Vajradhara (Tibetan: Dorje Chang), "the vajra holder", is the primordial Buddha of the Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He personifies the dharmakaya, the truth body of enlightenment, and is regarded as the source of the tantric teachings. These schools see him as the secret, inner form of Shakyamuni Buddha and the essence of all Buddhas gathered into one.
How he is shown
- Deep blue, a colour often likened to the boundless sky.
- Seated in full meditation posture on a lotus and moon disc, often on a throne supported by lions.
- His arms are crossed at his heart, the right hand holding a vajra and the left a bell: method and wisdom, joined as one.
- The crown, silks and jewels of a Buddha in his enjoyment form, even though he stands for the formless truth body.
- Sometimes in union with a consort, another image of the union of method and wisdom.
The head of the lineage
In paintings of teaching lineages, Vajradhara sits at the top as their source. Kagyu tradition holds that the Indian master Tilopa received teachings from Vajradhara directly, and one of the best-known Kagyu prayers opens with "Great Vajradhara, Tilopa and Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa". Sakya paintings of the Lamdre lineage also begin with him. In some Gelug paintings of the refuge tree, Tsongkhapa sits at the centre with Shakyamuni at his heart and Vajradhara within Shakyamuni's heart: three aspects of a single teacher.
Telling him apart
Two figures are easily confused with him. Vajrasattva also holds a vajra and bell, but he is white, with the vajra at his heart and the bell at his hip. The Nyingma school's primordial Buddha, Samantabhadra, is dark blue like Vajradhara, but naked and without ornaments, his hands resting in meditation. In the Nyingma view, Vajradhara is an emanation of Samantabhadra.
In a painting
Look first at the crossed wrists. The vajra and bell should sit cleanly at the heart, with relaxed, well-drawn fingers, which is hard to paint well. The blue should be deep and even, set off by fine gold-coloured detail in the crown and jewellery, and the face calm and symmetrical. Some of our paintings place him on a throne supported by snow lions, in a landscape of peonies, rivers and snow peaks.
