Bhaisajyaguru Buddha

藥師佛

Bhaiṣajyaguru (“Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light”); is the Buddha of healing and medicine in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the “Medicine Buddha”, he is described as a doctor who cures our sufferings and liberates us from the cycle of rebirth by prescribing us to his medicine of teachings. The image of Bhaiṣajyaguru is usually expressed with a canonical Buddha-like form holding a pagoda and, in some versions, possessing blue skin. The pagoda embodies the important characteristics and merits of the Medicine Buddha that can eliminate disasters, remove obstacles, cure diseases, prolong life, and receive blessings. As a bodhisattva who made Twelve Great Vows, upon achieving Buddhahood, he became the Buddha of the Eastern Pure Land of Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa “Pure Lapis Lazuli”. There, he is attended to by two bodhisattvas symbolizing the light of the sun and the light of the moon respectively.

藥師佛翻譯全名作藥師琉璃光佛或藥師琉璃光如來。漢地亦稱消災延壽藥師佛、大醫藥王佛。經中記載，藥師佛全身透徹、身藍色如琉璃，清淨無染出柔光，故以“琉璃光”為功德名號。藥師佛一般為手托寶塔，能令眾生消災、除障、祛病、延壽、納福。藥師佛的“藥”其中之一意思是醫人心, 離輪迴。藥師佛於過去久遠劫修梵行，在電光如來住世時，曾發十二大願，願為眾生解除疾苦，使具足諸根，身相端正，資具豐饒，離諸橫難等，並導入解脫，而以願滿故而成佛，住淨琉璃世界。在淨琉璃世界，日光遍照菩薩和月光遍照菩薩是藥師佛的兩大脅侍。