“The Green Tārā five-deity practice was one of 1st Karmapa’s main practices. He had five main deity practices and each practice involves five deities, including the main one, that is why is it called five sets of five deities (lha lnga tshan lnga). In addition to the Tārā five deity practice, they include the practices of Hevajra five deity, Hayagriva five deity, Chakrasamvara five deity, and Vajravarāhi five deity. The main deity is Green Tārā and there are four deities around her you also supplicate, but it may be too difficult for you to visualise all of them, so if you visualize just the Green Tārā that is fine”–17th Karmapa (2018)
“Generally, we wish the highest and lasting happiness to sentient beings throughout space, but here especially to women because Tārā right from the beginning made the commitment that she would come in the form of a woman and thus would work especially for the benefit and purpose of female beings. In the same way, I give this empowerment with the aspiration that it will give the power of Tārā to women and help them rise up and gain equality with men.”
–17th Karmapa in Green Tārā empowerment teaching (2007)
Continuing on the theme of women, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Karma Kagyu nuns’ practice of Five Deity Tārā (Drolma Lha Nga) held during the annual Arya Kshema event at the Tergar Monastery, Bodh Gaya, India from 7th-8th March 2025. For more about the origin and purpose of the origin and creation of the Arya Kshema event by the 17th Karmapa, one of the few such major events where Tibetan Buddhist nuns gather to study, debate and practice, see here.
In 2022, I wrote about the Five-Deity “Acacia Forest” (Kadiramaṇi: Sengdeng Nagki) Tārā of the 1st Karmapa before here with a downloadable translation of a short daily practice by the 1st Karmapa: Green Tara of the Acacia Forest and Five Deity Tara of 1st Karmapa daily sadhana translation. More recently, a few weeks ago, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje (whose whereabouts are still not publicly known) published his own research and composition of a new Five Deity Tārā practice, with substantial Introduction to the history, origin and lineages of the practice that was passed down from Nagarjuna, to Naropa to Vairoacana and then to 1st Karmapa. I translated and published the first two sections (out of three) of the text, available for free download here.
This was my first time attending and participating in this new practice. It is long though and takes a few hours to perform, with many offerings, praises, mandala offerings, mantra recitations and visualisations. It is certainly not for lay practitioners, in terms of being a concise daily practice. For those who wish to practice a short version of the five deity Tārā, see my translation of the daily concise practice composed by the 1st Karmapa himself (as linked above).
It was great to listen to, participate in and attend the group ritual of about one hundred nuns. There were about five laypeople in attendance, and the monk organisers in the Tsurphu labrang office there did not make enough Tibetan texts for even those few laypeople participants to have and recite (even when I asked them to do so), which was a shame. I tried to read it on the screen of my not very big mobile phone screen and it was too difficult to scroll, read and move between the pages, and eyes hurt after while. So, the following day, I had to beg a nun to let me use hers, which she kindly did. Yet the same organisers all had iphones, I guess it is all about priorities, right? ha ha ha I jokingly (yet seriously) informed them that without laypeople donating money to them, there would be no Five Deity Tara big ritual, or Arya Kshema there and certainly no monasteries or nunneries either. Not sure if they got it though…..they just looked at me like I was the crazy one ha ha ha.
The same monastic office staff also refused my print out of the first two sections of the 17th Karmapa’s new text in English, saying they did not need it as they only need it in Tibetan. I explained that it may be useful if someone want to study it in English etc. but the monk (with the iphone) gave it back to me. So I went to the Tergar Office, where a Khenpo there happily and easily accepted it for their library there.
Below I share some photos of the event and myself in attendance, followed by a brief explanation, according to the 17th Karmapa’s new text, of the visualisations and adornments of the five main deities, including Green Tārā as the main deity.
Sadly, as my personal observation only, it seems the 17th Karmapa, and his close friend Drupon Dechen Rinpoche will not be attending the Arya Kshema either, or if they are (it is secret). Although it certainly felt at times as if the 17th Karmapa’s energy was present, it was certainly no substitute for the real thing. The nuns Five Deity Tārā ritual was thus unsupported by any Karma Kagyu Rinpoches/tulkus either, compared to the bigger monastic event of the Kagyu Monlam, when more monks were attending. So, although it is good to see the nuns together, surely one has to ask if the 17th Karmapa, or any of the other main Karma Kagyu tulku Rinpoches intend to personally attend and support their event, and if not, why not?
If not, then are the nuns really being given the same level of respect and treatment as the monks, or even laywomen? After all, the private and secret event held recently on 21st February, at which the 17th Karmapa attended with HE Zurmang Rinpoche and Dilyag Rinpoche (seemingly in Nepal) to launch the new Red Tara (Kar-lug) practice, was attended by an unknown group of about ten “young-looking” laywomen. What did those laywomen do to deserve that “privilege” that hundred nuns and monks did not? Karma works in mysterious ways, as they say.
In addition, the advertised Arya Kshema online teaching of the 17th Karmapa, which is normally one month long, was originally advertised to start from 16th February onwards, yet was recently moved back to starting on 10th March (and today it was announced it will start on 12th March) instead. What is going on with all the continual delays and cancellations and brevity of the teachings too? More secret events with a few laywomen? Ha ha ha. Sorry but have to laugh or might cry. Seriously though, it is yet another sign that something is clearly “not well” in the Karma Kagyu camp, but no one seems to want to speak about it openly and transparently.
In any case, I hope this article, and its revelation of the visualisation and arrangement of the five-deity Tārā composed by 17th Karmapa, will cheer people up and is of benefit!
Music? Tārā Prayer by 17th Karmapa, Face and Sounds of Noble Tārā by Adele Tomlin/Dakini Songs, Green Eyes by Coldplay.
Nuns performing the Five-deity Tārā practice by the 17th Karmapa at the Arya Kshema nuns’ event, Tergar Monastery, Bodh Gaya, India. Photo Arya Kshema website.
For more photos of the event posted on the Arya Kshema FB page, see below here.
The Five Deity Tār̥ā of 1st Karmapa text by 17th Karmapa: Visualisation of the five deities
In the extensive first two sections of the new text, the 17th Karmapa explains the origin of the Five Deity Tara traditions, and the specific one handed down to 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. The Five Deity Tārā of 1st Karmapa lineage and images as listed on the HAR website is not correct, so it is useful to have the 17th Karmapa’s explanation to refer to.
The third section (which I have not yet translated) explains the actual practice, and is in two sections:
- Generating oneself as Venerable Tārā and reciting the mantra to invoke her wisdom mind, and
- Visualizing the assembly of deities of Venerable Tār̥ā in front, making offerings, praises, and prayers.
The main deity of the practice is Green Tāra, the other four deities are listed below.
- Mārīcī/Ozer Chenmo (Brilliant Light Goddess: yellow),
- Ekajaṭī /Relchigma (Single-Braid/Lock of Hair Goddess: black).
- Mahāmāyūrī /Maja Chenmo (Great Peacock Goddess: yellow),
- Jāṅgulī/Dugselma (Clearing Away Poison Goddess: green) and
I have not seen any visual or artistic rendition of this mandala of deities as described by the 17th Karmapa and/or 1st Karmapa, so I have created visual diagram here. Some of the deities are not exactly as described in terms of arms and adornments, but are correct in terms of their arrangement, colours etc.. Below that are some excerpts of the visualisations of the five deities, I have translated from the new 17th Karmapa text.
Kadiramaṇi (Acacia Forest) Green Tārā
The main deity for the self-generation and front-generation is Green Tārā:
“All phenomena of myself and others become emptiness. Remembering the previous aspiration, in the realm of space, a red letter པཾ་ completely transforms into a variegated lotus with eight petals. In the centre, on top of a full moon disc arising from ཨ་, a ཏཱྃ་ letter, the color of durva grass, is endowed with various rays of light. From that, light radiates in the ten directions, inviting all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who dissolve into the ཏཱྃ་, becoming a white drop. That drop completely transforms into a fully blooming blue utpala flower.
Transformed into a lunar disc. On top of that, again, a green, radiant TAM syllable. From that, rays of light emanated, benefiting sentient beings. All sentient beings transformed into the nature of Arya Tara. The rays of light gathered back and dissolved into the TAM, transforming entirely into an Utpala, a lunar disc, and the TAM syllable. Jetsunma Tara, with a green body like a heap of emeralds, one face, two arms, a pleasing, smiling face, eyes as wide as lotus petals, lips as red as the Bimba fruit, soft hands and feet with youthful skin, a slender waist, full and firm breasts, like a sixteen-year-old maiden in the prime of youth.
Her right hand, graceful and pliant like a fresh branch, extends to her knee, displaying the gesture of supreme generosity from which the nectar of immortality flows. Her left hand holds a fully blossomed, enchanting blue lotus, complete with its stem, at her heart, its petals opening towards her ear. She is adorned with a divine upper garments, thin and pleasant to the touch, and a lower garment of various silks, radiant like the bow of the senses.
Her dark blue-black hair is tied in a topknot, with the remaining strands cascading down, adorned with a jeweled diadem of precious stones inlaid with divine and human treasures. She is also adorned with earrings, necklaces, shawl, belt, and hands and feet adorned with gold bracelets. Seated in a half-lotus posture with two legs extended to the right on a moon above a colorful lotus. “In each of the four directions, visualize a lotus with four petals and a moon cushion. From the centre of the main deity, rays of various colours emanate, transforming into:”
Mārīcī/Ozer Chenma (Sorrowless Brilliant Light)
“In front, the Marici (Brilliant Light Who Eradicates Sorrow) with a golden-yellow colour, adorned with various precious jewels as a head ornament, and adorned with all kinds of ornaments. The right hand holds a vajra, and the left hand holds a branch of the Sorrowless Tree, closely present.
Ekajaṭī (Rel-chig-ma, Single-locked hair one)
“To the right, Ekajati, in the form of a dwarf, with a blue-black complexion, wearing a tiger skin as clothing, with three eyes, a face with bared fangs, and yellow hair blazing and standing upright. Holding a vajra and a hooked knife in her two hands.”
As you can see in this image, the deity is holding a hooked knife but not a vajra.
Mahāmāyūrī (Maja Chenmo: Great Peacock one)
“Behind her is a Maja Chenmo great peacock, yellow in colour, adorned with all ornaments. Her right hand holds a white fan with a golden handle, and her left hand holds the peacock’s tail.”
I could not find any online image of a two-armed Mahayamuri holding those objects, most of the online images show a four-armed Mahayamuri (as above).
Jāṅgulī/Dugselma
“On the left, is Jāṅgulī/Dugselma, Dispeller of Poison, green in colour. Her right hand makes the gesture of supreme generosity, and her left hand holds a white snake, adorned with all ornaments. Furthermore, she is surrounded by countless hosts of gods and demigods.”
As you can see, in this image, although she holds a snake, the right hand is not in the gesture of supreme generosity, and I was unable to find an image of that.
Hi. ,, Something not right in Kagyu camp,, – yes, your observation is spot on.Best.
Yes indeed, but the Thaye Dorje camp have a lot to answer for in relation to the situation of the 17th Karmapa for the past twenty years too! And the sudden car accident of Jamgon Kongtrul 3rd and other sudden deaths like that of the Rumtek Monastery secretary etc. Their ongoing delusion that he is the Karmapa and their ongoing court case for Rumtek is one of main reasons the Karmapa is still not travelling and visiting Rumtek, which is an absolutely tragedy for all followers of Karma Kagyu and Karmapa. The Indian and Sikkim governments have no issue with him returning there at all.