Q&A with James William Coleman, author of Searching for Tara: The Goddess Who Became a Buddha
Interview with James William Coleman, Author of Searching for Tara: The Goddess Who Became a Buddha
We’re living in times of profound imbalances, chaos, strife, and egos—far away from nature, from instinct, and from emotion. Author, Buddhist and sociology of religion profession James William Coleman sees a path to returning to balance and love. It’s following Tara, as he writes in his book, Searching for Tara: The Goddess Who Became a Buddha. Tara is the perfect antidote to the ego-driven, hypermasculine mindset that’s tearing our world apart. With her power and compassion, offers us an awakened awareness and a way to replace our striving egos with boundless love. Weaving in the story of how developing a Tara practice led him out of a harrowing medical crisis and changed his life, Coleman invites us into a life with the Divine Feminine.
Here are some insights from James William Coleman:
- What is Searching for Tara about and why did you write it?
I am a long-time practitioner of Buddhist meditation, but also a sociologist trained in critical skepticism. At first I didn’t feel any conflict. Despite their antiquity, the teachings of the Buddha are certainly logical and systematic. As we can see from the enormous success of the “mindfulness movement,” they have a deep resonance with the secular rationalism of our times.
But Tara practice seemed something very different. How was I to explain to my skeptical friends that my meditation practice was to visualize myself as a great Female Buddha, the color of moonlight, sitting on a multicolored lotus with seven eyes and a blissful smile? As my relationship with Tara grew, so did my confusion. This book, then, is the result of my attempt to understand her power and the way it changed my life, and to reconcile the two worlds I inhabit.
My “search for Tara” took me to amazing places, from the primal spirituality of our ancient ancestors, to the religious ferment of medieval India, to the existential spiritual crisis that confronts our modern world. The picture of the evolution of human spirituality that emerged from my search changed the way I look at the world and gave me a deeper understanding of the divine feminine energy that courses through all our lives. Tara herself remains as mysterious as ever. But the more I searched, the more my practice opened. I think the same thing may be true for others as well.
2. Your relationship with Tara began during a frightening medical crisis, when complications from eye surgery left you meditating face-down for weeks. What happened during that time, and how did it change your practice?
In October of 2016 I had cataract surgery on my right eye. It was supposed to be a simple procedure, but complications left me with a detached retina that took five more surgeries to finally stabilize After the third surgery, my doctor put a gas bubble in my eye. He told me that for the next three weeks I had to keep my head face-down all night long and at least eight hours during the day. Confronted with the terrifying prospect that I might lose most or all the vision in my right eye, and that there was another cataract growing in the left, my fear motivated me to follow his instructions to the letter.
It wasn’t easy. I lay awake most nights because of the back pain caused by that strange sleeping posture, but the hardest part was keeping my head down during the day. I’d been meditating for a long time before that, and I was determined to “bring my obstacles to the path” as my teachers had so often told me. So I found a way to sit in a cross-legged meditation posture with my forehead resting face down on my desk, and there I sat for eight hours a day.
For the first few days, I was awash in fear and confusion. Then I remembered White Tara and her connection to health and longevity. That seemed to be exactly what I needed. I had never done her practice before, so I just reached out from the depths of my suffering, repeated her mantra, and fixed her in my mind. As time went by, the visualization became increasingly clear and vivid. I began to feel her presence there in front of me.
Then something happened I can’t really explain. All the barriers between us dissolved, and I connected with an indescribable love and an openness so vast and powerful that it seemed to pervade the entire universe. Of course, such overwhelming experiences inevitably fade with time, but the insights they reveal linger on. Ever since then, Tara has been the focus of my daily meditation. As my life stabilized, my relationship with her only deepened.
3. For readers who have never heard of Tara, who is she, and why do you call her “the goddess who became a Buddha”?
Tara is a female Buddha who is revered by the common people of Tibet and practiced in most of its monasteries. But the power of the enlightened feminine wisdom she embodies really has no borders.
I call her the “Goddess Who Became a Buddha” because, historically, she probably took her modern form as a Buddhist version of the great Hindu goddess Durga, who herself was a form of the goddess Devi, the supreme creator and destroyer of the world. Over time, however, Tara came to be considered a fully enlightened Buddha, which is something altogether different. While her followers still called on her for help with their personal problems as they might a goddess, she is never shown with a husband or children, and there are no stories of her fighting with other gods, taking a heroic journey into the underworld, or displaying any of the jealousy or vitriol so common among the gods.
Since a Buddha is a pure manifestation of awakened wisdom, Tara never plays out any kind of personal drama at all. Many still revere her as a goddess, but the highest goal of her practice is not to worship her. It is to merge with her so we can develop the enlightened wisdom and love she embodies
4. Tara appears in many forms, from the serene Green and White Taras to fierce, wrathful figures. What can the fierce Taras teach us that the gentle ones can’t?
Each different form of Tara represents a different facet of the human jewel—different energies, different emotions, different kinds of wisdom. A lot of people think that they must rid themselves of their anger, their lust, and all their other afflictive emotions to follow the spiritual path. But those emotions are as much a part of us as the emotions we like. It’s fruitless to struggle against ourselves to try to uproot them.
Instead, Tara’s wrathful forms show us how to wield those powerful emotions in a way that benefits others without selfishness, pride, or envy. Sometimes she shows us her frightening wrath, but she only destroys what needs to be destroyed. Sometimes she displays her passion and magnetic power, but she only uses them for the benefit of others. Whatever the emotion, she shows us that pure awakened energy lies at its root.
5. You write that the “heroic ego” has given us enormous power but left us anxious, lonely, and disconnected from nature. How does Tara offer a way forward, and what would that look like in everyday life?
Tara holds out the possibility of realizing a new kind of psychic balance. She integrates both our instinctive connection to nature symbolized by the goddess, and the heroic ego’s rational self-control and relentless drive. Yet at the same time, she always rests in an enlightened awareness that transcends them both.
What does that look like in everyday life? There is really nothing exotic or special about it. It is simply that because she always rests in the open awareness that is the true nature of all our minds, she is never trapped in delusion. She just responds naturally to each new situation that arises with loving concern and attention.
6. The book includes a simple Green Tara practice that anyone can try. What do you suggest for someone who wants to begin, and what can they expect in the first weeks or months?
If you have never done Tara practice before, you can begin by simply calling out to her and seeing what happens. Find a quiet place and envision Tara in front of you with all her enlightened wisdom and power. If that is hard for you, try concentrating on a picture of Tara you like.
Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while. At some point, you will feel her presence, and when you do, open your heart and see what happens. If you feel some connection, you should start a regular Tara practice like the one in the Appendix of my book. It is easy to do. Just find a comfortable posture, read the text aloud, and let it guide you through the meditation. As you continue your practice, it’s helpful to join a group with a teacher you like, but if you can’t find one, there are plenty of other resources in books and online to guide you.
Realizing the power of the awakened feminine will mean something different to each of us, so it’s best not to have too many expectations about what “should” happen. Some people have really powerful experiences right at the start, but for others it’s more subtle. The important thing is just to relax and let your relationship to Tara deepen. What you will need, sooner or later, is to bring your practice into your daily life. It is only in loving interaction with each other that our realization will emerge.
7. You say Tara “speaks just as loudly” to Christians, Muslims, Jews, and skeptics as to Buddhists. What does Tara offer someone who isn’t Buddhist and may not think of themselves as spiritual at all?
Tara practice holds out the same possibility of personal transformation to anyone who feels dissatisfied with the way things are. It doesn’t matter what religion you believe in or if you are a complete sceptic. It doesn’t matter if you think you are “spiritual” or not. All you need is an open mind and a desire to cultivate the power, wisdom, and love we all have within us. The best advice I can offer is just to try it, and see if it works for you.