Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the Tibetan Nuns Project logo? In this blog post, we’ll explain its spiritual significance.

Wisdom and Compassion

In the center of the logo are the seed syllables E and VAM which symbolize the essential pairs for enlightenment — wisdom and method, emptiness and compassion, the feminine and the masculine.

The Tibetan Nuns Project logo

Buddhism teaches that to be a truly balanced and complete individual, you must develop both wisdom and compassion. Wisdom and compassion are like the two wings of a bird flying to enlightenment. Without both, fully developed and perfectly balanced, enlightenment is impossible.

The syllables E (pronounced “ay” as in “day”) and VAM are written in an ancient Sanskrit script.

Although this essential pairing is expressed in many forms throughout the tradition, E and VAM have a powerful and explicit link to the feminine and masculine. Thus we chose them because we are working primarily with women, working to strengthen the feminine, but within a context in which the development, balance, and harmony of both the feminine and the masculine are essential.

In the logo, the central seed syllables E and VAM are surrounded by a circle of 21 TAM, the seed syllable of Tara, the feminine embodiment of compassion.

The 21 Taras

Tara is a Bodhisattva of compassion and a protector who relieves physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. She is known as the “mother of liberation” or “she who liberates”.

White Tara surrounded by mani stones. Tara is especially revered in Tibetan Buddhism and is known as the “mother of liberation”. Photo courtesy of Heather Wardle

Tara has a great many forms, in which she manifests in various colors. Each of the 21 emanations of Tara has her own name, special attributes, and a specific mantra with which she is associated, offering protection from various types of fears, harm, and calamities. The Tibetan Nuns Project logo has 21 TAM syllables to represent the 21 forms of Tara.

The Tara mantra is Om tare tuttare ture svaha.

The nuns have a particular affinity for Tara and are frequently asked by the Tibetan community to perform Tara rituals on their behalf. You can learn about the Tara puja at Dolma Ling and listen to a beautiful recording of it here in this blog post. 

The Tibetan word for Tara is “Dolma”, and thus “Dolma Ling”, the name of our main undertaking, the Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute, means “Place of Tara”.

Products Featuring the Tibetan Nuns Project Logo

The Tibetan Nuns Project online store sells products featuring the logo including hoodies and cotton shopping bags.

Tibetan Nuns Project hoodies come in three colors (forest green, maroon, and black), two styles (pullover and zip-up) and sizes from small to XXL. They have a small logo on the front and a large logo on the back.

All product sales help support over 800 Tibetan Buddhist nuns and seven nunneries in India.

The nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery make these cotton shopping bags and print the logo on them. They come in a wide variety of colors.