Medicine Buddha thangka

Object location: Living room

On the wall above the armchair is a framed thangka of Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha, also known as Vaiḍūryaprabhā or Blue Radiance, who is described in Buddhist tradition as the doctor who cures suffering (dukkha) with the medicine of his teachings. Between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand he holds the stem of the myrobalan, the fabled plant of healing. 

This thangka was one of a number that Sangharakshita ‘ransomed’ from Tibetans fleeing the Chinese occupation of Tibet. (Out of respect, they did not speak in terms of selling their precious images.) When Sangharakshita moved to Adhisthana in early 2013, he was still suffering from ongoing health problems. It seemed appropriate, therefore, to hang this wonderful image of the Medicine Buddha, the Supreme Healer, in his living room where, in his final years, he would spend most of his time. 

Sangharakshita had been initiated into the sādhana of Vaiḍūryaprabhā on 25 October 1963 by his teacher Dhardo Rinpoche, as documented in his memoir, Precious Teachers. (The Complete Works of Sangharakshita, vol. 22, p.557).