For a few fun weeks, I got to have the Dharma wheel, deer, and vajras right outside my door, stored safely on the deck, so I could sit with them like friends. Bliss!
As it so happens, I have spotted these precious symbols numerous times over the past 30 years, ever since they appeared on the first Kadampa World Peace Temple at Manjushri Centre in England in 1997. They now grace all six huge World Peace Temples, as well as many smaller city temples.
The language of enlightenment
Yet this opportunity to be so close to them was unexpectedly powerful for me, enough for me to want to share their symbolic meaning with those of you who are interested. I also thought it’d be nice to talk about the eight auspicious symbols that also appear on Buddhist temples and shrines all over the world because these are also part and parcel of the deep significance and holiness of a Buddhist temple – though that is now in a separate article for reasons of length. Together these represent the entire stages of the path to enlightenment of Sutra and Tantra.
These symbols are now proudly placed in all the right places, and have made this building, already special, into an actual temple. In the few days since that happened, I’ve noticed a light and happy energy everywhere, one could call it blessings. The vajras are radiating five-colored lights in all directions – that’s what it feels like. People in passing cars have been craning their necks to have a look because they’re very shiny!
I also can’t help thinking that the vajras on temples all over the world are communing with each other, providing a five-colored forcefield of protective wisdom light.
The symbolism
In general, symbols can signify something that eludes our present knowledge, expressing the inconceivable or numinous in a way that our minds can explore comfortably. These particular symbols connect our mind to exalted states, something visible that point to truths invisible to the senses, such as emptiness, bliss, compassion, and omniscient wisdom.
These symbols seem to me like transcendental wormholes to other galaxies, Buddha worlds; and once we visit these Pure Lands we realize that the whole of samsara and nirvana were only ever simply simulations created by our ignorance. Although a Pure Land is also projected by mind, it is projected by a pure mind of wisdom and compassion, not ignorance and delusions.
Whatever people’s reason for visiting a temple, Venerable Geshe Kelsang has said that anyone who sees a temple or the holy objects within will receive a special blessing that sows a seed of future peace and happiness in their mind. Every time we see one of these symbols, an indestructible potential for enlightenment is placed on our consciousness, even if we don’t really know what we are looking at – this is due to the power of the object. Which may be why Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre and other big world peace temples offer guided tours to so many thousands of visitors each year. Geshe-la said that even the animals, birds, and insects living in the vicinity of a world peace temple are blessed. Find out more about these temples here: International Temples Project.
Yet, as well as these being symbols of the ineffable, they also reveal in a practical sense the whole path to enlightenment according to Highest Yoga Tantra, which we can learn. Here is a short and helpful description by Gen-la Dekyong:
“On the very top of the temple are the vajras. Above the entrance are the Dharma Wheel and deer. Together, these symbolize the stages of the path of Highest Yoga Tantra.
The eight auspicious signs symbolize in general how to progress along the Buddhist path to enlightenment in general. Specifically, the Dharma wheel and so on indicate Highest Yoga Tantra.
The ultimate goal of human life is to attain enlightenment to effortlessly benefit everyone every day. For this, we have to practice the paths of Highest Yoga Tantra, which is the quick path.
The male deer symbolizes great bliss and the female deer symbolizes emptiness. They’re facing each other. The Wheel of Dharma between them symbolizes the union of these two. This is the very essence of the Kadampa tradition of Je Tsongkhapa.
Venerable Geshe-la summarizes that “through progressing in this union of great bliss and emptiness” (of which there are many levels) “finally you will attain the five omniscient wisdoms of a Buddha, which are symbolized by the five-pronged vajras on the very top.”
The deer and wheel
In a quick nutshell … by practicing the stages of the path to enlightenment (Lamrim), we cultivate conventional bodhichitta and ultimate bodhichitta. Meantime, with Tantra, we can train in manifesting our very subtle mind, first through imagination and then by controlling our subtle body of channels, winds, and drops. This mind is exceedingly blissful, powerful, and undistracted, and it has no mistaken appearances so it mixes effortlessly with its object emptiness. This quick path meditation leads to the actual ultimate bodhichitta or meaning clear light of Tantra, the realization of bliss and emptiness that swiftly transforms into the omniscient wisdom of a Buddha.
I won’t go into any more detail here on great bliss and emptiness or the union of these two, though there is something about that here: Highest Yoga Tantra: space odyssey. And I think the best thing of all is to listen to and study Venerable Geshe-la’s teachings on the subject, a lifetime’s work, but time no better spent.
When I was on the deck with the deer and wheel, I also enjoyed contemplating how the two deer symbolize compassion and wisdom, which they do, causing the wheel of Buddha’s Dharma teachings spontaneously to turn for others forever. If we develop compassion and wisdom, we will effortlessly spread Dharma in different ways. This can be either formally in teachings, or informally according to our individual circumstances, simply sharing the Dharma we have learned as practical advice to help our family and so on with their daily problems. Without compassion and wisdom, however, even the most eloquent teachings are empty words.
Omniscient wisdom
Before we divide it into five parts, what is omniscient wisdom or enlightenment in general?
Enlightenment is the inner light of wisdom that is permanently free from all mistaken appearance, and whose function is to bestow mental peace upon each and every living being every day. ~ Modern Buddhism
When we have this omniscient wisdom, just existing is benefitting everyone all day every day – no more running around like a headless chicken with an unending to-do list, and more like the sun shining effortlessly and spontaneously on all. And if people come out of the shadows by developing some faith and appreciation for Buddha, how much more can they bask in the blissful sunlight of Buddha’s omniscience. As I try to explain here, enlightenment is reality – and it turns out that reality is extraordinarily blissful. It is we sentient beings who are in unreality, who are hiding in the shadows in fear.
We need omniscient wisdom. Others need us to have it, and they need to have it themselves. As Venerable Geshe-la said on the occasion of giving Manjushri empowerment in the 1999:
From our point of view, we need to gain omniscient wisdom, we need to become an enlightened being, because in this samsara there is no real freedom or happiness. From the point of view of benefitting others, we also need to gain Buddha’s omniscient wisdom because this is a necessary condition for helping all living beings without exception. Therefore, the attainment of omniscient wisdom is our goal and actual final attainment. It is the real essence of our human life.
The vajras
As explained in the Kadampa glossary, Buddha’s omniscient wisdom has five parts:
(1) The exalted mirror-like wisdom, which perceives all phenomena simultaneously as a mirror reflects objects.
(2) The exalted wisdom of equality, which realizes that all phenomena are equal in emptiness.
(3) The exalted wisdom of individual realization, which realizes all individual phenomena directly.
(4) The exalted wisdom of accomplishing activities, whose function is to accomplish all the activities of a Buddha.
(5) The exalted wisdom of the Dharmadhatu, which realizes the Dharmadhatu, the ultimate nature of all phenomena.
These are symbolized by the five prongs of the vajra. All five wisdoms are included in the general definition of enlightenment, but it is helpful and inspiring to divide them out and contemplate them individually and together. What would it be like to have these?!
Beyond words, thoughts, and expressions
Today I asked a close friend who helped gold leaf the vajras on the New York temple if he had any ideas I could share. He sent back a predictably mystical answer, which I find so awesome that I’m just going to put it here:
“Nothing scriptural that you don’t already know. But here’s a riff …
I do remember very well the time spent living with the vajra in a tent on top of the Temple for three weeks.
The strong experience of the power of this living symbol and presence of Buddha’s mind that is beyond words. The vajra itself is beyond verbal explanation or even nominal description to the mind – although appearing directly. Somehow a confusing experience of being in its presence – confusing to the mind seeking to conceive it because it is beyond it, yes at the same time completely present, functioning, communicating in a deep way to a deep level of consciousness, or arising from that consciousness, a deep archetype of our own Buddha nature, beyond self.
At that time, the vajra was not so much a symbol or representation in a literal sense “of” ”…”, but rather an appearance of that nature itself. Buddha nature itself, which is beyond names, appearing.
At the time its presence was felt rather than understood, and I could feel it resonating with a level of mind that I was not aware of directly. Quite unusual, inspiring, and also slightly disconcerting, something so beyond, and yet so present and manifest.
I would just bathe in that, sometimes mindful of it, other times not, as it continually imprinted on my mind. I still feel that today, still imprinting somehow – and still beyond words, burning into, or out of, my mind – (even though my mind generally feels like s*** 🤣 – but not so much in the moment of this memory 🙏).
Reminds me of Geshe-la’s teaching that just seeing temples – even with no faith and no understanding, or even if distracted – powerful causes for enlightenment are created.
Temples themselves, the vajra itself, a cause of world peace. Quite a profound mystery. The power of the object – Shri Datta arising from the fly who floated on the turd around the stupa. Perhaps I was like that fly on the turd of this ordinary body/mind circling the vajra while, with or without my Dharma understanding, I had no comprehension of this object of such huge power. Somehow, in that moment, liberation has already happened. (Ed: see Joyful Path for the story of the fly and Shri Datta.)
Remember the monoliths of 2000 Space Odyssey 🐒🤣
How little we really know of the power of holy objects. From one point of view, it doesn’t matter what we know (the thousands of people driving by and seeing the Dharmachakra and vajras, with perhaps a moment of curious indifference). That sows a powerful imprint/cause which does not cease.
Yet if we have a moment of allowing the heart and mind to open to these objects, inviting their effect on our mind … Not so much through verbal and conceptual interpretation, but more like a deer raises its head to feel the radiance and warmth of the sun on its neck.”
Next installment: The five exalted wisdoms: unpacking the meaning of omniscience.
What do these symbols mean to you? I would love to hear from you in the comments below – please share your own experiences.
2 Comments
Lovely post Luna and that account of your friend..sublime! I remember on one occasion I was alone in the NY Temple shortly after it opened to the public. A gentleman walked in and said, “I saw this place from the sky and just had to visit”. Turns out, he was a pilot for a Trauma EMS Helicopter, flew over the temple and saw the golden light reflecting off of Temple’s lantern thousands of feet above. I’ll never forget that. ALL directions indeed 😉
Wowwww, I love this!