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Vajrasattva mantra, using vajra and ghanta

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I came across the Vajrasattva and the 10-syllable mantra. I think it's nice to have a picture of Vajrasattva in the house.

Vajrasattva2.jpg


Notice the vajra in the right hand and the ghanta in the left hand.

Being the all-or-nothing person I am :rolleyes: I found a bronze double vajra in the store I frequent for my religious and spiritual items. It is the closed vajra similar to this drawing:

vajra_gallery_thumb.jpg


I'd like a new larger ghanta, as mine is tiny. Preferably it would have Garuda on top of the handle, being dedicated to Sri Vishnu, my ishta-devata. I used the vajra and the ghanta last night during meditation, focusing on being with God and Him pervading me. For a fleeting moment I knew that there is only one connection between God and us. It was quite a nice experience, and I look forward to my next meditation.

During sadhana can one recite the mantra as a prayer, perhaps in English if not in Sanskrit (initiation needed, perhaps)? I think it's a lovely prayer:

oṃ vajrasattva samayam anupālaya
vajrasattva tvenopatiṣṭha
dṛḍho me bhava
sutoṣyo me bhava
supoṣyo me bhava
anurakto me bhava
sarva siddhiṃ me prayaccha
sarvakarmasu ca me cittaṃ śreyaḥ kuru hūṃ
ha ha ha ha hoḥ
bhagavan sarva tathāga tavajra mā me muñca
vajrī bhava mahā samaya sattva āḥ

Oṃ O Vajrasattva honour the agreement!
Reveal yourself as the vajra-being!
Be steadfast for me! Be very pleased for me!
Be fully nourishing for me! Be passionate for me!
Grant me all success and attainment!
And in all actions make my mind more lucid!
O Blessed One, vajra of all those in that state, don't abandon me!
O being of the great contract be a vajra-bearer! āḥ

The only real question I have is, have I done anything wrong or not correct? I think the answer is "no" because of how I felt, but I am a babe in the woods in this practice.
 

Shuddhasattva

Well-Known Member
please use a single vajra. vajrasattva is not emblematic of amoghasiddhi but vajra family. I also suggest canvassing Kalu Rinpoche's books for vajrasattva meditation instructions, particularly regarding heart meditation and the seed-essence alchemy.

vajrasattva is both seen as the 'sixth buddha' - ie, the summation of the 5 dhyani buddhas and hierarch of the mandala (in otherwords, inclusive of, and beyond, all 5 families), and also as the foremost of the vajra family of akshobhya.
 
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crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
If you are going for vajra family, an elephant symbol would be preferable to a garuda. (The double vajra and garuda throne are associated with the karma family, the single vajra and elephant throne with the vajra family.)

Vajra family is about purification of aversion.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
please use a single vajra. vajrasattva is not emblematic of amoghasiddhi but vajra family. ...

So a single vajra for Vajrasattva, a double vajra for Amoghasiddhi. Therefore I would not use the Vajrasattva mantra/prayer with a double vajra because a double vajra is associated with Amoghasiddhi, Karma family, destroying jealousy, fear.

I see in this picture Vajrasattva holding a single vajra:



If you are going for vajra family, an elephant symbol would be preferable to a garuda. (The double vajra and garuda throne are associated with the karma family, the single vajra and elephant throne with the vajra family.)

Vajra family is about purification of aversion.

So Amoghasiddhi is Karma family; Vajrasattva is Vajra family.

So the double vajra and Garuda are associated with Amoghasiddhi, not Vajrasattva.

ETA: Well, I couldn't be any more stupid if I tried. :facepalm:

I said I got a small bronze murti of the Buddha yesterday when I got the double vajra. It's not the Buddha. Wanna guess who it is... ?

Yep, it's Amoghasiddhi. It's virtually identical to this except for a deeper patina.

amoghasiddhigruen_k.jpg


Is there some message or meaning or coincidence that I get the double vajra and the murti of Amoghasiddhi? Is this supposed to mean something (except the given that I am abysmally ignorant :rolleyes:)?
 
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Shuddhasattva

Well-Known Member
I suggest reading Berzin on Buddha family types to gain understanding of Amoghasiddhi's role and as it may pertain to your own familial grouping. Please be advised that Berzin typically presents as per the Gelug scheme which, coming from the perspective of kagyu (my tradition) is 'scrambled,' along the lines of the Guhyasamaja, where typically Akshobhya and Vairocana are swapped in mandala position and assignment of attributes.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I saw that name, Berzin somewhere else.

Checking...

D'oh... :facepalm: I've been browsing through his site The Berzin Archives ? The Buddhist Archives of Dr. Alexander Berzin ? Home Page but haven't gotten deep into it yet.

ETA (seek and ye shall find):
Buddha-Family Traits (Buddha Families) and Aspects of Experience , the karma (action) family, headed by Amoghasiddhi, is subsumed under the jewel family. Anuttarayoga Tantra ... . The karma family (represented by a sword), with the main Buddha-figures Amoghasiddhi and Tara ... . Ratnasambhava represents good qualities. Amitabha represents speech. Amoghasiddhi represents ... ). Amoghasiddhi (green, north) represents the aggregate of other affecting variables (karmic formations, volitions ... . The Amitabha family represents fire. The Amoghasiddhi family represents wind. The Akshobhya family
 
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crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
So a single vajra for Vajrasattva, a double vajra for Amoghasiddhi. Therefore I would not use the Vajrasattva mantra/prayer with a double vajra because a double vajra is associated with Amoghasiddhi, Karma family, destroying jealousy, fear.

I see in this picture Vajrasattva holding a single vajra:





So Amoghasiddhi is Karma family; Vajrasattva is Vajra family.

So the double vajra and Garuda are associated with Amoghasiddhi, not Vajrasattva.

ETA: Well, I couldn't be any more stupid if I tried. :facepalm:

I said I got a small bronze murti of the Buddha yesterday when I got the double vajra. It's not the Buddha. Wanna guess who it is... ?

Yep, it's Amoghasiddhi. It's virtually identical to this except for a deeper patina.

amoghasiddhigruen_k.jpg


Is there some message or meaning or coincidence that I get the double vajra and the murti of Amoghasiddhi? Is this supposed to mean something (except the given that I am abysmally ignorant :rolleyes:)?

My impression when considering the two is the common ground of mudita. Akshobhya resides in the place of joy, and sympathetic joy is the antidote for envy which leads to Amoghasiddhi. :shrug:
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
My impression when considering the two is the common ground of mudita. Akshobhya resides in the place of joy, and sympathetic joy is the antidote for envy which leads to Amoghasiddhi. :shrug:

Bingo! Sympathetic joy goes back to that conversation about having warm fuzzies and happiness for someone. I envy no one, because I have what I need to get me through life. Besides, the grass is not always greener on the other side. I found this...


On the broadest level:
  1. Vairochana represents body.
  2. Ratnasambhava represents good qualities.
  3. Amitabha represents speech.
  4. Amoghasiddhi represents actions. <- this again goes back to my desire to "protect and serve" as we discussed in another thread.
  5. Akshobhya represents mind.
  1. Vairochana represents the deep awareness of the sphere of reality (Skt. dharmadhatu) (according to Gelug, mirror-like deep awareness).
  2. Ratnasambhava represents the deep awareness of equalities.
  3. Amitabha represents the deep awareness of individualities.
  4. Amoghasiddhi represents accomplishing deep awareness. <- my push to learn and see beyond the "face value" of life.
  5. Akshobhya represents mirror-like deep awareness (according to Gelug, the deep awareness of the sphere of reality).
 

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
Bingo! Sympathetic joy goes back to that conversation about having warm fuzzies and happiness for someone. I envy no one, because I have what I need to get me through life. Besides, the grass is not always greener on the other side. I found this...


On the broadest level:
  1. Vairochana represents body.
  2. Ratnasambhava represents good qualities.
  3. Amitabha represents speech.
  4. Amoghasiddhi represents actions. <- this again goes back to my desire to "protect and serve" as we discussed in another thread.
  5. Akshobhya represents mind.

  1. Vairochana represents the deep awareness of the sphere of reality (Skt. dharmadhatu) (according to Gelug, mirror-like deep awareness).
  2. Ratnasambhava represents the deep awareness of equalities.
  3. Amitabha represents the deep awareness of individualities.
  4. Amoghasiddhi represents accomplishing deep awareness. <- my push to learn and see beyond the "face value" of life.
  5. Akshobhya represents mirror-like deep awareness (according to Gelug, the deep awareness of the sphere of reality).
One thing to remember when dealing with Amoghasiddhi: Nibbana is beyond concepts.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Understood... not unlike the Tao and Brahman, ineffable.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I've been reading about the Five Dhyani Buddhas and their qualities and characteristics. I'm beginning to understand their families, roles, consorts/shaktis, and bodhisattvas. I have a few books on order that I am waiting to receive.

I want to see if I have this right so far:

A practitioner chooses, or is drawn to a Buddha and the bodhisattva(s) of one particular family based on a mutual affinity? For example, after the explanations above about the differences, I was drawn to Amoghasiddhi. Is this the way it works? Wrt to fearlessness, an attribute of Amoghasiddhi, that is something I pray to Lord Narasimha for.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
OK, another question. :rolleyes:

When meditating, do you simply hold the bell and vajra in each hand or do you do something with them? I read the vajra is held in the right hand at heart level, the bell in the left hand lower. But I've seen this video

[youtube]TOScDOMLCLM[/youtube]
Vajra Bell Lesson by a Lineage Master - YouTube

Am I supposed to do this!? :eek:

Btw, this is the bell I'm thinking of getting. It's Garuda.

Garud Bell :: - on Rudraksh Ratna-Rudraksha necklace,Yantra,Malas,Hindu Meditation Items

There is also this one

Tibetan Om Bell :: - on Rudraksh Ratna-Rudraksha necklace,Yantra,Malas,Hindu Meditation Items

Personally I like the Garuda bell. I'm partial to Vishnu. ;)
 
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