On March 31st – April 2nd, Prema, Myri and the Bay Area Taras came together with Tara friends to engage in a “Mandala Dance of the 21 Praises of Tara” weekend workshop. As always, this was an incredible and memorable experience – offering joys, challenges, inspiration and insights for new and experienced dancers alike.
Prema kicked off the event on Friday night with a “Fundamentals of Practice” workshop, teaching the principles and practices that would lay the groundwork for the rest of the weekend. Through her lively and inspiring stories and teachings, alongside the Tara dance practices, we established our motivation, reaffirmed our commitment to awakening for the benefit of all, and connected with Tara, the lineage of the dance, one another, and ultimately all sentient beings, as we moved through the Dance of the Qualities, manifesting as Tara and sending love and light into the world.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning were spent moving in, through, and out of the Mandala, again and again. Several new Taras, who had only previously danced with us on Zoom, had the challenge of learning to navigate the geometry of the Mandala and dance a Praise for the first time. Experienced Mandala dancers had the opportunity to assist and guide new dancers, and were encouraged to also go deeper with the visualizations and meditations. In typical Tara fashion, the dancers made their best efforts to dance together with loving hearts and open minds, meeting whatever arose (within and without) with wisdom, compassion and grace (no easy task when a group of dancers with varying levels of skill and experience come together in a small space and a tight timeframe to prepare an intricate and elaborate group meditation, visualization and dance). This is where the real transformative and healing power of the practice lies, and what makes each turn of the Mandala, and all of the dances, unique and fresh, no matter how many times they are danced. And how fortunate to have Prema there lovingly and skillfully guiding us through it all, interspersing her supportive, encouraging and helpful teachings, practice points and stories along the way!
By Sunday afternoon, we were prepared and excited for our public offering. Noelle brought out some beautiful costumes and half saris that she had recently completed, and dressed the dancers in record time. We welcomed our guests and began to dance. The Mandala offering was powerful and profound, with each dancer beautifully and powerfully arising as Tara in their own unique way, supported by the love and light of their fellow Taras, the focused energy of the Protectors, and the full attention and engagement of the audience.
We had the good fortune to have Anam Thubten Rinpoche with us to witness the offering and share a few words. He was visibly moved and declared the dance a “living sadhana”, stating that he felt no sense of separation between the dancers and the audience, but rather as if we had all been transported to Tara’s Pure Land, and had engaged in Tara sadhana together.
In that spirit of togetherness, Prema invited Anam and the rest of the audience to share the final dance with us. We all came together in three concentric circles and danced “May all Beings Have Happiness” (the dance of the Four Immeasurables) to close and dedicate the merit of the practice.
Such a rare and precious gift.
May all beings benefit from these sincere and devoted offerings of the heart. May we meet again and again in Tara’s Mandala of Love and Light.
