Download Family Activity: Loving Tara Introduction

Family Activity: Loving Tara
Provided by the Art Institute of Chicago Department of Museum Education
Introduction
In this painted, wooden sculpture, the Buddhist goddess Tara (tar-uh) stands gracefully.
Her right hand makes the mudra of reassurance.
Tara was born when a tear from a weeping bodhisattva (bow-dee-saht-vah), or future
buddha, fell to earth and formed a lake. When a lotus flower grew out of the lake the
petals opened and Tara was inside.
Millions of Buddhists honor Tara as a compassionate goddess. She is a diety of
protection, to whom people tell her their troubles and ask for help with their problems.
If this sculpture of Tara were in a temple, worshippers would decorate it with beautiful
robes and jewelry as a gesture of honor and caring.
Discussion Questions
What in Tara's expression and gestures makes her appear loving and protecting?
Look at the sculpture's surface. Do you see different textures?
What jewelry is Tara wearing?
Activity
Decorate an image of Tara with robes and jewelry.
Materials Needed:
•
Printout of Tara
•
Markers
•
Crayons
•
Colored pencils
•
Glue
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Scraps of cloth
•
Beads or other decorative items
Glossary:
bodhisattva (n)
compassionate being destined to become a buddha who refrains from entering nirvana
to guide others on the path to Buddhahood
Buddha/Buddhist/Buddhism (n/n or adj/n)
historical figure, Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived in India in the sixth century B.C. During
this lifetime, Shakyamuni discovered a means to escape the endless cycle of death and
rebirth that, according to his teachings, is determined by an individual's karma. Through
meditation Buddha attained a state of being known as nirvana, signifying the merging of
the inner spirit with the void from which all reality is believed to emerge. Buddha's
teachings developed into what in known today as Buddhism; literally means "the
enlightened one;" a follower of the Buddha's teachings; the religion born of Buddha's
teachings.
deity (n)
supreme being, such as a god or goddess
lotus (n)
graceful flowering water plant, which in India and other eastern civilizations is and has
been a symbol of purity, perfection, and enlightenment since its growth in ancient times.
The enlightened state is symbolized by its blossom, which grows on top of the water,
compared to its roots in the mud below, symbolizing earthly existence.
mudra (n)
one of numerous symbolic hand gestures that indicate concepts, such as reassurance
or meditation, of Hinduism and Buddhism