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Podcast: Kurukulla Red Tara Visualization and 108 Mantra Female Buddha Vajrayana Buddhism

Transcript

Narrator: Over the centuries, Vajrayana Buddhists journeyed, in their minds, to visit dazzling pure lands, filled with wondrous Enlightened Beings. Imagine, now, closing your eyes to meditate on Emptiness, and glimpsing none other than Red Tara in her form as Kurukulla. Kurukulla, the powerful manifestation of Buddha in a Female Buddha form — Red Tara, the magnetizing Buddha of Magic and Wonder and Metta.

Join our editor Lee Kane, as he imagines meeting magical Kurukulla with a visualization and ending in her mantra.

 

Podcast “Glimpsing Kurukulla — Red Tara of Wonders”

 

Lee Kane:

I invite you on a journey into the mysterious, wondrous and majestic world of Vajrayana Buddhism. You may find it both familiar and exotic at the same time.

Today, instead of unguided mindfulness, our mind will take us to a wondrous world, where we can glimpse Shunyata, emptiness, wisdom and compassion — all in the form of a beautiful, glowing, Female Buddha. The first lesson, of Vajrayana Buddhism, is, simply that wisdom and compassion, and Enlightened Buddhas, can appear in any form that suits our mind — as a meditative Buddha sitting under a tree, or as a Buddha of Infinite Light, glorious and majestic, or as a playful Dakini, dancing on our mind. All you need, to meet such exotic and fantastic Buddhas is to allow your mind to imagine. Take a journey with me now…

You are seated in your simple meditation room, settled in a comfortable posture, back straight. Your half-opened eyes are aware of the single flickering candle.

You are watching your own mind, as your Rinpoche suggested. Not analyzing. Not studying. Just watching.

You are surprised where your mind goes, sometimes at the speed of light, one second here, one second there. You have flashes of your day at work, full of stress. You slap yourself down, then stop yourself. Your teacher guided you not to control, just to watch.

And this is why, you are startled, when your half closed eyes glimpse a wondrous form — a dancing red form. A playful, stunningly beautiful female Buddha. She seems both wrathful and laughing at the same time. She spins and dances in a dirvish of brilliant light, dazzling and hypnotic. She is dancing on the edge of emptiness, glowing with light, fantastical, beautiful, dazzling.

You know her. You’ve sen her in books. Your teacher has spoken of her briefly. She is Tara, the Female aspect of Buddha — but here, semi-wrathful, playful and exotic all at the same time. Her three eyes — yes, she has a third eye, open at her forehead — is focused on you piercingly, yet you see her glowing light, her blessing light, pushing out in all directions, absorbing into all beings, going out to all worlds, dimensions and times. She’s not just here for you. You know her blessings are for everyone.

Kurukulla is also Red Tara

Her name is Kurukulla. She is also Red Tara. She is equally all Taras. She is also all Buddhas at once. She is also magic personified. She knows we all need a little magic in our lives, so she dances into our meditation in the form of the dancing magician. She does this because she knows life becomes too dry and numbing in the absence of joy and magic. This is, in part, her mission. She returns us to the euphoric joy of Buddha’s Dharma. For today, we can put aside our mindfulness practice, and focus on the magic of her appearance. We can return to wonder.

She sees that you are afraid of her, startled and shocked and disbelieving. And, she laughs at you, flashing fangs and white teeth, but not ferocious — more playful and charming.

This aspect she has manifested, is one of the Diva star. Beautiful. Like a movie star, alluring and impossible to look away from. And, that is her magnetizing power. She is one of the “beautiful people” who uses her charma and stunning looks to draw you in. You don’t resist, because you know you are being drawn into the wisdom of Compassionate activity. She applies her popularity and stunning alure to the Dharma cause, Bodhichitta, Metta and Compassion. She is all about love.

She’s also sparkling with magic. She is glowing light, not flesh and blood, and she is blazing like a red sun. She holds a bow and arrow, drawn back like cupid, but her bow is made of magical lotus flowers. Whatever she pierces with that lotus magic will feel the power of Metta and Compassion, for that is her mission.

She is dancing so fast, flying in the air, a cyclone of magic and power. As a Dakini, she dances on the edge of Shunyata. She flies through space and time. The Dakini is nothing other than the nature of Dharma Activity and wisdom.

Her power is to attract, magnetize, mesmerize — but it’s an Enlightened mission. She draws us irresistably to the Dharma.  Yes, she is known as the “love goddess” in Vajrayana Buddhism, but this nickname and function is another skillful means to draw us into the Dharma. Her flowery bow is aimed at Bodhichitta and Enlightenment.

She is also known as the “magic” Buddha — the granter of wishes. Yet, this too, is skillful means. By bringing us blessings and happiness, we have the circumstamces conducive to Dharma practice without stress. But don’t mistake her wish-granting for some Unenlightened magician. There is a price to pay. You must stay on the path of Bodhichitta, Metta, and Wisdom.

You can’t take your eyes off her glowing red body, a brilliant light, red like the setting sun of the West. Her three eyes are semi-wrathful, yet beautiful, her hair stands straight up, energized by power. Two of her four hands draw her floral bow, the blessings of metta and karuna. In her other two hands she holds a vajra hook — which you instinctively know is to “hook you in, to draw you back into her compassionate arms — and a lasso, also made of red Uptala flowers.

And now, you find yourself whispering her mantra, over and over

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

And, as you chant the mantra quietly, her light grows stronger. As it absorbs into you you feel supported. You feel her love. You feel her magnetizing power drawing you in. You are mesmerized. Her power energizes you. You feel loved. You are loved. You feel the Metta and love of all the Buddhas — for she is just one aspect of all the Buddhas.

And that same light is going out to all beings, everywhere. Red, hot light absorbing into all beings everywhere as she sends out her boundless love for all beings. Your enemies and friends equally absorb her Metta and kindness. You see all of the beings of the universe now, surrounding you. Your enemies are there. Criminals are there. Animals are there. Reptiles are there. Politicians are there. Prideful people are there. Also there, are all your friends and relatives. The kind people and the generous people are there. Nuns and monks are there. Bodhisattvas are there. All the Taras are there: 21 Taras, 108 Taras, 1008 Taras, all the Taras. All the Buddhas. All of the Gurus of the past are there. And you know, that all of these beings, surrounding you, at one time, due to the endless continuity of time and rebirth, have at one time been your mothers. And all of them are receiving Kurukulle’s magnetizing love and power.

And now everyone is chanting her mantra:

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

Om Kurukulle Hum Hri Svaha

NARRATOR: We hope you enjoyed this journey of the mind, up to the Purelands to meet none other than Kurukulle. Join Lee Kane in the next in this series of visualized journeys into Buddhism, with glimpses of the timeless wisdom of the Buddha.

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