See Vajra (Macross Frontier) for the fictional alien race.

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A Viśvavajra or "double vajra" appears in the emblem of Bhutan.

Vajra (Devanagari: वज्र, Chinese: 金剛 jīngāng; Tibetan རྡོ་རྗེ། dorje,^[1][2][3] Japanese: dokko 金剛) is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond.^[2] As a material device, the vajra is a ritual object, a short metal weapon—originally a kind of fist-iron like Japanese yawara—that has the symbolic nature of a diamond (it can cut any substance but not be cut itself) and that of the thunderbolt (irresistible force).

The vajra is believed to represent firmness of spirit and spiritual power.^[4] It is a ritual tool or spiritual implement which is symbolically used by Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, all of which are traditions of Dharma. Because of its symbolic importance, the vajra spread along with Indian religion and culture to other parts of Asia. It was used as both a weapon and a symbol in Nepal, India, Tibet, Bhutan, Siam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, China, Korea and Japan.^{[citation needed]}

In addition, King Vajra was Yadava dynasty's last surviving king, son of King Aniruddha. Vajra is also a common male name in Tibet and Bhutan. Vajra / Dorje can also refer to a small sceptre held in the right hand by Tibetan lamas during religious ceremonies.

Early descriptions[link]

The earliest mention of the Vajra is in the Rigveda, believed to have been composed between 1700 and 1100 BCE. It is described as the weapon of Indra, the god of heaven and the chief deity of the Rigvedic pantheon. Indra is described as using the Vajra to kill sinners and ignorant persons.^[5] The Rigveda states that the weapon was made for Indra by Tvastar, the maker of divine instruments. The associated myth describes Indra using the Vajra, which he held in his hand, to slay the Asura Vritra, who took the form of a serpent.^[6]

On account of his skill in wielding the Vajra, some epithets used for Indra in the Rigveda were Vajrabhrit (bearing the bolt), Vajrivat (armed with the bolt), Vajradaksina (holding the bolt in his right hand), Vajrabahu or Vajrahasta (holding the Vajra in his hand), and Vajrin (armed with the bolt). The association of the Vajra with Indra was continued with some modifications in the later Puranic literature, and also in Buddhist works. Buddhaghosa, a major figure of Theravada Buddhism in the 5th century, identified the Bodhisattva Vajrapani with Indra.^[7]

The Vajra in the Puranas[link]

Indra's Vajra as the privy seal of King Rama VI of Thailand.

Many later Puranas describe the Vajra, with the story modified from the Rigvedic original. One major addition involves the role of the Sage Dadhichi. According to one account, Indra, the King of the devas was once driven out of devaloka by an asura named Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him.^[8]) Indra, who had lost all hope of recovering his kingdom was said to have approached Shiva who could not help him. Indra along with Shiva and Brahma went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of the sage^{[disambiguation needed ]} Dadhichi would defeat Vritra.^[8] Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas' request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them.^[9] Indra then brought together all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisharanya,^[9] thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of Yoga after which the Devas fashioned the Vajrayudha from his spine. This weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the King of devaloka

Another version of the story exists where Dadhichi was asked to safeguard the weapons of the devas as they were unable to match the arcane arts being employed by the asuras to obtain them. Dadhichi is said to have kept at the task for a very long time and finally tiring of the job, he is said to have dissolved the weapons in sacred water which he drank.^[10]) The devas returned a long time later and asked him to return their weapons so that they might defeat the asuras, headed by Vritra, once in for all. Dadhichi however told them of what he had done and informed them that their weapons were now a part of his bones. However, Dadhichi, realising that his bones were the only way by which the devas could defeat the asuras willingly gave his life in a pit of mystical flames he summoned with the power of his austerities.^[10] Brahma is then said to have fashioned a large number of weapons from Dadhichi's bones, including the Vajrayudha, which was fashioned from his spine. The devas are then said to have defeated the asuras using the weapons thus created.

There have also been instances where the war god Skanda (Murugan) is described as holding a Vajra.^[11] Skanda is also the name of a Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who wields a Vajra.

King Vajra[link]

King Vajra was Aniruddha's Son and Sri Krishna's great-grandson. His mother was Aniruddha's wife, the Daitya princess Usha. Krishna just before his death made Vajra the King of Yadava dynasty at Indraprastha. Legend holds that as the sole survivor of the Yadava race after the Mahabharata war, Vajra was responsible for re-establishing the city of Mathura.

Vajra in Vajrayana Buddhism[link]

In Buddhism the vajra is the symbol of Vajrayana, one of the three major branches of Buddhism. Vajrayana is translated as "Thunderbolt Way"^[12] or "Diamond Way" and can imply the thunderbolt experience of Buddhist enlightenment or bodhi. It also implies indestructibility,^[13] just as diamonds are harder than other gemstones.

In Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana) the vajra and ghanta (bell) are used in many rites by a lama or any Vajrayana practitioner of sadhanas. The dorje is a male polysemic symbol that represents many things for the tantrika. The vajra is representative of upaya whereas its companion tool, the bell which is a female symbol, denotes prajna. Some deities are shown holding each the vajra and bell in separate hands, symbolizing the union of the forces of compassion and wisdom, respectively.

Vajrasattva holds the vajra in his right hand and a bell in his left hand.

In the tantric traditions of Buddhism, the vajra is a symbol for the nature of reality, or sunyata, indicating endless creativity, potency, and skillful activity. The term is employed extensively in tantric literature: the term for the spiritual teacher is the vajracarya; instead of bodhisattva, we have vajrasattva, and so on. The practice of prefixing terms, names, places, and so on by vajra represents the conscious attempt to recognize the transcendental aspect of all phenomena; it became part of the process of "sacramentalizing" the activities of the spiritual practitioner and encouraged him to engage all his psychophysical energies in the spiritual life.

An instrument symbolizing vajra is also extensively used in the rituals of the tantra. It consists of a spherical central section, with two symmetrical sets of five prongs, which arc out from lotus blooms on either side of the sphere and come to a point at two points equidistant from the centre, thus giving it the appearance of a "diamond sceptre", which is how the term is sometimes translated.

Various figures in Tantric iconography are represented holding or wielding the vajra. Three of the most famous of these are Vajrasattva,^[4] Vajrapani, and Padmasambhava. Vajrasattva (lit. vajra-being) holds the vajra, in his right hand, to his heart. The figure of the Wrathful Vajrapani (lit. vajra in the hand) brandishes the vajra, in his right hand, above his head. Padmasambhava holds the vajra above his right knee in his right hand.

From "Natural Great Perfection" by Nyoshul Khenpo and Lama Surya Das, 1995, comes this description:

The ground of the Madhyamika is the two truths, the absolute and the relative. The path of the Madhyamika is the way to directly experience the truth of the union of the relative and the absolute.^[14]

The vajra is a tool for training the mind for sudden awakening to Madhyamika.

Symbolism[link]

The vajra is made up of several parts. In the center is a sphere which represents Sunyata,^[13] the primordial nature of the universe, the underlying unity of all things. Emerging from the sphere are two eight petaled lotus flowers.^[3] One represents the phenomenal world (or in Buddhist terms Samsara), the other represents the noumenal world (or Nirvana). This is one of the fundamental dichotomies which are perceived by the unenlightened.

Arranged equally around the mouth of the lotus are two, four, or eight mythical creatures which are called makaras. These are mythological half-fish, half-crocodile creatures^[4] made up of two or more animals, often representing the union of opposites, (or a harmonisation of qualities that transcend our usual experience). From the mouths of the makaras come tongues which come together in a point.^[4]

The five pronged vajra (with four makaras, plus a central prong) is the most commonly seen vajra. There is an elaborate system of correspondences between the five elements of the noumenal side of the vajra, and the phenomenal side. One important correspondence is between the five "poisons" with the five wisdoms. The five poisons are the mental states that obscure the original purity of a being's mind, while the five wisdoms are the five most important aspects of the enlightened mind. Each of the five wisdoms is also associated with a Buddha figure. (see also Five Wisdom Buddhas)

The following are the five poisons and the analogous five wisdoms with their associated Buddha figures:^{[citation needed]}

The wisdom of individuality is also known as Discriminating Wisdom.

The Black Crown of the Karmapas is called Vajracrown.^[15]

See also[link]

• Diamond Sutra
• Tibetan art
• Phurba
• Prajnaparamita
• Triratna
• Trishula
• Vajradhara
• Three Vajras

References[link]

[edit] Further reading

• Dallapiccola, Anna L. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. ISBN 0-500-51088-1
• McArthur, Meher. Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs And Symbols. Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2002.
• Vessantara. Meeting The Buddhas. Windhorse Publications, 2003.
• Vessantara. Vajra and Bell. Windhorse Publications, 2001.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vajra

• The Diamond Sutra, also called the Vajra Cutter Sutra, available in multiple languages from the FPMT
• The Essential Songs of Milarepa / VI. Songs About Vajra Love 46. Answer to Dakini Tzerima
• Vajra Love—Essays from the Sites of Keith Dowman

v t e Hindu deities and texts Gods Deva Ganesha Brahma Vishnu Shiva Rama Krishna Murugan Hanuman Indra Surya more Goddesses Adi parashakti Devi Saraswati Lakshmi Sati Parvati Durga Shakti Kali Sita Radha Mahavidya Navadurga Matrikas more Texts Vedas Upanishads Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita more Hinduism Hindu mythology

DJ Champion
DJ Champion at Place des festivals in Montreal, on September 7, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Maxime Morin
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Electronica, trip rock
Occupations	Musician, composer, songwriter, session musician
Instruments	Electric guitar, bass guitar, music sequencer
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Saboteur Musique
Associated acts	Betty Bonifassi Benoît Charest

Maxime Morin (born c. 1969),^[1] is a multi-instrumentalist, better known for his work in electronic music under the moniker DJ Champion or simply Champion. Morin is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Early music career[link]

Maxime Morin began playing guitar at age 13, playing mostly heavy metal music.^[2][3] He went on to play in a few punk and metal bands,^[4] but by the age of 25 he found himself moving away from metal and gravitating towards techno. The transition was a gradual one: "Totally, I was like 'Dance music is crap!' So it was actually a big liberation, to lose my fear of dance music,” said Morin in a 2004 interview.^[1] Morin’s girlfriend at the time took him to a warehouse show and soon he began to attend techno Sundays at Les Foufounes Électriques, a Montreal nightclub better known in the 1980s and 90s for booking punk and alternative rock acts.^[1][3][4] By 1994 Morin began producing his own dance music and was performing around the Montreal club scene under the names Le Max and Mad Max.^[3][4][5] By about age 27 he stopped playing guitar altogether.^[2]

In the late 1990s, Québécois composer Benoît Charest attended a Mad Max performance; after the show Charest approached Morin with a business proposal; the two men went on to become co-owners of Ben & Max Studios—a company specializing in jingles and soundtracks. Ben & Max Studios became quite successful, however in 2001 Morin sold his share in the company back to Charest in order to continue his own personal musical career.^[4] Even after leaving their business partnership, Morin remained in close contact with Charest who was working on the score for the 2003 animated film, Les Triplettes de Belleville. Morin would go on to perform the bass and percussion on the song "Belleville Rendez-vous" and he also performed the song live, along with Charest and vocalist Béatrice (Betty) Bonifassi, at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony—Morin played percussion on a bicycle during the live performance.^[3][4] One of the main protagonists in Les Triplettes de Belleville is an aspiring cyclist who happens to be named Champion; Morin has stated that he was already performing under that name before the film was even created.^[4]

Work as DJ Champion[link]

By 2001 Morin had become frustrated with commercial music work. As part owner of Ben & Max Studios he was making quite a good living producing music for advertising and film, but he also felt “empty.” He decided to leave that world to focus on more personal music.^[5][6] He decided to move in a musical direction where he could combine “the two things that made [him] feel good: Live electronics and guitars...” ^[3] He also chose to change his performance name from Mad Max to DJ Champion as a way to poke fun at the growing dance music scene and the resulting outbreak of DJs: "Everybody wanted to be a DJ and wanted to know 'Who's the best DJ?' I was like, 'I don't give a damn about all that crap now. I'm DJ Champion.”^[5]

The DJ Champion sound was formed by experimenting with the software music sequencer Ableton Live, which is specially designed for live DJ-ing and arranging sounds. He would then layer the digitally produced beats and sounds with guitar loops.^[7] During live performances he and his live band would tour as "Champion et ses G Strings" ("Champion and his G Strings"). His live act often consists of four guitarists, one bassist, a vocalist, and Morin working at his laptop and conducting the band. On occasion Morin has also played live drums.^[2][5]

[edit] Chill'em All

2005 saw the release of DJ Champion’s debut album, Chill'em All. The album included the hit single "No Heaven" — a soulful and bluesy song set against heavy dance beats and noisy guitar riffs. Inspired by Negro Songs of Protest recorded by music collector Lawrence Gellert, Béatrice "Betty" Bonifassi (with whom Morin had previously collaborated on the Les Triplettes de Belleville soundtrack) sings a plaintive tune reminiscent of the work songs sung by the chain-gangs of the American South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[2][8] "I heard Betty singing those blues songs, and she was the girl for that job," said Morin.^[8] The single "No Heaven" was used in both a trailer and the ending credits of Gearbox Software's 2009 video game Borderlands,^[9] and is used in the opening credits of the television series The Line and the ending credits of the game Army of Two.^[10]

Chill'em All won an ADISQ Félix Award in 2005 for "Album of the Year" in the electronic/techno category and was nominated for "Best Dance Recording" at the 2006 Juno Awards.^[6][11] The single "No Heaven" was nominated at the 2006 CASBY Awards in the category "Favorite New Song" and won the SOCAN prize for Dance Music in 2007.^[11][12] DJ Champion's indie debut went on to sell over 100,000 copies across Canada.^[13]

Musical projects from 2006 to 2008[link]

In 2006, Morin released The Remix Album, an album featuring remixes of tracks from "Chill'em All" by such guest musicians as Akufen and Patrick Watson. The Remix Album garnered Morin another ADISQ Félix Award for "Show of the Year" and it was also nominated for Dance Recording of the Year at the 2007 Juno Awards. Morin and Bonifassi worked together again on a version of 1957 Screamin' Jay Hawkins hit "I Put a Spell on You"; it was used as the theme song of the Québécois film Truffe which premiered at the Fantasia Festival in January of 2008.^[14][15]

[edit] Resistance

In the winter of 2008, after a long spate of touring and performing, Morin felt that his newer material was starting to sound too similar to the songs of Chill'em All and he decided to delete an entire studio recording in order to start fresh.^[16][17] Morin withdrew himself from the musical scene and began experimenting. He also recruited Pilou Côté, a young musician from the Montreal music scene, to provide vocals, replacing Betty Bonifassi who had since moved on to her own electronic music project, Beast.^[13][18]

Resistance was released on September 15, 2009.^[18] The first single from the album is titled "Alive Again".

Illness and recovery[link]

On May 18, 2010 it was announced on DJ Champion's official website that all confirmed concert dates up until July 3, 2010 were cancelled. It was explained that Morin was "facing a health matter" which required him to "stop all activities in order to regain his strength." ^[19][20][21] As of June 7, an updated statement was added to his official website confirming that he would be postponing all performances indefinitely.^[22][23] On July 4, 2010 DJ Champion's management company, Bonsound, officially announced to the press that Morin was suffering from lymphoma.^[24][25] On January 27, 2011, DJ Champion posted an announcement on his website stating "I ain't sick anymore"[1] and on April 13 another post on his website stated that he would be "gradually resume performing in the coming weeks".[2]

G Strings[link]

DJ Champion tours with a live back-up band normally composed of four guitarists, one bassist and a vocalist. Together they tour as "Champion et ses G Strings" ("Champion and his G Strings").

Current members[link]

• Maxime Morin — DJ, conductor
• Barry Russell — Guitar^[16][26]
• Sébastien Blais-Montpetit — Guitar^[16][26]
• Pierre-Philippe (Pilou) Côté — Vocals^[16][26]
• Stéphane Leclerc — Guitar^[16][26]
• Jean-Luc Huet — Guitar^[16][26]
• Louis Lalancette — Bass^[16][27]

Past members[link]

• Betty Bonifassi — Vocals^[26]
• Manon Chaput — Bass^[27][28]
• Blanche Baillargeon — Bass^[26]
• Marie-Christine Depestre — vocals^[29][30]

Discography[link]

• Chill'em All (2005)
• The Remix Album (2006)
• Live (2007)
• Resistance (2009)

Singles chart positions[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• DJ Champion's official website
• DJ Champion on MySpace

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2010)

Xing Yu (行宇) a.k.a. Shi Xing Yu (釋行宇) gained his fame after playing the role of Coolie in the movie Kung Fu Hustle.^[1] He was a 32nd generation martial monk at the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song (嵩山少林寺). He has practiced martial art under the direction of Master De Yang (德揚禪師) at the temple for 10 years since age 12. He currently takes part in multiple movie projects in Asia, including Flash Point and Ip Man with Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip. (e.g. 《功夫狀元》 and 《武林足球》)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Xing Yu at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a Chinese actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e