IncenseBlack teaTormaButter lampsProtecting someone who cannot protect themselves
Invocation Approach
Tone
Fierce protective
Address
VajrapaniBearer of the VajraLord of SecretsChagna Dorje
Relationship
The guardian at the gate
Warning
His wrath is compassion it is not yours to borrow
Resonance
Those facing hostility those guarding others
Symbols
VajraLassoFlaming auraSerpentClub
Mythology Summary
Vajrapani, 'vajra in hand', is the bodhisattva who embodies the power of the Buddhas — one of the eight great bodhisattvas and, with Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara, one of the three family protectors who stand for wisdom, compassion and power. His ancestry is visible in the texts: in the Pali canon the yakkha Vajirapani appears with a thunderbolt to press a questioner, which is Indra/Sakka's weapon and his disguise, and in Gandharan sculpture the club-bearing figure beside the Buddha is modelled on Herakles. In the tantras he becomes the guardian and compiler of the tantras themselves, and in the Guhyasamaja it is he who requests and protects the teaching. The wrathful blue-black form, vajra raised and a serpent knotted at the neck, is the one met in Tibetan protector practice.
Modern Practice
He is invoked as a protector before tantric practice and in situations of real hostility, and his mantra is used to clear obstacles. In Tibetan practice his fierce forms are taken up with a teacher's transmission rather than improvised, which is the difference between this and most Western 'protection' work.