Slightly enigmatic is the medicine Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who cuts a figure from the early Buddhist days.
Though his origins are obscure, sutras about the medicine Buddha might have been based on descriptions of the historical Buddha as a physician who cures the ills of the world.
Bhaiṣajyarāja is a Bodhisattva described in the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka or White Lotus Sūtra who immolates himself as an offering to the Buddha.
Depicted as deep blue in colour, the Bodhisattva is dressed in the robes of a Buddhist monk, holding his begging bowl in his left hand while his right hand makes the varada mudra where varada means "granting wishes, conferring a boon, ready to fulfil requests or answer prayers".
"Sometimes, particularly in East Asian iconography, the begging bowl is replaced by a medicine jar. In Tibetan images, a myrobalan plant, thought to be a cure-all, grows out of his bowl."
The Medicine Buddha mantra is:
auṃ bhaiṣajye bhaiṣajye mahābhaiṣajya-samudgate svāhā
om beh ka dze-yah beh ka dze-yah ma ha beh ka dze-yah la dza sah mo kyah deh sowa ha
Reference:
Medicine Buddha: http://www.visiblemantra.org/medicine-buddha.html
Inspired by the Journey to the West, Gandhara is devoted to both Western and Eastern Truth.
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ - Hail the Lord whose name eliminates spiritual darkness.
Om Ganeshaya Namaha (ॐ गणेशाय नमः) - Homage to Ganesha.
Unconditional love tranquilizes the mind, and thus conquers all.
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Showing posts with label varada mudra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label varada mudra. Show all posts
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The Medicine Buddha Mantra
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Bhaisajya,
Bhiksu,
Bodhisattva,
Buddhism,
early Buddhism,
East Asia,
Mahayana,
Medicine Buddha,
monk,
myrobalan,
Saddharma Pundarika,
Tibetan Buddhism,
varada mudra,
White Lotus Sutra
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