In my attempt to bring back the practice of Greco-Buddhism I had always found it interesting that the most common depiction of the Lord Buddha by the Indo-Greeks is always that of Herakles Vajrapani on his right and Tykhe Hariti on his left.
Though I had long realized how the syncretism between Herakles and Vajrapani occurred and recently I also realized possibly how Tykhe and Hariti got syncretized I had never really understood the reason for this depiction.
I had always thought that what the pairing with the Lord Buddha meant was that Herakles represented determination, honor, vigor, duty, bravery, heroism and strength. To me the pairing with the Buddha could either represent that Herakles was the guardian of the Buddha ( and clearly in the scriptures Vajrapani was the Lord Buddha’s guardian ) or that Herakles could represent determination, honor, vigor, duty, bravery, heroism, and strength.
From a Mahayana Buddhist viewpoint pairing based upon virtues, ideals to strive for and characteristics is more orthodox. Buddha for example is frequently paired with Kuan Yin and Ti Tsang or Manjushri, none seen as guardians but seen as virtues and ideals to strive for. Kuan Yin being compassion, love and mercy, Ti Tsang, vow and determinalism, Manjushri, wisdom and knowledge.
I however came initially to the conclusion that the pairing could not mean that as Tykhe Hariti represented more luck and protection. Therefore the pairing has to be interpreted from a more Indian interpretation. This could only mean that Tykhe and Herakles served as the guardians gods of the Buddha. Tykhe ensures that chance moved the Buddhas way, Herakles the strength, the honor, the dutiful, the determined, the brave, the heroic God who protect the Buddha from harm .
I have to say I think I was wrong.
I have now shifted my idea to the more canonical Mahayana idea after reading the wonderful work of Dimitrios Kokkinos:-
“All dead become automatically holy and then they are born again until through “Aretee” (Virtue) one day their psyche escapes from the spiral of Time, thus becoming primitive God, “daimon” a word with a positive meaning for Hellenes, in contrast with Judeo-Christain superstition. Hercules is the ultimate symbol of this struggle of each mortal to make his / her way to Olympus, among the Immortal Ones. Hercules is the ultimate symbol for all Hellenes of the past and the present.”
I now believe the popular pairing of the Buddha with Tykhe Hariti and Herakles Vajrapani is not a guardian god system that is so popular in early Indian sculpture.
Rather this pairing like the Mahayana pairing represents two virtues and two ideals that man are to strive for.
Herakles Vajrapani represents the struggle towards improving oneself. It represents the struggle of man towards making his or her way to Olympus if seen from a Greek viewpoint or towards Enlightenment as seen from a Buddhist viewpoint. This is precisely what both Herakles in myth, and Vajrapani in myth exemplified.
Tykhe Hariti represents the true possibility of moral redemption through Eros. Hariti was once a wicked ogress who ate and terrorized people until the Buddha hid her child from her. Through the love she has in her child she realized while the child was gone the anguish and horror and sadness and terror people have felt when she harmed innocent people just because she was angry. She turned away from her wicked ways and metamorphoses into Agathos Tykhe, the Good Goddess of Fortune, protector of cities.
Thanks to that article I now understand.
I thank our Hellenes from Greece for enhancing understanding further!!
And this is another indication as to how deep Hellenic influence pervades Mahayana Buddhism. These series of sculptures predates formal Mahayana and is squat in the Indo-Greek and Greco-Buddhist period between 150BC to 50AD. Mahayana Buddhism only formally emerged as popular described “out of nowhere” in Taxila ( an Indo-Greek city ) in 100AD!!
