Chua Duoc Su

In the Buddhist tradition, it is often divided into two Vehicles:

- Theravada Buddhism, and

- Mahayana Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhism is divided into two branches: Sutrayana and Tantrayana. The basic theory of both Tantric and Sutrayana firmly believes that every sentient being has a Buddha nature or Tathagatagarbha. Thus, both yanas are similar in terms of belief in Buddha nature, but especially in Tantra, there are skillful methods of practice that help practitioners easily realize their Buddha nature. That is the Abhisekana method. In the Sutras, especially Zen Buddhism, there is no mention of the Abhisekana method but only visualization. There is no difference between Sutrayana and Tantrayana, the only difference is that Tantrayana has specific skillful means such as Abhisekana method, visualizing oneself as Buddha, Bodhisattva... These are means to help practitioners realize Buddha nature quickly. If you are not a Buddhist and do not have a true understanding of Buddha's nature as above, you always think that Buddha is outside. It is because of this way of thinking that enlightenment becomes very difficult.

You believe in Buddha and pray to the Medicine Buddha, but what is more important, for those practicing in the Dharma, is to base yourself on the Buddha's teachings in the scriptures, then step by step practice according to the actions, and wish the Buddha, only then will good results be achieved. So it's not just praying, because praying without following what Buddha taught cannot have results.

If you practice according to the teachings of Medicine Buddha. According to Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings, there are 3 months in a year that you need to pay attention to January, May, and September. How to practice according to Medicine Buddha, in January, the beginning of the year, you try to practice this month The Medicine Buddha illuminates your mind into pure glass, only then can the Buddha's wisdom shine into it. If you practice in January and keep the eight precepts, Buddha will enlighten your mind and see what you should and should not do in February, March, and April. At the end of April, your lapis lazuli pearl will dim, because three months of social contact will bring you the joys, sorrows, honor, and shame of life, so the pearl in your heart will dim. Therefore, you must keep the eight precepts, and practice the next month, which is May, then your heart will light up, seeing what you should and should not do in June, July, and August. And in September, if you continue to practice, then in October, November, and December you will behave without mistakes.

Ceremony to the Seven Treasured Medicine Master is one of the practices according to the Medicine Buddha method. I hope that all of you at the Medicine Master ashram can enter the Pure World and meet the Medicine Buddha, Bodhisattva, along with 12 great generals Yaksha. You will receive their blessings so that your body and mind will always be at peace, your mind will always be clear, and you will reap many good things in life. To fully understand the origin and see the miracle of Ceremony to the Seven Treasured Medicine Master, first of all, you need to know where the Medicine Buddha is and what the Medicine Buddha's deeds are like.

Talking about the Ceremony to the Seven Treasured Medicine Master means praising the merits of the seven Medicine Buddhas residing in the East and at the same time praying to them to prove their blessings for you to overcome disasters and eliminate illness and karma, to live a peaceful and healthy life. According to the Seven Buddhas Medicine Sutra, the upper volume is one of the sutras of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, which states:

- In the Far East there are seven Buddhas named Medicine Masters. Each has different vows, but all are for the benefit of human beings.

Calculating from the Saha world, that is, the world in which you reside, from nearest to farthest, first in the country:

1- World of victorious aura

Far to the east, about four as the sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is a world called Aura Victory. The leader of that realm is called the Tathagata King of the Good Land. The land of Aura Victory is completely pure, equal in length and width, each measuring about a hundred thousand yojanas, the ground is flat, made of pure gold, and there are no evil paths, no pebbles, rocks, or thorns. This place also has rows of precious trees with abundant flowers and fruits. There are many bathing pools made of gold, silver, pearls, and other precious objects. From the moment he aspired to practice the Bodhisattva path, he made eight vast vows, each of which was to fulfill all sentient beings.

If men and women of pure faith, whether they are kings, ministers, wealthy people, lay people, or officials, want to seek blessings and eliminate afflictions, they recite the name Tathagata King of the Good Land, and respectfully worship. If you see, read, and chant this sutra, all your sins, deep karma, and suffering will be eliminated. You wish for everything to be as you wish, to be irreversible, until you attain unsurpassed Bodhi.

2- Wonderful Treasure World

To the far east, more than 5 sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is a world called Wonderful Treasure World. The leader of that realm is called Light and Sound Self-Sufficient King Tathagata. When he first aspired to practice the Bodhisattva path, he made eight vast vows, each of which was fulfilled for sentient beings.

Wonderful World is large, clean, and very dignified, the ground is as flat as the palm of your hand. Trees that radiate heavenly fragrance grow in rows, are covered with heavenly flowers, heavenly music resounds, and heavenly jewels are attached to lion thrones and inlaid into solemn bathing pools. The Wonderful Treasure World has no afflictions. The ground is soft and smooth, without gravel or rocks. Bodhisattvas are all born from lotus flowers. Living beings in this world, just need to think, they will immediately have enough food, drink, clothes, supplies, and commonly used dishes. Everything appears in front of you according to your mind. That's why it's called Wonderful Treasure World.

If there are men and women with pure faith, whether they are kings, princes, ministers, or maids, all day and night, with all their heart, they respectfully make offerings and recite the name of that Buddha. At the same time, create a statue of Him to worship, offer fragrant flowers, sing music, offer burning incense, and apply incense. For seven days and nights, keep yourself clean, take the eight precepts, and develop compassion for living beings. Then you vow to be born in the Wonderful Treasure Land, then the Light and Sound Self-Sufficient King Tathagata and the Bodhisattvas silently protect you, causing your karma to be eliminated, and you will no longer retreat from the path of great Bodhi. Your mind of greed, anger, and ignorance gradually becomes lighter, no longer sick, and your lifespan increases. Everything you wish for will be achieved, those who resent you, those who hate you, will be happy. In this life, one can achieve concentration and in the next life, one will be reborn in the precious lotus flower, in the good world of the Light and Sound Self-Sufficient King Tathagata.

3- World of Perfection Fragrance Accumulation

Far to the east, more than six sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is the world of Perfection Fragrance Accumulation. The leader of that realm is called Golden Precious Light Miraculous Conduct Accomplished Tathagata. When he aspired to practice the Bodhisattva path, he made four great vows.

World of Perfection Fragrance Accumulation is large, quiet, clean, and dignified. The ground is made entirely of treasures, as flat as a hand, always filled with the fragrant scent of sandalwood. There is also a type of tree that always radiates fragrance, growing in rows, beautiful strings of heavenly treasures, hanging everywhere. The bathing pool is inlaid with and decorated with many heavenly treasures, and it is filled with fragrant water with all eight precious characteristics. Around the lake is hung a lot of brightly colored silk, and there are eight steps used to go up and down to decorate the surrounding area. The sentient beings of this world no longer have afflictions, suffering, or sadness, most of them are Bodhisattvas of the Ten Levels. The wonderful music does not play automatically but emits the sound of profound and wonderful Mahayana teachings. Those who hear it will not retreat from Supreme Bodhi.

If there is a man or woman with pure faith, whether it is a king, a prince, a minister, a prime minister, or a palace maid, wish for blessings. Trust and recommend to others. Arising from great compassion, all day and all night, respectfully make offerings of incense, flowers, lights, and candles. Take a bath, receive the eight precepts, and recite with sincerity to eliminate boundless and extremely heavy karma, leaving all afflictions in this life. When he was about to die, he was protected by the Buddhas and immediately transformed into a precious lotus flower in that land.

4- Carefree World.

Far to the east, more than seven sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is a world called Carefree World. The leader of that realm is called Worriless Supreme Victorious Auspicious Tathagata. The Carefree World is vast and solemn. The ground is soft, clean, and shiny, and the treasures created are as flat as a hand, always exuding the fragrant scent of sandalwood. Sentient beings in this world are far from afflictions, without the words: Worry and suffering, evil paths. There are golden bathing pools everywhere, filled with fragrant water. The precious tree grows in straight rows and bears abundant fruit. The beautiful music does not play, but automatically emits the sound of profound and wonderful Mahayana teachings, just like the pure and solemn scenery in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. When Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva path, he made four great vows.

If there are sentient beings who hear the name of this Buddha, then day and night they single-mindedly recite, worship, and make offerings. When you develop compassion for living beings, all karmic obstacles will be eliminated and you will be free from all suffering. You don't get sick and live a long life, when you have enough conditions, you will be born in the lotus flower, in the realm of No Worries, often with the help and protection of the gods.

5- World Dharma Ashram

Far to the east, more than eight sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is a world called Dharma Ashram. The leader of that realm is called Dharma Ocean Thunder Sound Tathagata. The Dharma Ashram is clean and dignified. The ground is made entirely of crystal, as flat as a hand, always emitting light and giving off a fragrant scent. Houses and buildings are built of precious gems, and the eight roads are paved with gold and silver. The attic, the palace, the roof, the doors, and the railings are all decorated with jewels. The tree radiates heavenly fragrance, growing in rows and distributed everywhere. On the branches are hung many beautiful silk ribbons and small heavenly bells. When the breeze blows, the jeweled bell shakes, emitting a sound that explains the Dharma:

- Impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self.

Those who hear the sound of this Dharma, stay away from desire, gradually eliminate bad habits, and attain deep concentration. There are countless fragrant heavenly flowers scattered everywhere. On the four sides of the city there are four bathing ponds, the bottom of the pond is covered with pure gold and filled with fragrant water. In that Buddha land, there is no evil path, all sentient beings are born from lotus flowers, and there are no more afflictions. When Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva path, he made four great vows.

If men and women with pure faith hear the name of this Buddha, sincerely bow, respectfully make offerings, and remember to recite and chant, then all karma will be eliminated. Do not retreat from the path of Supreme Bodhi, attain wisdom and complete life, meet Buddha wherever you are born, and live long without illness. After your death, you will be born in the city, with all the necessary things, food, drink, clothes, medicine... That World-Honored Buddha has such immeasurable merits, you must remember and think with all your heart, don't forget.

6- World Good Reside Treasure Ocean

To the far east, more than nine sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is the world that is the Good Reside Treasure Ocean. The leader of that realm is Dharma Ocean Win Wisdom Travel Enjoint Supernatural Power Tathagata. When Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva path, he made four great vows. The scenery and solemn things in this Buddha world are similar to the Wonderful Treasure World of Treasure Moon Wisdom Grave Light Sound Satisfied King.

7- Pure Lapis World

To the far east, more than ten sands of Ganges Buddhaland, there is a world called Pure Lapis, The Leader of that world, is Medicine Master Lapis Light King Tathagata. When Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva path, he made twelve great vows. That Buddha's land is completely pure, free from lust, and free from the suffering of the three evil paths. Soil made of transparent lapis lazuli. The citadels, palaces, porches, gates, and nets are all made of seven treasures, like the solemn decorations in the Western Pure Land. The two supreme Bodhisattvas of that realm are named: Universally Radiant Sunlight Bodhisattva, and The Universally Radiant Moon-Light Bodhisattva, taking care of preserving the Dharma treasure of the Medicine Master. Therefore, good men and women should pray to be born in His world.

In addition to establishing a Ceremony to the Seven Treasured Medicine Master, you must also follow the teachings of Medicine Buddha, you must practice in the following aspects:

* Practice:

First of all, you can start visualizing the Medicine Buddha at the top of your head, or you can visualize yourself as the Medicine Buddha, then visualize the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas surrounding you in the ten directions. The above visualization is the best way to establish a bridge connecting your mind with the Bodhisattvas and Medicine Buddha. This connection brings you peace and happiness.

The main purpose of the Buddhas coming to earth is to bring happiness and liberation to sentient beings, so they manifest themselves in all forms to suit the opportunity at the right time for the benefit of sentient beings. Buddhas have manifested countless bodies, each Buddha has a different body and appearance, such as:

- Amitabha Buddha's body is red, symbolizing the power of love,

- Buddha Shakyamuni's body is pure yellow, symbolizing complete achievement.

- The body of the Medicine Buddha is blue, symbolizing strength. You need strength.

To have true happiness, you need to develop and nurture the power of this energy. When you have strength, you will have an immune system. This type of immune energy can combat physical and psychological weakness. If your mind is not strong enough, you will always feel afraid of the fragility of impermanence, and will easily get angry, bored, and hopeless. If you have enough strength, your mind will reduce anger, sadness, and despair and all kinds of true happiness will come. So you must make your mind strong. For that reason, the Medicine Buddha's body is blue, a color that symbolizes strength that few of you know.

Next, you meditate on the wheel of Medicine Buddha's Forehead, Throat, and Heart in turn, resting three words: OM AH HUNG symbolizing the energy of enlightenment:

- The letter OM symbolizes the enlightened energy of the Body,

- The letter AH symbolizes the enlightened energy of Speech,

- The letter HUNG symbolizes the enlightened energy of the Mind,

So you start with these three words. You need the enlightened energy of Body, Mouth, and Mind. Of these three energies, the enlightened energy of the Mind is the most important. Therefore, the word HUNG is revolved around the series of mantras of the Medicine Buddha:

- TAYATHA! OM BEKANZE BEKANZE MAHA BEKANZE RADZA SAMUDGATE SOHA.

This chain of mantras rotates clockwise while rotating while emitting a gentle, transparent light. Visualizing light is important and necessary.

Now you continue to visualize yourself in the form of the Medicine Buddha and visualize the Master who is giving you empowerment as the Medicine Buddha. You can close your eyes to visualize clearly. The question is why do you have to visualize your body in the form of Medicine Buddha?

- Because by doing so, you will realize the Buddha nature, the original Tathagatagarbha nature within yourself, that original nature is Buddha. Medicine Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha... all the original Buddhas are in Tathagatagarbha nature. The reality is that you are inherently enlightened, inherently Buddha, just because you do not realize this, you need to visualize yourself as Buddha, as the Medicine Master. Through visualization, you can realize the Buddha nature that has been present within you from time immemorial until today. Buddha nature is not an external object to be sought or created. This is the original Buddha available to each person. Therefore, you visualize your body as the Medicine Buddha and you need to visualize your Master as the Medicine Buddha. Because the nature of His mind has been that of Buddha from ancient times until now and He has enlightened to this. You should not look at Him as an ordinary person but should have absolute reverence that your Master is the embodiment of the Buddhas of the ten directions. Especially in this empowerment, he is the embodiment of the Medicine Buddha directly giving the empowerment to you.

* Practice in everyday life

- Releasing living beings

Buddha advised you to release living beings, but releasing living beings also has two sides. Releasing living beings is when you see an animal being captured and about to be killed, so it's good that you save it. Nowadays, Buddhists think that releasing living beings brings blessings. For example, an 80-year-old person, to have a long life, orders 80 birds to be released for blessings. This is completely wrong. Because if you hadn't placed an order, those birds wouldn't have been caught, and they would have been locked up for a long time, starved and exhausted, when you released them they couldn't fly, and became prey for wild cats. Releasing animals like that is not a blessing. On the contrary, it is a sin. Praying to the Medicine Master does not cure the illness, but it gets worse. Releasing life means that on the way, you meet someone in distress or have been wrongly accused, and you save or help. Or you encounter an animal that is being captured and killed, and you save it and release it. That's good, but it's not like you're ordering it to release animals.

- Charity

Giving alms, helping poor people suffering from natural disasters, and hunger, and helping them prolong their lives, Buddha will bless you to prolong your life. Giving alms must be in accordance with the dharma, then disasters will be eliminated and life will be prolonged.

The Medicine Buddha can eliminate accidents, increase blessings, and increase longevity. He also includes the Lapis lazuli light. Lapis lazuli is the light of the heart gem. Medicine Buddha's mind is like a lapis lazuli gem, which is completely pure and clear, so he sees people worth saving and helping.

And other social things like:

- Healthcare, road, and bridge repair...

Thus, following the Medicine Buddha first means curing physical and mental illness, staying healthy, and making society more and more developed. However, you need to understand that Medicine Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, and all other Buddhas refer to the same enlightened nature, you should not think that one Buddha is different from the other. Each Buddha represents a different aspect, a different ability. This is something you need to understand! Thus, through receiving empowerment and rituals, you need to begin to develop a correct view of the Buddhas and the meaning and value of the Buddha's teachings! And from now on, if possible, you should always read:

1- I sincerely bow, make offerings, and take refuge in the Tathagata, the Good Name of the Auspicious King Buddha, the one who knows the true nature of all things, the omniscient one who eliminates all defilements.