Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha)

This thangka depicts Bhaisajyaguru (or Vaiduryaprabharaja; Tibetan: sman-bla) or the Medicine Buddha in the Dharma Palace (teaching hall) of the Buddha Land. The Medicine Buddha is in the centre seated in vajraparyank-asana on a lotus throne (Tibetan: pad-gdan). To the Buddha's left and right are the two attendant Bodhisattvas - Suryaprabha and Candraprabha, and together these three figures are known as the Three Sages of the East. The Medicine Buddha is universally referred to as the Buddha of Crystal Light, sometimes translated as Buddha of Beryl Light, and is regarded as the founder of the Pure Crystal Realm of the East to the east of Mount Sumeru. When Bhaisajyaguru was a Bodhisattva he enjoined twelve major pledges which brought peace to all living things in this world. As a result, making offerings to this Buddha and reciting mantras and his names can prevent disaster and bring good fortune, eliminate the suffering that is the origin of all disease, and bring to manifest fruition the essence of Bhaisajyaguru's twelve pledges. This thangka belongs to the Nyingmapa (Red Hat) school.