White Tara as Dharma Daughter

"Tara is depicted as a sixteen-year-old pure virgin. She has the same role as Avalokiteshvara. She’s a young woman who already has great mercy for the world. In this picture, White Tara sits in full lotus with seven eyes to see what’s happening all around her. The blue flower in the painting is called uḍumbara. According to Buddhist legend, this flower blossoms every three thousand years. It’s thought that to see a fully awakened person is so rare, it is like seeing an uḍumbara flower. This painting is a tribute to Atisha, a prince from Bengal, who brought the teachings of Tara as mother to Buddhists in Tibet. Before traveling to Tibet to teach, Atisha was told that his life would be shortened by twenty years if he made the journey because of the harsh life in the cold Tibetan plateau. But this did not sway him from making the journey. His sacrifice for the teachings of Tara made me realize that in order to achieve enlightenment, Buddhists must sacrifice themselves. Reading the story o