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[[File:British Museum Tibetan Bell and Vajra B.jpg|thumb|A Tibetan vajra and bell, British Museum]] | [[File:Vajra, Tibet, 11th-12th century, iron and brass - Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive - DSC04056.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Vajra, Tibet, 11th-12th century, iron and brass]] | ||
[[File:British Museum Tibetan Bell and Vajra B.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|A Tibetan vajra and bell, British Museum]] | |||
'''Vajra''' in Sanskrit means thunderbolt or diamond; that which is hard, impenetrable; that which destroys but is itself indestructible. The vajra is a symbol of the thunderbolt representing the adamantine nature of Truth. | '''Vajra''' in Sanskrit means thunderbolt or diamond; that which is hard, impenetrable; that which destroys but is itself indestructible. The vajra is a symbol of the thunderbolt representing the adamantine nature of Truth. | ||
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In Vajrayana Buddhism, it is the symbol of bodhicitta, or enlightenment. In some traditions, the vajra signifies the union of man and the [[Buddha]]; one end of the vajra symbolizes the macrocosmic realm of the Buddha and the other end the microcosmic realm of man. | In Vajrayana Buddhism, it is the symbol of bodhicitta, or enlightenment. In some traditions, the vajra signifies the union of man and the [[Buddha]]; one end of the vajra symbolizes the macrocosmic realm of the Buddha and the other end the microcosmic realm of man. | ||
[[File:Indra deva.jpg|thumb|Indra on his elephant mount, Airavata, carrying a vajra in his left hand]] | |||
== In Hinduism == | == In Hinduism == | ||
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{{POWref|31|21|, May 22, 1988}} | {{POWref|31|21|, May 22, 1988}} | ||
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