The Cult of Tara

APPLICATION 233
THE PROTECTIVE MANTRA IN FOLKLORE
No-na Hutukhtu told many stories to illustrate the efficacy of
such recitations, or even of the simplest cry of Tara's name. These
were recorded by his disciples both in the Chinese manual and in
one privately printed by his followers in Hong Kong. 12
These tales
are of great interest, for they seem almost certainly to reiterate
parts of an oral hagiographic literature originally circulated in
India, the only other source for which known to me is Juwa ch'odar's
biography of his teacher, the Translator of Ch'ag, who brought back
from India some of the stories of the goddess he had heard there. 13
Most of No-na Hutukhtu's tales seem to be retellings of standard
Indian storytellers' motifs adapted to the cult of Tara, to celebrate
her deeds for the edification of a folk audience, and the stories
recall universal folklore themes: the underground vault of treasure,
the miraculous conception, the poor peasant who marries the king's
daughter. But these folktales have not passed unscathed through
the generations of their Tibetan transmission; one tale begins, "Once
there was an elephant who seized a girl, wishing to eat her ..."
No Indian would be so unfair to an elephant.
There was once a man who was fast asleep, when suddenly he
was face to face with a host of demons, grasping swords and
sticks and coming toward him. This man was greatly frightened,
and he called out to Tara. From beneath his seat there suddenly
arose a great wind, which blew and scattered the demon army.
Again, there was once a woodcutter carrying a load of firewood on
a mountain; he met with a mother lion, who seized him in her
mouth and carried him into her cave. The woodcutter, terrified,
loudly cried out to Tara. Suddenly he saw coming a girl, dressed
in leaves, who snatched him from the lion's jaws and set him back
on the road.
Once there was an elephant who seized a girl, wishing to eat her.
The girl cried out to Tara, and the elephant, bowing his head,
awakened compassion in his heart. He knew now that the girl
was a disciple of the Buddha and that he had committed sin in no
small measure. So he took the girl and lightly placed her upon a
rock, knelt to her and paid her homage, thus seeking to expiate his
sin. And when he had paid homage to her, he again took her and
conveyed her to the ground, where once again he knelt and paid
her homage. Then he took her once more and entered into the
king's palace, where he set her down and paid her homage as
before. The king saw this and was greatly amazed; and he took
the girl as his wife.