Homage to the Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light

On the 29th day of the 9th Lunar month, which falls on 31 October this year, is the birthday of the Medicine Buddha, also known as Bhaishajyaguru Buddha.

In Buddhism, it is said that practicing a Buddha or Bodhisattva’s teachings on their birthday brings multiplied merit and blessings. The Medicine Buddha’s birthday is especially auspicious for practicing His teachings, invoking blessings for health, protection from calamities, and removal of obstacles and enemies, while also building spiritual merits. Many Buddhists observe this day by offering lights, reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra, or performing acts of compassion from the Medicine Buddha Sutra, seeking repentance for past wrongdoings and dedicating the merit to oneself, family, and all beings.

If you work in healthcare — whether in Chinese medicine, Western medicine, veterinary medicine, aesthetic medicine, psychology, physical therapy, acupuncture, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, speech therapy, natural medicine, or even as a nurse, emergency responder, or caregiver — this day carries special meaning for you.

It is a reminder to all in medical fields to strengthen your compassion and wisdom, as you work to relieve others from suffering.

Known as the “Supreme Healer,” the Medicine Buddha vowed to cure all beings’ 84,000 ailments with 84,000 remedies, purifying all illness karma. His vows encompass not only us humans but extend healing to beings in all realms, including devas, asuras, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings, targeting their three poisons: greed, anger, and ignorance.

For healthcare workers, this day offers an opportunity to practice the Medicine Buddha’s teachings, seeking to enhance your medical skills, responsiveness, wisdom, and compassion to better serve patients and to bring blessings to your career. Additionally, you can pray for your patients’ recovery and freedom from illness suffering.

The Medicine Buddha’s associated color is a luminous blue, the color of lapis lazuli. A male client in Taiwan recently emailed me, asking:

“Master Lee, you once mentioned that my Bazi should avoid water, but with the upcoming ‘Medicine Buddha’s Birthday’ Dharma ceremony, I’d like to attend. On October 31, can I make an exception and wear blue to honour the occasion?”

In Vajrayana Buddhism, when practicing a specific deity’s teachings or attending a ceremony dedicated to a Buddha or Bodhisattva, wearing their associated colour can help foster an external connection with that deity within us.

So yes, you may wear blue, but only during the ceremony. Just don’t wear it on a date — you don’t want to risk putting off the girl! 😅

On the birthday of Medicine Buddha, the Lei Tsang Temple Singapore has invited Vajra Master Shi Lianyue from Zhongguan Lei Tsang Temple in Taipei to lead the “Namo Medicine Buddha Repentance Ceremony for Calamity Dissolution, Blessings, Healing, and Deliverance “

**Date of the Repentance Ceremony:**
October 31, 2024
Thursday 2:30 PM

**Location:**
Futsing Association Building
2 Allenby Rd, Singapore 209973

Admission is Free

Should you be keen in taking refuge under my Root Guru, His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, you may begin by reading about the Five Precepts of Buddhism, the Fourteen Root Vows of Vajrayana, and the Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion: https://en.tbsn.org/page/index/Precepts.html

If you have decided to follow the path of Vajrayana, leading a purer spiritual life and learning to cultivate compassion and wisdom for the benefit of self and others, Master Lianyue will also be conferring the Refuge Initiation on behalf of our Root Guru during this Medicine Buddha Repentance Ceremony.

Should you take refuge in Grandmaster Lu on the birthday of Medicine Buddha, may you be blessed by the lineage’s flow of empowerment, bathed in the luminous light of the Medicine Buddha, and receive His compassionate blessings for good health, freedom from calamities, and an increase in wisdom.

Under the immense blessings of our Root Guru, may the light of Medicine Buddha help you see through greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, pride, and doubt, bringing you inner peace and tranquility. With a compassionate heart, may you help liberate all beings, and together may we achieve boundless merit and wisdom.