Tara is widely venerated for delivering the Eight Great Salvations. Today, the eight fears are listed and understood on both literal and metaphoric levels: fear of lions (pride); fear of elephants (ignorance); fear of fire (anger); fear of snakes (envy); fear of robbers (wrong views); fear of imprisonment (avarice); fear of floods (attachment); fear of demons (doubt). All ancient travelers in Tara's original homelands would have encountered the literal sources of these fears, and just as She guided travelers, She protected them from the dangers encountered while traveling. As Buddhist cosmology developed, these fears, naturally enough, took on spiritual correspondences for the spiritual seeker on the journey of the development of the soul.

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