Vajrapani (Sanskrit Vajrapāṇi, Pali Vajirapāṇi, "holder of the thunderbolt," lit. meaning, "Vajra in [one's] hand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattva in various sub-schools of Mahayana Buddhism.
He is alleged to be the protector and guide of the historical Buddha Gautama and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power.
Vajrapāni is also called Chana Dorje and Chador and extensively represented in Buddhist iconography as one of the earliest three protective deities or bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha. Each of them symbolizes one of the Buddha's virtues... More
What it's like being Asian Russian in 2025 and why you've never heard about us 🤨
(Chimka Travels) Dec. 2, 2025: Most people think all Russians look Slavic…until they meet me or others like me. I’m an Asian Russian, specifically a Buryat-Mongolian. My video about Asian Russians blew up with over 10 million views. So in this episode, I’m finally explaining: 💬
Why is Russia so darn BIG? (Johnny Harris) March 24, 2021: The story of moving east and just...not stopping.
(Eli from Russia) Former USSR (Soviet Union) Russia's hidden gem in Far East: the Kuril Islands
Ways to support: Patreon (johnnyharris). Custom presets and LUTs: https://store.dftba.com/products/john... Where to find JH: Instagram (johnny.harris), Tiktok (johnny.harris), Facebook (johnnyharrisvox). Iz's (Johnny’s wife’s) channel (iz-harris). How Johnny makes videos: Tom Fox makes his music. Work with him here: https://tfbeats.com/. He makes maps using this AE Plugin: aescripts.com/geolayers/?aff=77. All the gear he uses: izharris.com/gear-guide. His courses: Learn a language (brighttrip.com/course/language). Visual storytelling: https://www.brighttrip.com/courses/vi...
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ABOUT: Johnny Harris is a filmmaker and journalist. He is currently based in Washington, DC, reporting on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the world. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. He holds a B.A. in international relations from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in international peace and conflict resolution from American University. Press: NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/op... NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion... Vox Borders: • Inside Hong Kong’s cage homes Finding Founders: https://findingfounders.co/episodes/j... NPR Planet Money: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/10721...
Soviet Union, empire, Russia, Central Asia, Far East, Vlad Putin, Czar, communist regime, capitalism, European, country, size, largest, Alaska, Canada, Arctic Circle, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ukraine, Mongolia, Turkey, Korea, China
Eli from Russia, Dec. 13, 2025; Johnny Harris, March 24, 2021; Guzel; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The hidden monasteries of Mongolia: How Buddhism shaped Mongolia’s nomadic soul | SLICE
(SLICE) In the heart of Central Asia, Mongolia’s vast, untouched landscapes have shaped a unique form of Buddhism, where spirituality and nature exist in perfect harmony.
Introduced in the 16th century, Buddhism spread across the endless steppes, carried by merchant caravans alongside silk and spices. Monasteries rose like mirages in the wilderness, blending seamlessly with the land’s raw power.
Through centuries of resilience, Mongolian Buddhism has evolved, influenced by Tibetan traditions yet deeply rooted in nomadic life.
From sacred rituals to the revival of monasteries after Soviet repression, this is the story of a faith (saddha) that has withstood time, exile, and change.
Documentary: Sacred Spaces – Asian temples. Humans, Nature, and Gods. Directed by: Véronique Legendre. Production: ZED, ARTE FRANCE, CuriosityStream. SLICE fully owns the rights to the use of the published content.
Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.
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SLICE, Feb. 13, 2025; CC Liu, Crystal Q., Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(Patrushevs) This is Part 2. How is it northern nomads are self-sufficient in extreme cold, whereas we in the West can hardly stand an overcast day? This is a day in the life of a reindeer-herding family's life as baby Katya grows more and more independent and helpful around the home. The family migrates from place to place in search of the best pasture for its domesticated but wild-looking reindeer herd. Could these be Siberian Eurasian Chukchi (Chukchee people) from Russia from the Bering Sea region in easternmost Siberia (next to westernmost America)? The Chukchiare thought to be the forebears of the Indigenous tribes (called First Nations people in Canada) throughout the Americas.
According to several studies on genomic research conducted from 2014 to 2018, the Chukchi are the closest Asian relatives of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as of the Ainu people, being the descendants of settlers who neither crossed the Bering Strait nor settled the Japanese archipelago.
Introduction to Vajrayana: Its place in Buddhist teachings (04-29-11)
A Cosmic Buddha, Maha Vairocana
(Sravasti Abbey) May 5, 2011: Venerable Thubten Chodron gives a basic explanation of Tantra, clearing up some common misconceptions about it. For more Vajrayana Buddhist teachings visit sravasti.org and thubtenchodron.org.
What are the three Buddhist traditions?
Wisdom Quarterly
Siddhartha, born in northwest, traveled east, awakened, and taught in this area for 45 years.
Vipassana ("insight meditation")
Zen (jhana or "meditative absorption")
Vajrayana ("Thunderbolt Vehicle"), a branch of Mahayana
Vipassana (insight) is a meditation technique, which utilizes systematic mindfulness and the peculiar teaching of the Buddha called Dependent Origination (pratītyasamutpāda). Zen is Chan as it evolved from China to Japan and Korea.
Vipassana
Zen
Tibetan Buddhism
This is wrong as well since Vajrayana is not synonymous with Tibetan culture. There are various Himalayan countries that practice Vajrayana, namely, Kalmykia, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Siberia, Russia, Buryatia, and Northern India (Ladakh, Sikkim, Himalchal Pradesh).
Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana
These are the three general traditions or schools, each a little different as it is practiced in different countries.
The real three Buddhist traditions
THERAVADA (the "Teaching of the Elders," a reference to the theras and theris who were the male and female enlightened monastics, the name designating someone in robes for at least ten rains retreats, who memorized and passed down the Teaching) is the back-to-basics, original, or orthodox school of the historical Buddha Siddhartha Gautama also called Shakyamuni (the "Sage of the Scythian or Shakyian" clan). This tradition (along with 17 or 18 now defunct schools that get labeled Hinayana or "Lesser Vehicle" schools like the Sarvastivada) was preserved in the language of the Buddha, who spoke Magadhi (the language of the Kingdom of Magadha), which is Pali. Prakrit seems to refer to a synthesis or blending of Pali and Sanskrit. The Buddha was a polymath conversant in many languages and dialects with an expert knack for not only understanding living beings in any language but also capable of addressing them in the language, expressions, and vocabulary they best understood. (This is one of the Ten Powers of a Buddha).
MAHAYANA is a further development or reform tradition conflated with Vedic Brahmanism (later referred to as Hinduism), very much influenced and degraded or brought into alignment with the old views of Brahmin priests instead of what the historical Buddha sought to teach which rejected the Vedas, promoting instead the shramanic ("wandering ascetic") custom of various teachers of antiquity, most notably the Buddha and his Doctrine-and-Discipline (the Buddha Dharma and Vinaya) and Mahavira and his Doctrine (Jainism), both of which the Brahmins tried to subsume as schools within Hinduism. This tradition was preserved in the exclusive language of the Vedic priests, the Brahmins, which was middle and late Sanskrit, Buddhist Sanskrit, and ancillary languages like Gandhara, an Indo-Aryan Prakrit. The oldest surviving texts, amazingly, may not be in Pali, which was a spoken language without its own script, but rather Gandharan. The historical Buddha was from Gandhara (modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, the ancient northwest frontier of Buddhist Emperor Ashoka's empire, Bharat/Bharata (from ancient Mahabharata, which reduced in size is called "India" today, although "India" did not exist at the time of the Buddha, the land being divided into many loosely affiliated and feuding kingdoms and republics or mahajanapadas, "footholds of the family clan"). All Mahayana schools and sects are strongly influenced by the country they came to or evolved in because of missionary Buddhism's custom of blending with the local religion and practices. Mahayana as the "Greater Vehicle" and accounts for 90% of Buddhism, even if differs greatly from country to country.
VAJRAYANA is an esoteric branch of Mahayana mixed with Bon and Himalayan shamanism from northern countries in and around the Himalayas, which colored it with many esoteric, yogic, tantric, and other Indian influences that attached to the popularity of Buddhism for export. It is distinctive, and many may think of it as the speedy path, as if the others promoted a slow, hard slog when, in fact, the historical Buddha often brought hearers to realization in a single Dharma talk (gradual instruction), one sutra (suture, string, theme running through a presentation suited specially for them). This is why reading the discourse is no substitute for hear the Buddha or an enlightened thera/disciple teach. It is not about a "transmission" of (shaktipat, yogic, psychic, or blessed energy) as such, though one may argue that is exactly what it is, but rather a teacher is reading the situation to present what is appropriate and most helpful right at this moment. That may involve an intuitive sense or psychic ability, an extraordinary load of compassion, and is almost certainly accompanied by strong faith (saddha, confidence and conviction in the teacher) such that the message penetrates. The historical Buddha had a pattern of first prepping the mind/heart of the hearer before presenting that transcendental knowledge peculiar to buddhas -- the teaching of the wisdom that has gone beyond. Before wisdom the gradual discourse proceeded on establishing a peaceful, joyful, and receptive mind then presenting the information. This was possible because the Buddha was more than an arhat (fully enlightened being). He was a Supremely Enlightened One (samma-sam-buddha), which is a specific designation full of meaning. Anyone might become an arhat now that a buddha has arrived and taught, but that a buddha should ever arise (fitted with all the capacities of a supremely wise teach, deft in knowledge, vision, and language) or that one has the karma to come across such a being, this is very rare. Such "teachers of gods (devas) and men (humans)" are rare because it takes so long to cultivate the ancillary skills to be an effective teacher. Not all buddhas are alike, and the historical Buddha learned from the mistakes and shortcomings of previous buddhas. In one case, a buddha of the past did not much emphasize vinaya (monastic rules and regulations) and therefore his dispensation (the existence of the Dharma in the world under him) was shortened. The historical Buddha always tried to strike a balance between what the world as he found it needed and what needed to be done to ensure the preservation of the Teachings for at least 1,000 years. We are now 2,600 or so years out (possibly 500 more than that) and can expect that the Buddha Dharma has become corrupted in this Dark Age (Kali Yuga), with its many schisms and schools, interpretations and translations. The Dharma survives, but there are fewer and fewer humans and devas with the karma to meet with it or readily grasp its profundity. The historical Buddha even in his day wondered whether it was worth teaching to a world so obsessed with sensual pursuits and pleasure. Imagine, that was then. How have we as humans become? More golden and truthful (closer to the Satya Yoga the Vedas speak of, that past and future Golden Age) or darker and more depraved, needing more foundational information and more vivid (less implied) examples? Don't take Wisdom Quarterly's word for it. Do the research, as Ani says the Dalai Lama suggests.
Ven. Thubten Chodron, Sravasti Abbey (video, May 5, 2011); TEXT by Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly
As WQ has covered, based on Dr. Pal's realization, Shakyamuni was a Scythian/Saka.
What kind of Scythia was the Buddha? Gandharan, Indo-Scythian, a Saka from Indo-Sakastan
Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha was from Gandhara/Afghanistan
Scythian females were warrior princesses, the basis of the Greeks' Amazonian legends
The frozen sarcophagus of a Scythian warrior discovered in Mongol Steppes | SLICE | full documentary
The Scythians (Shakyians) were fierce and proud
(SLICE) June 28, 2024: In the icy steppes of the Mongolian Altai, an archaeological expedition explores the 2,500+year-old tomb of an Eastern Scythian warrior.
The ancient Scythian practice of deep burial of the dead, combined with extreme climatic conditions, could uncover the last frozen tombs on the planet and shed light on this little-known branch of Scythian civilization.
Dr. Pal made the connections
But time is running out. Global warming is threatening the remains of these [Central Asian and] European pioneers who conquered the Asian side of the Altai.
The tombs are full of surprises. Attracted by the unusual hustle and bustle, Kazakh nomads set up their summer camp near the excavations. These people are among the last to be cut off from the modern world.
The Scythians (Barry Cunliffe)
Archaeology collaborates with ethnology to reveal disturbing similarities between these two peoples separated by 2,000 years.
Documentary: Le Sarcophage Glacé de Mongolie.
Directed by Cédric Robion. Production: AGAT Films & Cie.
SLICE fully owns the rights to the use of the published content.
Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.
SLICE wants to fill up viewers' curiosity!
Accessible to anyone from anywhere at any time, this channel is a weekly dose of short docs about curious facts, discoveries, astounding info, unusual stories, weird, fun, and instructive. Be smart, have a slice!
Tattoos reveal hidden wonders of 2,300-year-old Scythian grave in Mongolia | Secrets in the Ice
Read Dr. Ranajit Pal, Ph.D.
(Science Channel) Join us on a remarkable journey as we delve deep into the ancient mysteries surrounding a 2300-year-old Scythian [pronounced \sih-thee-en\] grave in Mongolia. Prepare to be amazed as we unveil the hidden wonders hidden within the icy confines of this archeological marvel discovered in the heart of Mongolia's vast wilderness. Unearthed with care and expertise, this Scythian grave (kurgan, tumulus, Buddhist stupa) holds invaluable secrets waiting to be revealed.
ABOUT: Explore the most remote, cold, and inhospitable places on the planet and discover great mysteries that were once frozen in time on Secrets in the Ice. #sciencechannel #secretsintheice. Stream Secrets in the Ice: discoveryplus.com/show/se...
Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; SLICE, 6/28/24; Science Channel, 7/14/23; Dr. Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. (Non-Jonesian Indology and Alexander
Voices of the Past, March 26, 2023; Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
After the ecstasy, the laundry. Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water... After, the same.
The Entire History of Ancient Japan
(Voices of the Past) Written by Thomas Lockley.
Check out his fantastic book on Yasuke: amazon.com/-/es/Geoffrey...
Edited and designed by Manuel Rubio. Narrated and script edited by David Kelly. Thumbnail image by Ettore Mazza (ettore.mazza). Images by Alex Stoica, Bilal Erlangga.
Kofun imagery made based on [mapps.gsi.go.jp/maplibSearch.... National land image information (color aerial photographs)]. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
00:00 Introduction
04:52 Beginnings
11:07 The Shaman Queen 297 AD
16:15 The Rise of Buddhism 552 AD
21:50 The Fall of Korea 663 AD
27:39 Choosing A Capital 736 AD
37:45 Rise of the Emishi 774 AD
46:48 Embassies to China 717 AD
52:43 The Heian Court 1000 AD
56:59 Shogun 1184
1:02:12 Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1274
References:
Christensen, J.A (1981)
Nichiren. Leader of Buddhist Reformation in Japan. Fremont, CA:
Jain Publishing Company.
Farris, W. W. (2009)
Japan to 1600. A Social and Economic History. Honolulu: Hawai’i
University Press.
Harding, C. (2020)
The Japanese. A History in Twenty Lives. London: Allen Lane.
Kumar, A. (2009)
Globalizing the Prehistory of Japan. New York: Routledge.
Matsumoto, H. (2009)
The origin of the Japanese race based on genetic markers of
immunoglobulin G. Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Available from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Needham, J. and Ronan, C. A. (1995)
The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China:
Volume 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kirkland, R. (1997)
The Sun and the Throne. The Origins of the Royal Descent Myth in
Ancient Japan, Numen, 44, (2), 109-152.
Sei Shonagon (tr. Arthur Waley.) 2011
The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. Tuttle: Tokyo.
Soka Gakkai. The Nichiren Library. Available from: nichirenlibrary.org/
World History Encyclopedia.
It is a guide to the intermediate state between death and rebirth.
It is read or, more accurately, recited to someone who is dying or has recently died in order to help that person navigate the hallucinations and visions that occur during the dying process.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead offers a unique perspective on the nature of consciousness and the human experience of death and rebirth, teaching that consciousness is not limited to the body and that death is not the end, but rather a transition to a new state of being [actually of dynamic and never static becoming].
The Tibetan Book of the Dead's origins can be traced back to the 8th century when the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen [Emperor Tri Songdetsen, the 38th emperor of Tibet] directed the Indian Buddhist master Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) to bring the teachings of Buddhism [from ancient Brahminical (and Brahmin-influenced Mahayana Buddhist] India] to Tibet.
Padmasambhava, known also as "Guru Rinpoche," brought the teachings on the bardos, or the intermediate states between death and rebirth, from his teachers in India.
The teachings were later compiled into the text known today as The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
However, the book is not considered Buddhist scripture [not taught by the Buddha or his immediate enlightened disciples or included in the canon of teachings] in the traditional sense.
Scriptures are texts that are the words of the Buddha or other enlightened beings, and these sources are considered to be the ultimate source of Buddhist teachings or the Dhamma or Dharma.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is considered a terma, or "hidden [cultural] treasure." Termas are believed to contain teachings that are specifically suited to the Tibetan cultural context.
Tibet's church-state mixes politics and religion.
[These might not be acceptable teachings or regarded as "treasure" in neighboring Buddhist or Himalayan cultures like the Nepalese, Bhutanese, Mongolian, Bangladeshi, and curious hill tribe peoples of South and Southeast Asia many of whom fell within the purview and influence of Potala Palace (a kind of imperial Rome that became the Vatican/Holy See and Catholic Church headquarters ever since the pre-Jesus worship of Mithraslater erasing this god and replacing him with the figure of Jesus Christ, or "Ceasar's Messiah," but keeping many of the same myths and details), Lhasa, Tibet at one time].
First the Catholic pope (as distinct from the Coptic pope, Eastern pope, Russian pope) dares to infuriate the Chinese police state with a visit to neighboring Buddhist Mongolia ostensibly to see the massive country's miniscule Catholic population (1,450 total) when he's really there to signal and dog whistle to Chinese Catholics.
Maybe if icepick this chink, I'll see YVWH
Two vandals have been detained for digging a shortcut through the Great Wall of China. Thes suspects admit using an excavator to smash a hole in a Ming-era section of the Wall in Shanxi Province, state media say.
Did South Park go too far in depicting the Great Wall of China as a Chinese food restaurant guy's project against Mongolians or is it history by animation?
.
Lunatic vandalizes great US wall to Mexico
Two people have been detained after using an excavator to cut a hole in the Great Wall of China, said the state broadcaster CCTV.
Police in Shanxi Province followed tracks made by heavy machinery used to make a shortcut through a segment of the Great Wall -- remains of the immense structure built by [some lost civilization, according to Graham Hancock, prior to] China’s emperors to deter foreign invaders.
The suspects admitted under questioning that they had used a digger to create a shortcut in the Wall in an attempt to reduce local travel time, state media reported.
Construction of the Great Wall, which is split into sections that in total stretch for thousands of kilometers, began in the third century BC and continued for centuries.
The affected section, situated about a six-hour drive west of Central Beijing, dates back to China’s Ming Dynasty of the 14th through to the 17th centuries.
What if China's greatest architectural achievement was made by a civilization prior to the Han?
CCTV reported on Monday [9/4/23] that the suspects had caused “irreversible damage” to the Ming-era Wall, which was described as a “relatively intact” section of significant research value.
Images on Chinese TV showed the scene where a dusty road had been cut through a long, raised section of ground that appeared to be the remnants of the ancient barrier.
Damaged section (Youyu Public Sec. Bureau)
“Currently, the two suspects have been criminally detained in accordance with the law, and the case is continuing to be investigated,” said CCTV.
This just in! Motive: The vandals were "trying to save time" of having to go around the Great Wall. More
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