The Medicine Buddha Healing Mantra
The healing dharani of Bhaisajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha, said for the sick and for relief from illness, with the sutra's own opening homage.
Verses
Thus: Om. O Healing One, O Healing One, O Great Healing One, O Perfectly Arisen from Healing, so be it.
Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)
Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)
Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)
Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering
- Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home
Background
This dharani belongs to Bhaisajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha, whose full name in the sutra is Bhaisajyaguru Vaiduryaprabharaja, the Master of Healing, King of Lapis Lazuli Radiance. It is spoken in the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, known in Chinese through the translation attributed to Xuanzang as Taisho no. 450. The sutra introduces it with the homage namo bhagavate bhaisajyaguru vaiduryaprabharajaya tathagataya arhate samyaksambuddhaya, homage to the Blessed One, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Perfectly Awakened One, and then tadyatha, thus. The Chinese translation gives the dharani as Om bhaisajye bhaisajye bhaisajya-samudgate svaha. The form on this page is the longer one chanted in some traditions, with an added mahabhaisajye, great healing. It is recited for the sick and the dying, and as a daily practice for healing and compassion.
Did You Know?
Who he is
Bhaisajyaguru is shown deep blue in colour, in a monk's robes, holding a begging bowl in his left hand and making the boon-giving gesture with his right. In Tibetan images a myrobalan plant, thought of as a cure for every ailment, grows from the bowl, and in East Asian images the bowl may be a medicine jar.
The sutra's own homage
Before the dharani, the sutra pays homage to the Blessed One Bhaisajyaguru Vaiduryaprabharaja, the Tathagata, Arhat and perfectly awakened Buddha. Vaidurya means lapis lazuli, so his name carries the sense of radiance like deep blue jewel light.
Tadyatha and svaha
The word tadyatha means thus, it is like this, and signals that the mantra follows. Svaha is a ritual closing word from Vedic fire offering, often rendered hail or so be it.
A shorter and a longer form
The sutra's dharani repeats bhaisajye twice and then bhaisajya-samudgate. The word bhaisajya means healing, remedy or medicine, and samudgate means arisen. The longer form on this page adds mahabhaisajye, great healing, and in Tibetan practice the mantra is also said with bhaisajya-raja, king of healing.
What the sutra says follows
In the Chinese translation, once the dharani is spoken, the earth shakes, great light spreads, and the sufferings of all beings are relieved. The practice is therefore said for the sick, the dying and for one's own steadiness of mind.
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