The Meanings, Origins and Uses of Buddhist Symbols and Ritual Objects

What does the vajra look like? The vajra looks like a type of club, with a sphere in the center, and five curved prongs coming out of the left and right sides of the sphere, and a sixth prong projecting straight through the center of the curved prongs. The curvature of the prongs, forms a mandala, evoking the mandalas of the five tantric Buddhas or the five components of the individual’s body and mind. The sphere in the center and the open spaces between the prongs indicate the empty nature of all reality. What does a vajra symbolize? According to Buddhist...