Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha is the mantra of Green Tara (Shyama Tara), the Tibetan Buddhist bodhisattva of active compassion and swift liberation from danger. Drawn from the Tara Tantra within the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, the mantra is one of the most widely chanted in all of Tibetan Buddhism, revered for its power to remove fear, dissolve obstacles, and awaken compassionate wisdom.
What is the Green Tara Mantra?
Green Tara is one of the most beloved and widely worshipped deities in Tibetan Buddhism. Seated with one leg extended as if ready to spring into action, she embodies the principle that compassion must be active, not merely felt but expressed immediately, in response to suffering wherever it arises. Her green colour associates her with the swiftness of wind and the vitality of living things. She is called the "mother of liberation" and is considered the most accessible of the Tibetan Buddhist deities, the one who responds most swiftly to sincere supplication.
The mantra Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha comes primarily from the Tara Tantra, a body of texts from the Indian Vajrayana tradition, and from the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras, a canonical liturgical text recited daily by millions of Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. The mantra is associated with Tara's three main activities: removing external dangers (Tuttare), removing internal dangers such as negative emotions and karma (Tare), and granting ultimate liberation from the three poisons, ignorance, desire, and aggression (Ture).
Tara's origin myth describes her as an ancient princess who, after millennia of devoted practice, attained enlightenment and vowed to continue taking female form in order to serve beings. This story makes her a symbol of feminine spiritual authority and has given her particular resonance for women practitioners across Buddhist traditions.
Word-by-Word Meaning
The mantra's five components each address a dimension of liberation:
- Om (ཨོཾ): the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha; the primordial sound
- Tare (ཏཱ་རེ): "she who liberates"; from the Sanskrit tara (to cross, to liberate); liberation from ordinary samsara
- Tuttare (ཏུཏྟཱ་རེ): liberation from fears and external dangers; dissolving the eight great fears (lions, elephants, fire, snakes, thieves, water, chains, demons)
- Ture (ཏུ་རེ): liberation from the causes of suffering, the three poisons (ignorance, attachment, aversion); bestowing ultimate happiness
- Soha (སྭཱ་ཧཱ): "so be it"; "may this be established"; a sealing invocation; from Sanskrit svaha
"Om, O Tara, who liberates from ordinary existence; who saves from all fears; who grants supreme liberation, may it be so!"
How to Pronounce Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha
The mantra is pronounced: Om Tah-reh Too-tah-reh Too-reh So-hah. In Tibetan pronunciation, the vowels are slightly different: Om Ta-reh Tu-ta-reh Tu-reh So-ha, with the "e" at the end of each "tare/tuttare/ture" sounding like the "e" in "where." "Soha" in Tibetan is sometimes pronounced "Svaha" in Sanskrit, both are correct.
The mantra has a natural melodic quality and is very commonly sung rather than spoken. There are many traditional Tibetan melodies for this mantra, and Western Buddhist groups have also developed accessible melodies. The six syllables (plus Om and Soha) create a rhythm that lends itself to a walking pace, it is widely used as a walking mantra. Avoid swallowing or rushing the "tt" in Tuttare, it should be clearly double-articulated.
Origins and Tradition
Tara worship has ancient roots in the Indian Vajrayana tradition, with the earliest Tara texts dating to approximately the 6th–7th centuries CE. The Tara Tantra describes the origin of the mantra and its uses for protection and liberation. The Praises to the Twenty-One Taras, likely composed in India and transmitted to Tibet by the great scholar-practitioners Atisha (980–1054 CE) and Dromtönpa, became the central Tara liturgy of the Tibetan tradition. The 21 Taras are 21 aspects of Tara's activity, and Green Tara (the original, root Tara) is associated with enlightened activity itself.
In Tibet, Tara is considered the special protectress of the Tibetan nation, and the goddess is said to have appeared to many great teachers including Milarepa, Tsongkhapa, and the 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas. The 7th century Tibetan queen Bhrikuti (a Nepali princess) and the Chinese queen Wencheng are both mythologised as incarnations of Tara who helped bring Buddhism to Tibet. Today, reciting the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras and chanting Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha remains a central daily practice for millions of Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in Tibet, India, Nepal, and worldwide.
How to Use the Green Tara Mantra in Your Practice
The most common practice is japa, silent or whispered repetition with a mala of 108 beads. Practitioners typically complete one or more rounds of 108 repetitions daily. Visualisation is an important element of Tara practice: while chanting, practitioners visualise Green Tara seated before them or in their heart, emerald green and luminous, extending her right hand in the gesture of giving (varada mudra) and holding a blue lotus (utpala) in her left. This visualisation activates the connection to her qualities of swift, compassionate action.
The mantra is also widely used as a walking meditation, its rhythm is well-suited to a walking pace, and the practice of silent chanting while walking in nature is considered particularly effective. In formal Tibetan Buddhist practice, the mantra is chanted as part of the longer Tara sadhana (practice liturgy), which may include the recitation of the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras, offering prayers, and dedication of merit. For Western practitioners, even a simple practice of 108 repetitions per day with sincere intention and visualisation is a complete and effective Tara practice.
The Benefits of Chanting the Green Tara Mantra
The Tara Tantra and Praise texts describe the benefits of Tara mantra practice in practical, specific terms: protection from the eight great fears (wild animals, enemies, fire, flood, imprisonment, illness, poverty, and harmful spirits), removal of obstacles from one's path, swift healing of illness, and ultimately the attainment of liberation. Tara is said to respond to sincere supplication with remarkable speed, she is sometimes called "the quick liberator" for this reason.
The 14th Dalai Lama has repeatedly described Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha as a mantra that develops the quality of decisive, fearless compassion, the ability to respond to suffering without hesitation, without self-protection, and without the delays caused by doubt or self-preoccupation. This quality, active, swift, unconditional compassion, is Tara's gift to the practitioner.
On a psychological level, the mantra works to dissolve the three main obstacles to compassionate action: fear (which Tuttare addresses), karmic conditioning and negative patterns (which Tare addresses), and ignorance (which Ture addresses). Regular practice is said to produce increasing fearlessness, a growing ease with uncertainty and difficulty, and a more spontaneous compassionate response to the suffering of others.
Many practitioners also report a sense of direct, personal relationship with Tara through sustained mantra practice, a felt sense of her presence as a protectress and guide. This relational quality of Tara practice is one of its distinctive features and is frequently described as a source of genuine comfort, particularly during times of illness, fear, or crisis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha mean?
The mantra invokes Tara's three liberating activities: Tare removes ordinary samsaric suffering; Tuttare removes the eight great external fears; and Ture removes the root causes of suffering, the three poisons of ignorance, attachment, and aggression. Soha seals the mantra with "may it be so." Together: "Om, O Tara who liberates, who saves from fears, who grants ultimate liberation, so be it."
How do you pronounce Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha?
Om Tah-reh Too-tah-reh Too-reh So-hah. The "e" endings sound like "eh" as in "where." The "tt" in Tuttare is double-articulated clearly. The mantra has a natural walking rhythm and is often sung rather than spoken.
How many times should you chant Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha?
108 repetitions on a mala is the standard daily practice. Serious practitioners complete multiple malas. As a walking meditation, the mantra can be chanted continuously for the duration of a walk. Large accumulations of the mantra (100,000 repetitions) are undertaken as retreat practices in the Tibetan tradition.
What tradition does the Green Tara Mantra come from?
The mantra comes from Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, derived from the Indian Tara Tantra (approximately 6th–7th centuries CE) and formalised in Tibet through the teachings of Atisha and his successors. It is used widely across all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Nyingma, Kagyü, Sakya, and Gelug.
