Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Medicine Buddha

སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་ལྷ། 药师佛
(item no. 57001)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1800 - 1899
Lineages Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

Medicine Buddha (Sanskrit: Bhaishajyaguru. Tibetan: sang gye men la. English: the Buddha, Guru of Medicine).

Tibetan: Sang gye men la

Also known as Vaidurya Prabha Raja, the King of Lapis Lazuli (or sapphire) Light, he is dark blue in colour with one face and two hands, held in the right, in a gesture like that of supreme generosity, is held a myrobalan plant (Latin: terminalia chebula. Skt.: haritaki). The left hand is placed in the lap in the gesture of meditation supporting the black begging bowl of a monk - filled with nectar. Adorned with the patchwork robes of a fully ordained monk and the left arm covered, appearing in the nirmanakaya aspect of a buddha he is seated in vajra posture above a lotus and lion supported tiered throne.

At the top center is Amitayus the Buddha of Long Life. At the bottom center is Hayagriva, red, with one face and two hands. At the lower right is Padmasambhava.

Jeff Watt 4-2008

Front of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: [name inscriptions for each figure]

Reverse of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: [no inscriptions]

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art (RMA): Main Page
Buddhist Deity: Medicine Buddha Main Page
Collection: Private 11
Buddhist Deity: Medicine Buddha, 药师佛, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་ལྷ། (Masterworks)