sadhana medicine buddha - fpmt · pdf filemedicine buddha sadhana 3 medicine buddha sadhana...

Medicine Buddha Sadhana

1

Medicine Buddha

Sadhana

Com

posed by Ngaw

ang Losang Tempa G

yältsän

Translated by Lama T

hubten Zopa Rinpoche

prepared by Ven. Thubten G

yatso

20 M

edicine Buddha Practices

Fou

ndation for the Preservation of the M

ahayana Tradition

Education Services

2 M


©FPM

T, Inc. 2002. Revised 2004

Practice RequirementsA

nyone with faith can do this practice.

No em

powerm

ents are required.


19

Foundation for thePreservation

of the Mahayana Tradition

The Foundation for the Preservation of the M

ahayana Tradition is anorganization devoted to the transm

ission of the Mahayana B

uddhisttradition

and values w

orldwide th

rough teach

ing, m

editation, an

dcom

mun

ity service. We provide in

tegrated education through w

hichpeople’s m

inds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential

for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility.W

e are comm

itted to creating harmonious environm

ents and helping allbeings develop their full potential of infinite w

isdom and com

passion.O

ur organ

ization is based on

the B

uddh

ist tradition of L

ama

Tsongkhapa of Tibet, as taught by our founder, Lam

a Thubten Yeshe,

and spiritual director, Lama Zopa R

inpoche.

FPMT, Inc.

P. O. B

ox 888Taos, N

ew M

exico 87571 USA

Tel: (505) 758-7766Fax: (505) 758-7765

Em

ail: info@fpm

t.orgw

ww

.fpmt.org


3


The actual body of the sadhana

VisualizationA

bout four inches above the crown of m

y head is a lotus flower. In the

center of the lotus is a white m

oon disk and seated on the moon disk is

my root guru – the dharm

akaya essence of all the buddhas – in the formof the M

edicine Buddha. H

e is blue in color and his body radiates bluelight. H

is right hand, in the mudra of granting sublim

e realizations,rests on his right knee and holds the stem

of the arura plant between

thumb and first finger. H

is left hand is in the mudra of concentration

and holds a lapis lazuli bowl filled w

ith nectar. He is seated in the full

vajra position and is wearing the three red-colored robes of a m

onk. He

has all the signs and qualities of a buddha.

Taking Refuge and Generating BodhichittaI go for refuge until I am

enlightened.To the B

uddha, the Dharm

a, and the supreme assem

bly.B

y my practice of giving and other perfections,

May I becom

e a buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings.(3x)

18 M


FPMT Education

Departm

ent

The aim

of the Education D

epartment at FPM

T International O

ffice isto serve the needs of D

harma centers and individuals in the area of T

i-betan B

uddhist educational and spiritual materials. T

his includes prayersand practice texts, retreat sadhanas and other practice m

aterials, a varietyof study texts and translations, deity im

ages for meditation, and curricu-

lar materials for study program

s in FPMT

Dharm

a centers.

One of our principal objectives is to serve as a repository for a w

idevariety of practice texts prim

arily within the G

elug tradition, especiallythose authored or translated by Lam

a Zopa Rinpoche and Lam

a Thubten

Yeshe. We w

ork in close collaboration with the Lam

a Yeshe Wisdom

Archive, B

oston, M

assachusetts, which serves as a repository for the

comm

entaries an

d transcripts of teachin

gs by Lama Zopa R

inpoche

and Lam

a Yeshe.

If we can be of service to you in any w

ay, please contact us at:

Education D

epartment

FPMT

International Office

P. O. B

ox 888Taos, N

ew M

exico 87571 USA

Tel: (505)737-0550, ext. 1#E

mail: m

aterials@fpm

t.orgw

ww

.fpmt.org/shop

4 M


The Four Immeasurable ThoughtsM

ay all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.M

ay all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of

suffering.M

ay all sentient beings never be separated from the happiness that is

without suffering.

May all sentient beings abide in equanim

ity, free from both attach-

ment and hatred, holding som

e close and others distant.

Cultivating Special BodhichittaE

specially for the benefit of all sentient beings, I will quickly, very quickly,

attain the precious state of perfect and complete buddhahood. For this

reason I will practice the yoga m

ethod of Guru M

edicine Buddha.

Seven-Limb PrayerI prostrate to G

uru Medicine B

uddha.E

ach and every offering, including those actually performed and those

mentally transform

ed, I present to you.I confess all non-virtuous actions accum

ulated since beginningless time.

I rejoice in the virtues of both ordinary and noble beings.A

s our guide I request you, O B

uddha, to please abide well and turn

the wheel of D

harma until sam

sara ends.A

ll virtues, both my ow

n and those of others, I dedicate to the ripeningof the tw

o bodhichittas and the attainment of buddhahood for the

sake of all sentient beings.

Mandala Offering (optional)

Brief Mandala

This ground, anointed w

ith perfume, strew

n with flow

ers,A

dorned with M

ount Meru, four continents, the sun and the m

oon.I im

agine this as a buddha-field and offer it.M

ay all living beings enjoy this pure land!

Inner Mandala

The objects of m

y attachment, aversion and ignorance – friends, en-

emies and strangers – and m

y body, wealth, and enjoym

ents; without

any sense of loss, I offer this collection. Please accept it with pleasure


17

Care of Dharma Books

Dharm

a books contain the teachings of the Buddha; they have the pow

erto protect against low

er rebirth and to point the way to liberation. T

here-fore, they should be treated w

ith respect – kept off the floor and placesw

here people sit or walk – and not stepped over. T

hey should be coveredor protected for transporting and kept in a high, clean place separatefrom

more m

undane materials. O

ther objects should not be placed ontop of D

harma books and m

aterials. Licking the fingers to turn pages isconsidered bad form

as well as negative karm

a. If it is necessary to dis-pose of w

ritten Dharm

a materials, they should be burned rather than

thrown in the trash. W

hen burning Dharm

a texts, it is taught to firstrecite a prayer or m

antra, such as OM

, AH

, HU

M. T

hen, you can visualizethe letters of the texts (to be burn

ed) absorbing in

to the AH

and theA

H absorbing into you, transm

itting their wisdom

to your mindstream

.A

fter that, as you continue to recite OM

, AH

, HU

M, you can burn the

texts.

Lama Zopa R

inpoche has recomm

ended that photos or images of holy

beings, deities, or other holy objects not be burned. Instead, they shouldbe placed w

ith respect in a stupa, tree, or other high, clean place. It hasbeen suggested to put them

into a small structure like a bird house and

then seal the house. In this way, the holy im

ages do not end up on theground.


5

and bless me w

ith freedom from

the three poisons.

IDA

M G

UR

U R

AT

NA

MA

ND

ALA

KA

M N

IRYA

TA

YAM

I

Prayers of RequestI beseech you, B

hagavan Medicine G

uru – whose sky-colored holy body

of lapis lazuli signifies omniscient w

isdom and com

passion as vast aslim

itless space – please grant me your blessings.

I beseech you, compassionate M

edicine Guru – w

ho hold in your righthand the king of m

edicines symbolizing your vow

to help all pitiful sen-tient beings plagued by the 424 diseases – please grant m

e your blessings.

I beseech you, compassionate M

edicine Guru – w

ho hold in your lefthand a bow

l of nectar symbolizing your vow

to give the glorious undyingnectar of the D

harma that elim

inates the degenerations of sickn

ess, oldage, an

d death – please grant m

e your blessings.

VisualizationA

bove the crown of G

uru Medicine B

uddha is a wish-granting jew

el,w

hich is in essence my guru. A

bove that is the Buddha D

elightful King

of Clear K

nowing (N

gön khyen gyäl po), whose body is coral red in color,

his right hand in the mudra of bestow

ing sublime realizations and his

left hand in the mudra of concentration. A

bove him is the B

uddhaM

elodious Ocean of Proclaim

ed Dharm

a (Chö drag gya tso yang), w

ith adark pink-colored body, his right hand in the m

udra of bestowing sub-

lime realizations and his left hand in the m

udra of concentration. Above

him is the B

uddha Supreme G

lory Free from Sorrow

(Nya ngän m

e chog),light pink in color w

ith both hands in the mudra of concentration.

Above him

is the Buddha Stainless E

xcellent Gold (Ser zang dri m

e), goldin color, his right hand in the m

udra of expounding the Dharm

a andhis left hand in the m

udra of concentration. Above him

is the Buddha

King of M

elodious Sound, Brilliant R

adiance of Skill, Adorned w

ithJew

els, Moon, and Lotus (R

in chen da wa dang pä m

a rab tu gyän pa kyä pazi ji dra yang gyi gyäl po), yellow

in color with his right hand in the m

udraof expounding the D

harma and his left hand in the m

udra of concen-tration. A

bove him is the B

uddha Renow

ned Glorious K

ing of Excel-

lent Signs (Tshän leg yang drag), gold in color with his right hand in the

mudra of expounding the D

harma and his left hand in the m

udra ofconcentration.

16 M


NO

TE

: In various M

edicine B

uddha practices, th

e visualization of th

e seven M

edi-cin

e Buddhas differs. A

ccording to differen

t traditions, their m

udras and colors can

change sign

ificantly. T

hus, the differences betw

een the colors an

d mudras in

the colorim

age and the varyin

g visualizations described in

the practice contain

ed herein are

not errors; they are sim

ply differences am

ong practices an

d traditions.

Colophon:T

he Medicine B

uddha Sadhana was translated by Lam

a Thubten Zopa R

inpoche andedited and prepared for publication by V

en. Thubten G

yatso (Adrian Feldm

ann) in 1982.It w

as first published in 1982 by Wisdom

Publications. It was lightly edited and prepared

for publication by the FPMT

Education D

epartment in 2001 by V

en. Constance M

iller.A

ll errors are solely the fault of the editor.T

his revised edition, March 2002. R

evised January 2004.©

Lama T

hubten Zopa Rinpoche, 1982, 2002

All rights reserved.

Line drawings of the M

edicine Buddhas (pp. 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, and 39) ©

Andy W

eber.O

ther miscellaneous line draw

ings ( pp. 25, 34, 37, 39, and 40) © R

obert Beer.

6 M


Requests to the Medicine Buddhas

Repeat each verse seven tim

es. After the seventh recitation as you repeat “M

ayyour vow

to benefit... “ the Medicine B

uddha to whom

the request is made

absorbs into the one below.

To you, Buddha R

enowned G

lorious King

of Excellent Signs, fully realized destroyer of

all defilements, fully accom

plished buddhahavin

g fully realized the absolute truth ofall phenom

ena, I prostrate, go for refuge, andm

ake offerings. May your vow

to benefit allsentient beings now

ripen for myself and oth-

ers. (7x)

To you, Buddha K

ing of Melodious Sound,

Brilliant R

adiance of Skill, Adorned w

ithJew

els, Moon

, and Lotus, fully realized

destroyer of all defilements, fully accom

-plished buddha w

ho has fully realized theabsolute truth of all phenom

ena, I pros-trate, go for refuge, and m

ake offerings.M

ay your vow to benefit all sentient beings

now ripen for m

yself and others. (7x)

To you, Buddha Stainless E

xcellent Gold,

Great Jew

el Who A

ccomplishes A

ll Vow

s,fully realized destroyer of all defilem

ents,fully accom

plished buddha who has fully

realized the absolute truth of all phenom-

ena, I prostrate, go for refuge, and make

offerings. M

ay your vow to ben

efit allsentient beings now

ripen for myself and

others.(7x)


15

especially if you are doing healing work. It helps you to be m

ore accurateand beneficial. You w

ill receive much support, not only from

the eighttathagatas, but from

the four clairvoyant devas as well. T

hese devas canhelp you to diagnose and understand the right m

ethod to heal, as theyare associated w

ith the eight tathagatas.

Lama Zopa R

inpochein a letter to Taiw

anese students, 1998


7

To you, Buddha Suprem

e Glory Free

from Sorrow

, fully realized destroyer ofall defilem

ents, fu

lly accomplish

edbuddha w

ho has fully realized the abso-lute truth of all phenom

ena, I prostrate,go for refuge, and m

ake offerings. May

your vow to benefit all sentient beings

now ripen for m


To you, Buddha M

elodious Ocean of Pro-

claimed D

harma, fully realized destroyer

of all defilements, fully accom

plishedbuddha w



ake offerings. May your

vow to benefit all sentient beings now

ripen for myself and others. (7x)

To you, Buddha D

elightful King of C

learK

nowing, Suprem

e Wisdom

of an Ocean

of Dharm

a, fully realized destroyer of alldefilem

ents, fully accomplished buddha

who has fully realized the absolute truth

of all phenomena, I prostrate, go for ref-

uge, and m

ake offerings. M

ay your vowto benefit all sentient beings now

ripenfor m


14 M


The Benefits of Medicine Buddha M

antra

The M

edicine Buddha encom

passes all the buddhas. This m

eans thatw

hen we practice the seven-lim

b prayer and make offerings w

ith theseven lim

bs, we receive the sam

e merit as w

e would if w

e had made

offerings to all the buddhas. Similarly, w

hen we recite the m

antra ofM

edicine Buddha, w

e collect unbelievable merit just as w

hen we offer

the seven-limb practice to M

edicine Buddha.

To recite the Medicine B

uddha mantra brings inconceivable m

erit.M

anjushri requested the eight tathagatas (Guru Shakyam

uni Buddha

and the seven Medicine B

uddhas) to reveal a special mantra that w

ouldm

ake the prayers they (the eight tathagatas) made in the past (prayers to

be able to actualize the happiness of sentient beings by attaining thepath to enlightenm

ent and pacifying various problems, to be able to see

all the buddhas, and for all wishes to be quickly realized) to quickly

come to pass, especially for those sentient beings born in the tim

e of thefive degenerations w

ho have small m

erit and who are possessed and

overwhelm

ed by various diseases and spirit harms.

Durin

g that time, all the eight tathagatas, in

one voice, taught the

Medicine B

uddha man

tra. Therefore, if you recite the m

antra every day,the buddhas and bodhisattvas w

ill always pay attention to you, and they

will guide you. V

ajrapani, owner of the secrets, and the four guardians

will alw

ays protect and guide you. All your negative karm

as will be paci-

fied, and you will never be born in the three low

er realms. E

ven justhearing a recitation of the nam

es of the eight tathagatas pacifies alldiseases and spirit harm

s – even spirit harms that arise as a condition of

disease – and all your wishes are fulfilled.

This is just a brief explanation of the benefits of the M

edicine Buddha

practice. This practice is especially beneficial if you are helping others,

8 M


To you, Buddha M

edicine G

uru, Kin

gof Lapis Light, fully realized destroyerof all defilem

ents, fully accomplish

edbuddha w



ake offerings. M

ayyour vow

to benefit all sen

tient bein

gsn

ow ripen

for myself an

d others. (7x)

VisualizationG

ranting your request, from the heart and holy body of the K

ing ofM

edicine, Guru M

edicine Buddha, infinite rays of w

hite light pour down

completely fillin

g your body from head to toe. T

hey purify all yourdiseases and afflictions due to spirits and their causes, all your negativekarm

a and m

ental obscuration

s. In the n

ature of light, your bodybecom

es as clean and clear as crystal. The light rays pour dow

n twice

more, each tim

e filling your body with blissful clean clear light w

hichyou absorb. You are thereby transform

ed into the holy body of Guru

Medicine B

uddha. At your heart appears a lotus and m

oon disk. Standingat the center of the m

oon disk, is is the blue seed-syllable OM

surroundedby the syllables of the m

antra. As you recite the m

antra, visualize rays oflight radiating out in all directions from

the syllable at your heart. The

light rays pervade the sentient beings of all six realms. T

hrough yourgreat love w

ishing them

to have happiness, an

d through your greatcom

passion wishing them

to be free from all sufferings, they are puri-

fied of all diseases and afflictions due to spirits and their causes, all theirnegative karm

a and mental obscurations.

Mantra RecitationO

M N

AM

O B

HA

GA

VA

TE

BH

AISH

AJY

E / G

UR

U B

AID

UR

YA /

PRA

BH

A R

AD

JAYA

/ TAT

HA

GA

TA

YA / A

RH

AT

E SA

MYA

KSA

MB

UD

DH

AYA

/ TA

DYA

TH

A / O

M B

HA

ISHA

JYE

BH

AISH

AJY

EM

AH

A B

HA

ISHA

JYE

[BH

AISH

AJY

E ]** / R

AJA

SAM

UD

GA

TE

SVA

HA

**NO

TE

: The syllables in the m

antras in brackets [ ] are optional. The M

edicineB

uddha mantra is recited both w

ith and without the optional syllables.


13

rather than rejecting outright the profound teachin

gs of the Buddha.

Exam

ine an

d practice this sadhana skillfully. K

eep your min

d steady,an

d you can achieve great ben

efits for yourself and for others w

ith-out deceivin

g yourself.

Bhagavan Medicine BuddhaDrawing by Andy Weber


9

Short Mantra

TAD

YAT

HA

/ OM

BH

AISH

AJY

E B

HA

ISHA

JYE

MA

HA

BH

AISH

AJY

E[B

HA

ISHA

JYE

] / RA

JA SA

MU

DG

AT

E SV

AH

A+H,-<

SJ-F-!J-SJ-F-!J-3@-SJ-F-!J-[ SJ-F-!J] ** ,<-6-?-3

;-+J-J@, ,[C

omm

on pronunciation: TA

YA

TA

OM

BH

EK

AN

DZ

YE

BH

EK

AN

DZ

YE

MA

HA

BH

EK

AN

DZY

E [B

HE

KA

ND

ZYE

] RA

DZA

SAM

UD

GA

TE

SOH

A.]

Feel great joy and think:A

ll sentient beings are transformed into the aspect of the M

edicine Bud-

dha Guru. H

ow w

onderful that I am now

able to lead all sentient beingsinto the M

edicine Buddha’s enlightenm

ent.

Simplified VisualizationIf you w

ish to do a shorter version instead, visualize Guru M

edicine Buddha above the

crown of your head and m

ake the following prayer of request seven tim

es:

The fully realized destroyer of all defilem

ents, fully completed buddha

having fully realized the absolute truth of all phenomena, G

uru Medi-

cine B

uddha, Kin

g of Lapis Light, to you I prostrate, go for refuge, andm

ake offerings. May your vow

to benefit all sentient beings now ripen for

myself and others. (7x)

12 M


pure realm or am

ongst happy transmigrators. A

t the very least, it will

shorten the duration of their suffering in the lower realm

s. It is excellentif this is done w

ith bodhichitta, renouncing self and cherishing others.

Also, by reciting this m

antra, you will greatly enhance the pow

er of them

edicine that you are taking or giving to others. This can be done as

follows:

Visualize the m

edicine in a bowl in front of you and above it a m

oondisk. Standing on the m

oon disk is the blue seed-syllable OM

surroundedby the syllables of the M

edicine Buddha m

antra in a clockwise direc-

tion. As you recite the m

antra, n

ectars flow from

all the syllables,absorbing into the m

edicine. The syllables and the m

oon then dissolveinto the m

edicine, which becom

es extremely pow

erful and able to cureall physical diseases an

d afflictions caused by spirits together w

iththeir causes, n

egative karma an

d men

tal obscurations of sen

tient

beings. If you are treatin

g a serious disease such as cancer, visualize

that the medicin

e has the power to cure this particular disease. T

hestron

ger one’s faith an

d the more m

antras on

e recites, the greaterw

ill be the power of the m

edicine.

All existent phenom

ena are objects of knowing. If som

ething is not anobject of know

ledge for any being, then it does not exist: an example is

the ‘horns of a rabbit.’ All existent phenom

ena are included in threecategories:·

objects of a valid non-deceptive consciousness, which are easily

recognized, such as vase, plate, rice, flowers, and so forth;

·objects that are difficult to realize and w

hich require reasoning todo so, such as im

permanence and em

ptiness;·

objects that are extremely difficult to realize, such as phenom

ena thatare only objects of know

ledge of the omniscient m

ind. For ordi-nary beings, these can only be know

n through dependence uponscriptural authority of the B

uddha.

Since the benefits of doing this sadhana are extremely difficult to recog-

nize, they therefore belong to the third category. Only through faith in

the Buddha’s explanations can one realize these benefits. For those w

hoare in

tellectual but somew

hat thick-skulled, this explanation

of theben

efits and positive karm

a of doing the M

edicine B

uddha sadhana

should not be discarded because it is too expansive for such a lim

itedintelligence. If one is unable to accept this, it is better to rem

ain indifferent

10 M


As you recite the M

edicine Buddha m

antra, visualize as follows:

Purifying rays of light pour down from

the Guru M

edicine Buddha’s

heart and holy body, eliminating your sicknesses and afflictions due to

spirits, and their causes, all your negative karma and m

ental obscurations.Your body is com

pletely filled with light and becom

es clean-clear likecrystal. T

hen the rays radiate out in all directions, purifying the sick-nesses and afflictions of all m

other sentient beings.

After the m

antra recitation visualize as follows:

The G

uru Medicine B

uddha melts into light and absorbs into your heart.

Your mind becom

es completely one w

ith the dharmakaya, the essence

of all buddhas.

Dedication

Due to these m

erits, may I com

plete the ocean-like actions of the sons ofthe victorious ones. M

ay I become the holy savior, refuge, and helper for

sentient beings, who have repeatedly been kind to m

e in past lives.

By the virtues received from

attempting this practice, m

ay all living be-ings w

ho see, hear, touch, or remem

ber me – even those w

ho merely say

my nam

e – in that very mom

ent be released from their m

iseries andexperience happiness forever.*

As all sentient beings, infinite as space, are encom

passed by Guru M

edi-cine B

uddha’s compassion, m

ay I too become the guide for sentient

beings existing throughout all ten directions of the universe.

Because of these virtues, m

ay I quickly become G

uru Medicine B

uddhaand lead each and every sentient being into his enlightened realm

.

* This dedication verse includes your enem

ies, even when they repeat your nam

e with

anger.


11

The Benefits of This Practice

The seven M

edicine Buddhas, attainers of bliss, strongly prayed for the

temporal and ultim

ate happiness of yourself and all sentient beings.T

hey vowed that their prayers w

ould be actualized during these degener-ate tim

es when the teachings of Shakyam

uni Buddha are in decline. A

sthe buddhas’ holy speech is irrevocable, you can w

holly trust in theirpow

er to quickly grant blessings to help all sentient beings in these de-generate tim

es. If you pray to Guru M

edicine Buddha, you w

ill quicklyaccom

plish all that you wish. Just hearing the holy nam

e of Guru M

edi-cine B

uddha and the sound of his mantra closes the door to rebirth in

the suffering lower realm

s. It is written in the scriptures that you should

not have a two-pointed m

ind (doubt) with regard to these benefits.

Guru Shakyam

uni Buddha said in the sutra entitled M

edicine Guru B

eams

of Lapis Lazuli: “Kungaw

o, do you believe my explanation of the quali-

ties of that tathagata [Medicine B

uddha]?”

Kungaw

o replied to the Bhagavan: “I do not have a tw

o-pointed mind

with regard to the teachings of you, the celibate B

hagavan. Why? B

ecausethe action

s of the tathagata’s holy body, holy speech, and holy m

ind

are always pure, w

ithout a single m

istake.”

Then G

uru Shakyamuni B

uddha gave this advice: “Kungaw

o, whoever

hears the holy name of that tathagata w

ill not fall into the evil realms of

the suffering transmigratory beings.”

Therefore, at the tim

e of death, it is excellent to recite both TathagataM

edicine Buddha’s holy nam

e and his mantra in the ear of the dying

person. It is extremely beneficial to recite the m

antra and blow it upon

meat that you are eating, or even on old bones or the dead bodies of

animals or hum

ans. This action purifies the karm

ic obscurations of thosesentient beings. It can cause som

eone who has been

reborn in

thesufferin

g lower realm

s to imm

ediately pass away and be reborn in a

sadhana medicine buddha - fpmt · pdf filemedicine buddha sadhana 3 medicine buddha sadhana...

Documents