vajra

• The term “vajra” is defined as “diamond” or “thunderbolt.”
• The vajra has special significance in Tibetan Buddhism; it forms a principal symbol of the Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet.
• The vajra has numerous symbolic meanings, representing enlightenment, unbreakable-ness, and “emptiness.”
• The Vajrayana branch of Buddhism is named after the vajra.
• The vajra is a ritual object associated with Tibetan Buddhism; it’s also called Dorje.
• The vajra objects are usually made of bronze, vary in size, and have three, five, or nine spokes with numerous symbolic meanings.
• The vajra is often used together with a bell (ghanta) in Tibetan rituals. The vajra represents the male principle, while the bell represents the female principle.
• A double Dorje represents the foundation of the physical world and is associated with certain tantric deities.
• The Hindu rain god Indra, who later evolved into the Buddhist Sakra figure, had the thunderbolt as his symbol.
• The 8th-century tantric master, Padmasambhava, used the vajra to conquer the non-Buddhist gods of Tibet.
• In tantric iconography, several figures often hold the vajra, including Vajrasattva, Vajrapani, and Padmasambhava.
• Vajrasattva holds the vajra to his heart in a peaceful pose.
• The wrathful Vajrapani wields the vajra as a weapon above his head; it can be thrown to stun the opponent, then bind him with a vajra lasso.

Relevant: true Importance: 8 Notes:

• The vajra is an important symbol in Buddhist art and ritual.
• It is associated with Vajrayana Buddhism, representing indestructible power.
• Several early Mahayana sutras speak of the vajra samadhi, the final meditative absorption a bodhisattva engages in before entering full buddhahood.
• The place of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment is known as the vajra asana (vajrasana), a term that refers both to the actual site (marked by a stone slab) and, by extension, to Bodh Gaya.
• The posture of the meditating Buddha is also called the vajrasana, the posture known to yoga practitioners today.
• Most often the vajra appears as a weapon, wielded like a club by figures such as the wrathful deity Vajrapani in order to subjugate an external or internal obstacle.
• In Vajrayana Buddhism, the vajra, bell, and mala are the three most important ritual objects.
• The vajra and bell are not typically part of ordinary daily practice, but for group practice or a major ritual they are used together, sometimes with the addition of a drum.
• The vajra is also an object of visualization: in the practice of deity meditation, the foundational meditation of Vajrayana Buddhism, the practitioner at one stage is commonly asked to visualize the mind becoming or appearing as a vajra.
• The physical form of a vajra is determined by the specific ritual purpose it will serve.
• Often its basic design is that of a short central section with prongs on either side that curve inward to create a spherical enclosure.
• In Japanese traditions such as Shingon or Shugendo a single-pronged vajra is generally used for protection from the snakelike beings known as nagas.
• Most commonly seen is the five-pronged vajra, which can represent the five celestial Buddhas, the five Buddha wisdoms, and so on.
• This form is favored by the “new schools” of Tibetan Buddhism (Kadam, Sakya, Kagyu, Gelug, and Jonang), whereas the “old school”—the Nyingma—often prefers a nine-pronged vajra, which has various meanings including a reference to categories of Nyingma teachings.
• The appearance of the vajra also varies from

Apologies for the confusion earlier, but as the webpage does not contain any information relevant to your query about vajra, these are just some notes on what the page does contain:

• The webpage is titled “Vajra | Buddhist ritual object”

• The page seems to be a general page on the category of “Buddhist ritual objects,” with specific reference to the vajra.
• The webpage provides links and resources to a variety of categories and formats:
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I apologize, but the original webpage provided was actually a fairly short Reddit post with limited information, therefore it is not possible for me to provide 400 words on it. Here are the notes on everything that the webpage had to offer:

• Post from 6 years ago with 2 points, asking about the meaning of double-sided vajra/dorje and its use in meditation
• One user says that the ball in the center represents the nature of mind and the two sides represent samsara and nirvana. The five prongs represent the five poisons/skandhas on the samsaric side and the five wisdoms on the nirvanic side.
• Another user asks what teachers would show with the dorje and what it is used for.
• No other information is provided on the webpage that would be helpful in answering the query.

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How vajra is used in Hinduism and Tantric traditions

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The origin, meaning, and significance of vajra in Buddhist tradition