Green Tara

Artwork Details

Title: Green Tara

Dimensions: 46 1/4 × 30 5/8 in. (estimated)

Medium: Pigments on cloth

Origin: Tibet

Classification(s): paintings

Date: 18th century

Credit Line: Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin

Object number: C2006.66.19

HAR Number: 672

Published references

Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art and Wisdom of Compassion (Tibet House, 1999), 204-205, cat. 36.
Glenn H. Mullin and Jeff Watt, Female Buddhas: Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mysticism (Clear Light, Rubin Museum of Art, 2003), 63-65.

Liberation

Concepts

The central goal of Buddhism is the liberation of all beings from suffering and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, known as samsara, through applying the teachings of the Buddha.

In Buddhism gender is considered more fluid compared to some other religions. Certain traditions emphasize the importance of all genders in achieving enlightenment. The feminine is considered an embodiment of wisdom and the masculine is an embodiment of method.

Female Deities

Figure Type

Female bodhisattvas and tantric deities embody specific enlightened qualities such as wisdom, power, and protection, and can be peaceful or wrathful in appearance.

Tibetan Regions

Region

Today, Tibetans primarily inhabit the Tibetan Plateau, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian subcontinent to the west, Chinese cultural regions to the east, and Mongolian cultural regions to the northeast. During the 7th to 9th century, Tibetan rulers expanded their empire across Central Asia, and established Buddhism as the state religion.