Dorje and Bell

Dorje and Bell Method and Wisdom Acrylic on canvas 14" x 18" (each)

The Dorje and Bell are the two main ritual implements that symbolize the perfections of method or skillful means and wisdom or emptiness. Although depicted separately here – should always be displayed together. When paired, the Dorje is held in the right hand and the bell in the left, representing the inseparable union of method and wisdom. Their union is the coincidence of great bliss and compassion as pure emptiness and form and therefore represent two aspects of the great oneness. The Dorje literally means ‘lord of the stones,’ implying an indestructible hardness and essentially symbolizes the impenetrable, immovable, immutable, indivisible, and indestructible state of enlightenment or Buddhahood. It is held in the right or male hand. The ritual hand-bell or Vajra ghanta represents the feminine principle of the perfection of wisdom. The bell is described as proclaiming the sound of emptiness, which arises from the voidness of its form, radiates in all directions, and dissolves back into silence or emptiness.