Tara

Are Tara from Hinduism and Tara from Buddhism the same goddess?
Or is it just a coincidence that they share the same name?

Hardly a coincidence. Lots of Hinduist concepts were borrowed by Tibetan Buddhism. Tara is no exception, although it is dangerous to assume that the two concepts are one and the same.

LuisDantas said:

Hardly a coincidence. Lots of Hinduist concepts were borrowed by Tibetan Buddhism. Tara is no exception, although it is dangerous to assume that the two concepts are one and the same.

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Borrowed or interpolated.

BTW, I had a question for you in another thread, and it came from your view on reincarnation. Are you a Theravedic?

Edit!

Meanwhile I found out that there is a pair of twin-goddesses named Tara & Tarini.
They have a temple in Orissa, on a hill named Purnagiri, 30 km from Berhampur city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maa_Taratarini_Temple

Some more info on Tara in Hinduism:

At Tarapith (West Bengal) there is a Tantric Temple of Tara.
Bamakhepa, a tanric saint and great devotee of Tara, lived there.

Actually it isn't that clear, whether the Tara is originally from India and part of Sanatana Dharma. There is a Deity in the Tibetan Bon Tradition: Sherab Chamma. She shares the same attributes but she he has a higher and broader ontological position that Tara.

Bon Buddhism far outdates more modern forms of Hinduism and of course also modern Tibetan Buddhism. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and others after having researched the ancient [really ancient] past of Tibet - suggested that the kingdom of Zhang Zhung is the root of Bon and also the origin of many Vedic beliefs. The religion of Zhang Zhung was Bon Buddhism and so it may be convenient to ascribe the origin of Tara to India - but it simply may not be the case...

If you want to find out more on Zhang Zhung just google:

Thank you very much for this valuable information. :namaste
I did some research on Sherab Chamma and found this article.
Of particular interest is this:

In the Zhangzhung language, Sherab Chamma is known as Satrig Ersang, sa trig meaning "wisdom." In the Tazig language of ancient Central Asia she is Ardvishura Anahita.

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On Wikipedia I found more information about Aredvi Sura Anahita:

Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā); the Avestan language name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of 'the Waters' (Aban) and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. Aredvi Sura Anahita is Ardwisur Anahid or Nahid in Middle- and Modern Persian, Anahit in Armenian.[1]

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The old cultures are related with each other in so many ways, it is really surprising.

Marble said:

Thank you very much for this valuable information. :namaste

The old cultures are related with each other in so many ways, it is really surprising.

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You're welcome. :namaste

Yes, the wisdom of the ages is all interconnected. Be it because they had physical contact - or because they expressed the same truth. But they share a common ontology. Sadly modern materialistic science is unable to recognize this. All they see are thousands of different 'weird cults' who all believed in some 'Gods'... - because they are unable to grasp the meaning of all of it and rather apply their categories and Aristotelian logic onto something so subtle... But the times are a changing and people feel the need to reconnect to the old wisdom. So I am very optimistic that this compartmentalized thinking will come to an end soon.