Esoteric Buddhist statue, tantric Dharmapala, protector Yi dam. Vajrapani in his Acharya form. Bronze. Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism

Esoteric Buddhist statue, tantric Dharmapala and protector Yi dam. Vajrapani.

Bronze.

Tibetan statuette made by specialized Tibetan artisans.

Dimensions: 26cm high by 21cm wide by 9cm deep

An opening on the back is made (6th photo) to put offerings and prayers inside during the blessing like all traditional Buddhist statuettes.

VAJRAPANI

Vajrapāni is a compound word in Sanskrit in which 'Vajra' means 'diamond or lightning' and 'pāni' means 'in hand' Vajrapani is one of the earliest bodhisattvas to appear in Mahayana Buddhism.

He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and stood up to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is widely depicted in Buddhist iconography as one of the first three patron deities or bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha.

Each of them symbolizes one of the virtues of the Buddha:

Manjushri manifests all the wisdom of the Buddhas,

Avalokiteśvara manifests all the immense compassion of the Buddhas,

and Vajrapāni protects Buddha and manifests all the power of the Buddhas.

Vajrapāni is one of the earliest Dharmapalas of Mahayana Buddhism and also appears as a deity in the Pali Canon of the Theravada school. He is revered in Shaolin Monastery, Tibetan Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism (where he is known as Mahasthamaprapta and forms a triad with Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara).

Manifestations of Vajrapāni can also be found in many Buddhist temples in Japan as Dharma protectors called Nio. Vajrapāni is also associated with Acala, worshiped as Fudō-Myōō in Japan, where he is worshiped as the holder of the vajra.

This statuette represents him in his Acharya form. manifestation of Vajrapani as Dharmapala, sporting a third eye, ghanta (bell), and pāśa (lasso).

Vajrapāni's expression is wrathful, to generate "fear in the individual to release his dogmatism." His outstretched right hand wields a vajra, "symbolizing analytical knowledge (jñanavajra) which disintegrates the grasping of consciousness. He wears a five-pointed bodhisattva crown to represent the power of the five Dhyani Buddhas (the fully enlightened state of the Buddha) .

Her neck is adorned with a necklace of snakes and her waist with a tiger skin. As he walks to the right, his raised hand holds a vajra. In early Buddhist legends, Vajrapāni is a minor deity who accompanied Gautama during his career as a wandering beggar.

In some texts he is said to be a manifestation of Śakra, king of paradise Trāyastriṃśa of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology and god of rain as depicted in the idols of the Gandharva.

As an akra, it is said to have been present when Tathagata was born. As Vajrapāni, he was the god who helped Gautama escape from the palace at the time of his renunciation. When Sakyamuni returned from Kapilavastu, he was said to have taken eight forms of devas who escorted him. Vajrapāni is considered a manifestation of Vajradhara and the "spiritual reflex", the Dhyani Bodhisattva of Akshobhya.

At the popular level, Vajrapāni is the bodhisattva who represents the power of all Buddhas just as Avalokiteśvara represents their great compassion and Mañjuśrī their wisdom. He is called the Master of Unfathomable Mysteries who upholds the truth even in the adversities of darkness and ignorance. According to the Pañcaviṃsatisāhasrikā- and Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitās, any bodhisattva on the path to Buddhahood is eligible for Vajrapāni's protection, which makes him invincible to attack "by men or ghosts".