The Cult of Tara

240
MAGIC AND RITUAL IN TIBET
After Kajegon had been taken over, all its fittings were sold to
Drugugon and the image found its way back to its original home.
In the two or three years between the death of the seventh and the
birth of the eighth—the present—Ch'oje jats'o, the image was kept
by the treasurer of the monastery, who was named Dawa dragpa.
He was a man who loved yaks, especially the great white or tawny
big-horned yaks called "divine." Once when he went to separate two
fighting divine yaks he was gored by both of them as he tried to
pull tfiem apart, but once again the image protected its bearer: the
horns did not pierce his skin and he received only a few bruises. His
escape was considered quite remarkable, for one does not usually
survive so lightly a goring by these animals.
When I asked the present Ch'oje jats'o if he had any personal
experience with the saving power of this image, he replied that one
of his servants had once claimed to have been protected by the
image from a bolt of thunder; but my informant qualified the story
by remarking that the servant was known to be something of an
exaggerator. It seems that there are, indeed, implicit but quite
definite criteria for acceptance of a miracle. This does not mean,
however, that the age of miraculous images of Tara is at an end; the
Tibetan news magazine Sheja reports the following story: 16
Actual Occurence of a Miracle
Unable to Carry Handbag
From a Nepalese news report: An English national had paid
400,000 Nepalese rupees [about $4,000] for a magnificent image
of the holy Tara, measuring slightly more than a foot in size. He
attempted to take the image [illegally] out of the country, placing
it inside the handbag he carried which was not opened for inspection,
so that he was able to proceed to the Nepal airfield. But
while he was entering the airplane the image began to grow
heavier and heavier, until he was completely unable to lift the
handbag. This alerted the Nepalese customs officials, who opened
and inspected the handbag, found the image, and confiscated it.
THE PROTECTIVE PRAISES IN FOLKLORE
Aside from these stories of miraculous images, Tibet has also
preserved a living tradition of folklore which proclaims the efficacy
of Tara's mantra. Many stories are told which compare in format
and theme with the Indian stories above, introducing the same
motifs and differing only in the wealth of circumstantial detail pro-