White Tara: Meaning, Mantra, Symbolism & Benefits in Tibetan Buddhism

White Tara is the female Buddha of long life, healing, and serenity — the embodiment of the peaceful, nurturing compassion that dispels illness, extends lifespan, and soothes all suffering. Practitioners invoke White Tara for longevity, recovery from sickness, protection from untimely death, and the cultivation of boundless loving‑kindness. The main mantra of White Tara is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayur Punye Jnana Pushtim Kuru Svaha.

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Quick Facts About White Tara

• Category: Female Buddha / Yidam (Meditational Deity)

• Meaning: “White Tara” — the white, peaceful form of the liberator (Tara)

• Mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MAMA AYUR PUNYE JNANA PUSHTIM KURU SVAHA

• Main Benefits: Extending lifespan, healing physical and mental illness, protecting from untimely death, increasing merit and wisdom, purifying negative karma, and developing compassion

Who Is White Tara?

White Tara (Sanskrit: Sitatārā; Tibetan: སྒྲོལ་དཀར།, Drolkar; “White Liberator”) is one of the two most famous forms of the female Buddha Tara, the other being Green Tara. While Green Tara represents the swift, active compassion that rushes to protect beings from immediate danger, White Tara embodies the peaceful, nurturing, and healing aspect of the same enlightened mother. She is the Buddha of long life, health, and serenity.

White Tara is particularly known for her seven eyes: the usual two, a third eye on her forehead, and eyes on the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. These seven eyes symbolise her ability to see suffering everywhere and to reach out instantly to comfort and heal. She is often depicted sitting in the full lotus posture (vajrasana), unlike Green Tara, who has one leg extended. This posture represents her complete stability, immovable peace, and the perfection of meditation.

Alongside Buddha Amitayus (the Buddha of Infinite Life) and Ushnishavijaya (the Buddha of Long Life), White Tara forms the Longevity Triad (Tibetan: Tse Lha Nam Sum), a famous grouping for long‑life practices. She is therefore invoked when someone is seriously ill, when the practitioner wishes to remove obstacles to lifespan, or when one desires to have a long, healthy life dedicated to Dharma practice.

White Tara is also the special protector of those who are sick, elderly, or vulnerable. In many Buddhist cultures, mothers pray to White Tara for healthy children, and practitioners accumulate her mantra for loved ones facing medical challenges.

Meaning and Symbolism of White Tara

Spiritual Meaning

“White Tara” (Sitatara) derives her whiteness from the colour of pure, immaculate wisdom — the wisdom of emptiness that is free from all defilements. White is the colour of pacifying activity: it cools the heat of illness, calms the turmoil of negative emotions, and illuminates the mind with clarity and peace.

Her seven eyes have a profound meaning: two eyes see the ordinary suffering of beings; the third eye (on the forehead) sees the ultimate nature of reality; the eyes on her hands see the suffering of beings who need to be touched or held; the eyes on her feet see the beings in the lowest realms who cannot be reached by ordinary means. Nothing escapes her compassionate gaze. She is the mother who sees every child’s pain and immediately reaches out to heal.

White Tara’s mantra specifically asks for increase (pushtim) of three things: life (ayur), merit (punya), and wisdom (jnana). These three are the essential requisites for both worldly happiness and spiritual progress. Without life, no practice is possible; without merit, conditions are poor; without wisdom, liberation is impossible. White Tara, therefore, is not merely a goddess of long life — she is the bestower of the complete path.

Iconography: How to Identify White Tara

White Tara is easily distinguishable from Green Tara by her colour, posture, and extra eyes.

• Color: White — like the autumn moon, pure, luminous, and cooling.

• Faces: One face, with three eyes (a third eye on the forehead).

• Arms: Two arms (some forms have four or more, but the standard is two).

• Eyes on hands and feet: The palms of both hands and the soles of both feet have an eye each — a total of seven eyes.

• Attributes:

  • Right hand in varada mudra (gesture of supreme giving), often holding the stem of a white or blue utpala (night lotus) that blooms near her right ear.

  • Left hand at her heart, holding the stem of another utpala that blooms near her left ear. The left hand is in the triratna mudra (three fingers raised), representing the Three Jewels.

• Posture: Seated in full vajra posture (both legs crossed, soles facing upward) on a lotus and moon disc. This differs from Green Tara, who sits with one leg extended.

• Ornaments: Adorned with silken robes, a crown, and jewel ornaments, but in a peaceful, gentle manner.

• Expression: Extremely peaceful, with a gentle, compassionate smile. Her eyes (all seven) are open and receptive.

• Long‑life vase (optional): In some depictions, she holds a vase filled with the nectar of immortality in her right hand instead of a lotus.

In some four‑armed forms, White Tara holds a white utpala in both hands and has a small Amitabha Buddha on her crown, but the two‑armed standard form is most common for daily practice.

Mantra of White Tara

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MAMA AYUR PUNYE JNANA PUSHTIM KURU SVAHA

This is the long‑life mantra of White Tara. A shorter form sometimes used is simply OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVAHA (the Green Tara root mantra), but for the specific purpose of longevity and healing, the long form is preferred.

Meaning of the mantra:

• OM — the sacred syllable, blessing of body, speech, and mind.

• TARE — liberating from samsaric suffering.

• TUTTARE — liberating from the eight dangers and inner fears.

• TURE — liberating from disease and karma, granting accomplishment.

• MAMA — “my” or “for me.”

• AYUR — “life” or “longevity.”

• PUNYE — “merit.”

• JNANA — “wisdom.”

• PUSHTIM — “increase,” “nourish,” “bestow abundance.”

• KURU — “do,” “make,” “grant.”

• SVAHA — “so be it” (the offering seal).

Thus the mantra requests White Tara: “Please grant me increase of life, merit, and wisdom.”

Reciting this mantra is believed to reverse negative karmic patterns that lead to premature death, to bless medicines and food, and to bring about recovery from chronic or acute illness. It is also recited for elderly parents or anyone whose life is in danger.

Benefits of White Tara Practice

• Extends lifespan and prevents untimely death: The primary benefit — the mantra dissolves karmic causes of premature death.

• Heals illness: Physical diseases, mental disorders, and even spiritual afflictions are pacified by White Tara’s white light.

• Increases merit (punya): Essential for favorable conditions in this life and good rebirths.

• Increases wisdom (jnana): Not worldly intelligence alone, but the wisdom of emptiness and the realisation of the path.

• Protects from nightmares, fears, and negative spirits: Especially through her seven‑eyed, all‑seeing protection.

• Pacifies the effects of negative karma: Especially karma that manifests as chronic health problems.

• Blesses pregnancy and childbirth: Many women recite White Tara’s mantra for healthy babies and safe delivery.

• Supports the dying: White Tara can also be invoked to help the dying have a peaceful transition, though Green Tara is more common for bardo protection.

How to Practice White Tara

Simple Daily Practice

This practice requires no empowerment (front visualization only):

1. Preparation: Sit quietly. Place an image of White Tara at eye level, or simply visualise a white female Buddha.

2. Refuge and Bodhichitta: “I take refuge in the Three Jewels. May I attain Buddhahood to free all beings from suffering and death.”

3. Visualisation: White Tara sits on a lotus and moon disc in full lotus posture. Her body is brilliant white, like a thousand autumn moons. She has seven eyes: two ordinary, one on her forehead, and one on each palm and sole. Her right hand is in the gesture of giving; her left holds a white utpala at her heart. A long‑life vase may rest above her left hand.

4. Mantra recitation: Recite OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MAMA AYUR PUNYE JNANA PUSHTIM KURU SVAHA 21, 108, or more times. Feel that white nectar‑light streams from her body, entering your crown and flowing through every cell, purifying disease and negative karma, filling you with long life and radiant health.

5. Dissolution: White Tara melts into white light and dissolves into you. Your body, speech, and mind become inseparable from her long‑life blessing.

6. Dedication: “May all beings be free from sickness, have long life, and swiftly attain the state of White Tara.”

For Healing Self or Others

• For self: Visualise White Tara above your crown. White light pours down, washing away illness as black liquid that flows out the soles of your feet and dissolves into the earth.

• For another person: Visualise White Tara above the patient’s head. Recite the mantra and blow on water or medicine. Give this blessed substance to the patient. You can also touch the patient’s head, throat, and heart while reciting.

For Long Life (especially for elderly parents)

Recite the mantra 108 times daily for 40 days (a traditional accumulation). Dedicate the merit specifically to the person. Many lamas recommend White Tara practice before birthdays or during eclipse days (when karmic effects are multiplied).

Offerings

• White offerings: white flowers, white candles, white incense, white silk, white fruit (such as bananas, lychee, or peeled apples).

• Milk, yogurt, butter, and rice: Considered nourishing and wholesome.

• Water offerings: Seven bowls of water as standard.

• Light offerings: Especially butter lamps, representing the light of wisdom and life energy.

• Medicine and food: Offer any medicine or healing substances as a symbolic gift to the Buddha of healing.

Do You Need Initiation (Wang) to Practice White Tara?

For mantra recitation, front visualisation, and making offerings – no empowerment is necessary. White Tara’s practice is considered open and accessible, especially for health and longevity, which are universal concerns.

For self‑visualisation as White Tara (deity yoga), it is traditional to receive the White Tara empowerment from a qualified lama. The complete White Tara sadhana (including self‑generation and the long‑life vase meditation) is usually given only to those who have received the initiation. However, the benefits of simply reciting the mantra and visualizing her in front are immense and require no formal transmission.

Practice with Authentic Art

Bring the energy of White Tara into your life:

White Tara in Tibetan Art

White Tara thangkas are unmistakable: a white female Buddha seated in full vajra posture, wearing a jeweled crown and silks, with a third eye on her forehead and eyes on her palms and soles. She holds the stems of white or blue utpalas that bloom beside her ears. Her face is extremely peaceful, with a soft smile and downward‑looking eyes that convey infinite compassion. The background is often a pale lunar blue or soft white, and the lotus petals are white tipped with pink.

In the Longevity Triad, White Tara appears together with Amitayus (red) and Ushnishavijaya (yellow) — three thangkas that are often displayed together for long‑life blessings. White Tara is also depicted in mandalas, sometimes with 21 Taras, where she sits in the centre or in a specific quadrant.

Statues of White Tara are frequently made of white marble, alabaster, or gilded copper painted white. They capture her serene posture, with the hands holding lotus stems that curve elegantly. Many Tibetan households place a White Tara statue on the altar to protect the health and longevity of the family, especially for elderly members.

FAQ About White Tara

What is the difference between White Tara and Green Tara?

Green Tara is the active, swift protector who rushes to rescue beings from immediate danger. She sits with one leg extended, ready to spring into action. White Tara is the peaceful, healing, long‑life mother who sits in full lotus, radiating serenity and longevity. Both are forms of the same enlightened feminine compassion.

What does the seven‑eye symbolism mean?

The seven eyes (two ordinary, a third eye on the forehead, eyes on the palms and soles) represent White Tara’s ability to see suffering everywhere — in all directions, in all realms, and on all levels (physical, emotional, and ultimate). She leaves no being unseen and no prayer unheard.

Can White Tara help with fertility and childbirth?

Yes. Many women practise White Tara for fertility, healthy pregnancy, and safe delivery. She is considered the mother of all beings, and her healing energy extends to pregnancy and birth. Recite her mantra daily for this purpose.

How many times should I recite the White Tara mantra?

For general maintenance of health and long life, 21 or 108 times daily is good. For specific crises (such as critical illness or accident), you can recite 1,000 or 10,000 times, either all at once or over several days. Some practitioners accumulate 100,000 recitations as a long‑life practice.

Is White Tara only for old people or the sick?

No. While she is especially beneficial for the elderly and the ill, anyone can practice White Tara to prevent illness, increase vital energy, and create the conditions for a long life dedicated to Dharma. Even young, healthy practitioners benefit from her blessing.

Do I need an empowerment to recite White Tara’s mantra?

No. The mantra is freely given and can be recited by anyone, of any religion, for healing and longevity. It is one of the most accessible mantras in Tibetan Buddhism.

Conclusion: White Tara — The Mother of Long Life and Healing

White Tara is the cool, white light of healing and the gentle, steady hand that extends our days on earth. In a world where sickness, aging, and death touch every life, she offers a practical and profound method to protect, cure, and prolong. Yet her gift is not merely more years; it is more meaningful years — years filled with merit and wisdom, used for the benefit of others.

Whether you are facing a health crisis, caring for an elderly parent, or simply wishing to live a long, healthy life for the sake of Dharma practice, White Tara is a perfect ally. Her mantra, Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayur Punye Jnana Pushtim Kuru Svaha, is a direct request for the three indispensable treasures: life, merit, and wisdom. Recite it with faith, and imagine her seven eyes looking upon you with unconditional love. May all beings be healed, live long, and attain the deathless state of enlightenment.