The Buddha Vajrasattva

Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and Bon Art, 1300–1900
In Mahayana, or Great Vehicle Buddhism, the figure of the bodhisattva takes on unprecedented importance. In general, a bodhisattva is any person who has vowed to save all beings from samsara, the cycle of suffering, before entering the bliss of nirvana. Since bodhisattvas remain in samsara, they are often depicted in princely rather than monastic garb and can often be distinguished by their crowns., Despite his diminutive size, Vajrasattva is one of the most important figures in the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism. He sits in crossed-legged fashion, but with a certain dynamism to his pose. He holds a symbolic thunderbolt (vajra) to his heart, while he holds his bell (ghanta) inverted at his waist, as if he had just silenced it. Taken together, the vajra and the bell symbolize compassion and wisdom, the two components of enlightenment.