“Follow my steps”
It is interesting that I was taking an Asian philosophy course last semester and we are supposed to talk about Tibetan Buddhism, which is the branch of Buddhism I belong. However, when I talked to the professor and found out it was little known by the Western world compared to the other branches. In fact, Tibetan Buddhism is full of fantasies and mysteries. And now, I am going to introduce to you guys of the one most interesting objects in Tibetan Buddhism tradition – the King Bell and the vajra.
The Bell and the vajra are two separate things that always come in pairs. First, the Bell represents the wisdom of emptiness, and the vajra represents the idea of compassionate. The Bell and vajra not only have their significant symbolic roles, they are also considered as powerful tools in rituals or meditations. According to different traditions, the way to hold the objects are also slightly different. The decorations and materials used to make the Bell could also represent different uses. Let me introduce the most common Bell and vajra you could get.
The Bell and the vajra are mostly made of copper and decorated with silver or gold. On the top of the Bell, it is a representation of a crown. The crown is the embodiment of the five Buddhas. Then, the crown is held by the lotus and you will the “wisdom face” of a Buddha named Yidam. After that, you have the part where you hold the bell is just plain copper. Now, let’s turn toward the body of the Bell. There are usually dragon carvings along with lotus petals on the Bell. The vajra is more of a simple design with two crowns connecting to each other. It is important to note that there are different formations of the crowns and represent slightly different meanings for each type.
In traditional Tibetan Buddhism, the way of holding and using the Bell and the vajra should be only be taught by your teacher. You could not use or touch them without permission. Everyone has a personal Bell and vajra that cannot be shared. After you learned the way to use the Bell and the Vajra, it is also prohibited for you to teach or reveal to the others. Therefore, these traditions added a lot of mysterious feeling towards the meaning and use of these specific objects. However, the rules are not as strict as before. Most of the people learned how to use them online or from other practitioners.
My experience with the practice of the Bell and the Vajra are somehow unique and different. In my guru’s temple, we usually use the Bell and the Vajra for the morning and evening ceremonies. I am always like a curious kid and anxious to try different things. The way the old practitioners use their Bells and Vajra is just so fascinating and the actions they perform are so smooth and beautiful. However, my guru never mentioned about having me doing the same thing until one day. It might not seem to correlate with my topic, but it will make sense later on. In my next blog, I am going to continue my story with my Bell and Vajra and hope to see you again.
Melissa, I really enjoyed reading your blog. I love learning about other cultures and religions and Tibetan Buddhism is one I admittedly know very little about. This was a really interesting read and the craftsmanship on the bell and vajra is gorgeous. Great work on this, keep it up!