by Drikung Kyobpa Jikten Sumgön

The Seven Verse Supplication to Tara is a fantastic prayer of protection, calling on the Celestial Mother Tara. Tara is a swift ally in all dangers. She is the giver of boons. Every praise that could conceivably be made is hers. Here I present a verse setting of seven of them.

To Tara, celestial mother,
who abides in Dharmadhatu
whence she bestows comfort and joy:
protect me from all fears, I pray.

To Tara, the divine mother:
when I mistake my true nature
emotion’s influence grasps me.
Protect all us wand’ring beings.

To Tara, genuine deity,
protect those who’ve not met Dharma,
who fixate on words, ideas,
or those whom false claims have deceived.

To Tara, the mindful deity,
protect us who have seen true mind,
yet, since we lack constant practice
bad actions keep us distracted.

To Tara, who’s one with my mind,
protect us whose dualistic
clinging blinds us from realizing
mind’s true nature: non-dual wisdom.

To Tara, omniscient deity,
protect us who don’t see karma
and all causes’ dependent state,
so we remain in confusion.

To Tara, awakened deity,
protect us who miss the one-ness
of our simple sky-like nature
and everything that it pervades.