As a feminine embodiment of Buddha energy, Tārā (तारा in Sanskrit) expresses perfect wisdom & compassion. She offers warmth and relief from suffering. She engenders, nourishes, and smiles at the vitality of creation. Tara means “She Who Liberates”. Often referred to as “The Mother of all Buddhas”, she embodies graceful power, wisdom, purity, truth, empowerment and the transcendence of all limitations.  She represents an expanse of wisdom beyond concept, which is also the womb of compassion, from which is born whatever form is beneficial to ease the suffering of beings. Tara is the Divine Mother, and when we know her to be inseparable from our own mind, we ourselves are liberated. With this freedom, we are empowered to provide protection, healing, and guidance to those in need. Tara manifests in a wide range of different forms and colours. Various Buddhist traditions recognize 21 distinct forms of Tara. Her most common colors are green and white.

The 10,000 Taras project was initiated by Dr. David Glowacki in Jan 2021 during the pandemic lockdown, as a kind of meditation practice to ease the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering of all beings impacted by COVID. Over time, Tara slowly revealed how she wanted to manifest through David’s pen and brush. This led to a White Tara (completed in June 2021) and a Green Tara (completed in August 2022) at the D’Alijo Retreat Centre in northern Portugal. Each of these Taras required 400-500 hours to complete.

In Jun 2024, David completed another Green Tara in Northern Perú. While visualizing and painting Tara, David spent hundreds of hours in communion with the native plants Ayahuasca and chakruna: this is Tara through the eyes of ayahuasca. On countless occasions, Glowacki witnessed this Green Tara’s ability to offer a space of balance and grounding for ayahuasca retreat participants, in particular her ability to comfort those facing challenges during psychedelic journeys. 

The surface layers of each of the Taras have hidden beneath them several layers of paint which contains prayers, mantras, and intentions of the community. Thus, each of these Taras serve as vessels containing the collected energy of the community.

Eventually, David hopes to paint all 21 Taras, with perhaps 10,000 Taras eventually going out into the world, to the benefit of sentient beings in all dimensions seen and unseen.