Green Tara - Tibetan goddess of compassion

In particular she represents compassion in action, since she's in the process of stepping from her lotus throne in order to help sentient beings.

Her mantra is the soothing:

Om Taare Tuttaare Ture Svaahaa

Yet another "song" I am adding to my growing repertoire.


Here is a bit about mantras from: Wildmind Buddhist Meditation

"But trying to understand mantras intellectually is probably a bit like deconstructing a joke - you can do it, but by the time you have finished the task you've completely lost the point of the joke in the first place. Some people hold that mantras have an inherent "spiritual meaning" - that is that someone chanting the mantra of Avalokiteshvara will develop a connection with the compassion of Avalokiteshvara, even without knowing anything of the meaning (inasmuch as there is one) of the mantra, and without knowing anything about the bodhisattva himself. Others hold that the one develops associations with the mantra as one chants it and begins to learn more about the bodhisattva. Certainly, it is possible to benefit from a mantra while knowing nothing about it.

As an object of concentration - like any other -- a mantra can help to still the mind. While you are reciting a mantra out loud or internally, there tends to be less mental chatter. Even if there is a parallel stream of internal discourse going on at the same time as the mantra, the chanting creates more of a sense of continuity, which will grow with practice. The word Mantra is said to mean "that which protects the mind."