How to Free Your Mind

Tara the feminine embodiment of enlightened activity is a Buddhist deity whose Tibetan name means liberator signaling her ability to liberate beings from the delusion and ignorance that keep them trapped in ever-recurring patterns of negativity. She embodies a challenge—to transform our minds and become like her whose tranquility compassion and wisdom make her so beautiful—but one that is profoundly nurturing. In the author''s words We can relax in her presence and look at ourselves honestly knowing that Tara will not judge reject or abandon us due to our shortcomings. Like a mother she sees her child''s potential—in this case our spiritual potential or Buddha-nature—and wants to nurture it. Ven. Chodron describes a simple meditation on Tara explaining its benefits and its application to daily life. She then presents two well-loved praises to Tara together with reflections on their meanings for modern practitioners. Included here are the Homage to the Twenty-one Taras verses that are frequently chanted in Tibetan monasteries and homes and A Song of Longing for Tara the Infallible by Lama Lobsang Tenpey Gyaltsen.