When fear strikes — when the flames are real or the panic is real, but internal — call out to Mother Tara. She moves at the speed of wind and thought. She answers instantly.

In this short Buddhist Emergency Mantra Time Out –– sixth in our series — we explore the ancient rescue stories of Green Tara — the Bodhisattva who leaps to protect anyone who calls her name in faith. From a family trapped in fire to a ship lost in storm, Tara’s miraculous interventions are vivid psychological blueprints for transforming our own inner poisons: anger, pride, envy, attachment, and paralyzing anxiety.

In this feature (and the video)
✅ The 16 rescue stories of Tara — and what they mean for YOUR mind
✅ How Green Tara acts as a “somatic reset button” for fight-or-flight panic
✅ A guided visualization with Tara’s emerald light to dissolve fear
✅ “Tara’s Own Promise Dharani” — her immortal vow to protect all who call on her

Video:

You are safe. You are protected. You are held in the loving sanctuary of Mother Tara.

🎧 Stay for the special musical performance of Tārā’s Own Promise Dharani by 3 Gems Band.

Tara’s Own Promise Dharani

In the Sutra, the benefits are explained: “By merely recalling this dhāraṇī, all dangers will be eliminated, all accomplishments attained, and all sentient beings brought under control.” It is said that on the 8th or 15th day of the moon, or daily, if one makes offerings and recites this, Tārā will grant whatever you desire.

🛡️Protection from the 16 Fears

🛡️Tārā protects us from the 8 outer fears and the 8 inner fears.

Each outer danger corresponds to a negative psychological state that she helps us overcome:

🛡️ DHARANI in IAST Sanskrit: tadyathā oṁ tāre tārāyai hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ samaya­sthite bhara bhara sarvābharaṇa­vibhūṣite padme padme mahā­padmāsana­sthite hasa hasa trailokyavarade sarva­deva­dānava­pūjite smarāhi bhagavati tāre smarāhi bhagavatas tathāgatasya purataḥ samayaṃ dhara dhara mahā­sattvāvalokite maṇi­kanaka­vicitrābharaṇe oṁ vilokāya mama sarva bhagavati tāre hrīṁ hrīṁ hrīṁ phaṭ svāhā

Instant Safety with Green Tara Sanskrit Mantra

Welcome to another Buddha Weekly Mantra Time-Out — your short, emergency sanctuary when life feels heavy, overwhelming, or unsafe.

Let’s set the picture.  You’re sleeping peacefully in your house with your family. Some instinct warns you to wake up! The room is filled with smoke. You open the door to flames with no way to escape. Your family are trapped, unreachable due to flames. You cry out “Tara!” — calling out to the Great Bodhisattva Savior Goddess to rescue your family.

In that moment an enormous storm cloud arises above your house, and a torrent of water rains down. The flames hiss and sputter and dissapear. Your family is safe!

Is this a nightmare? No—this is an actual story recorded in ancient texts of one of Mother Tara’s miraculous rescues, the fourth story of sixteen recording her miraculous rescues!

GARCHEN RINPOCHE’s 90-Year Life (English video):

Who is Mother Tara?

Why would an enlightened being step directly into the chaos of our most terrifying moments? And how can she help you manage your own overwhelming fear and anxiety right now?

In the ancient collection 18 Stories of Tara, compiled from ancient texts and recorded in His Eminence Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s Tara in the Palm of Your Hand, these dramatic rescues happen again and again. The first 2 stories are Tara’s own history, and the remaining sixteen are these amazing rescue accounts.

In another of these stories. A merchant ship is trapped in a monstrous ocean tempest. Giant waves pound the deck, and pitch-black storm clouds swallowed the horizon. The crew gave up all hope. But one sailor was a devout follower of Tara. He began chanting Her name with single-minded devotion. Out of nowhere, a brilliant green wind swept across the churning waters, flattening the waves into glass and guiding the ship safely to shore.

In the sixth of these stories, Tara rescues a rich merchant from thieves and robbers in the country of Barukacha, on their way to Maru with a rich caravan. Yet in the eighth story she rescues a thief from persecution when he is caught and tortured by a king. These two rescue stories illustrate she does not judge those she helps. She rescues any being who is suffering and calls out in faith.

These ancient rescue accounts are far more than historical legends — they are vivid psychological blueprints. The great masters teach that every external terror in these stories directly mirrors an internal mental poison in our own minds.

8 External and 8 Internal Fears and Dangers

1. The charging Wild Elephant represents the blindness of our own Ignorance and Delusion.
2. The raging Fire represents burning Anger and Hatred.
3. The fierce Lion represents towering Pride.
4. The venomous Snake represents biting Envy and Jealousy.
5. The rushing Flood represents drowning in Attachment and Clinging.
6. The ruthless Thieves represent Wrong Views that rob us of peace.
7. The dark Dungeon represents the confinement of Greed.
8. And the haunting Demons represent the paralyzing shadows of Doubt and Anxiety.

So how does Tara actually rescue us in our physical samsaric world, then? As indicated by the description “Rescues from 16 dangers and fears” she rescues both from the real dangers of our world, and our internal dangers.

Is this all in our heads, then?

Not according to modern teachers and practitioners who have experienced her rescues. His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche credits Mother Tara with directly intervening to save his life from eight major life-threatening perils in his life in the film “For the Benefit of All Beings: The Extraordinary Life of His Eminence Garchen Triptrul Rinpoche”

The film documents him facing harsh imprisonment, bullet fire, and severe frost and illness. Through all that, Garchen Rinpoche remains a glowing example to all practitioners, with his always present smile. His life is a living testament: when you call upon Tara with unwavering trust, her active protection is very real.

What, then, is the relationship between Tara and Fear or Danger?

When fear strikes, it sparks a wild storm in our internal wind element — what subtle energy traditions call Lung or Prana. Your breath grows shallow, your heart races, and your mind gets trapped in a catastrophic loop. In modern medical and psychological terms, this is the “fight or flight” mode, firing threat responses in our Amygdala.

This is why we turn to Green Tara, known as the “Windy Liberator” and the “Karma Mother.” Green Tara embodies the active air element of all the Buddhas. Because wind moves at the speed of thought itself, her compassionate intervention is instantaneous. She doesn’t ask you to suppress your anxiety or pretend you aren’t afraid. Instead of panic taking over in this emergency, Tara helps us channel our fear into powerful activity.

Green Tara acts as a direct somatic reset button. By focusing on her vibrant emerald form, breathing in her calm energy, and vibrating sacred sound through our bodies, we interrupt the brain’s threat response. We transform the stormy wind of panic into the swift, fearless wind of enlightened courage. We transform paralyzing fear into the champion, the hero. We embody Tara.

Whether you’re in an “emergency” situation now, or just need Tara’s comfort, let’s take a mantra time-out together, right now. Wherever you are, sit back, loosen your shoulders, and gently close your eyes.

Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose… and exhale fully through your mouth, letting go of all the tightness in your chest. Focus on your breathing. Air is Chi. Air is life. Air is the element of Tara. Breathe comfortably, but focus on your breath.

In the space directly in front of you, visualize Mother Green Tara. She is radiant green, shining like a mountain emerald illuminated by sunlight. Her left leg is tucked in meditative stillness, but her right foot is stepped forward onto a lotus flower — ready to leap to your protection at a moment’s notice.

Her right hand is open toward you in the gesture of supreme protection and blessing. Her left hand at her heart, holds the stem of a blue night-lotus that blooms over her shoulder.

See a stream of luminous emerald-green light flowing from her heart directly into yours. Feel this soothing, vibrant light washing through your brain and nervous system, dissolving every knot of panic, paranoia, and distress. You are safe. You are protected. The light also surrounds you in a dome of impenetrable luminous green light. You are held in the loving sanctuary of Mother Tara.

To anchor this protective energy into your heart, stay relaxed and immerse yourself in sacred sound.

We leave you now with a special musical performance of Tārā’s Own Promise Dharani by 3 Gems Band. In this sacred chant, Mother Tara makes an immortal vow: whenever anyone facing danger recalls her promise, she will instantly deliver them from all fears and bestow complete peace.

Relax, listen, and let Mother Tara’s promise wrap around your soul.

Feature Article Bibliography & Citations

Primary Sources on Tara, Rescue Stories & The 8 Fears

• Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, H.E. 18 Stories of Tara (Excerpted from Tara in the Palm of Your Hand: A Guide to the Practice of Venerable Tara).
  
• Buddha Weekly. “Tara Protects Us from the Eight Great External Dangers and Eight Internal Obstacles.” https://BuddhaWeekly.com
  
• Buddha Weekly. “Tara the Windy Liberator, the Mother, the Activity Heroine: Green Tara Functions Throughout Our World.” https://BuddhaWeekly.com
  
• Buddha Weekly. “Mama Buddha Tara: Compassionate Action; Stories of Green Tara the Rescuer — How She Can Help You.” https://BuddhaWeekly.com
  
• Buddha Weekly. “21 Mother Taras — The Unlimited Forms of Compassionate Activity with Mantras and Visualizations.” https://BuddhaWeekly.com
  
• Garchen Institute & H.E. Garchen Rinpoche. Biographical Accounts of the Eight Major Life Rescues by Mother Tara.
  

Comparative Buddhist Perspectives on Fear & Protection

• Theravada / Pali Canon: Mahā Jayamaṅgala Gāthā (Buddha’s Joyous Victory Paritta). Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fva5gtVCQ4Y
  
• Theravada / Pali Canon: Mahā Samaya Sutta (The Great Meeting Discourse). See Refuge is the Ultimate Protection from Dangers, Buddha Weekly.
  
• Mahayana: The Lotus Sutra, Chapter 25: The Universal Gate of Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) Bodhisattva. See Pacifier of War and Strife, Avalokiteshvara Guanyin Chenrezig, Buddha Weekly.
  
• Vajrayana / Padmasambhava: The Eight Great Qualities of Taking Refuge in the Three Precious Jewels. Buddha Weekly.
  

Media & Musical Performances

• 3Gems Band. Tārāsvapratijñādhāraṇī (Tara’s Own Promise Dharani) Official Music Video. Buddha Weekly Channel: https://YouTube.com/@BuddhaWeekly
  
• Hrishikesh Sonar & Buddha Weekly Band. Protection Mantra Chanting Sanctuary. Buddha Weekly Channel: https://YouTube.com/@BuddhaWeekly