The "Twenty-One Praises of Tara" teaches that Tara, with the mantra "Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā," rescues from the eight perils and sixteen fears, like a mother remembering her child. On the plateau every school takes Tara as daily refuge—before travel, in sickness, at peril, one mantra of Tara is peace.

Sakya practices Tara through the Lamdré view: Tara is not an external goddess to court but the manifestation of one's own compassionate wisdom. The lama intones the Tara mantra, seeing Green Tara radiate light from above the dead or the loved one, dissolving their peril and increasing their merit and life. Maternal tenderness is precisely the Dharma's compassion that excludes no one.

• **Swift rescue.** Tara is famed as "swift as lightning"; in peril, sickness, or fear, the practice brings immediate refuge.
• **Averts disaster, extends life.** Tara practice for the living transforms obstacles and increases merit and longevity, steadying daily life.
• **Purifies and supports.** For the dead it helps the bardo consciousness leave fear and turn toward good.

The Tara practice proceeds thus:

• **Set the focus.** Provide for whom and why (a loved one's health / a dead one's deliverance / your own peace); a focus is set before the mandala.
• **Mantra and visualization.** The lama intones the Green Tara mantra, seeing Tara radiate light onto the dedicatee, averting peril and increasing blessing.
• **Praise and dedication.** Reciting the "Twenty-One Praises," he dedicates all merit solely to the vow.
• **Peaceful completion.** A complete dedication lets the recipient be free of suffering, with merit and life at peace.

You need not be present—only utter "Tara" once in your heart; that tender light keeps watch for you.