Vajrapani doesn’t, to many newcomers to Buddhism, look very Buddhist at all. He is a Bodhisattva who represents the energy of the enlightened mind, and his mantra also symbolizes that quality.
Vajrapani is pictured dancing wildly within a halo of flames, which represent transformation.
He holds a vajra (thunderbolt) in his right hand, which emphasizes the power to cut through the darkness of delusion. Vajrapani looks wrathful, but as a representation of the enlightened mind, he’s completely free from hatred.
Vajrapani’s mantra is simply his name, which means “wielder of the thunderbolt”, framed between the mystical syllables Om and Hūṃ. This mantra helps us to gain access to the irrepressible energy that Vajrapani symbolizes. A familiarity with Vajrapani does, of course, help here, although the sound of the mantra is itself rather energetic.
Click below to listen to an audio recording of the Vajrapani mantra, chanted by Bodhipaksa:
Vajrapani is a member, along with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri, of the trinity of Bodhisattvas known as the Three Family Protectors. The Buddha family of which Vajrapani is the protector is the Vajra (thunderbolt) family, which includes Akshobya (the lord of the Vajra family) and Yamantaka.
Vajrapani (Holder of the Thunderbolt) represents the energy of the enlightened mind, and energy that breaks through delusion. He dances wildly within a halo of flames, which represent the transformative power of Awakening. He holds a vajra (thunderbolt) in his right hand, which emphasizes the power to cut through the darkness of delusion.
Non-Buddhists (and Theravadin Buddhists) seeing Vajrapani for the first time may wonder how such a wrathful-looking figure could possibly fit with the peaceful associations they have with the Buddhist tradition, although such figures are actually very common in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
Of course it’s not really possible adequately to represent the qualities of Enlightenment in any image, and so even the peaceful forms of Buddhas and bodhisattvas are to some extent misleading.
Enlightened beings do not, in reality, sit around all day on lotuses smiling serenely. The Buddha himself was fearlessly active in engaging with the other religious figures and philosophers of his day. His fearless approach to life is perhaps characterized mostly clearly by his encounter with Angulimala, who was an infamous bandit who killed his victims and added a finger from each to the garland he wore around his neck (his name means “Garland of Fingers”). Although warned to stay away from this dangerous figure, the Buddha insisted on going into the forest to confront Angulimala, who converted to Buddhism, became a monk, and eventually became Enlightened.
Therefore, it’s just as appropriate to represent an Enlightened being as dancing wildly, naked and fearless.
Another way of looking at the apparent fierceness of Vajrapani and other “wrathful” figures is to consider what a Buddha looks like from the point of view of that part of ourselves that doesn’t want to change. We may, at some level, want to meditate, to live ethically, and so on, but other parts of us are profoundly threatened by the possibility of change.
Our habits can form a kind of “sub-personality” that can try to hijack our lives. After all, habits of denial, craving, and aversion face extinction if we continue to practice the path of mindfulness and compassion, so it’s not surprising that they sometimes put up a protest. From the point of view of those powerful and yet primitive parts of ourselves, Enlightenment, rather than looking attractive, seems to be threatening and demonic.
Because of this dual nature, Vajrapani has his peaceful forms as well, and early depictions of him, while muscular and athletic, are nothing like the wild figure depicted above.
Vajrapani has his origins in the Pali canon, as a Yaksha, or nature spirit. In this story, in the Digha Nikaya, a Brahmin (priestly) youth named Ambattha, is first of all rude to the Buddha, believing him to be of a lower social caste, and then refuses to answer a question the Buddha — who is unfailingly polite in the encounter — puts to him about his ancestry.
After Ambattha refuses to answer the question twice, the Buddha reminds him that there is a traditional belief that if you refuse to answer the question of an enlightened one three times, your head will split in seven pieces. Of course this never happens, but “Vajirapani” (the Pali form of his name) appears, ready to make good on the ancient prophecy. Ambattha is of course terrified and promptly answers the Buddha’s question.
Vajrapani also has his mythic roots in Indra, the Indian thunder god. He’s thus connected to Zeus and Jupiter, who, along with Indra, are all variants of the same thunderbolt-wielding sky-deity. (“Dyaus” is Sanskrit for “sky,” and Indra is also known as “Indra Dyaus.” “Zeus” is the Greek form of Dyaus. Jupiter is “Dyaus-piter” or “sky father.”)
The earliest depictions of Vajrapani, as we noted above, are not particularly wrathful. In this image, from the second century, both the Buddha (seated) and Vajrapani (standing) are sculpted in classic Greek style. Vajrapani here is shown as a powerful muscular figure protecting the Buddha, and his iconography is essentially that of Herakles (Hercules). The characteristics he shares with the later form are the vajra (thunderbolt), his powerful frame, and his semi-nakedness, which is typical of a Greek athlete.
In later forms, as Vajrapani becomes more other-worldly, he is shown as being dark blue in color. He perhaps borrows this color from Akshobhya, the head of the Vajra Family. But this is also the color of a thunder cloud.
He represents the power, energy, and fearlessness of the Buddhas. He stands in (or rather is caught in) the warrior pose that will be familiar to those who practice Hatha Yoga. In his outstretched right hand he wields a vajra, and his left hand holds a lasso with which to bind demons.
Vajrapani wears a loin-cloth around his hips. The cloth is made from the skin of a tiger. He is adorned with the five-pointed Bodhisattva crown, but the crown bears five skulls. He has a necklace hanging to his belly, but he also has a snake around his neck. Snakes and dragons are associated with clouds and rain, fitting in with Vajrapani’s origins as a god of thunder.
Vajrapani has a bulging third eye in the center of his forehead. Just as Ambattha’s hairs stood on end when he encountered Vajirapani, so the bodhisattva’s hair flies wildly in the air.
Although Vajrapani and other similar figures are often described as “wrathful” it’s important to realize that they do not represent ordinary anger, but simply the power and fearlessness of the awakened mind. There is no place in Buddhist practice for “righteous anger,” and despite his appearance Vajrapani is a profoundly compassionate figure.
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Thank you very much Mondo and Rinchen Phuntsok for your comments, very helpful indeed! I find what Mondo says to be particularly interesting. Thanks again and yes more to come for sure :-))
Love and Light
Clint
The RealAudio sample should be corrected, it is pronounced:
OM BENZA PANI HUM
Vajra is pronounced "BENZA"
Thanks
Hi, Steve.
I'm afraid the Sanskrit mantra is not pronounced as you indicate. You're trying to faithfully reproduce a Tibetan mispronunciation of a Sanskrit mantra, which is rather charming in a way. Tibetan is in an entirely different language group from Sanskrit, and so Tibetans find it impossible to reproduce its sounds accurately. It's like when native Japanese speakers substitute "R" for "L" so that "hallowed" becomes "harrowed." English and Sanskrit are both in the same language group -- both are Indo-European languages -- and it's much easier for us to pronounce Sanskrit. We never quite do it perfectly, but it's much easier for us than it is for Tibetans. It's rather interesting that English speakers try so carefully to copy the mispronunciations of Tibetan teachers to the point that they feel impelled to criticize those who pronounce Sanskrit more correctly.
Hi Bodhipaksa and Steve, In THE GREAT IMAGE there is an account of Vairochana going to India and bringing back The Great Perfection given to him by Sri Simha. In order to 'sneak' it out of the country he puts it into code. This code becomes the new written language of Tibet at the time. So what we call Tibetan is indeed a synthesis of the old Tibetan language and Sanskrit modified to not look exactly like Sanskrit. Tricky. Tibetan does have an alphabet and there are many sites on the net to learn about this language. I find it interesting that Tibetan can make all of the sounds that the Chinese language makes, but does it with an alphabet which Chinese does not have. The Chinese characters language is enormous and complex but does not have an alphabet. Ugh! Now Vajra does have a couple of different spellings in Tibetan. You see there are 3 distinctly different schools or dialects of Tibetan if not even more. So Vajra can be spelled Benza, Benzer, Badzar in Tibetan. How it is pronounced is another matter. Usually you can hear your lama pronounce it either directly or via electronic means. So go with that.
My thought is that VajraPani, and all of 'The Buddhas' if anthropomorphised...they know all of the languages and then some. I find it idiotic to propose they only know a singularity of linguistical awareness. Reminds me of one of the major reasons the Moslems and the Jews are at each others' throats...pardon the pun...The moslems say God or Allah only hears prayers in Arabic and The Jews maintain He only hears prayers in Hebrew. Silly. Indeed all words are empty be them Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew or whatever. They are just conventional pointers. The VajraCutter Sutra is a great baseline for such linguistical theory. And yet going into various theories about frequencies and reverberances of sound envolving the awakening of centers of awareness within this 'Form'/body opening oneself to 'higher mind' via ehterial speech/mantra ain't a bad way to go wither. The Mantrayana as skillful means on the Vajrayana Path makes for an incredible journey which you can travel sitting perfectly still sort of....
And I'll add that finally.....one need to should recite the mantra as the teacher or Guru has tought. If the Guru recited that mantra in sanskrit, one should keep that pronunciation. If it was recited in tibetanized sanskrit - corrupted sanskrit, one should do the same. That's because in that way , one can receive the blessings of the lineage of Gurus.
Best regards,
Rinchen.
Yes, I definitely think we need to respect the traditions in which we practice. If there are "errors" in the mantra or in its pronunciation, those should not be changed without the blessing of our teacher.
Exactly. Yet let me bring up a 'point'. Of course I'd like to think everyone 'hears' sounds the same way 'I' do. I've come to notice that this view is incorrect. It comes out when you hear two devotees arguing about how their Master actually said the mantra. So, personal clarity...how you actually hear your Guru, Master, Teacher pronounce the mantra is how to do it. Question: how about the Surangama Sutra? Both Avalokitesvara and Manjusri follow 'Hearing' back to its source and arrive at enlightenment. They both explain how they went about their investigation of hearing. Well worth the read.
Well, you have to get feedback from the teacher. It's very common even in chanting things like the refuges and precepts that certain people consistently chant what they think they hear rather than what they actually hear. Sometimes it needs to be pointed out that a word is being mispronounced.
Hello to all bros and sis,
Actually, I have been searching for vajrapani practice secret until I come across this blog. I started to chant om vajrapani hum since 2006 after being taught by a "master" friend. Lately, I am experiencing some very weird sensations on some part of my body, it feels like butterflies kissing my skin. I can even see bright spark with "zzztt-zztt" sound.
So far, the following brother was quite close to the guidance I'm searching for, excuse me for pasting it here again.
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Comment from Brian
Time: November 28, 2008, 12:40 pm
Hi everyone, the website is great. I am an intitate in both the Nyingma (Khenpos Pladen Sherab and Tsewang Dongyal) and
Kagyu (Trungpa Rinpoche) Lineages. I’d like to add to the comments from Bodhipaksa to Steve; by all means chant the
Vajrapani mantra, however Bodhipaksa’s comment “As long as we are doing skillful things with that energy” is deeply important. It would
be advisable to practice Zhang Zhuang (standing Chi Gung) or practice the internal martial arts of Tai Chi, Ba Gua Chang, Hsing-I
Chuan, or Kum Nye or Hatha Yoga to open, cleanse, and stretch the meridians and channels in the body. For the mantric energy of
wrathful Buddhas/Bodhisattvas, the “inner wiring” of the body has to be prepared. We don’t want to open to 800 watts of power when
our wiring is only prepared to handle one hundred. Drink lots of water, the flames around Vajrapani, though cool to the
touch can still fry. Vajrapani is one of the dieties revered at the at the Shaolin Temple. The mantra is Great for weightlifting too.
Good Luck to all!
Tashi Delek!, May All Beings be Happy and free of suffering.
Brian
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Brian, where are you? Can you kindly help me?
May all be well and happy.
What is the absolute correction pronunciation of the Tibetan words: Phat or Phet
Any help with this appreciated;-)
It's a Sanskrit rather than a Tibetan word. If Tibetan has adopted "phat" as a loan word, I've no idea how they'd pronounce it. Also if it's being used in a Sanskrit mantra and chanted by Tibetans, I don't know how they'd pronounce it. But in Sanskrit "ph" the "h" is sounded, and it would be like the p-h combination in "cup-hut". In fact the "a" is pronounced as the "u" in Enlgish "but" or "hut," although the "t" is retroflex and pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed against the hard palate. You'd get an accurate pronunciation by saying the "p-hut" part of "cup-hut" in a fake Indian accent. When people fake an Indian accent they instinctively use retroflex t's. The word should be pronounced vigorously, since it's (I believe) meant to represent a thunder-crack.
Bodhipaksa, you are great! I am only familiar with the Amdo dialect which my Master pronounces and He doesn't pronounce the 'p'. So it sounds like HUT!!! In the Marine Corps, the sounds made for the command 'Attention' is 10-HUT!!!. That HUt came to mind when I heard Master say HUT. As the last sound in the POWA Mantra it reads as PHAT and is pronounced HUT with great emphasis; burst. The burst is kind of sorta also for the movement of energy in the Heart chakra up the central channe. That being so, the last syllable of any mantra can be given the same emphasis. Hung is so often a lsst syllable too and can be emphasized similarly. What do you say?
Yes, hum is often emphasized, but it depends on what mantra it's in. In Om manipadme hum it's not typically given much emphasis at all, but in Om Vajrapani Hum it tends to be emphasized more. But it never seems to be chanted as emphatically as "phat," which is more declarative.
Actually I've heard Phat also said rather simply or just spoken. Yet it still sounds like hut. Tibetan and Chinese have such incredible ways to put letters in a word that go unpronounced. I wonder why? I mean Hat could easily sound like hut in English. The English A has so many ways to be sounded. Ah, At and some renditions with Uh. Ususally in Chinese a P is a B. It's crazy speech if you ask me.
It's similar in American English, though. Americans could easily say MUN-duh-luh (close enough for maṇá¸Âala), but they insist on man-DAH-lah. It's hard to speak someone else's language, since it tends to get filtered through the pronunciation rules of your native tongue, and with Chinese and Tibetan not even being from the same language group as Sanskrit, it's even harder for them.
Yes you're right Sanskrit or Ghandarvi was the language the Tibetans created their script off of, but again you're right, they felt they had to 'code' it or 'bastardize' their script to get the sutras out of India at the time. It was politics. Yet Chinese phonemics seem to be their pronounciation mode. My Master has Mantra books with the Tibetan on the top lines while Chinese below for all of His Chinese disciples. The Chinese people can say or sing the mantras easily that way, but the Chinese semantics are not the Tibetan semantics. So it seems to me semantically the Tibetan follows the Ghandarvi although the script is quite different while phonemically the base seems to be Chinese. Historically Tibet has a history of looking towards India for its philosophical guidance while also having China as a deep influence. Kind of like whetre East meets West. Indeed on Tibetan King had two wives; one from China and one from Nepal.