Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leading a Medicine Buddha meditation

Leading a Medicine Buddha meditation

Morning session of the October 28 workshop conducted at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore. The full workshop ran from October 27-28 and November 26, 2001.

Importance of regular spiritual practice and community

  • Discussion of five precepts—abandon killing, stealing, unwise sexual behavior, lying and intoxicants
  • Targeting your answers about Buddhism to your audience, including relatives
  • The importance of a spiritual teacher and community of Dharma friends

Trg II 01: Precepts (download)

Questions and answers

  • How to deal with questions
  • Understand the underlying meaning of a question
  • Don’t focus on one individual’s question too long
  • Use of the four opponent powers (regret, determination not to repeat action, develop positive attitude towards person, remedial behavior)
  • Daily purification practice.

Trg II 02: Q&A (download)

Explaining the Medicine Buddha practice

  • Overview of leading a Medicine Buddha meditation
  • The Medicine Buddha’s mantra: tayata om bhaykandze bhaykandze maha bhaykandze radza samudgate soha

Trg II 03: Medicine Buddha explanation (download)

Sample Medicine Buddha guided meditation

Trg II 04: Medicine Buddha practice (download)

Steps for guiding the Medicine Buddha meditation

  • Give overall purpose including the mantra
  • Describe the sequence of steps
  • Short breathing meditation
  • Set motivation
  • Imagine being filled with compassion and positive qualities
  • Visualize blue light flowing into self and others
  • Chant the mantra
  • Visualize Medicine Buddha over our head dissolving into a ball of blue light that melts into our heart
  • Become inseparable with the Buddha, feel body as clean and clear
  • Dedicate and then debrief the group

Trg II 05: Leading meditation (download)

Ground rules for discussions and concluding a session

  • All will have opportunity to talk
  • No cross-talk or questions until everyone has spoken
  • Speak equally
  • Stay on topic
  • Use first person
  • Leader can either be absent or act as facilitator
  • Don’t fill silence with talk
  • At end of session, summarize major points and dedicate

Trg II 06: Leading discussion (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.