Kurita's Special Buddhist Statue [Ritual Implement] 9cm Metal Vajra, Brass, Buddhist Altar Implement, Esoteric Buddhist Ritual Implement, m2001

Size: Length 9cm, Width 2.8cm Weight: Approximately 70g Material: Brass (Brass-zinc alloy) Country of Origin: China The vajra is a ritual implement, likened to a weapon from Indian mythology, representing the Buddha's teachings of eliminating worldly desires and expressing bodhicitta (the desire for enlightenment). It is used in esoteric Buddhist rituals in Shingon and Tendai sects, as well as in Segaki ceremonies in Shingon, Tendai, and Zen sects. Its basic shape is rod-shaped, with a handle (the "onime" part) in the center. The onime is visualized as Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana), and practitioners grasp its bulge as a form of ritual to become one with Dainichi Nyorai. It has spear-shaped blades on the top and bottom. There are several variations depending on the number and shape of the blades, each with its own name. The five-pronged vajra is said to have been brought to Japan by seven of the Eight Masters of the Tang Dynasty, excluding Huiyun. Originally, it was a type of weapon (vajra) in India, but in Esoteric Buddhism it is the samadhi form of various deities. There are various types of five-pronged vajra flags, but they are said to represent the Bodhisattva mind, the five Buddhas and five wisdoms, and the ten paramitas, and to destroy the ten kinds of worldly desires and realize the ten stages.