October 10
Tara the activist

June 9, 2019

Preparation
Bring the name or photo of a woman activist who inspires you. 
When we met
Tara is "swift and courageous, her gaze quick as a flash of lightning." She was born from a tear on the face of Avalokiteśvara and represents the active aspect of compassion. She vowed, "May I, until this world is emptied out, work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman’s body."  
Jan Morrison, who recently returned from five years of living, working and practicing art, dharma and activism in Labrador, co-hosted our session. ​
We praised historical and contemporary women activists ​who inspire us, and Jan shared some of her beautiful Tara paintings, each one blending the image of a woman activist with the iconography (hand mudra of protection, blue lotus) of Tara. See a few examples below: Keniaanse Nice Leng’ete, Hannah Gadsby, Shannen Koostachin. We also passed around a photo of women activists from the Idle No More movement.