Altitude: 2700M

Recommended Time of Stay: 30 minutes

21 Tārās, known as "Zhuoma Niejiu" Tibetan language, is a group of goddesses who save all beings from sufferings, as well as a whole class of female deities worshipped by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. According to legend, Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) saved untold beings before boundless kalpas. However, one day, when Guanyin observed ṣaḍgatīḥ (six realms of existence) with his prajna-caksus (wisdom eye), he found that the number of suffered beings had not decreased, so he was stricken with sorrows and cried with tears. Those teardrops turned into a lotus, from which emerged Green Tārā. She said to Guanyin, "Please do not be discouraged, I will be your support in the cause of saving countless suffered beings." At this time, accompanied by the mantra of Vairocana, 21 Tārās of various colors emerged from the lotus. They vowed to Guanyin that they would support him in the great cause of saving all suffered beings. Later, 21 Tara assisted Guanyin in saving untold beings every day and achieved boundless beneficence, which made them more prestigious.

Therefore, 21 Tārās are widely worshipped by a great number of believers in the Tibetan area and exert a great appeal. There are many colors for Tārā, including white, red, blue, yellow, green, and black. White signifies the body of Tārā, red the language of Tārā, black and blue the thoughts of Tārā, yellow the merit of Tārā, and green the cause of Tārā. Tārā is a Buddha in the form of a female Bodhisattva. The meaning of Tārā is to relieve people of disasters and pains. She is the incarnation of the merciful Guanyin who saved untold beings from hardships and sufferings. She can efficiently save all beings from all natural and man-made disasters, including disasters occurring on earth as well as in the sky and caused by water, fire and wind.

Tārā encompasses all Buddha and Bodhisattva deities and can rapidly provide practitioners with extraordinarily enormous blessings. In Tibet and Nepal, many great practitioners have practiced the cosmic law and order of Tārā and achieved common and unique achievement. Although different forms of Tārās have different ritual procedures, when we pray to the Tara, we don't need to consider these differences. What we only need to do is pray and wish with all our attention that she can achieve all causes we pray for. She can remove all kinds of disasters and pains the world. Whenever people are encountered with disasters and pains, they should pray to Tārā sincerely.

Zhuoma Lakang is a Guanyin Temple built by Sina Duoji 1300 years ago after he built the Dayong Mansion. After many years of wear and tear, it was rebuilt on the basis of the original 21 Tārās Temple. The temple displays the statues of 21 Tārās, a group of goddesses who save all living creatures from sufferings, as well as a whole class of female deities worshipped by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore, 21 Tārās are widely worshipped by a great number of believers in the Tibetan area and exert great regional influence. It is the venue where Bala people hold ceremonies for every major festival or pray to Buddha every lunar January 15th. According to the configuration of the old site, it is divided into two floors. The first floor is the Hall of the Thousand Buddhas. Among these Buddhas, Amitābha (the Buddha of Infinite Light) is the central deity and occupies an extremely important position in Buddhism. He teaches all beings in the Western Paradise, and makes all beings happy and joyful, solemn in facial expression and soft in body and thoughts so that they can become kind-hearted, eliminate worries, lead a long life and achieve liberation after the end of life.

Buddhism puts emphasis on causality and Buddhist affinities. Each of dharma characteristics of 21 Tārās is not exactly the same, so each Tārā provides different blessings. Therefore, during pilgrimage, you can pray to all 21 Tārās, or you can pray to the Tārā who has the deepest Buddhist affinities with you and at the same time chant Tārā Mantra: Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā! After that, you will be infinitely blessed.