Product Description
Bell & Dorje – Medium
Size: 8.5cm Diameter; 16cm Heigh
Dorje is a Tibetan word. Symbolically a dorje represents the ‘thunderbolt of enlightenment,’ that abrupt change in human consciousness which is recognised by all the great religions as a pivotal episode in the lives of mystics and saints.
The Bell and Dorje, or thunderbolt, are inseparable ritual objects in Tibetan Buddhism. They are always used in combination during religious ceremonies.
The Bell held in the left hand, representing the female aspect as wisdom; the Dorje, or male held in the right hand, aspect as method. Together, they represent union of wisdom and method, or the attainment of Enlightenment.
The transformative enlightenment experience is recounted in the various religions. In the Christian tradition, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is a well known example and that of Muhammed on the mountain is fundamental to Moslem belief. For Buddhists, it is what occurred to the historical Buddha and to all those who experience kensho-satori, the dropping away of ‘self’. The Tibetans call this “the Great Death” to distinguish it from that physical one which will be the experience of us all.
Dorje is a common given-name for men in people of Tibetan culture. Hence Phu Dorje, Ang Dorje (young Dorje) and Nima Dorje (Monday Dorje) or, more usually, Dorje.
More information on Tibetan Buddhism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Buddhism
