Fudo Myoo

Fudo Myoo is a wrathful deity. He is portrayed holding a sword in his right hand and a coiled rope in his left hand. With this sword of wisdom, Fudo Myoo cuts through deluded and ignorant minds and with the rope he binds those who are ruled by their violent passions and emotions. He leads them onto the correct path of self control. He is also portrayed surrounded by flames which consume the evil and the defilements of this world. He sits on a flat rock which symbolizes the unshakeable peace and bliss which he bestows to the minds and the bodies of the Buddha. Fudo Myoo transmits the teachings and the injunctions of Buddha to all living beings and whether they agree to accept or to reject these injunctions is up to them. His blue/black body and fierce face symbolize the force of his will to draw all beings to follow the teachings of the Buddha. Nevertheless, Fudo Mayo’s nature is essentially one of compassion and he has vowed to be of service to all beings for eternity.
Fudo Myoo also represents his aspect of service by having his hair knotted in the style of a servant: his hair is tied into seven knots and falls down from his head on the left side. He has two teeth protruding from out of his mouth, an upper tooth and a lower tooth. The upper tooth is pointed downward and this represents his bestowing unlimited compassion who are suffering in body and spirit. His lower tooth is pointed upward and this represents the strength of his desire to progress upward in his service for the Truth. In his upward search for Bodhi and in his downward concern for suffering beings, he represents the beginning of the religious quest, the awakening of the Bodhisattva and the beginning of his compassionate concern for others.
His vow is to do battle with evil with a powerful mind of compassion and to work for the protection of true happiness.