01/08/2022
Medicine Buddha Mandala...
In the Medicine Mandala, the Buddha has been depicted as the medicine Buddha residing at the center of the mandala. He is in a crystal palace located in the center of the city, his throne is made from lapis lazuli (Vaidurya), He is dark blue in color like the sky and sits in the full-lotus meditative posture. in the Tibetan Medical literature, there is a popular legend concerning the color of the Medicine Buddha. Once while the medicine Buddha - Menla - was moving from place to place, he suddenly was met by a traveler. That traveler was very much surprised to see a person with so strange an appearance and immediately asked him why his appearance was so dark and so unusual. Then the medicine Buddha replied to that traveler. "I have all kinds of disease in my body and it is, therefore, I have become so dark blue".
The medicine Buddha, residing at the center of this mandala, holds the begging bowl in his left hand, lying on his lap, his right hand holds Terminalia Che Bulaa Retz. (A-ru-Ra), the "great medicine," myrobalan. He has all marks of perfection and all signs of Beauty Characterizing all Buddha. He is attended by a number of gods, Rishis, Brahmans, Buddhists, non-Buddhists, the protectors of medicine, and the three protectors-Manjushri, Avalokitesvara, Vajrapani, the goddesses.
According to the Buddhist tradition, Uddiyana is the birthplace of Indian Magician Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Tantrism.
The most popular of the three great Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana Buddhism, Manjushri (Jam dpal dbyangs) Bodhisattva of Wisdom, the personification of the Wisdom of the Buddhas-Avalokitesvara (spyan ras gzigs) bodhisattva of compassion and disciple of the Buddha; Vajrapani (phyagna rdo _rje, phyag rdor or lag na rdo-rje) -Bodhisattva, who embodies the might and power of all Buddhas of medicine, his two closest disciples-Ananda and Sariputra and also the holders of the medicine lineage.
The crystal palace is supported by sixteen thousand pillars, it is surrounded by balustrades platforms for offering divinity the five walls, eight steps and four gates symbolizing the traditional structure of the mandala. the Garden, all around this palace, is full of sweet fragrances of medical plants herbs, and varieties of incense. There are numerous kinds of peace-loving animals-peacocks, ducks, parrots, elephants and bears.
Outside of this wonderful city are four medicine mountains located in the four parts of the world. In four medicine mountains, a great number of medical plants are cultivated by the beautiful Yidtogma (Yid Thog-Ma), the incarnation of the goddess of medicine-Dud rtsi-ma (Bdud rtsi-ma).
In the east there is the mountain Ponadan (spas ngad Ldan) where a forest is full of myrobalan- "great medicine", this tree possesses all medicinal qualities and any part of it can be used for all four hundred and four diseases. Myrobalan contains all six tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, hot salty and puckery) and eight properties (light, heavy, cold, hot, sharp, dull, moist and dry).
The mountain Malaya (Ma-La-Ya) is situated in the west. The "Six good" (Bzang-drug) plants grow on the slopes of this mountain. These plants have an exclusive effect to maintain the body, nutmeg is useful for diseases; clover for heart diseases; saffron for the liver, big cardamon for the spleen; small cardamon for the kidney; and bamboo pitch for the lungs. According to the Tibetan pharmacological texts "Six Good" plants bring good luck and happiness to the people.
On the rocky parts of the mountain, called Malaya, there are five kinds of minerals i.e.: gold, silver, copper, iron and lead which are extraordinarily helpful for fever. There are five kinds of quartz, five types of medicinal hot springs that are good for fever from a cold and the sulfur bring conducive for cold diseases.
A large number of medicinal stones and various kinds of salts are on the cliffs of the mountain Malaya using special methods and technology, they are important ingredients for so many treatments conducted in Tibetan traditional medicine. The first is echoed with sweet songs of birds. Many kinds
Eight medicine Goddesses: Bdud rtsi - ma; Grub -pa'i lha -mo;gje - mo; od -ldan; Smug - bsl; gdong khra - ma; mdangs - ldan; Rig Byed -ma.
Ananda (Kun - dga' -Bo) is one of Buddha's cousins.
Sariputra is one of the famous early disciples of Buddha
According to a classification of the main guide on the theory and practice of Tibetan Medicine "Gyu -Zhi" there are four hundred and four diseases. The Tibetans believe that " the4 supreme medicine" - myrobalan is the universal medicine, curing all types of sickness. The medicine Buddha - Menla holds this medicine in his right hand.
Numerous Tibetan medical texts give accounts of various types of saffron. However the best Saffron. Processing maximum qualities for health is from Kashmir.
In the practice of traditional Tibetan medicine, all diseases are divided into two groups, disease of cold nature and disease of hot nature it is an important classification, it still plays a main role in diagnosis, in principles of treatment and in prevention and cure of diseases.
Of birds and animals live in this forest. There are peacocks and elephants, bears whose bile are used on a large scale for liver sickness and musk deers whose musk is a unique ingredient for various treatments for diseases.
In the north lies the mountain Gangchen (gangs chen) Himalayas. There are all kinds of medical plants that are useful for hot diseases. The famous plants are that of camphor, aloe wood, white sandalwood and gentian, All of them are used for illnesses with fever. They have sweet and bitter tastes and possess bland properties.
In the south stands the mountain Bekche (Begs - byed). All medicine plants useful for cold diseases are abundant they are with hot power. Among them are red sandalwood, and long pepper. They have sour and salty tastes and possess hot properties. All these plants can normalize the imbalance of cold.
The mandala of medicine Buddha has three levels: external, internal and absolute. It should be practiced in order to realize these three levels. External level means devotion to the Medicine Buddha _ offering the mandala and the practice of medicine. Inner level means the ta***ic practice of identifying oneself with the medicine Buddha and one's world with the energies of the pure medicine land. Absolute level means the ultimate realization of oneself like the Medicine Buddha who continuously manifests the healing Power. The mandala practicing through such practices is to realize the Trikaya, the Buddha-nature of body, speech and mind - action, radiance and emptiness.
