Vajrapani 金剛手（大勢至）菩薩

Vajrapani (Skt. Vajrapānī; Tib. ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ་, Chakna Dorje; Wyl. phyag na rdo rje) — one of the eight great bodhisattvas and lords of the three families. He represents the power of the buddhas and is usually depicted as blue in colour and holding a vajra. He is especially responsible for transmitting the tantras to the human realm, and is known, in this context, as the 'Lord of Secrets' (Skt. Guhyapati; Tib. གསང་བའི་བདག་པོ་, Wyl. gsang ba'i bdag po).

Further Reading

• Jamgön Mipham, A Garland of Jewels, (trans. by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso), Woodstock: KTD Publications, 2008

External Links

• Vajrapani Outline Page at Himalayan Art
• The Tantra of the Blue-Clad Blessed Vajrapāṇi