... of north India, Nepal and the Lamaist Church and almost unknown in China and Japan. Her name means she who causes to cross, that is who saves, life and its troubles being by a common metaphor described as a sea. Tara also means a star and in Puranic mythology is the name given to the mother of Buddha, the planet ... — Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3) - An Historical Sketch • Charles Eliot