vajra

[Venkatraman Iyer]

 >  As an important
 >element in its long journey to becoming a specifically tantric
 >symbol, one should also consider the history of Vajrapaa.ni who
 >already appears in sculpted representations in Gandhara style
 >statuary -- where he is sometimes depicted in the Hellenistic form
 >of Herakles. Somewhat later, and thus giving rise to the early
 >tantric three-buddha family scheme, one finds `Shaakyamuni flanked
 >by Vajrapaa.ni paired with Avalokite`svara -- one with a vajra and
 >the other with a lotus. The possible covert sexual symbolism here
 >should be obvious :)

Does this have anything to do with the male Avalokita
turning into female Guanyin in the Orient?


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