Medicine Buddha

The Visualization Uncovers the Inherent

Y
esterday we discussed the lineage supplication of this practice,
the refuge and bodhicitta, the consecration of the practice place
and the materials, and the meditation on the four immeasurables.
Today we are going to begin with the actual visualization of oneself as the
Medicine Buddha, which causes the blessing of the Medicine Buddha to
enter into one, and the simultaneous visualization of the mandala of the
Medicine Buddha in front of one, which serves as an object of one’s sup-
plication and a field for the accumulation of merit through making offer-
ings.
The visualization is begun by purifying your perception of the entire
world, including your own body and mind. This is done initially through
the single recitation of the mantra of the pure nature or the mantra of
the purity of dharmata:

S HE NPE N ÖS E L 23
OM SOBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA within the sesame seeds, you could not get oil,
SOBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM no matter how hard you pressed the seeds.
Because the hidden nature of things is their
The meaning of the mantra reflects its sig- purity, then by regarding things as pure, you can
nificance. Following the initial syllable Om, the directly experience them as pure; you can di-
next word is swabava, which means the nature, rectly experience their purity. The swabawa
and then shuddha, which means pure. Ordi- mantra is used here to point this out, and also to
narily the things that appear to us—the world of introduce or begin the samadhi which will culmi-
external appearances and our internal perceiv- nate in the visualization of yourself as the Medi-
ing mind—appear to us as being impure because cine Buddha.
of the presence of the kleshas and other Following the recitation of the swabava
obscurations in our minds. What is meant here mantra, you say the Tibetan words, tong pa nyi
by the pure nature is that, although we perceive du jur, which means that everything becomes
appearances and our minds in this impure way, empty or becomes emptiness.
this is not their actual nature. While they seem
to be impure, in fact, in their nature, in and of Everything turns into emptiness.
themselves, they are pure. Following the state-
ment “pure by nature,” are the words sarwa, This describes the beginning of the visualiza-
which means all, and dharma, which means tion. At this point you imagine that everything
things. So the mantra states that “all things are disappears, that everything becomes empti-
pure in their nature.” ness—not only in how it is but in how it mani-
The term dharma usually has one of two fests. However, it is important to remember that
meanings. One meaning is sadharma or the you are not pretending here that things are
genuine dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, other than they are. You are using the imaginary
and the other meaning is thing, things in gen- dissolution of things into emptiness as an ac-
eral, anything that can be known. Here it refers knowledgment of the fact that things have been,
to things. from the very beginning,* empty in their nature.
The mantra continues with the words The dissolution of ordinary impure appear-
swabava shuddha a second time and then A ances into emptiness is the first part of a two-
Hum. Because of the way that Sanskrit links step process that serves to counteract our usual
words, the second shuddha and A Hum are superimposition of impurity onto appearances.**
joined together to become shuddho ham. Again The second step is the emergence from or within
swabava shuddha means pure in its nature or that expanse of emptiness of the pure appear-
their nature; A Hum can mean self or the very ances which are the realm and palace of the
embodiment of something. Here it is understood Medicine Buddha.
to mean that not only are all things pure in their
nature, but that they are in and of themselves From the depth of emptiness, this triple universe
the very embodiment of that purity. So this
*Editor’s note: Buddhism, of course, does not assert any sort
mantra is essentially a statement of why the of cosmological beginning, so the use of “beginning here” has
path can lead to the result. Because things are the same meaning as “from beginningless time.”
pure in their nature, because this purity is **Editor’s note: This superimposition of impurity onto
appearances is the same as referred to by Nagarjuna, in In
present within the nature of things, then it can Praise of the Dharmadhatu: “The phenomena that appear to
manifest as experience and as a result—through the mental consciousness, the chief of them all, are conceptu-
taking that inherent purity as a path. For ex- alized and then superimposed. When this activity is aban-
doned, phenomena’s lack of self-essence is known. Knowing
ample, because sesame oil is present within this, meditate on the dharmadhatu.” The swabava mantra
sesame seeds, then by pressing the seeds you can and the ensuing sadhana, as well as all other sadhanas and
completion stage practices are methods for training the mind
extract the oil. If there were no oil present to abandon this activity of superimposition.

24 S HE NPE N ÖS E L
 becomes In the center of the self-visualization’s palace
The exquisite palace, where is a throne made of gold and jewels and other
precious substances that is upheld by eight snow
The first step is to think that all of the impure lions. The significance of the lion throne is
appearances dissolve into emptiness, and the primarily the sense of utter fearlessness—
second is that from within that indicating the deity’s freedom
emptiness the realm and palace from fear and danger of any
of the Medicine Buddha emerge. The significance kind. On top of the throne is a
Now when you imagine that the
place in which you are practicing
of the lion throne fully opened lotus flower, on top
of the center of which, lying flat,
has become the realm and palace is primarily the is a moon disc, on top of which
of the Medicine Buddha, you do
not limit this consideration to
sense of utter you will be visualizing yourself
seated in the form of the Medi-
this world or to this planet alone. fearlessness— cine Buddha. In the center of the
As it says in the liturgy, it is the
indicating the palace in the front visualization,
entire billion worlds of this you visualize a sixteen-petaled
larger world system, or galaxy. deity’s freedom lotus, in the center of which you
There are two ways that you from fear and visual an eight-petaled lotus. In
can do this practice. The simplest the center of the eight-petaled
way is to visualize yourself as the danger of
lotus, you visualize another lion
Medicine Buddha. The more any kind throne, lotus, and moon disc
elaborate way, which is indicated seat, as in the self-visualization.
in the liturgy, is also to visualize There are eight- and sixteen-
the Medicine Buddha, surrounded by his reti- petaled lotuses in the front visualization because
nue, present in front of you as well. It is easier there will be additional buddhas and
for beginners to do the self-visualization alone; bodhisattvas in those places.
on the other hand, doing the front visualization Next, on top of the moon discs in both the
as well gives one the opportunity to gather the front and self visualizations, you visualize a blue
accumulation of merit. In either case, in the syllable HUM.* The HUM syllable on top of the
midst of the realm of the Medicine Buddha, moon disc in the self-visualization palace repre-
which you have visualized as emerging from the sents the essence of the mind or wisdom of the
expanse of emptiness, there is a palace. This self-visualization deity, and the blue HUM on top
palace is square, and quite symmetrical. In the of the moon disc in the front-visualization palace
center of each of the four sides is a large gate- represents the essence of the mind or wisdom of
way, each forming an entry into the palace. If you the front-visualization deity. This particular
are doing the practice with both self and front syllable HUM is used because HUM is the sound
visualizations, you need to visualize two palaces: of dharmata, the expression as sound of the
one in the center of which you will sit as the self nature** itself. It is blue because that is the
visualization; and one in front of you and some- color of the deity who will emerge from the
what elevated, which will serve as the residence syllable—the Medicine Buddha is blue, as is
for the front visualization. Vajradhara—but also because blue represents
that which is unchanging and unfabricated.***
On lion thrones, each with a lotus and moon disk
on top *Editor’s note: These syllables are to be visualized in
Appear deep blue HUNGs, the seed syllable of Tibetan script.
myself and the main figure visualized in the **Editor’s note: the true nature, the ultimate nature
front,
***Editor’s note: This color blue is generally described as
deep blue, the color of an autumn sky high in the mountains.

S HE NPE N ÖS E L 25
Having visualized the syllables, you then visual- Saying that he appears in nirmanakaya form
ize innumerable rays of light radiating from each means that, though some yidams appearing in
of these syllables simultaneously. On the end of sambhogakaya form wear lots of jewelry and
each ray of light are innumerable offering god- silken robes and so on, the Medicine Buddha
desses holding various offering substances which manifests in what is called the passionless
they present to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas appearance of a nirmanakaya buddha, wearing
in all the directions throughout space. This vast only the three dharma robes commonly worn by
array of buddhas and bodhisattvas receives the monastic sangha: the inner and outer upper
these offerings with pleasure, and as a conse- robes and the lower skirt.
quence their nonconceptual compassion is The Medicine Buddha has two arms.
aroused, which manifests as their blessings’
coming back in the form of rays of blue light His right hand in the mudra of supreme
which dissolve into the HUM. Rays of light generosity holds an arura.
His left hand in meditation mudra holds a
which went out bearing offerings are reabsorbed
begging bowl.
bearing blessings back into the two HUM syl-
lables. Once again rays of light radiate outward His right hand is extended, palm outward,
from both HUM’s simultaneously, this time over his right knee in the gesture called su-
purifying the entire external world, the entire preme generosity. In it he holds the arura, or
universe, of everything in it that could possibly myrobalan, fruit. This plant represents all the
cause harm or suffering of any kind, and also best medicines. The position of his right hand
purifying the mental continuums of all beings and the arura which he holds represent the
without exception of any kind of suffering or eradication of suffering, especially the suffering
misery or cause of suffering. Then the rays of of sickness, using the means of relative truth.
light are reabsorbed again into their respective Sickness can be alleviated by adjusting the
HUM’s. At that moment the syllables are in- functioning of interdependent causes and condi-
stantly and simultaneously transformed into the tions by the use of relative means within the
Medicine Buddha. realm of relative truth, such as medical treat-
ment and so on. The giving of these methods is
From which, arises Menla, his body the color of
represented by the gesture of the Medicine
lapis lazuli and radiating light.
Buddha’s right hand.
After this transformation, the self-visual- His left hand rests in his lap, palm upward,
ized Medicine Buddha that you are identifying in the gesture of meditative stability or medita-
with is now considered your own body, and the tion, which represents the eradication of sick-
front visualization is in front of you. The Medi- ness and suffering—and, indeed, the very roots
cine Buddha is a brilliant blue in color—the of samsara—through the realization of absolute
color of a precious stone called vaidurya, gener- truth. From the point of view of either relative
ally considered to be lapis lazuli. In appearance truth or absolute truth, the fundamental cause of
the Medicine Buddha is luminous and majestic sickness and suffering is a lack of contentment
and radiates innumerable rays of light primarily and the addictive quality of samsara. Therefore,
the color of his own body. Yidams can appear in a to indicate the need for contentment, in his left
number of different ways—peaceful or wrathful hand he holds a begging bowl.
and frightening; nirmanakaya or sambhogakaya Because the mind of the Medicine Buddha is
in form, and so on. The Medicine Buddha is stainless and pure, his form reflects this in its
peaceful and in the nirmanakaya form. excellence and physical perfection.

He is clothed in the three dharma robes. With the major and minor marks complete, he
sits in the vajra posture.

26 S HE NPE N ÖS E L
 He is adorned by what are called the marks from sickness. When we talk about the
and signs, the primary and secondary indications sadharma, or the genuine dharma, we are refer-
of the awakening of a buddha. In all aspects of ring fundamentally to the third and fourth of the
his physical form—the crown protuberance, or four noble truths: the truth of the cessation of
ushnisha, the image of wheels on the soles of his suffering and the truth of the path leading to the
feet, and so forth—the Medicine Buddha is cessation of suffering. The truth of cessation is
identical to the Buddha Sakyamuni, with the the result of practice, which is the abandonment
single difference that the Buddha Sakyamuni’s or transcendence of everything that is to be
skin is golden in color, while the Medicine Bud- abandoned or transcended.* The truth of the
dha is blue. Because the Medicine Buddha is path is the dharma we practice that leads to that
immersed in an unwavering samadhi of absorp- transcendence. The dharma in essence is the
tion within the realization of the nature of all experience and realization of the meaning of
things, and because this samadhi is utterly dharma** that is present within the minds of
stable, he is seated with his legs fully crossed in those who practice it and achieve its result. By
the vajra posture. You visualize yourself in this extension, the dharma also refers to the tradi-
form, and you visualize the front visualization in tion of passing on that meaning, and therefore
the same form as well. one visualizes that meaning
Everything described up to passed on from the Buddha
this point—the palace, the In the end it is down to the present day in the
throne, and the Medicine Bud- the dharma that form of books on the petal di-
dha—pertains to both the self rectly in front of the Medicine
and the front visualizations. In liberates us from Buddha visualized in front.
the case of the front visualiza- samsara and
tion, however, you will remember Around them are the sixteen
that the lion throne sits in the
sickness bodhisattvas,
Around them are the ten protec-
center of an eight-petaled lotus,
tors of the world,
which in turn sits in the center of a sixteen- And the twelve great chiefs with their respective
petaled lotus. Now on seven of the eight petals of retinues.
the eight petaled lotus, which surround the The Four Great Kings are at the four gates.
Medicine Buddha in the front visualization—on
the seven petals other than the one directly in Surrounding the seven Medicine Buddhas
front of the Medicine Buddha—are the seven and the volumes of dharma, are sixteen
other medicine buddhas, the Buddha bodhisattvas on the petals of the sixteen-petaled
Shakyamuni and six others. As is the principal lotus. These are the sixteen bodhisattvas who
Medicine Buddha, they are all adorned by the were the main recipients of the teachings of the
thirty-two marks and the eighty signs of physical Medicine Buddha sutras given by the Buddha.
perfection which grace the body of a buddha. They all manifest in the sambhogakaya form,
wearing ornate jewelry and so forth. Beyond the
In particular, on the lotus petals of the front perimeter of that lotus, but still within the
visualization palace of the front visualization, are twenty-two
Are the seven Buddhas, Shakyamuni and the other main deities, each of whom has a retinue.
others, and dharma texts.

On the eighth petal, directly in front of the *Editor’s note: Which thereby brings about the cessation of
suffering.
principal Medicine Buddha, is a volume of the
**Editor’s note: Expressed variously as the nonconceptual
dharma. The reason for this is that in the end it wisdom of emptiness, the nonconceptual wisdom of clear light,
is the dharma that liberates us from samsara and radiant clarity, primordial awareness, the empty, clear, and
unimpeded nature of mind, etc.

S HE NPE N ÖS E L 27
On the Medicine Buddha’s right, forming a cine Buddha you are not pretending to be some-
semicircle to the right of the principal deities, thing that you are not, and that by visualizing
are the ten protectors of the directions—other- the Medicine Buddha and his retinue in front of
wise known as the ten protectors of the world. you, you are not pretending that they are in a
These are deities such as Brahma, Indra, and so place where they are not. By definition, buddhas
forth. Likewise, forming a semicircle on the left are omniscient. Whenever someone thinks of
side of the palace are the twelve yaksha chief- them, brings them to mind, or supplicates them,
tains or generals. Each of these figures is sur- they are aware of it and respond with their
rounded by a vast retinue of their own. Finally, compassion and blessing. In the final analysis,
in the four gates or gateways of the palace visu- the situation is identical to their actually being
alized in front are the four kings of the gods. present anywhere they are thought of. There-
They are visualized here because they are pro- fore, it is always appropriate to regard a buddha
tectors of the buddhadharma in general. Specifi- that is present in one’s mind as actually being
cally whenever the Buddha present in front of one. When you
taught, and especially when- think that the Medicine Buddha,
ever he exhibited miracles, he
When you think together with his retinue, is
would emanate a magnificent that the Medicine present in front of you, it is really
magical palace like this one, true that they are.
and, to signify their function as
Buddha, together Visualizing yourself as the
protectors of his teachings, with his retinue, Medicine Buddha is also appro-
these four kings of the gods is present in priate, because your fundamental
would guard each of the four nature—what you truly are—is
gates as gatekeepers. front of you, it is buddha nature. Buddha nature is
When you are practicing, if really true that essentially the potential to attain
you can, visualize all of these awakening. At some point in the
deities. But if you cannot, do
they are future you will attain the same
not be discouraged. Do not feel awakening or buddhahood as the
that somehow the practice has become ineffec- Medicine Buddha himself. By visualizing your-
tive or invalid because you cannot visualize each self as the Medicine Buddha, you are assuming
and every one of them. It is sufficient to generate the appearance of what fundamentally you are
as clear a visualization as you can of yourself as even now and what manifestly you will be upon
the Medicine Buddha and of the Medicine Bud- your awakening. It is to acknowledge this truth
dha in front of you. If, in addition to that, you can that you assume the aspect of the body, speech,
visualize the seven additional medicine buddhas and mind of the Medicine Buddha, which is,
and the volumes of dharma, good. If, in addition therefore, entirely appropriate.
to that, you can visualize the sixteen While it is entirely appropriate to visualize
bodhisattvas, that is also good. But you should yourself as the Medicine Buddha and to visualize
gauge the extent of the visualization to what you the Medicine Buddha and retinue in front of you,
actually can do. In any case, the practice will be you may still have some hesitation or doubt that
effective and will cause the blessing of dharma in the visualization is anything more than just a
general and the blessing of the Medicine Buddha visualization. This is understood, and therefore
in particular to enter you. It will serve its func- the next phase of the practice is designed to
tion and be effective, regardless of how you do counteract that doubt. In order to alleviate any
the visualization. More important than how residual doubts you may have, you next invite
many deities you visualize is to understand what the actual wisdom deities and dissolve them into
you are doing. And most important is to under- the visualization.
stand that by visualizing yourself as the Medi-

28 S HE NPE N ÖS E L
From the three syllables in their three places and without exception
the HUNG in their hearts, I invite here to this place. Kindly rain upon us
Lights radiate, invoking from their own eastern your great blessings.
buddha realms, countless Bestow the supreme empowerment on those who
Wisdom deities which dissolve into myself and are worthy and faithful.
the one visualized in front. Dispel false guides and obstacles to long life.
NAMO MAHA BEKENDZE SAPARIWARA
The first step in inviting the wisdom deities BENZA SAMAYADZA DZA BENZA
is to visualize in the three places of the self- SAMAYA TIKTRA LEN
visualized Medicine Buddha, in the three places
of the Medicine Buddha visualized in front, and, First you invite the eight Medicine Buddhas
if possible, in the three places of the rest of the together with their retinues, saying, “Please
deities in the retinue, the three syllables, OM come to this place and rain down your great
AH HUNG. Inside your head you visualize a blessing upon me, the practitioner, and upon
white OM, which is the essence of the body of others.” Then you ask that they, “Bestow the
the Medicine Buddha; in your throat a red AH, supreme empowerment upon me, the fortunate
which is the essence of his speech; and in your one, who has faith,” and that, by so doing, they,
heart a blue HUM, which is the essence of his “Please dispel obstacles, such as obstacles to life
mind. Visualizing these in the body of the self- and longevity and other obstacles in general.”
visualized Medicine Buddha and in the bodies of The mantra that follows seals and reinforces
the deities visualized in front, you then think this act of invitation. The mantra means, “Great
that from these syllables rays of light of the King of Medicine, together with your retinue,
corresponding colors—and most particularly vajra samaya jaja.”** Vajra samaya means
rays of blue light from the HUM syllables in the unchanging commitment or samaya. Here you
heart centers of the deities—radiate. are reminding these buddhas of their commit-
This radiation of light invites, from their ment to liberate beings. From their
individual buddha realms, the deities of initial generation of bodhicitta, up to and
the mandala. Each of the eight Medicine including the moment of their attain-
buddhas—the principle one and the
*Editor’s note: Unlike Amitaba’s realm of
seven buddhas of the retinue—has his Sukhavati or Dewachen, which is thought of as being
own realm, all of which are understood in the western direction, these buddha realms of the
to be in the eastern direction.* From Medicine Buddhas are thought of as being in the
eastern direction. However, it is important to
these different pure realms the eight understand how these directions are understood in
Medicine Buddhas and their retinues of the practice of vajrayana. All deities are thought of
as facing east. If you are visualizing yourself as the
deities are invited and they all dissolve Medicine Buddha or as Chenrezig or as Vajrayogini,
into you as the Medicine Buddha and regardless of the direction in which you would find
into the front visualization. In practice their individual buddha realms, you are facing east.
And the same is true of the deities of the front
you do not think that they immediately visualization , who are also thought of as facing
dissolve into you, but that they present east. Therefore, if in “real space” you happen to be
facing south or north, as far as the visualization is
themselves and are present in the sky in
concerned, you are still facing east. You would not
front of you, between the two palaces of think that the deities resided in their buddha
the self and front visualizations. realms somewhere far off over your left or right shoulder. “To a
yogi or yogini,” as Kalu Rinpoche once said, “all directions are
Having described the visualization, you then east.”
recite a stanza that is an actual invitation to the **Editor’s note: Sanskrit, like Latin, is no longer a spoken
deities to approach. language. Here the translator is reading the mantra in what
scholars suspect was the original Sanskrit pronunciation. The
mantras, as they appear in this text, are our English versions
HUNG
of the Tibetan versions of the original Sanskrit mantras. In
The eight Menla companions and all deities this case Vajra samaya ja ja reads Benza samaya dza dza.

S HE NPE N ÖS E L 29
ment of full buddhahood, the motivation for their it is possible, but I cannot think of an instance,
entire path was the wish to and so I cannot say his consort’s
liberate beings. They therefore name is this or that.
have an unchanging commit-
ment—a vajra-like or indestruc-
When you say Question: Rinpoche, in the
tible samaya—to the liberation these words, visualization, there are eight
of beings. So when you say these vajra samaya jaya, petals and then sixteen petals
words, vajra samaya jaja, you around that. Petals aren’t really
are saying to these buddhas, you are that large and so it is difficult for
“You must come here and bless saying to these me to visualize each of them
me because you have committed containing a bodhisattva and his
yourself to do so.” At that point,
buddhas, ‘You retinue. Is it like a window to
then, think with confidence that must come here their world or what is the best
all of the wisdom deities of the way to visualize this realisti-
mandala have actually come and
and bless me cally?
are present in the sky in front of because you
you. Rinpoche: In pure realms flow-
have committed
The mantra that follows is ers can get really big. But if it
vajra samaya tiktralen. Vajra yourself to do so’ makes it easier to relate to, these
samaya means unchanging are basically thrones that are
commitment, and tiktra means to somewhat connected with one
remain stable. With this mantra you are saying, another and that have the basic shape or style of
“Through the power of your unchanging commit-
ment to the welfare and liberation of beings, *Editor’s note: In connection with this process it is helpful to
be familiar with two terms: samayasattva and jnanasattva,
please dissolve inseparably into me and remain
which could be roughly translated as “commitment being” and
within me stably or permanently.” At that point “primordial awareness being.” The samayasattva is one’s own
you think that all of the invited deities, re- personal visualization which one performs in order to main-
tain one’s commitment to one’s lama and to the practice of
minded of their commitment and with their one’s yidam. The jnanasattva is sometimes thought of as the
compassion aroused in that way, dissolve both “actual” deity which is a manifestation of the clear light
nature of mind or the radiant clarity of mind and reality,
into the self visualization and into the deities of
which for the purposes of the visualization is thought of as
the front visualization. And at that point think residing off somewhere in its own particular buddha realm.
that your body, speech, and mind visualized as When the jnanasattva finally dissolves into the
samayasattva, the jnanasattva and the samayasattva are
the Medicine Buddha and the body, speech, and thought to have become one and indivisible. In the ati yana,
mind of the Medicine Buddha have become the samayasattva and the jnanasattva are considered from
indivisible.* the beginning to be simultaneously present.
In The Heart of the Buddha, Chögyam Trungpa describes
We are going to stop there for this morning, this process from a psychological perspective as it relates to
but if you have any questions, you are welcome the practice of Vajrayogini: “The visualization of oneself as
Vajrayogini is called the samayasattva: the ‘sacred bondage of
to ask them. one’s being.’ The samayasattva is basically the expression of
the samayas of body, speech, and mind. It expresses one’s
Question: Does the Medicine Buddha ever have commitment to the teacher and the teachings and one’s trust
in one’s fundamental state of mind.
a consort and, if so, what is her name? “Having visualized the samayasattvas of basic being, one
invites what is known as jnanasattva. The jnanasattva is
another level of being or experience. Jnana is a state of
Rinpoche: In this case, because he is visualized
wakefulness or openness, whereas samaya is an experience of
in the form of a supreme nirmanakaya, he does bondage, in being solidly grounded in one’s experience. Jnana
not. There could be cases in which he is visual- literally means ‘wisdom’ or, more accurately, ‘being wise.’ One
invites this state of wisdom, this level of wakefulness, into
ized in a sambhogakaya form with a consort in one’s own imperfect visualization, so that the visualization
order to indicate the unity of upaya and prajna— comes alive with a feeling of openness and humor.”

30 S HE NPE N ÖS E L
flower petals. them? Should I spend a chunk of time doing the
front visualization and then come back to the
Question: Rinpoche talked about the front self visualization for an amount of time?
visualization as being a field for the accumula-
tion of merit. Why does the front visualization Rinpoche: That’s fine. You can go back and
have something to do with accumulating merit? forth.

Rinpoche: In this practice, as the liturgy indi- Question: Quickly or slowly or what?
cates, merit is accumulated through paying
homage and making various offerings—the Rinpoche: The best thing is to go back and forth
mandala offering and the offering of praises and as frequently as is comfortable.
so forth—primarily to the front visualization.
You accumulate merit by performing offerings to Question: Rinpoche, does this particular
that in which you have absolute confidence, sadhana have any special significance for you? Is
which is the actual Buddha. this of special significance to the
Therefore, it is easier to accumu- Thrangu lineage?
late merit by making offerings to You accumulate
the front visualization, which you Rinpoche: This does not have
are perceiving as different from merit by any particular significance for
and possibly superior to yourself. performing me or my monastery, except that
it is one of the three Medicine
Question: When doing the offerings to that Buddha practices which is nor-
mantra towards the end of the in which you mally done in the Kagyu tradi-
practice, do we focus our atten- tion as a whole. There is a long
tion primarily on ourself and the
have absolute one, a medium one, and this one,
mantra in our heart or do we confidence, which is the short one. We are
alternate attention between the practicing this one because it is
Buddha in front and ourselves?
which is the the short one.
actual Buddha
Rinpoche: You apply it to both. Question: What Tibetan word is
You visualize the seed syllable and the mantra being translating as “pure?” And do you trans-
garland within the heart of both the self and late this word in any other way?
front visualizations, and in both cases, you
identify it as the embodiment of the wisdom or Translator: Takpa.
mind of the deity. Then normally you would
think that rays of light radiate from the seed Question: Is it always translated as “pure”?
syllable and mantra garland in the heart of the
self visualization. These rays of light strike and Translator: By me, yes. A lot of people do a lot of
enter the hearts of the deities of the front visual- different things; I cannot guarantee that they
ization, arousing their compassion, causing rays always call it “pure.”
of light to come from the front visualization and
to dispel the sickness and suffering of all beings Question: Maybe Rinpoche could say what the
and so forth. word means.

Question: I can’t manage to visualize the front Rinpoche: You can think of synonyms for pure
visualization and myself as the Medicine Buddha as being “free of impurity,” which by extension
simultaneously. Should I alternate between would mean “free of defect or imperfection.” It

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would indicate that which is stainless, that entire universe by visualizing that it all dis-
which is perfect, flawless, and so on. solves into emptiness. Theoretically, from that
point onward all impurity has ceased. But when
Question: Rinpoche, is there a particular sig- you get to the repetition of the main mantra you
nificance for the light radiating from the eastern can renew that purification by once again bring-
Buddha realms? ing to mind impure appearances and purifying
them with the rays of light which emerge from
Rinpoche: In the sutras of the Medicine Bud- the heart of the deity.
dha, the Buddha described their realms—the
principal realm of the principal Medicine Bud- Question: Rinpoche, in other visualization
dha and the other realms of the attendant practices, sometimes there’s a sense of seeing
buddhas—as all being in the east. one’s own root teacher in the form of that deity.
Is there anything like that in this practice?
Question: When we visualize light going out to
the universe, does that include everything? Rinpoche: Yes, it is appropriate to identify the
Rocks and trees and chairs and buildings? front visualization with your root guru. People
relate to the front visualization in slightly differ-
Translator: At which point? During the creation ent ways. If they feel particularly devoted to the
of the deity or during the recitation of the mantra? Medicine Buddha, then they will primarily think
of the front visualization as the actual Medicine
Question: During the recitation of the mantra. Buddha. But they can also think of the front
visualization as in essence their root guru.
Rinpoche: Yes. Initially, before the generation of So we will conclude by dedicating the merit.
the deity, you purify your perception of the

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