White Tara Unification Sadhana

Yutang Lin

Preliminaries

Arrange offerings as usual.
Do prostration three times.

Regular Practice

Ascend the seat and practice in accordance with the sadhana as follows:

1. Motivation

Fold palms together and sincerely recite:

In a blink the swift changes of impermanence may arrive,
Sentient beings are drifting in the ocean of suffering,
This altruistic session born of sober clarity is all too precious,
For all beings this sadhana is practiced to realize White Tara.

2. Original Purity

Rest the hands in Dhyana mudra, and silently recite three times:

All things are conditional phenomena,
Mutually dependent and coexistent;
Renouncing antagonistic discriminations,
All appear as original purity in oneness.

Visualize the whole Dharmadhatu return to original purity, and appear as boundless sky-blue light.

3. Totality

Visualize that all the four classes of saints and the six realms of sentient beings appear from this blue light.

Visualize that one's father and mother are to the right and left side, all beings related to one through past karma to the front, and the rest of the sentient beings behind. Among the six realms of sentient beings behind one, those in hells who need salvation most are closest to one, then are the other beings in the order of hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and finally the heavenly beings. All sentient beings are facing the same direction as the practitioner.

Visualize that in the space in front of the practitioner are all the holy beings: Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arahats, Pratyeka-Buddhas, Dharma Protectors, etc. At the center is the White Tara, with the white four-arm Chenrezi presiding in the space above White Tara, and they are surrounded by all holy beings of the Western Pureland of Utmost Joy. These are in turn surrounded by layers after layers of all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and holy beings of all other purelands. With great compassion all holy beings look attentively at all the sentient beings below.

4. Taking Refuge

Fold palms together and sincerely recite three times the following refuge formula while visualizing that all sentient beings are gazing with admiration at White Tara in the sky and recite together in unison:

I take refuge in the Vajra Guru.
I take refuge in the White Tara.
I take refuge in thorough Buddha Dharma.
I take refuge in holy beings of Bodhi.

Visualize that all holy beings are rejoicing over sentient beings' ability to recognize and choose the path toward liberation. White Tara, on behalf of all holy beings, grants refuge to all sentient beings. From the heart chakra of White Tara rays of white light radiates forth to each and every sentient being. In this way each sentient being's bad karma is eradicated, merits increased, and Bodhicitta nurtured. This ray of white light then stays, like a candle flame, in the heart of the sentient being, shines forth the light of Bodhi, and sheds light on the right path of Bodhi forever.

5. Offering

Visualize that all sentient beings take delight in participating the making of extensive and long-term offerings and donations, and that they join the practitioner in reciting in unison the following stanza:

Filling the whole Dharmadhatu with treasures,
Pouring all attainments of the wisdom path,
Offered without reluctance nor omission;

Beg to accept out of compassion and empathy,
Exhibit skillful display of the wondrous Dharma,
Salvage without neglect nor omission.

Visualize that all holy beings are delighted by the Bodhicitta which is the pure motivation underlying these offerings, and therefore gladly accept and enjoy the offerings. Each and every holy being obtains complete enjoyment of all sorts. All holy beings emit lights in blue, white, yellow, red and green color that enlighten the whole Dharmadhatu and give blessings to all sentient beings. Then all holy beings other than the white four-arm Chenrezi and White Tara transform into lights and merge into the white four-arm Chenrezi. And then the white four-arm Chenrezi also transforms into light that descends through the top of White Tara and merges into White Tara's heart chakra.

6. Praise

Recite with ardent devotion and may use accompanying Dharma instruments such as bell, drum, inverted bell (Yin Qing) and wooden fish; visualize that all sentient beings join the practitioner in ardently reciting in unison the following praise:

Holy White Tara emits pure lights,
Spiritual nature of sentient beings in all directions are revealed!

Holy White Tara enunciates clear sounds,
Sorrows of sentient beings at all times are eradicated!

Holy White Tara always remembered,
Even trapped in the mire of sorrows one is still spotless!

Holy White Tara is the savior,
Granting merits and prolonging lifespan without discarding anyone!

Visualize that White Tara, upon hearing this praise, is very pleased by the right faith of the practitioner and the sentient beings. White Tara emits bright white lights from her heart chakra shining through the whole Dharmadhatu and giving blessings to all sentient beings. Then White Tara sprinkles showers of nectar upon sentient beings to purify their karma of body, speech and mind. The nectar is also granted for sentient beings to drink in order to nourish their wisdom and expand their lifespan.

7. Accomplishment

Visualize that, through the nectar blessing of White Tara, all sentient beings in the whole Dharmadhatu have returned to the original purity; they all transform and merge into a boundless sky-blue light. White Tara, having thus purified all sentient beings, also transforms and merges into this light of original purity. The whole Dharmadhatu becomes a limitless and indiscriminative Oneness.

In this vast expanse of blue brilliance, suddenly there appears a karma vajra. Above the karma vajra, there appears a magnificent Dharma seat supported by eight lions.Then above the seat there appears, one after the other and one above the other, a lotus, a sun cushion and a moon cushion. At the center of the moon cushion there appears a white seed word "Dang" standing upright. Dang transforms into White Tara with white brilliant rainbow body, appearing as a teenage maiden with full breasts and slender waist, complete with all adornments of a Sambhogakaya, and sitting in lotus posture. She has three eyes on her face, and one eye each in her palms and soles, thus in total seven eyes. The eye on her forehead sees all Purelands in the ten directions. Each one of the remaining six eyes looks attentively with compassion at sentient beings in one of the six realms of transmigration respectively so as to grant blessings. Her right hand rests on her right knee with the palm facing up, and is in the mudra of granting guidance. Her left wrist is near her heart and bends slightly upward, and the thumb and ring finger form a ring, while the remaining three fingers are stretching straight, to hold the stem of a Upala flower. In the heart chakra of White Tara there is a lotus, above which is a sun cushion, and a moon cushion atop. Standing upright at the center of this moon cushion is a white seed word "Dang." Evenly distributed around and above the circumference of the moon cushion are the words constituting the Heart Mantra of White Tara. All words of this mantra wheel are white in color and are arranged counterclockwise in their regular order.

The Heart Mantra of White Tara

Weng Da Lei Du Da Lei Du Lei Ma Ma A Yu Bu Ling Jia Na Bu Jin Gu Lu Ye So Ha

8. Spinning

Recite the Heart Mantra and simultaneously visualize that the mantra wheel in the heart chakra is spinning. The word Dang at the center remains still. The mantra wheel spins clockwise with ever increasing speed. After a long while of spinning, the mantra wheel gradually slows down until it comes to a complete stop.

As the mantra wheel spins, it simultaneously emits waves of white light spreading in all directions throughout the whole Dharmadhatu. With each wave of white light countless numbers of White Tara are sent forth. These White Tara surf the waves of light to all corners of the Dharmadhatu in order to salvage all sorts of sentient beings.

9. One Breath

With mouth closed and tongue touching the upper front palate, practice deep breathing through the nostrils. While inhaling visualize that the ignorance, sinful karma, sickness, suffering, sorrows, karmic hindrances, etc., of all sentient beings are transforming into foul and black air, and yet are inhaled by White Tara out of great compassion. While holding the breath visualize that all such foul and black air has been purified by the profound wisdom and countless merits of White Tara into clean and fresh air of wisdom and compassion which will nourish the wisdom life of each and every sentient being. While exhaling visualize that this clean and fresh air of wisdom and compassion permeates the whole Dharmadhatu, nourishing and maturing all sentient beings so that they would open and expand their minds and attain full enlightenment soon.

10. Identification

Having merged through the communion in one breath of White Tara and all sentient beings, White Tara and sentient beings transform into light and become one in the brilliant blue light of original purity. The nominal distinction between "Tara" and "sentient being" gradually fades away. The whole Dharmadhatu again appears as limitless blue brilliance.

From this brightness of original purity White Tara appears in human form as the practitioner to facilitate teaching and salvaging sentient beings in this world in accordance with their various aptitudes and conditions. Then White Tara descends from the seat. Afterwards White Tara employs the form, speeches and activities of the practitioner to expand ingenious contrivances in limitless fashions toward the compassionate salvation of all sentient beings.

Epilog

In the morning of July 19, 2006 I saw in a dream a large piece of paper with a portrait of White Tara on it. The portrait consisted only of simple line drawings and it is a side view of Tara facing to the right. She sat on a small cart and there were a row of ladies in attendance alongside the cart. Hence, after I woke up, I began to compose this Sadhana in Chinese based on my previous work, "White Chenrezi Unification Sadhana" in Chinese. I also referred to Guru Chen's White Tara Sadhana in Chinese for some details. After the Chinese sadhana was completed, I translated it into English based on my previous work, "White Chenrezi Unification Sadhana."

July 20, 2006
A Study for the Cultivation of Harmony
El Cerrito, California, USA

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