The Importance of the Feminine Energy....Archetype of TARA.......and HOW we can HEAL the Elements with her?

Posted April 15th, 2008 by kallisto Satyam

Ascension

Why did Tara choose to remain as a female?
She chose to because of the importance of feminine energy and because a lot of cultures treat females as inferior, even though they are just as capable of enlightenment as males. At some point in world history, it was decided that the female body was inferior. It’s unfortunate, but that represented the thinking in those societies. That is why Tara made the decision to remain a female and function as an enlightened being in female form.

This is an important point and it gives us two different messages. One message is that compassionate people don’t shy away from difficult tasks. The other point is that the problems of human beings can only be solved by human beings. No god is going to come down from the sky and enlighten us. We have to do it ourselves. That is why Buddha said we are responsible for ourselves. For example, I believe the Tibetan problem has to be solved by the Tibetans; others can only help. Similarly, male problems can only be solved by men; women can only help. And female problems can only be solved by women; men can only help.

In Tibetan Buddhism, we recognize that enlightenment comprises both feminine and masculine aspects. We say that enlightenment is not possible without both wisdom and compassion, which we sometimes refer to as wisdom and method. Wisdom, or the recognition of emptiness, is connected with the feminine, because the empty nature of reality is the basis, or mother, of all. As the Heart Sutra says, form is emptiness, emptiness is form. In other words, there is no form or reality apart from emptiness. In that sense, emptiness is the mother of all. And wisdom, which is the recognition of this truth, is associated with emptiness. Accordingly, when we speak about the wisdom aspect of enlightenment, we associate this with the feminine principle.

And just as one can never produce a child without a mother, compassion without wisdom, no matter how strong your compassion, may not be enough to produce enlightenment.

Healing the elements

Through Tara, we can learn how to heal ourselves, which involves healing the elements. Why healing the elements? First, you might ask, what does it mean to be alive? We are alive because the mind or consciousness remains in the physical body. As long as this physical body is synchronized with the mind, we call it life. When it is disconnected, we call it death.

A healthy life depends on synchronization of mind and body. The mind and body both need to be balanced. A healthy mind is a balanced mind. If you lose your mental balance, you become cuckoo or a vegetable.

The body also needs to be balanced. In traditional Eastern medicine, the body is said to be composed of five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. If the elements of the body are unbalanced, we can have problems that affect not only the body, but also the state of our minds.

The earth element represents the bones and flesh of the body. The water element is the fluids in the body. Fire is the element that controls digestion. The air element is related to the energy of circulation—of the blood, oxygen, and nervous system. And you need the space element within the body for the simple reason that otherwise everything would be smashed.

These elements also have an emotional component. The space element is related to the sense of spaciousness. An imbalance of space will leave us feeling cramped and constrained in our thinking. The air element is associated with the mind and mental functioning. When the air element is imbalanced, you may feel flighty or exceedingly nervous; when the air is balanced your mind is curious and flexible, and you are able to grasp new ideas and ways of thinking. An imbalance of the fire element can lead to impulsive “hotheaded” behavior. A healthy fire element strengthens your willpower and enables you to feel passionate and inspired in your efforts. A healthy water element helps to calm your emotions; otherwise you may feel overly sensitive or emotionally turbulent. And a healthy earth element allows you to feel grounded.

In the Tara practice of healing the elements, we learn to visualize and work with the energies that affect the balance of these elements. In this practice, we visualize colored light streaming forth from Tara and renewing each of our elements with the essence of inexhaustible vitality. We associate a golden light with the earth element. A white, opalescent light is associated with the water element. The fire element is red-orange, like the glow of molten metal. The air element is emerald green, and the space element is sapphire blue. We visualize these colors streaming forth from Tara. The light of each element extends to the outermost reaches of the universe and collects the essence of each element. Then we visualize this light and similarly colored liquid completely filling our bodies and fully rejuvenating each of our elements in turn.