Vajrapani (vaj-ra-pāṇi, Sanskrit: वज्रपानीमम), whose name literally means one with lightning in his hand, is one of the three main protective bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is a symbol of the power of Buddha and is often shown in a wrathful form to the Buddha’s left. He is the protector of the Buddha and is often depicted in pictures and idols with a thunderbolt, or lightning bolt in his hand. He is often portrayed as the remover of obstacles, and is prayed to in times of illnesses and when there is a need for some kind of strength.
Vajrapani in India
Iconographically, Vajrapani was first represented in India as the Hindu deity, Indra, the King of the demigods, and Lord of the Rains and War. The similarity of the two, in their roles or protection and control of weather, as well as their lightning bolt weapons created a connection to Vajrapani in India.[1]
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http://www.india-picture.net/Ajanta/vajrapani
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This painting, dating back to the 2nd and 1st century B.C.E in India, is one of the descriptions of Vajrapani in the Ajanta Caves. The carved caves, located in Maharashtra India, are famous for housing many of the oldest paintings and sculptures of Buddhist art. Vajrapani, who stands on the left of the Buddha’s image in the caves, is holding a Vitraka Mudra,the hand gesture that symbolizes Debate, or Teaching [2] in this image, and is dressed in the attire typical to deities in Hinduism.
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This 8th-9th century stone image of the standing Vajrapani hails from the Northern state of Bihar in India. The image is surrounded by Pali script, and is holding a lightning weapon in his right hand. The snake like jewelry on Vajrapani’s arms in this depiction may represent the nagas, or snakes, who became associated with the Bodhisattva after he was to said to save them from the wrath of the eagle-god, Garuda, from both Hindu and Buddhism mythology. [3]
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http://drilbudorje.tripod.com/_Dorje.htm
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http://www.khandro.net/deities_bodhisattvas.htm
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Although Vajrapani is often depicted in a wrathful form, he is occasionally shown in a peaceful form, and with dark blue colored skin, a similarity that Vajrapani has to several Hindu Gods. In this particular painting from Northern India, Vajrapani holds a vajra, or thunderbolt weapon, in his right hand- almost as a warning gesture to those evoke his displeasure. [3]
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Vajrapani in Tibet
Vajrapani (Tibetan: chag na dor je) is seen in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and there are many myths about the powerful ways Vajrapani would protect and promote Buddha's teaching. It is said that on one occasion Shakyamuni Buddha was seated at the base of a hill to preform a sermon. Buddha's jealous cousin Devadatta rolled a large boulder down the hill in attempt to kill the Buddha. Just as the boulder was about to hit the Buddha, Vajrapani jumped in front of it and split the boulder into two pieces which each fell harmlessly to the sides. After seeing his power, Buddha entrusted Vajrapani with the protection of the tantras. As protector of the tantric teachings, Vajrapani is sometimes referred to as the "Lord of the Secret". [4]
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http://nepacrafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/tibetan-vajrapani-thangka-painting-lama.html
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In this Thangka image, Vajrapani is shown in his wrathful form. He is standing in a warrior stance to show his strength and determination. He is shown in a halo of flames which signifies transformation. His blue skin is the color of a thunder cloud, and his bodhisattva crown is made of skulls. He wears an animal skin around his waist to show his fearlessness. In his right hand, Vajrapani is holding a lightening bolt and in his left he's holding a lasso. Vajrapani uses the lasso to catch his enemies and the lightening bolt to smite them. His three eyes shows his ability to comprehend the past, present, and future. [5]
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This bronze sculpture of Vajrapani from the 18th century shows the bodhisattva sitting on a lotus pedestal. He is holding a lightening bolt in his right hand, in front of his chest. In another right hand he is holding the Buddha to show that he will protect him. It is very unusual to see Vajrapani depicted with so many arms as he is usually seen with only two.
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http://www.rubylane.com/shops/barkusfarm/item/A3871
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Vajrapani in China
Vajrapani, or Jingang Shou (金剛手) in Chinese, is the protector of the Shaolin Monastery in Henan. This is largely at odds with the rest of Chinese temples where a Daoist deity, Guangong, is venerated as their protector. Vajrapani’s story of origin as the Shaolin protector comes from a story about the invasion of the Red Turbans. The story goes that bandits invaded the monastery, and a lowly kitchen worker, barefoot and unkempt, took up a fire poker against the invading bandits. This simple laborer leapt into the kitchen fires, and then when he leapt back out, he had transformed into a fearsome staff-wielding deity. Then, transforming to such an enormous size that he straddled the holy Mt Song and the Imperial Fort five miles away, he was able to drive back the invaders with his gigantic staff. This led to a transformation in the image of Vajrapani in the Shaolin Temple. Before, Vajrapani had been depicted as a vajra carrying deity, but later Shaolin depictions show him bearing a staff, such as is used by Shaolin monks. The image of the staff wielding deity holds specific meaning for China, due to another famous staff wielding figure appearing in literature around the same time; Sun Wukong. Many comparisons have been made to the image of the gigantic, staff-wielding Vajrapani protecting the temple, and the powerful, staff-wielding Monkey King from Journey to the West.
In Shaolin traditions, Vajrapani is not considered to be a standalone Bodhisattva, however. Instead, he is thought to be an aspect of the bodhisattva Guanyin due to a passage in the Lotus Sutra which states that Guanyin will take whatever form is conducive to spreading the dharma. Later, Vajrapani was further confused with the Kimnaras, due to the similarity of their Chinese names, and so in later times, they started to refer to Vajrapani as Kimnara.
Vajrapani seems largely at odds with Buddhist ideology in general, but even more so in China where he is the inspiration for the meat-eating warrior monks of Shaolin. This is justified, however, with the theory that the monks work to defend the dharma and protect others from the sins that they would commit. This justification has allowed the monks to take up arms and maintain their status as monks.[6]
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As a counterpoint, we see a staff wielding Vajrapani in this image to the right. He has his left foot on Mt Song, and his right is on the mountain of the Imperial Fort. Below him we can see the invaders, to his side is the Shaolin Monastery, and above him we can see Guanyin acting through Vajrapani.
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 http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=521
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Vajrapani in Greco-Buddhism
From the fourth century BCE to the fifth century CE, there was a mixing of Greek culture and Buddhism in the Gandhara Kingdom, or present day Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India (including Jamnu and Kashmir).[7]
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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrapani
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This stone carving depicts the Buddha with his protector, Vajrapani. It is from the Gandhara Kingdom, made around the second century CE . The Buddha looks like an ordinary anthropomorphic carving, but what is interesting is Vajrapani. He resembles a Greek carving of Heracles. But, looking closer, one sees the diamond club in hand, which suggests that the man is not Heracles, but Vajrapani. In fact, as the Hellenistic culture influenced Buddhism in the Gandhara region, the hero Heracles was used to represent Vajrapani. As Mahayana Buddhism spread, so did the Hellenistic influence on Vajrapani, eventually reaching Japan.[7]
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This is another stone carving from Gandhara with Vajrapani and the Buddha, dating from the second century CE. Again, we know the Herculean figure is Vajrapani because he holds the diamond club. Vajrapani is also holding a flywhisk, which also signifies Vajrapani protecting the Buddha, even from something as small as a fly. [7]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrapani
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Vajrapani in Japan
In Japan, Vajrapani is emanated through the Niō Guardians. The Niō Guardians, according to Japanese tradition, travelled with the Buddha as his protectors. At Buddhist temples in Japan, China and Korea, Niō Guardians are placed at an entrance to protect the temple. The two figures are called Agyō and Ungyō in Japanese, representing power and strength, and like the Greco-Buddhist carving from above, are heavily influenced by Heracles.
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http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/618286/Unkei
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Agyō (阿形) , the left figure, also called Naraen Kongō (那羅延金剛), represents power in action. This is shown in the arms being ready to fight. In addition he is holding a vajra-pani. His open mouth making the cosmic sound "ah", which means the beginning or birth.[8]
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Ungyō (吽形), the right figure, also called Misshaku Kongō (密遮金剛), represents potential might. This is shown with his arms down, waiting. In addition, he is often shown bared fisted or holding a sword. His closed mouth makes the cosmic sound “un”, which means end or death.[8]
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It is important for the statues to show so much power and strength because, it is said, that the Niō Guardians would resort to physical force to protect Buddhist values and beliefs from evil. The Niō Guardians strength is shown through the details on the statues, highly defined muscles and even veins are common. Another sign of the power and strength of the Niō Guardians is there size. At the Todai Temple in Nara Japan, the two statues above are at the Great South Gate, each approximately 28 feet tall, carved out of wood in 1203 by an artist by the name of Unkei.[8]
Myth of Kongō Rikishi
“According to a Japanese story, there once was a king who had two wives. His first wife bore a thousand children who all decided to become monks and follow the Buddha's law. His second wife had only two sons. The youngest was named Non-o and helped his monk brothers with their worship. The eldest, Kongō Rikishi (金剛力士), however, had a much more aggressive personality. He vowed to protect the Buddha and his worshipers by fighting against evil and ignorance. Kongō Rikishi was the first of the heavenly kings, called Niō Niō (or Kongō). The second is called Shukongōshin (執金剛神).”[8]
Kongō Rikishi is another name for Agyō, the overt strength or power in action Niō Guardian. The power and aggression of Kongō Rikishi's vow shows that he is a manifestation of Vajrapani and all his power. Kongō Rikishi is also taking on a similar role as a protector.
Rituals
Buddhists will recite Vajrapani's mantra while meditating to help them gain access to his powerful energy. It is also recommended to recite for protection. Vajrapani's mantra is simply his name said in between Om and Hum.[9] The Youtube video below is an audio of a spiritual leader named Kelsang Gyatso reciting the mantra.
According to the Tantra of the Supreme Origination of Vajrapani: "If the disciple renders one obeisance to Vajrapani, he attains more merits than he would have secured through rendering numerous obeisances to myriads of Buddhas as many as the total grains of sands in ninety-two million Ganges Rivers... If he relies on Vajrapani as his Yidam Buddha and recites the Mantra, he will surely be protected by Vajrapani from all hindrances. No demons can hurt him, all illness will be cured, his merits will be increased and prosperity augmented. All his wishes will be fulfilled. Thus, the benefits of practicing this ritual are beyond description, nothing can afflict those who practice it." The text goes on to explain the prayers one would say to feel like they are a vajrapani themself. One of these prayers is:
"O Lord Vajrapani
Manifesting in a form with braided hair…
Through the power of speech of Lord Vajrapani,
May I attain the blessing and prosperity." [10]
[1] http://www.khandro.net/deities_bodhisattvas.htm
[2] http://www.buddhanet.net/mudras.htm
[3] http://www.khandro.net/deities_bodhisattvas.htm
[4] http://www.chantamantra.com/index.php/articles/62-chinese-manifestations-of-tibetan-buddhas-vajrapani
[5] http://www.hinkyimport.com/tk000019.html
[6] http://books.google.com/
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrapani
[8] http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/nio.shtml
[9] http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/vajrapani
[10] http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/ettt/ettt07.htm
Group Members: Andrew Fenton, Deborah Krause, Amy Sereda, Sushupta Srinidhi
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