Kongōsatta — the diamond bodhisattva

Anger is one of the strongest energies a person can feel. It burns and it destroys, and that's exactly why it has a special place in esoteric Buddhism, as something that can be transformed rather than simply suppressed. The bodhisattva who stands for this transformation is Kongōsatta 金剛薩埵, the diamond being.

In many traditions, anger is seen above all as an obstacle that has to be let go of. Esoteric Buddhism adds another view. The energy in anger is in itself neither good nor bad, and once it's freed from attachment, it can become clarity. You could say anger is a diamond that hasn't been cut yet.

The name 金剛薩埵

The vajra (kongō) is the central symbol of esoteric Buddhism. It stands for the indestructible nature of awakening, which nothing can damage, neither suffering nor ignorance nor the most violent emotions. Kongōsatta embodies this principle and shows that this diamond nature is present in everyone, even when it's hidden under layers of anger, fear and habit.

Kongōsatta in Shingon 金剛界

In Shingon, Kongōsatta has a very special role, because he's the second patriarch of the lineage. According to tradition, the teaching passed from Dainichi Nyorai to Kongōsatta, from him to Nāgārjuna (Ryūmyō), and on through several generations to Huiguo in China, who passed it on to Kūkai. In other words, Kongōsatta is the one who first receives the teaching of the cosmic Buddha and brings it into the world.

In the Diamond Realm mandala (Kongōkai 金剛界曼荼羅) he appears several times. In one of the nine assemblies, the rishu-e 理趣会, he even sits at the center. This assembly is based on the Rishukyō, the sutra that is recited daily in Shingon temples and that is precisely about how the passions can be transformed into awakening.

The hundred-syllable mantra 百字明

The best known practice connected with Kongōsatta is the hundred-syllable mantra, hyakuji myō 百字明, in Sanskrit śatākṣara. It's one of the longest mantras of esoteric Buddhism and is regarded as a mantra of purification. In Tibetan Buddhism it belongs to the preliminary practices (ngöndro), where it's recited 100,000 times. In Japanese Shingon it's recited as part of the rituals.

What transformation means 転

Transformation in esoteric Buddhism doesn't mean simply replacing anger with love or exchanging negative feelings for positive ones. That would easily become suppression in spiritual clothing. Put simply, the energy that is experienced as anger can be experienced as clarity once the attachment to the ego loosens. The energy remains, but its quality changes. That's what the vajra symbolizes, the transformation of raw energy into indestructible clarity.

The three poisons and the wisdoms 三毒

Buddhism calls the three basic causes of suffering the three poisons, sandoku 三毒: greed (ton 貪), anger (jin 瞋) and delusion (chi 癡). Esoteric Buddhism sees them as veiled forms of wisdom. In the teaching of the five wisdoms, anger corresponds to the mirror-like wisdom, which sees things as they are, greed to the wisdom of discernment, and delusion to the wisdom of the Dharma realm, which recognizes the true nature of all things. Kongōsatta's vajra doesn't cut out the poisons, it makes their true nature visible. That's why his practice is understood as purification, less as removing dirt than as uncovering what was always pure underneath.

Kongōsatta, Reiki and Kuji Kiri 靈氣

In Reiki you sometimes meet energies that aren't pleasant, such as tension, density or emotional residue. Many people instinctively want to "send away" or "dissolve" these energies. From Kongōsatta's point of view there's another possibility. You don't treat the blocked energy as an enemy, but stay present with it and hold the space, until the clarity that was always behind it can show itself. Shingon calls the connection between the power of the Buddha and the practitioner kaji 加持.

In my Kuji Kiri 1, the contemplative purification with Kongōsatta and his Siddham syllable (Bonji in Japanese) hūṃ is one of the foundation practices, especially for purifying anger and wrath. In Shingon Reiki, Kongōsatta belongs to the advanced practice.

Vajra and bell 金剛鈴

In his iconography, Kongōsatta holds a vajra (kongōsho 金剛杵) in his right hand in front of his chest, and a bell (kongōrei 金剛鈴) in his left hand at his hip. The vajra stands for wisdom and indestructible clarity, the bell for the awakening of beings, whom its sound calls. Together they stand for the unity of wisdom and compassion. In Shingon rituals, vajra and bell are also used as real ritual implements, and the priest holds them in his hands. Have you ever seen a vajra up close in a temple?