Yàoshī liúliguāng wáng qī fó běnyuàn gōngdé jīng niànsòng yíguǐ 藥師琉璃光王七佛本願功德經念誦儀軌
Recitation Ritual Manual on the Sūtra of the Original Vows-Merits of the Seven Bhaiṣajyaguru Tathāgatas (Lapis-Lazuli-Light Kings) by 沙囉巴 (Sherap / Shāluóbā, 譯)
About the work
A two-fascicle Yuán-period ritual manual translated from Tibetan by Sherap 沙囉巴 (沙囉巴, 1259–1314) on the Seven Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddhas practice — the elaborated Esoteric form of the Bhaiṣajyaguru cult that recognises seven Medicine-Buddhas (rather than the single Bhaiṣajyaguru of the standard Mahāyāna tradition). The seven-Buddha form derives from the Tibetan Esoteric tradition.
Abstract
The seven Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddhas — Suparikīrtita-nāmaśrī, Svaraghoṣarāja, Suvarṇabhadravimala, Aśokottamaśrī, Dharmakīrti-sāgaraghoṣa, Abhijñā-rāja, and Bhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūryanirbhāsa — form a heptad of healing-Buddhas that elaborates the basic Bhaiṣajyaguru cult. The two-fascicle ritual manual gives the abhiṣeka, sādhana, and japa sequences for the seven-Buddha practice.
The translation dates from Sherap’s mature career as Yuán court translator (ca. 1290–1314).
Translations and research
- Birnbaum, Raoul. The Healing Buddha. Boulder: Shambhala, 1979.