Dorje (Vajra)
The Dorje is the substantive symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism.
The Sanskrit term vajra stands for “the hard or powerful one”, and its Tibetan equivalent dorje stands for an indestructible hardness and blaze like the diamond, which can’t be cut or broken.
The dorje fundamentally represents the impenetrable, unmovable, immutable, indivisible, and indestructible state of Buddhahood.
“Like a bull who heard the crash of a thunderbolt, the Great Soul whose mind was purified by the merit of karma accumulated from aeons of virtuous actions, was profoundly agitated at these news of old age.” (Ashvaghosha. Acts of the Buddha, Book III: 34). The thunderbolt here represents the realization of urgency. It means the motivation; the drift to accomplishment.
The form of the vajra is a sceptre. It have its origin in the single or double trident, a symbol of the thunderbolt or lightning in numerous ancient civilisations of the Near and Mideast. Analogs are posited with the meteoric hammer of the Teutonic sky god Thor, the thunderbolt and sceptre of the Greek sky god Zeus, and three thunderbolts of the Roman god Jupiter. As a hurtled weapon the indestructible bolt of lightning blazed like a meteoric ball of fire crossed the heavens, in a whirlpool of thunder, fire and lightning.
The Sanskrit word vajra stands for adamant, that is, ‘diamond-like’. Hence, besides being able to indent whatever object and overwhelm with its uncomparable blaze, the vajra or dorje represents eminent durability - a hardness and an immutableness that is virtually eternal.
Dorje is the Tibetan word for vajra. Do-rje stands for noble stone (Do = stone and rJe = noble or prince). This embodies not only the blaze of refracted or reflected illuminance, but also symbolises the imperviable and fixed solidness of the point of power around which totally else turns - the hub of the world.
Vajra is a Sanskrit equal of the Tibetan word dorje and it transmits a lot of meanings: Indra’s thunderbolt, the lama’s scepter, and diamond. It can also be used as a qualifying term for anything applied in the Tantrik context. Thus one who presides at Tantrik rituals is called vajra-master or ‘dorje lopon’.
The Dorje is indeed the most significant ritual item and symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism. It’s so important that many of Vajrayana deities have got the word vajra within their names, like Vajradhara and Vajrasattva.
The dorje is in general two-sided but the vishvavajra, double dorje or the double thunderbolt holds four heads representing the four Dhyani-Buddhas of the four directions.
The vajra or dorje and its complemental object, the bell, are the feature ritual implements of Vajrayana or the Tantric Buddhism. Whilst the dorje with its male associations represents the compassion, the ghanta (Tib.: drilbu) represents wisdom, which is considered a female principle. To attain enlightenment, the two principles should act in harmony. In the Buddhism, the bell is visualised as the body, the dorje is the mind, and the sound of the bell is took to be the speech of the Buddha.