The vajra is a ritual scepter used in tantric practices and an attribute of tantric masters and deities. It generally symbolizes method, the male aspect of enlightenment, and is depicted throughout Himalayan art. Can you see a vajra in the hand of the Red Yogini, Vajrayogini in the featured sculpture? This deity embodies female power and the wisdom of understanding the ultimate reality as explained in Buddhist tantric teachings. Both a staff (katvanga) topped by three heads, and a scepter (vajra) rests on her left shoulder, symbolizing her absent consort Chakrasamvara. This embroidered depiction of Vajravarahi, or the sow-faced goddess (slide 2), also features a scepter (vajra) on her left shoulder. In Buddhist tantric practices, Vajravarahi is the focus of meditations that help to uproot ego. You'll see that in her right hand she holds aloft a curved knife—a recurring iconography we explored in an earlier post in this series—for severing mental afflictions. When the vajra is an ele...