Vajrapani

Translations of Vajrapāni
Bengali	বজ্রপাণি
Chinese	金剛手菩薩 (Pinyin: Jīngāngshǒu púsà)
Japanese	執金剛神 (rōmaji: Shukongōshin)
Korean	금강수보살
Tibetan	ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ་ (Chakna Dorjé)
Vietnamese	Bát bộ Kim Cương
Glossary of Buddhism

Vajrapāni (Sanskrit: "Vajra in [his] hand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. The Golden Light Sutra titles him "great general of the yakshas".

Vajrapāni, also called Vajrasattva in Mahayana Buddhism, is extensively represented in Buddhist iconography as one of the earliest three protective deities or bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha. Each of them symbolizes one of the Buddha's virtues: Mañjuśrī manifests all the Buddhas' wisdom, Avalokiteśvara manifests all the Buddhas' immense compassion, and Vajrapāni protects Buddha and manifests all the Buddhas' power as well as the power of all five tathāgatas (Buddhahood of the rank of Buddha).

Vajrapāni is one of the earliest Dharmapalas of Mahāyāna Buddhism and also appears as a deity in the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda school. He is worshiped in the Shaolin Monastery, in Tibetan Buddhism and in Pure Land Buddhism (where he is known as Mahasthamaprapta and forms a triad with Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara). Manifestations of Vajrapāni can also be found in many Buddhist temples in Japan as Dharma protectors called Nio. Vajrapāni is also associated with Acala, who is venerated as Fudō-Myōō in Japan, where he is serenaded as the holder of the vajra.

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