Green Jambhala and Wisdom Dakini: The Karma Family Activity of Prosperity, aspects of Tara and Amoghasiddhi Buddha

Why is Green Jambhala with Mother Vasudhara Dakini the most important and prominent of the Jambhala mandala? Why is Green Jambhala’s activity so important to accomplishing Dharma merit?

Green Jambhala is the Karma Activity of Prosperity

For the same reason, we turn to Green Tara to save us; with her windy savior activity, we can rely on Green Jambhala (Dzambhala) and his co-equal Wisdom Mother Green-Blue Vasudhara Dakini to help us create the opportunity for good Karma, merit, and the resulting prosperity. This is, as with all Karma activities, for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The Karma Buddha Family of Amoghasiddhi and Tara are all about virtuous activities to accomplish the benefit of sentient beings.

The Purpose of Wealth in Dharma Practice: Generosity

What is the purpose of wealth in terms of Dharma? The purpose is not luxury, carefree living. The purpose is noble Dharma activities, helping all sentient beings. We share our wealth, and share the Dharma, and share our knowledge for the benefit of sentient beings.

If we do this, acting with generosity, we embody the activities of the Green Karma family. Green Jambhala and Wisdom Dakini will be sure to respond to our requests and mantras.

Green Jambhala Is the Most Important Jambhala

Green Jambhala (Dzambhala) is the most important of the Jambhalas, and the best known. Since he represents Karma activities, he accomplishes prosperity and affluence through the Karma family of Amoghasiddhi and Green Tara.

He is an emanation of Amoghasiddhi as Green Jambhala, while his co-equal Wisdom Dakini is a greenish-blue aspect of Vasudhara or Tara. As the Karma-Family  “activity” they are the most active of the Five Jambhalas, and inspire positive karma in our lives.

As a member of the Karma Buddha family, his mantra includes the all-important word “karma” , which means activity, and “ah” which is the seed syllable of Amoghasiddhi.

You can think of the Activity couple as Air and Earth. Jambhala represents the windy karma activity of Amoghasiddhi, while the Wisdom Mother is none other than Vasudhara or Mother Earth, who is also Tara.

Different Lineages

Although it may seem confusing, in one teaching lineage, Green Dzambhala arises from Akshobya Buddha instead.  Since there are five Jambhalas who arise from all five Buddha Families, there is no contradiction. In Buddhist terms, Enlightened Deities can assume countless forms and emanations. This is a matter of the lineage transmission and the purpose of our practice. For the purposes of this feature, we focus on Green Tara of the Kalachakra lineage, who arises from Amoghasiddhi and Tara.

The reason Green Jambhala is chief among the Jambhalas is the understing of Green in Vajrayana. According to the Himalayan Art.org experts:

“In Tantric literature, the color green is believed to be the union of all four principal colors and therefore represents all four activities: peaceful, increasing, powerful and wrathful.”

Combining all the activities into one is why Green Tara, Amoghasiddhi and Green Jambhala are the most popular.

Unique Attributes and Practice of Green Jambhala

Jeff Watt, on the Himalayan Art dot org website describes Green Tara This way:

“Arya Jambhala, with a body green in colour, adorned with heavenly garb and all of the ornaments, seated in a playful manner. The right hand has the palm in a gesture of supreme generosity and holds a bijapuraka fruit. The left hand holds a treasure mongoose. Seated on the left thigh is the goddess Vasudhara, blue in color, the right hand in the gesture of supreme generosity and embracing the partner Jambhala.”

Although he is typically depicted with his co-equal wisdom Dakini, in solitary images or statues she is still understood to be present. She is the wisdom aspect of Green Jambhala, who is none other than green-blue Vasudhara Tara. He may be seen solitary — in which case his Wisdom Dakini is still present — or in full Yabyum, symbolic of the union of Compassionate Means, or Jambhala, with Wisdom or Green-Blue Vasudhara Dakini.

Green Jambhala Emanates from Amoghasiddhi and Tara

Green Jambhala is an emanation of Amoghasiddhi, the Buddha of the Karma Family, and his consort is Green-Blue Karma Dakini, who is none other than an emanation of Green Tara.  Like Karma Dakini Tara, she holds a lotus in one hand. When he appears in images with his consort,  this symbolizes the embrace of Wisdom and Compassionate Means. When he is solitary, he is still considered to be the complete union of Wisdom and Compassionate Means, or Green Jambhala with Wisdom Karma Dakini together.

The stance of the Green Jambhala is active. His right leg stretches out like Tara, ready to leap to his feet, with his foot positioned atop a snail and a lotus flower. Meanwhile, his left leg is bent, adding a unique dynamic to his pose. The Nehulay, a special kind of mongoose known to spew jewels from its mouth, rests in his left hand, while his right hand firmly holds the Citron fruit.

Practicing Jambhala

The key to the efficacy of this practice lies not only in the repetition of the mantra but in the correct visualization and cultivation of pure motivation of Bodhichitta.

In one story of the five Jambhalas, Shakyamuni Buddha was attacked with rocks. The five Jambhalas manifested and saved him. Since then, as recorded in the teachings:

“In front of the Buddha, Green Dzambhala pledged to protect anyone that recited his mantra or named him.”

His practice is simply to honor his name and chant his mantra, and traditional to make water or tea offerings.

The offerings to Green Jambhala generally consists of water, flowers, incense, light, and music. They are made with reverence, requesting the deity to shower blessings and liberate all beings from the suffering of poverty.

Mantra

His mantra is

Om Karma Jambhala Ah Svaha