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THE
MEDICINE BUDDHA
“His radiant body is
azure blue. His left
hand is in the
meditation mudra and
holds a begging bowl
full of long life nectar
in his lap. As a sign
that he gives protection
from illness, his right
hand is outstretched in
the gesture of giving
and holds the “great
medicine”, the myrobalan
plant (a-ru-ra).”
Men-Tse-Khang
“More important . . . is
to understand what you
are doing. And most
important is to
understand that by
visualizing yourself as
the Medicine Buddha you
are not pretending to be
something that you are
not . . .”
Thrangu Rinpoche
TIBETAN MEDICINE
Causes of distress
and disease
Tibetan medicine
recognizes three basic
types of illness, the
root causes of which are
the conflicting emotions
– passion, aggression,
and ignorance. Myrobalan
is the only herb in the
Tibetan pharmacopoeia
that can aid in healing
each of these three
types of diseases. This
is like the action of
the Buddha of Healing,
who has the power to see
the true cause of any
affliction, whether
spiritual, physical or
psychological, and who
does whatever is
necessary to alleviate
it.
The four levels of
therapy in Tibetan
medicine:
(1) Lifestyle changes: diet,
exercise, quality
relaxation and rest, and
hygiene.
(2) Detoxification and rejuvenation.
(3) Surgery, acupuncture, and
moxabustion – a heat
form of acupuncture.
(4) Spiritual medicine – the deepest and
most invasive level.
Various methods that
either involves the
client in practices of
contemplation and
meditation, or
meditations, prayers are
done on the client's
behalf by the
healer/physician. The
end-result or goal is
enlightenment or harmony
with the universe.
- Source: Robert
Sachs, The Healing
Tradition of
Medicine Buddha
Buddhism Today,
Vol.8, 2000
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