Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Medicine Buddha

སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་ལྷ། 药师佛
(item no. 77096)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1800 - 1899
Lineages Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Publication: Wisdom Publications, Calender
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

Medicine Guru Buddha (Tibetan: sang gye men la. English: the Buddha - Guru of Medicine). This painting is the first in the set of the eighty-five Tibetan Medical paintings belonging to the Vaidurya Ngonpa text (Blue Beryl) of Desi Sanggye Gyatso (1653-1705).

Tibetan: Sang gye men la

The Guru of Medicine (Sanskrit: Bhaishajyaguru) is also known by the name Vaidurya Prabha Raja, the 'King of Sapphire Light.' Dark blue in colour, with one face and two hands he holds in the right hand a myrobalan fruit (Latin: terminalia chebula. Skt.: haritaki). The left hand is placed in the lap in the mudra (gesture) of meditation supporting a begging bowl with the open palm. Adorned with the orange and yellow patchwork robes of a fully ordained monk, the left arm covered, he appears in the nirmanakaya aspect of a fully enlightened buddha. In vajra posture above a moon disc, he sits on a multi-coloured lotus and ornate lion supported throne.

Jeff Watt 12-2007

Wisdom Calendar 1993 - April (full catalog list)

Related Items
Publications
Publication: Wisdom Publications: Calendar Collection

Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Blue Beryl (Medicine Buddha Realm)
Charts: Blue Beryl (Painting Sets)
Subject: Tibetan Medicine Main Page
Buddhist Deity: Medicine Buddha Main Page
Charts: Blue Beryl Main Page (Medical Paintings)