“When you do the Medicine Buddha practice with the intention and aspiration to benefit yourself and others in this way, sometimes you will perceive an evident benefit: Either you or someone else will be freed from sickness in a way that you identify as a result of your practice. This will give you greater confidence in the practice. At other times, no matter how much you practice and how hard you pray and how many mantras you say, you will not perceive any evident benefit. And this will cause you to doubt the practice, and you will think, ‘Well, maybe it doesn’t really work.’ But you need to remember that the benefit of this practice is not like the direct physical effect of the function of a machine, such as something that emits a laser beam. There is always a result from doing this practice, but the way in which a result will manifest is not absolutely definite. So in your attitude towards the results of practice, you need to have a long-term focus.”

– Very Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, teaching on Medicine Buddha, printed in Shenpen Osel (see below) and now available as a book from Snow Lion Publications (search for “Medicine Buddha”).

“Seeing the Medicine Buddha, even seeing a painted depiction of the Medicine Buddha, or even just hearing about [him], instills a habit within your mind. How much of a habit is instilled depends upon your attitude towards what you see or encounter… Regardless of how much or how little, eventually this habit will lead to your attainment of that same form as the Medicine Buddha, as well as to the perfect accomplishment of what he has aspired to. If you have great faith in the Medicine Buddha, this will happen much more quickly, and if you have no faith whatsoever, it will happen very slowly. But it will definitely still happen… There is so much benefit in seeing any depiction of him, whether you see it all the time or whether you see it occasionally–it will do you great benefit.”

–Very Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, teaching on Medicine Buddha, Shenpen Osel, September 2000

Shenpen Osel was a magazine published by Lama Tashi Namgyal’s Dharma center in Seattle Washington, which made available lightly edited transcripts of oral teachings on dharma topics by authentic lamas of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The June 2000 issue includes a teaching by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche on the Medicine Buddha, and the September 2000 issue includes a teaching on the Medicine Buddha Sutra given during the same retreat seminar. We have included the link for anyone who would like to learn more about the benefits of the empowerment and practice. Issues of Shenpen Osel are available to read online or download free of charge at: www.ksoc.org.