The Twenty-One Tārās: New online reading and study class (in Tibetan and English)

“Beloved Adele, you have been not just a wonderful teacher but a great friend who has brought inspiration, intelligence and love to my life. I am very grateful for the time spent together. Keep going!” –student feedback

Am happy to announce a new Dharma and Tibetan language reading study class, probably starting in mid-June, or another month if people cannot do it then (one hour per week for five weeks) of the renowned Praises to Twenty-One Noble Tārās. The class will be taught by Buddhist scholar-translator-practitioner, Adele Tomlin with a week-by-week reading each verse or two, explaining the Tibetan terms and English translations,  together with the symbolism and meaning of each Tārā using the Twenty-One Tārā commentary, The Explicit and Hidden Aspects of Tārā, by renowned Shangpa Kagyu and Jonang master, Jetsun Tāranātha (which I translated and published in 2020) as a guide.

The Praises to Tārā text is recited daily in Tibetan Buddhist communities for clearing away obstacles and generating merit and so on. In addition, it is a good text to study in Tibetan for those who wish to continue reading Tibetan.

For those  who feel closely connected to Tārā, recite (or want to) recite these praises in Tibetan, explore their meaning and translation in Tibetan, as well as practice reading skills (if you have them), this is the class for you! Please read the details below, and register your interest on this Google Form here.

Prerequisites and commitment

An empowerment of Noble Tārā by a qualified Buddhist teacher. Ideally some basic Tibetan reading experience/study (basic recognition of Tibetan letters and pronunciation) but it is not essential. The class will cover the Tibetan script, phonetics and English meaning/translation.

 Participants are requested to  recite the Praises to Twenty-one Tārās and Tārā mantra in Tibetan every day (which takes about 2-5 minutes depending on reading speed).  Here is a lovely video, with words in Tibetan and English of the Twenty-One Tārā Verses chanted by the 17th Karmapa and monastics, and a lovely video and melodious rendering of the Tārā mantra by Deva Premal.

Proposed class

The first five weeks will consider the first five to ten Tārās, as well as the origin of the Praises itself. With another five-week course, after that to discuss the remaining eleven.

Day: Saturdays or Sundays

Date: starting  16th June 2024 or another month if people cannot do June

Time: (one hour minimum): 8 am ET, 2pm CET, 5.30 pm India, 8pm China

If anyone find these times difficult, or wishes to join in time-zones such as West Coast USA, or Australasia, please let me know and I will try and re-arrange the time if possible.

Class size: 5 (minimum) to 20 (maximum).

Class Materials and Teacher

All participants will get:

• a free copy of the Jetsun Tāranātha text, The Explicit and Hidden Aspects of Tārā; A Commentary.
• original handouts for each Tārā verse with Tibetan script, phonetics and with literal (word for word) English translation below each Tibetan word (including grammatical particles)
• personal, verbal instruction from Buddhist scholar-translator-practitioner, Adele Tomlin, in Zoom meeting online.

At the end of the course, when all twenty-one Tārās have been read and studied, I aim to compile and publish a study manual for the 21 Tārās, with all the handouts/images/translations etc. combined into one manual, which will be freely available to registered participants.

Suggested donation

20 GBP per hour, 100 GBP  for the five-week course. Discount rate for unemployed/students/sangha of 18 GBP per hour.

Registration link for the class, here.