Medicine Buddha

The Medicine Buddha wears the monastic robe, and is seated with his legs crossed. His left hand, lying in his lap in 'meditation' mudra, holds a medicine bowl, 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 lotus throne.

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".

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)