Vajra Topics

• tantric rituals
• male principle
• female principle
• spiritual practitioner
• indian religion
• vajrapani
• madhyamika
• five elements
• conscious attempt
• religion and culture
• dorje
• symbolic importance
• spiritual teacher
• everyday world
• mental states
• bodhisattva
• spiritual power
• correspondences
• upaya

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Vajra, Vajra

The vajra is believed to represent firmness of spirit and spiritual power. It is a ritual tool or spiritual implement which is symbolically used by Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Because of its symbolic importance, the vajra spread along with Indian religion and culture to other parts of Asia. It was used as both a weapon and a symbol in Nepal, India, Tibet, Bhutan, Siam, Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Korea and Japan.

In tantric rituals the Vajra symbolizes the male principle which represents method in the right hand and the Bell symbolizes the female principle, which is held in the left. Their interaction leads to enlightenment. Also the Dorje or Vajra represents the "Upaya" or method Tibetans name Vajra as "Dorje". When made to be worn as a pendant, it reminds the wearer, and the viewer, of the supreme indestructibility of knowledge.

The term is employed extensively in tantric literature: the term for the spiritual teacher is the vajracarya ; instead of bodhisattva, we have vajrasattva , and so on. The practice of prefixing terms, names, places, and so on by vajra represents the conscious attempt to recognize the transcendental aspect of all phenomena; it became part of the process of "sacramentalizing" the activities of the spiritual practitioner and encouraged him to engage all his psychophysical energies in the spiritual life.

Three of the most famous of these are Vajrasattva, Vajrapani, and Padmasambhava.

The vajra object itself shows two spheres joined in the center, like the two spheres of the brain, and the experience of the thunderbolt comes at the center of the brain. Following this powerful "bolt" one rests in equanimity in both worlds, being in the everyday world yet not identified with it. This is the Madhyamika.

There is an elaborate system of correspondences between the five elements of the noumenal side of the vajra, and the phenomenal side. One important correspondence is between the five "poisons" with the five wisdoms. The five poisons are the mental states that obscure the original purity of a being's mind, while the five wisdoms are the five most important aspects of the enlightened mind. Each of the five wisdoms is also associated with a Buddha figure. (see also Five Wisdom Buddhas) The following are the five poisons and the analogous five wisdoms with their associated Buddha figures: The wisdom of individuality is also known as Discriminating Wisdom.

Source: Wikipedia > Vajra