As with other Buddhist traditions that we have looked at, Vajrayana has a particular vision of “human nature” and “human destiny.”
“Vajrayana” comes from vajra and yana.
In Sanskrit, the word “vajra” means a diamond or a thunderbolt. These were the kind of tools that Indra, the Vedic thunder god, could hurl during storms.
The vajra symbolizes indestructibility. It is used as an instrument in Tantric Buddhist rituals. That is why Tantric Buddhism is often known as Vajrayana. The whole name thus means “the Diamond Vehicle” or “Thunderbolt Vehicle’ (vajra + yana).