people turn to in times of fear, uncertainty, and change. In Mahayana Buddhism, she is revered as a bodhisattva; in Vajrayana Buddhism, she is understood as a fully awakened buddha. She manifests in many forms, each revealing a different dimension of fearless responsiveness.
In Vajrayana practice, Tara is first approached as an external presence we turn to for courage and protection. She embodies awakened compassion that we do not yet recognize in ourselves. As practice deepens, the boundary between “self” and “Tara” softens. She merges with us, and we arise as Tara—a skillful means for recognizing that our nature has never been separate from hers.
In this way, Tara is the embodiment of swift responsiveness: the awakened capacity to meet whatever arises without hesitation or withdrawal. Her protection is not an external intervention that prevents difficulty; it’s the wisdom that shows us how to respond when difficulty is already present. She teaches that protection isn’t the absence of fear but an awareness spacious enough to include it. In that awareness, fear is met without collapse or hardening.
The twenty-one Taras express this protective activity in immediate and dynamic forms. While they’re traditionally invoked for protection from outer dangers, their deeper function is to address the inner destabilization that arises when we lose trust in our capacity to meet experience as it unfolds moment by moment.
These teachings come into focus in times of change and uncertainty. While fear can appear as crisis, more often it appears as a steady undercurrent of tension or vigilance. The question is not how to make this fear disappear but how to meet it without losing clarity or heart.
From this perspective, Tara’s swift protection is reliable because it points to our innate ability to remain uncontracted in the midst of difficulty and to respond with attuned care and courage.
The first seven Taras form a coherent mandala of protective activity. What unites them is swiftness—not as urgency or reactivity, but as immediacy. Their activity arises at the very moment fear begins to form, embodying decisiveness without aggression, clarity without rigidity, and compassion that does not hesitate. Together, these Taras reveal that the true protection is our own inner responsiveness rooted in awakened presence. Each Tara expresses a different dimension of this responsiveness, showing how fear can be met, clarified, and released before it hardens into contraction or withdrawal.
The first seven Taras are as follows, each with her verse of homage from the ancient text Praises to the Twenty-One Taras.
1. Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo
Swift Heroine, Liberator Through Courage
Homage to the Liberating One, swift and courageous,
Whose look is as instantaneous as lightning;
Who appeared from the myriads of stamens
On the lotus face of the Protector of the Three Worlds.
Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo serves as the point of entry to the mandala of the twenty-one Taras. She’s praised as the Swift Heroine whose compassionate response is as instantaneous as lightning. She embodies Tara’s capacity to meet fear the very moment it arises, before it hardens into panic, grasping, or retreat.
She appears radiant red, seated on a lotus and moon disc, her posture poised to respond. In one hand she holds a vase brimming with the nectar of fearless compassion and in the other a blossoming lotus untouched by fear. Her presence conveys warmth, vitality, and courageous engagement. Her gaze is wide and penetrating. She does not turn away from suffering. She responds.
Her activity is expressed through the white conch, which resounds naturally in all directions and symbolizes the immediate call of awareness before fear solidifies into story or contraction. Her protection addresses fear in its initial surge of contraction that arises when we feel threatened or uncertain. Often this fear appears as body tension, racing thoughts, or an impulse to defend or flee. Nyurma Pamo intervenes precisely here, calling awareness back before fear gains momentum.
What she protects is not our vulnerable, constructed sense of self but a continuity of presence. Fear is not suppressed or overcome through force but met so fully that it loosens on its own. The body settles, clarity returns, and responsiveness is restored.
Through Nyurma Pamo, we learn that protection doesn’t mean avoiding difficulty but recognizing our awake, responsive presence even in uncertainty. From this swift recognition, the other expressions of Tara’s protection naturally unfold through the next six Taras.
2. Jetsun Drölma Loter Yangchenma
Melodious Liberator, Source of Wisdom
Homage to Her whose face radiates like
One hundred full autumn moons,
Who blazes with the illuminating light
Of thousands of stars.
Jetsun Drölma Loter Yangchenma embodies the clarity that dispels fear born of confusion. When an experience feels overwhelming because it is mistakenly taken as fixed or defining, her presence restores the mind’s natural capacity to see accurately.
She appears radiant white, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, holding a vase brimming with the nectar of wisdom and a blossoming lotus. Her form conveys serene, spacious clarity, like moonlight revealing what is already present.
Her activity is traditionally symbolized by the ritual mirror. A mirror reflects precisely, without grasping or aversion. It points to awareness itself, which is clear, responsive, and unchanged by what appears within it. Under her protection, experience is seen as it is. When confusion loosens, fear born of misunderstanding dissolves, and the mind remembers its own luminous knowing.
3. Jetsun Drölma Sönam Tobché
Giver of Merit, Increasing Abundance
Homage to Her whose hand is adorned
With a blue and gold water-born lotus;
Whose sphere of activity is generosity, diligence,
Austerity, peace, patience, and wisdom.
Jetsun Drölma Sönam Tobché embodies abundance as the full expression of bodhisattva conduct. She reveals abundance not as accumulation but as the natural richness that arises when nothing is withheld.
She appears radiant gold, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, holding a vase brimming with the nectar of abundance and a blossoming lotus. Her golden form conveys bountiful fullness and ease, like sunlight that nourishes everything without discrimination.
Her activity is traditionally symbolized by the wish-fulfilling jewel. This is a jewel that does not satisfy craving but illuminates the richness that is innate, symbolizing the effortless generosity of awakened awareness.
Her protection addresses fear of scarcity—the fear that there is not enough time, energy, worth, or support. Under her protection, fear of lack softens. As grasping relaxes, giving becomes natural and effort sustainable. The mind remembers its own innate richness.
4. Jetsun Drölma Tsugtor Namgyalma
Crown Victory, Victorious One
Homage to Her whose hand is adorned
With a blue and gold water-born lotus;
Whose sphere of activity is generosity, diligence,
Austerity, peace, patience, and wisdom.
Jetsun Drölma Tsugtor Namgyalma embodies victory over decline and limitation. Her name refers to the tsugtor, the crown protuberance of a buddha, symbolizing realization that is not diminished
by change.
She appears luminous gold, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, holding a vase brimming with the nectar of vitality and a blossoming lotus. Her presence is steady and expansive, conveying endurance that remains intact amid impermanence.
Her activity is traditionally expressed through the long-life vase, inexhaustible and ever full. This vessel symbolizes continuity, balance, and the sustaining power of awakened life force.
Her protection addresses fear of decline, aging, illness, loss, or the unraveling of conditions we rely upon. Rather than resisting impermanence, she restores confidence in what endures through change. Under her protection, vitality steadies, resilience deepens, and presence remains unshakable even as circumstances shift.
5. Jetsun Drölma Wangdu Rigjé Lhamo
Powerful Lady of Magnetizing Activity
Homage to Her who fills the world of desire, the ten directions, and space
With the syllables Tuttara and Hung,
Who stamps the seven worlds with her feet,
Possessing the power to summon them all.
Jetsun Drölma Wangdu Rigjé Lhamo embodies Tara’s magnetizing activity—the power that draws experience into coherence and restores connection where fear has created distance or fragmentation.
She appears radiant red, seated on a lotus and moon disc, holding a vase brimming with the nectar of harmonious activity and a blossoming lotus. Her form conveys warmth, vitality, and an ease of presence in relationship.
Her activity is traditionally symbolized by the bow and arrow. The bow gathers attention; the arrow releases it with precision. Together, they symbolize responsiveness that is attuned to conditions, neither too forceful nor hesitant.
Her protection addresses fear that arises when we engage with one another: fear of rejection, conflict, misunderstanding, or isolation. Often this fear does not register as fear at all but as urgency, over-effort, or controlling behavior. Under her protection, responsiveness becomes natural, fear of disconnection dissolves, and relationship is shaped by genuine presence, without losing its own center.
6. Jetsun Drölma Jikjé Chenmo
Great Subduer of Fear
Homage to Her who is honored by Indra, Agni, Brahma, Vayu, and other gods,
Who is praised by spirits, zombies,
Gandharvas, and yakshas.
Jetsun Drölma Jikjé Chenmo is praised as the great subduer of fear. She meets terror directly and without retreat, embodying courage without escalation. Her compassion is fierce, unwavering, and wholly committed to liberation.
She appears deep blue-black, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, holding a vase brimming with the nectar of fearlessness and a blossoming lotus. Her gaze is direct and unflinching, and her presence is powerful and alert, steady even amid turbulence.
Her activity is traditionally expressed through the phurba, a ritual dagger that symbolizes blazing clarity. The phurba does not destroy but cuts through fixation and severs fear at the root.
Honored by gods, spirits, and unseen forces alike, her fearlessness leaves nothing outside the field of awareness. Her protection extends to moments of chaos and upheaval that feel overwhelming. In her presence, fear is neither indulged nor suppressed but met fully. As fixation is cut, fear loses its authority and courage arises as the capacity to remain present within intensity. Under her protection, even the strongest fear cannot overpower awareness itself.
7. Jetsun Drölma Zhengyi Mithubma
Unshakeable, Crusher of Adversaries
Homage to Her who with Tre and Pe
Destroys the plots of adversaries;
Who, stamping her foot, right leg folded, left extended,
Blazes with a glowing fire.
Jetsun Drölma Zhengyi Mithubma is praised as the unshakeable Tara. She’s the one who crushes adversaries, not through aggression but through unwavering confidence rooted in presence.
She appears deep blue, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, holding a vase brimming with the nectar of unwavering clarity and a blossoming lotus. Her presence is firm and grounded, unyielding without aggression.
Her activity is traditionally symbolized by the flaming sword. This sword cuts cleanly and decisively, not through force but through clarity. Its flame is the brilliance of wisdom that dispels confusion in a single gesture.
Her protection addresses inner adversaries—doubt, corrosive self-criticism, destabilizing thoughts, and the fear of being undermined. As clarity cuts through destabilization, confidence settles into the body. Under her protection, presence becomes unshakeable and action arises from a ground that does not waver.
These first seven Taras reveal capacities innate to awakened awareness—capacities that can be unveiled in our experience, recognized, and trusted as we meet the changing conditions of our lives. Taken together, they form a progressive inner path, a single movement through which fear is met, clarified, and released into stability and confidence. At times, we may engage a particular Tara whose quality resonates with our present circumstances; at other times, we may contemplate them as a mandala, revealing the full arc of awakened responsiveness. Rather than functioning as separate protectors for separate problems, they illuminate how awareness responds to fear as it arises, moment by moment.
The movement begins with Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo, swift recognition itself. This is the instant awareness that meets fear before it hardens into reactivity or story. Without this immediacy, fear gains momentum; with it, everything that follows becomes possible.
From recognition, clarity emerges through Jetsun Drölma Loter Yangchenma. As confusion loosens, experience is reflected accurately and without distortion. Orientation is restored, allowing wisdom to function naturally rather than through effort or control.
As clarity stabilizes, confidence and abundance unfold through Jetsun Drölma Sönam Tobché. Fear rooted in scarcity softens, and trust in innate richness returns, not as excess but as a quiet assurance that there is enough—enough capacity, enough support, enough ground.
This confidence matures into stability through Jetsun Drölma Tsugtor Namgyalma. Vitality steadies, resilience deepens, and fear of decline or loss no longer dominates the mind. Presence becomes enduring, able to meet change without collapse.
From this stability arises harmonization through Jetsun Drölma Wangdu Rigjé Lhamo. Relationship and responsiveness come into alignment, not through control or manipulation but through attunement and genuine presence.
Fearlessness itself is embodied by Jetsun Drölma Jikjé Chenmo. Through her, fear is met directly and loses its authority. Courage becomes reliable—the capacity to remain present within intensity.
Finally, the path culminates in unshakeable presence through Jetsun Drölma Zhengyi Mithubma. Confidence no longer depends on circumstances. Opposition, challenge, or change cannot destabilize the ground of awareness from which action arises.
A Practice of Swift Protection through Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo
The following practice is offered for Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo, though the same structure can be used with any of the twenty-one Taras. Visualize Green Tara and her emanations, bring the Tara you are invoking forward, recite her praise and mantra, receive her blessing, and let her dissolve back into Green Tara. The structure remains the same; only the visualization, praise, and mantra change.
1. Take Refuge and Awaken Intention
Settling into the body, allow the breath to flow naturally, and rest in the felt sense of being aware and alive. Recite the following three times:
Until enlightenment, I take refuge in the Buddha, dharma, and sangha.
Through the accumulation of merit and wisdom,
May I awaken for the benefit of all beings.
2. Allow the Visualization of Green Tara and the Twenty-One Taras to Unfold
Rest briefly in the open essence of awareness, then recognize its compassionate nature. From this, the essence of Tara’s awakened wisdom appears as a vivid green syllable TAM in the sky before you. (You can see what the TAM symbol looks like at the center of this page.) Light radiates from the TAM, making offerings to all awakened beings. Their blessings return as light, gathering back into the syllable, which transforms into Green Tara.
Green Tara appears radiant and vibrant, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, her gaze meeting yours with care and responsiveness. From her heart, light radiates in all directions, giving rise to the twenty-one Taras as a luminous field of awakened activity. Their awakened qualities are expressed as silks and jewels.
3. Invoke Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo
From among the Taras, Jetsun Drölma Nyurma Pamo, the Swift Heroine, comes into the foreground.
She appears radiant red, seated upon a lotus and moon disc, her posture poised to respond. Her demeanor is semi-fierce, with bared teeth that convey alertness rather than aggression. In one hand she holds a vase brimming with the nectar of fearless compassion, in the other, a lotus untouched by fear or confusion. Her presence is immediate and alive.
Nyurma Pamo embodies the moment when awareness meets fear before it solidifies, the resonant call of presence addressing experience the instant it arises. Sense this quality in your own body, the capacity to respond before fear becomes contraction or retreat.
4. Offer Praise and Devotion
From your heart, goddesses arise, making boundless offerings. Gently open to devotion as you recite her verse of praise three, seven, or twenty-one times:
Homage to the Liberating One, swift and courageous,
Whose look is as instantaneous as lightning;
Who appeared from the myriads of stamens
On the lotus face of the Protector of the Three Worlds.
5. Chant the Mantra and Receive the Blessing
Resting your attention on her presence, recite her mantra twenty-one, one hundred eight, or more times: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Vasam Kuru Svaha.
As you chant, let the mantra resonate like the call of a conch—clear, immediate, and far-reaching, addressing fear before it gathers momentum. Visualize red wisdom-nectar flowing from Nyurma Pamo’s vase into the crown of your head, filling your body and restoring clarity where fear has taken hold.
6. Dissolve and Rest
When the mantra naturally comes to silence, rest quietly.
Then visualize that Nyurma Pamo and the field of the twenty-one Taras dissolve into light and merge with Green Tara. Green Tara then dissolves into light that gently settles in your heart, not as a form to maintain but as a felt responsiveness.
Rest here, allowing awareness to remain open, immediate, and at ease.
7. Dedicate the Benefit
When you’re ready, dedicate the benefit of the practice by saying:
Through this goodness, may awakening spontaneously arise in our streams of being.
May all obscurations and distortions fall away.
May all beings be liberated from suffering and the stormy waves of birth, sickness, old age,
and death.
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