Medicine Buddha

The central figure of this lovely painting is Bhaishajyaguru, the medicine Buddha. There are usually considered to be eight brother Medicine Buddhas, one of whom is Shakyamuni Buddha, who transformed himself into a blue Buddha, sending out healing rays of light.

He wears the monastic robe, and is seated with the legs crossed. His left hand, lying in his lap in 'meditation' mudra, holds a bowl containing medicine nuts, while the right, hand in 'charity' mudra, holds the branch of the myrobalan, a medicinal plant found in India and other tropical countries.

He sits on a moon disk on lotus petals.

The Bhaishajyaguru sutra (written before the sixth century) makes this Buddha far more than a healer of either the body or the spirit. He is conceived, rather, as a supreme and cosmic figure who illuminates the entire world and possesses infinite knowledge. It is also interesting to note that the sutra places considerable importance on the worship of the healing Buddha's image. The worshipper should "bathe, and with a pure mind try to be friendly to all beings. After this he is to circumambulate the image with music…" The Chinese translation further states that "if one makes an image of this Buddha, or if one recites the text of the sutra, he will escape from the nine ways of death".

This description by Nitin Kumar, Executive Editor, Exotic India.

References:

Beer, Robert. The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1999.

Chakraverty, Anjan. Sacred Buddhist Painting. New Delhi: Roli Books, 1998

Fisher, Robert E. Art of Tibet. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997.

Getty, Alice. The Gods of Northern Buddhism. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1978.

Lipton, Barbara, and Ragnubs, Nima Dorjee. Treasures of Tibetan Art: Collection of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.

Rhie, Marylin M. & Thurman, Robert A.F. Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

Of Related Interest:

Each of us a Healer: Medicine Buddha and the Karma of Healing (Article)

Tibetan Medicine The Buddhist Way of Healing (Hardcover Book)

The Tibetan Art Of Healing (Paperback Book)

3 Feet High Sculpture of the Medicine Buddha (Brass)

Paradise of the Medicine Buddha (Tibetan Thangka Painting)

Mandala of the Medicine Buddha (Tibetan Thangka Painting)

Assembly of the Medicine Buddha (Tibetan Thangka Painting)