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金剛杵

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: indestructible mallet

Senses:

  • The vajra, or thunderbolt; it is generally shaped as such, but has various other forms. A mallet that is made of such hard metal that it will smash anything to smithereens. Metaphorically, the vajra-mallet can destroy all ignorance and affliction (Skt. vajra-vara). Any one of the beings represented with the vajra is a 金剛. The vajra is also interpreted as a weapon used by ancient Indian soldiers. It is employed by the esoteric schools, and others, as a symbol of wisdom and power over illusion and evil spirits. When straight as a scepter it is one limbed 獨股, when three-pronged it is 三股, and so on with five and nine limbs (Skt. *vajra-vara, *vajra-kīla). Also rendered as 金剛杖 and 智杵. The single-pronged model is called 獨鈷 (獨鈷杵), representing thusness 眞如; the three-pronged model 三鈷 (三鈷杵) represents the three mysteries 三密 or three bodies 三身; and the five-pronged model 五鈷 (五鈷杵) represents the five kinds of cognition 五智 or five buddhas 五佛. [Charles Muller, Iain Sinclair; source(s): JEBD, Yokoi, Soothill, Nakamura, Hirakawa]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 320

    Bulgyo sajeon 100a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 366a

    Iwanami bukkyō jiten 288

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 181a/201

    Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi) 392

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 420a

    Fo Guang Dictionary 3543

    Ding Fubao

    Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa) 1182

    Bussho kaisetsu daijiten (Ono) ③472d

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)1333c,1309a

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 485-1

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 1997-09-15

    Updated: 2019-11-21