Today, I had cataract surgery. Lots of fun. Actually, the surgery was not bad. It was getting up at such an ungodly hour of the morning to go to the hospital and then waiting around while they prepped me that sucked. Fortunately, I have a lot of confidence in my doctor, even though he looks like he just graduated from high school. It may sound stupid but I find it unnerving when doctors are younger than me, and almost all of them are these days. When we were growing up doctors were always older than us and that automatically made them seem wiser. Just an illusion.
Anyway, it’s hard to see with just one eye (the patch comes off tomorrow) and I am tired as hell. So, for today, while I spend my time resting, just a little about the subject of the Medicine Buddha.
Below is a photo of my altar. The statue in front is Kwan Yin. Behind that, the Medicine Buddha and a mandala with the Medicine Buddha’s Siddham seed syllable.
As part of my daily practice I often recite the Medicine Buddha mantra:
Tadyatha Om Bhaishajye Bhaishajye Maha Bhaishajye Raja Samudgate Svaha
I’ll right more about this mantra in a future post, when I can see better. In the meantime, here is some information on the Medicine Buddha from the Dalai Lama, found at Men-Tsee-Khang, the Official Website of Tibetan Medical and Astrology Institute of H.H. the Dalai Lama:
The full name of the Medicine Buddha is Bhaishajyaguru Vaiduryaprabha, the Healing Master of Lapis Lazuli Radiance. Like Shakyamuni he wears the robes of a monk and is seated in the full cross-legged posture. His left hand is in the meditation mudra, resting in his lap and holding a begging bowl filled with medicinal nectar and fruit. His right hand rests upon his knee with palm facing outward in the mudra granting blessings and holds the stem of a myrobalan plant (Terminalia chebula), renowned as the king among medicines because of its effectiveness in treating both mental and physical diseases.
In traditional Tibetan tangkas, the Lapis Healing Master is often shown in the company of seven other Medicine Buddhas, one of whom is Shakyamuni himself. And in depictions of his eastern buddha realm known as Pure Lapis Lazuli, the Healing Master is generally flanked by the two leading bodhisattvas of that pure land, Suryaprabha and Chandraprabha, respectively All-pervading Solar and Lunar Radiance.
The most distinctive feature of this Medicine Buddha is his color, the deep blue of lapis lazuli. This precious stone has been greatly prized by Asian and European cultures for more than six thousand years and, until relatively recently, its ornamental value was on a par with, or even exceeded, that of the diamond. An aura of mystery surrounds this gemstone, perhaps because of its principal mines are located in the remote Badakshan region of northeast Afghanistan, an all-but-inaccessible area located behind the Hindu Kush. One commentator has written, “the finest specimens of lapis, intensely blue with speckled waves and swirls of shining gold-colored pyrite, resemble the night aglow with myriads of stars.” Traditionally this beautiful stone was used to symbolize that which is pure or rare. It is said to have a curative or strengthening effect on those who wear it, and its natural smoothness allows it to be polished to a high degree of reflectivity. For all these reasons plus the fact that deep blue light has a demonstrable healing effect on those who use it in visualization practices lapis is the color of the principal Medicine Buddha.
The Lapis Healing Master is one of the most honored figures in the Buddhist pantheon. The sutras in which he appears compare his eastern pure land with the western paradise of Amitabha, and rebirth there is said to be as conducive to enlightenment as is rebirth in Sukhavati. Recitation of his mantra, or even the mere repetition of his holy name, is said to be sufficient to grant release from the lower realms, protection from worldly dangers and freedom from untimely death. In one of the main sutras concerning the Medicine Buddha, Shakyamuni tells his close disciple and attendant Ananda:
If these sentient beings [those plunged into the depths of samsara’s sufferings hear the name of the Lord Master of Healing, the Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagatha, and with utmost sincerity accept it and hold onto it, and no doubts arise, then they will not fall into a woesome path.
