Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha

And then during those two years, Dr. Nita asked me to try to organize some small classes or, you know, which this looked like.

medicine buddha meditations i would open my house or you know so we called this this was part of the sort of kong international network um so we called that sort of kong portland it was quite um you know informal and we would host when dr nita came to america and also organize some small groups so that was the start and then um So I mentioned that word, that name, Yangchenma.

I think I'll come back to this in a minute.

But Yangchenma then was this name that kind of when I decided to come back to America, and even though it was kind of started as a name for this place, you know, imaginary place in Indonesia, he said to me, just keep that name because it'll kind of guide you in your life.

I didn't want to fill the calendar with yoga and meditation, just to fill the calendar and have it feel very uncohesive and not have a lineage.

So I thought, what is it that complements you know, the Soarigpa and the Yotognintik that we do here.

And I put a lot of thought into, like, you know, what does it mean to be in a pure land? What does it mean to be in Thanaduk? So Thanaduk is the Medicine Buddha's garden, which we have here.

You came here in the early days.

But in essence, the deities are the same.

Here at Columbus KTC, we practice Chenrezig, Anamitaba, Green Tara, White Tara, Medicine Buddha, and Mahakala.

Chenrezig is known as the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva compassion.

Chenrezig made a vow that he would not rest until he had liberated all the beings in all the realms of suffering.

Green Tara is associated with enlightened activity and abundance.

White Tara, associated with compassion and long life.

Medicine Buddha protects living beings from physical and mental sickness and other dangers and obstacles and helps them to eliminate the three poisons, attachment, hatred, and ignorance.

Mahakala defends the Dharma from corruption degeneration, and from forces hostile to it, keeps the sight of the practice free from impure thoughts and actions, guides and protects the individual practitioner from all kinds of deception and delusion, bestows the power to overcome life's struggles and eliminates one's obstacles and impediment rather than hinder enlightenment.

So there's the Jambhala Guru Rinpoche.

There's Medicine Buddha.

There's Medicine Buddha Guru Rinpoche.

Everything is included in the tantric world in Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal.

And in terms of duality coming together, There is no way to relate to Guru Rinpoche without Yeshe Chögyal, who historically is one of his consorts.

But it was really quite lovely.

And I do want to just show you a photo of the Medicine Buddha.

if I can, I'm going to just see if I can, if I can share my screen for those of you, this is the medicine Buddha.

This is what the medicine Buddha looks looked like.

And it was a huge, enormous golden figure, really stunning.

So Yeah.

For example, the Buddha was often described as a great doctor, capable of providing a teaching that would serve as a remedy for whatever affliction one may have.

This idea of the Buddha as a doctor seems to have given rise to the idea of a Medicine Buddha.

The Medicine Buddha's Pure Land is said to be filled with the gemstone Lapis Lazuli and exists to the east of our world, remembering from earlier that these Pure Lands are often described as the Pure Lands of the Ten Directions.

The Medicine Buddha is associated with healing rituals in this life, and spiritual healing in the next life, and was especially popular among the kings of Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan.

One of the many benefits said to arise from being reborn in this Pure Land is that once you're in the Medicine Buddha's Pure Land, you can more easily travel to the Pure Land of Amitabha.

Another example is Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, who is one of the attendants of Amitabha Buddha in Sukhavati, and arguably one of the most popular objects of devotion in the Mahayana Buddhist world.

The pure land of Avalokiteshvara is Potalaka.

Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, is said to have entered the Bodhisattva path through the practice of Buddha contemplation.

All of the great palaces of the Kalki kings.

So before we talking, when we see this incredible mandala, uh, built by Suchandra, first Dharma king, and then we see this, uh, representation of deities, uh, and then we also experienced the real deities within our Buddha nature.

So then a long time you are emerged with your Buddha nature.

So we left there.

So now is, uh, uh, all of the great palaces of the Kalki kings are made from the most excellent of gold, silver, and jewels.

It's, there is no such thing death for them.

You know, there are manifestations anyway.

So, so therefore, reality they are Buddhas.