This is a guided meditation on the Medicine Buddha,
One of the key meditation deities or Buddha figures in the Mahayana tradition,
Practiced throughout East Asia and the Himalayan region.
This practice is primarily used to increase our wisdom,
Love and compassion,
And may contribute to our physical well-being and the well-being of others,
And at the same time should never be used instead of proper medical attention and treatment.
In order to begin this Medicine Buddha practice,
We first take a comfortable stationary position and allow our awareness to descend deep into our body.
Here we allow ourselves to gently be aware of the somatic experiences as they arise,
Abide and dissolve.
Breathing naturally,
We gradually relax the body and settle the mind.
Then we turn our minds towards refuge in the Three Jewels,
The awakened mind of the Buddha,
The liberating truths of the Dharma,
And the realized companionship of the Sangha.
We are entrusting ourselves to these three aspects of the awakened transcendental nature,
Relying upon them.
And with that as our foundation,
We generate the enlightened intent of Bodhicitta,
An aspiration to attain full awakening,
Or the state of Medicine Buddha,
For the sake of all sentient beings,
In order to bring them happiness and liberate them from suffering.
And on a more short-term note,
We are aspiring to ease the suffering of all the sentient beings right now,
Not just humans,
But also numerous animals and all the other beings that are experiencing the dukkha,
Or the unsatisfactory conditions.
Imagine that you are seated with a clear view of the surface of our planet,
Filled with numerous beings.
Many of these beings are experiencing acute intense suffering right now.
Some are experiencing temporary joy,
But are not yet liberated and therefore will eventually face suffering as well.
Recognizing this suffering of beings and our own suffering brings forth compassion,
Because we know,
If only these beings gained true ultimate wisdom and love,
If only they liberated themselves from their negative karma and mental afflictions,
Suffering would cease.
There would be true happiness.
With that understanding,
Imagine that out of your heart come blue rays of inviting light.
You go out to the far horizon,
Where in a suddenly unfolding vision,
You see a beautiful pure land,
With Medicine Buddha sitting on a lotus,
And surrounded by numerous other holy beings that embody the quality of compassionate healing.
The Medicine Buddha is a shining figure of blue light.
He is sitting on a lotus and moon disc,
And he abides in the posture of perfect stability and calm.
His right hand holds the healing plant of Arura on his right knee.
His left hand holds a bowl full of healing nectar on his lap.
He is dressed in monastic robes and manifests the aspect of simplicity and peace.
The blue rays of inviting light coming from your heart touch the heart of Medicine Buddha,
Inviting his activity on behalf of all the suffering beings and yourself.
Out of great love,
Medicine Buddha responds in accordance with his previous pledges and aspirations to guide and heal beings.
And now his own heart releases sapphire colored rays that enter you and all the beings throughout space,
Including specific beings that you want to dedicate this practice to.
These rays,
Coming from Medicine Buddha's heart,
Have the nature of love,
Protection,
And gentle loving heat.
These rays of heat enter all beings and melt the ice of sickness,
Emotional anguish,
Loneliness,
Suffering,
And pain.
They melt the ice of negative karma,
Wrong views,
And mental afflictions.
They melt the ice of self-grasping and self-centeredness and bring about the liberating gift of true love,
Genuine compassion,
And genuine wisdom.
Maintaining this visualization and allowing it to unfold,
We can either simply rest in a deep sense of gratitude,
Love,
And compassion,
Or combine it with a recitation of the Medicine Buddha mantra.
I will recite it several times just to give you an example,
And then you can continue the recitation on your own or simply rest with the visualization and the feeling.
Theata om bekan ze bekan ze maha bekan ze radze samudgat es soha.
Continue with the recitation or simply rest with the visualization combined with feelings of appreciation and compassion.
Feeling that all the sentient beings are genuinely included in this practice,
In this positive interdependence that you are creating right now with your mind,
Your body,
And your speech.
Thank you.
Now imagine that the entire universe completely loses all solidity.
All beings made of liquid light now become healing bodhisattvas with shining bodies and wise compassionate minds and hearts.
Your own body liberated from all suffering and the causes of suffering also becomes a body of light.
It is as if Medicine Buddha's Pure Land expands and encompasses the earth,
Actually the entire universe,
Completely transforming it and healing the planet and all of its beings.
Simply rest in this,
Imagining that each being now also chants Medicine Buddha's mantra with deep gratitude and compassion.
Now let go of the visualization for a few moments and simply let your awareness rest unmoved and natural.
Now think about all the positive imprints you have just created by doing this practice and mentally dedicate all this positive energy or merit by thinking.
Due to all the positive energy I have created in the past and present and that I will create in the future,
May the wish-fulfilling,
Most precious,
Ultimate good heart of Bodhichitta be generated in my own heart and in the hearts of all living beings,
Without delay of even a second.
May the Bodhichitta that is already generated be increased forevermore.
Due to all the merits of the past,
Present and future that I have collected and that others have collected,
However many sick sentient beings there are,
May they all be instantly liberated from their sicknesses and may sentient beings never get sick.
May we all gain the awakened state of Medicine Buddha and guide all beings to that same level of awakening.
May all beings be forever happy and free from suffering and may our compassion never exclude any beings and be always wise and fierce.
Taking Medicine Buddha's presence into our everyday life,
We conclude this formal meditation by inviting the bell.
