Vajrasattva
Vajrasattva, the 'diamond being', is the Buddha of purification: white, a vajra held at the heart and a bell at the hip, seated on a moon disc, and in Tibetan practice the figure in whom the vajra lineage's transmission is concentrated — often counted as a sixth Tathagata completing the five-Buddha mandala.
Vajrasattva is not a god who forgives: the tradition's account is that purification depends on the practitioner's own four powers, with the deity as the field in which regret is acknowledged, so the 'absolution' framing is Western and not Buddhist. The planetary, zodiac and tarot values are a Hermetic overlay. In the Gelug the figure closest to a primordial Buddha is Vajradhara, a distinct figure from Vajrasattva, and the two should not be merged.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Moon
Offerings
- Offerings
- WaterWhite flowersIncenseLightConfessionRecitation of the hundred syllable mantra
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Dorje SempaRdo rje sems dpa'KongosattaJin Gang Sa DuoThe Diamond BeingVajra-Being
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The Diamond BeingLord of the VajraDeity of PurificationBearer of the Vajra and Bell
- Symbols
- VajraBellWhite lotusMoon discHundred syllable mantra
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneCool clear meticulousAddressVajrasattvaDorje SempaDiamond BeingRelationshipThe mirror that does not lieWarningHe does not absolve you you do the workResonanceThose carrying guilt those who have broken vows
- Modern Practice
He is the core of the ngondro: 100,000 recitations of the hundred-syllable mantra with the visualisation of white nectar purifying body, speech and mind, done before tantric practice proper. Modern practitioners also take him on retreat and after conflict, and the practice is the closest Tibetan Buddhism comes to a formal confession.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- PurificationConfessionClarityVowsThe mind of enlightenmentRemorse and repair
- Mythology Summary
Vajrasattva, the 'diamond being', is the Buddha of purification: white, a vajra held at the heart and a bell at the hip, seated on a moon disc, and in Tibetan practice the figure in whom the vajra lineage's transmission is concentrated — often counted as a sixth Tathagata completing the five-Buddha mandala. His hundred-syllable mantra, transmitted through the Yoga-tantra and Anuttarayoga cycles, is the standard means of confessing and purifying a broken vow, and the short form om vajrasattva hum is used across the schools. The four powers the practice requires — regret, reliance on the deity, the remedy of recitation, and the resolve not to repeat — are the tradition's own analysis of what confession is.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsWhiteSilverPale blueScentsSandalwoodJasmineCamphorMetalsSilverGoldAnimalsSwan
One of 3,120 entries in the Grimoire — the whole library, every cross-reference, is free to take. Take the whole thing Is it wrong somewhere?
Referenced by 0
Nothing in the library points at this entry yet.
More in Deities
The entries either side of this one in the same catalogue.
All of Deities →New entries, when they land
Occasional notes when a section of the grimoire is added or revised. No account, no tracking across sites, and one line to leave.