Hello friends,
Welcome to the online temple with Aya Yeshe.
We're doing meditations on healing and transformation from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
So first of all,
Know that you're in a safe space.
Take a comfortable position.
If you're sitting in a chair,
Try to prop yourself up so that your back is straight and your head is not too far forward or too far back.
Or if you're able to sit on the floor with a cushion under your pelvis,
It's also good.
We take the seven-pointed posture of meditation.
So first of all,
Our spine is straight like a pile of golden coins.
Second of all,
Our head is not too far forward or too far back.
Third,
Our jaw is relaxed.
Fourth,
Our shoulders are balanced.
Fifth,
Our right hand is on top of our left hand and our thumbs are touching,
Symbolizing the union of wisdom and compassion.
Feet would be crossed in Padma Asana with the right foot facing upwards,
But that's pretty hard for most people.
So just having your legs crossed or just if you're in a chair,
They're resting naturally below you.
Number six,
Your eyes ideally are just slightly open or totally closed if you find that distracting.
The tongue is touching the soft palate lightly,
Just behind the upper teeth.
And number seven is that the eyes are slightly open or closed,
Whichever you prefer.
In Tibetan Buddhism,
There are many archetypes of different qualities of the awakened mind.
And one of these archetypes is Medicine Buddha,
Which represents our own capacity for healing,
For repair,
For uplifting.
So Medicine Buddha isn't a god,
But an archetype of what we ourselves can become.
And every aspect of his visualization is symbolic.
His body is made of light.
It's not solid.
It's like a rainbow appearing and yet not permanent.
He's blue in color and he looks like a monk.
He's wearing a monk's robe,
Which symbolizes ethics.
He has short and curly hair,
Which is piled into a bun on his head.
And his skin has a blue tinge,
Symbolizing that the fundamental nature of mind is pure from the very beginning,
Like the evening sky,
A deep blue,
A color hard to change,
Meaning that no matter what we go through in life,
Our fundamental purity,
Our basic goodness cannot be diluted,
Cannot be taken away.
And we imagine Medicine Buddha sitting one foot above our head,
About as big as our hand.
And there is a kind of blue aura around him.
He has his right hand touching the earth and his left hand holds a monk's bowl,
A small black bowl with an arura medicine plant in it.
And this arura medicine plant is the blessings of all awakened beings.
And this is where the blue light is generated and flowing down from the body of Medicine Buddha towards you.
And you imagine this blue light comes from his body,
Speech and mind into you,
Into your body,
And slowly comes in through the crown of your head.
And gradually,
This blue energy,
This healing light just illuminates your whole body.
Bringing about a profound sense of healing and peace.
First,
This cooling blue light fills down to your forehead,
Down to your mouth,
Down to your neck,
Your heart.
And it's just pushing out all illness,
Confusion,
Which just comes out your feet in the form of a black smoke that just dissolves into nothing.
This blue luminous light is moving through your body,
Which your body in this visualization is not solid.
And then gradually it comes to your stomach and continues down through your pelvis,
Your thighs,
Your knees,
Your calves and feet.
And your whole body becomes like a crystal sphere,
Just filled with this beautiful,
Luminous blue light.
This is what we visualize as you listen to the meditation.
The mantra of Medicine Buddha,
Which I will chant in Sanskrit,
But it really means homage to the healing,
To the healing,
To the king of healing.
Thus may it be.
So you're also imagining that all illnesses,
Obscurations of mind that stop you from realizing pure wisdom,
Just come out of your feet and dissolve into nothing.
Just come out as a black smoke that dissolves into nothing.
And your whole body is filled with bliss and blessings as this beautiful blue light descends from Medicine Buddha above your head.
So you can continue to chant this mantra with this visualization for as long as is good for you.
You can even have a mala,
Like a rosary bead on a string with 108 beads and chant and hold it in your left hand and recite this mantra.
And then when you've finished reciting this mantra,
Imagine Medicine Buddha turns and comes and sits in front of you,
Like in front of your heart,
Maybe one meter away.
And he's looking at you with loving kindness,
With great compassion.
And as he smiles at you,
A white OM from his forehead comes into your forehead and all impurities of mind are purified and you receive his blessings of body.
And then a red AH comes from his throat to your throat and it purifies all negativities and obscurations of speech.
And you receive the blessings of his speech.
And then a blue HUM comes from his heart,
H-U-M,
To your heart and your mind is completely purified and your mind is filled with peace and bliss.
And then he dissolves from the feet upwards,
He's sitting cross-legged,
But you imagine the bottom of his body dissolves up and the top of his head dissolves down into a really bright luminous ball of blue light.
And this blue light comes above your head and just dissolves inseparably into you.
Your body,
Speech and mind merge with the body,
Speech and mind of Medicine Buddha.
Because your nature from the very beginning has been Medicine Buddha.
And your mind is filled with peace and healing and blessings.
And then you can just imagine that Medicine Buddha is seated on a lotus in your heart because he is your awakened nature.
And you can be aware now and then throughout the day as you eat lunch,
You're feeding nectar to the Medicine Buddha in your heart.
When you sleep,
Your head is resting on the lap of Medicine Buddha who is seated on your pillow.
And just,
You know,
Throughout the day you can occasionally be aware that Medicine Buddha is in your heart and,
You know,
Recite some mantras or just rest,
Breathing with the awareness of that blessing,
That enlightened presence in your life.
So now we have come to the end of our meditation.
So you can just wiggle your hands and your toes and stretch and gently come back into the room.
And you might like to say some prayers of dedication.
By this good energy,
May all beings be freed of suffering and find true peace.
May they grow in compassion.
