Yàoshī rúlái guānxíng yíguǐ fǎ 藥師如來觀行儀軌法
Visualization-Practice Ritual Manual for the Medicine-Master Tathāgata (Bhaiṣajyaguru) by 金剛智 (Vajrabodhi, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Esoteric ritual manual by Vajrabodhi (金剛智) for the practice of Bhaiṣajyaguru (藥師如來 Yàoshī rúlái — the “Medicine-Master Tathāgata”) — the popular Mahāyāna healing-Buddha presiding over the eastern Pure Land of Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa (淨琉璃淨土 Jìngliúlí jìngtǔ). The Bhaiṣajyaguru cult was one of the most popular Buddhist devotional traditions in East Asia, particularly for healing and protection.
Abstract
The text gives an Esoteric sādhana for Bhaiṣajyaguru: the mudrā-mantra-visualisation triplets, the offering sequences, the japa of the Bhaiṣajyaguru dhāraṇī, and the merit-dedication. The integration of the popular Bhaiṣajyaguru cult with the Esoteric ritual framework is one of Vajrabodhi’s contributions to the systematisation of Tang Buddhist devotional practice.
The translation dates from Vajrabodhi’s Chángān period (720–741).
Translations and research
- Birnbaum, Raoul. The Healing Buddha. Boulder: Shambhala, 1979. — On the Bhaiṣajyaguru cult.