Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来, the Medicine Buddha, is one of the most venerated Buddhas in Japan, and many of the oldest temples are dedicated to him. If you've already read the article on the history and meaning of the Medicine Buddha, you know his role in Japanese temple culture. Here I'd like to look at the meditation connected with him, and at what can be experienced in it.
The lapis-lazuli light 瑠璃光
In the sutras, Yakushi Nyorai is described as a Buddha whose body shines like lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone that was considered precious since ancient times. His Pure Land in the east is called Jōruri 浄瑠璃, "pure lapis lazuli." In his left hand he usually holds a medicine jar.
In meditation with Yakushi Nyorai, this light is more than a symbol. Many people describe experiencing it as a deep blue or as warmth spreading through the body, others as a sense of spaciousness in the chest. What exactly happens is individual and can change from one sitting to the next.
Before he became a Buddha, Yakushi made twelve great vows, for example to free beings from illness, to calm their minds, to give them food and clothing and to lead them out of darkness. In Japanese temples these vows have been kept alive in rituals for more than a thousand years.
Siddham and mantra 三密
Like all practices in Shingon, meditation with Yakushi Nyorai follows the three mysteries (sanmitsu 三密) of body, speech and mind, so mudra, mantra and contemplation work together. His Siddham seed syllable is bhai, which can be experienced both as sound and as an inner image. His best known mantra is On korokoro sendari matōgi sowaka, one of the most frequently recited mantras in Japanese temples. Many people experience its sound as calming, as if something that had been restless inside comes to rest.
The full meditation with Yakushi Nyorai, with mudra, contemplation and mantra, is passed on in the initiation. What I describe here is the background, not the practice itself.
My experience on Shikoku 四国
For me, the Medicine Buddha has a very personal meaning. On the Shikoku pilgrimage to the 88 temples, many of which are dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, I often recited his mantra, in the heat and with sore feet, and it carried me through many difficult stretches. My professor in Kyoto later gave me a statue of the Medicine Buddha, which still means a lot to me. This is my experience, of course, and everyone will experience the practice in their own way.
In everyday life
The Yakushi meditation isn't something you do once and tick off. In Japanese temples his mantra is recited daily as part of the ritual calendar. Some people who practice regularly over weeks or months notice a deeper calm, a clearer sense of the body or a feeling of connectedness that lasts beyond the meditation. The Yakushi temples in Japan, such as the famous Yakushi-ji in Nara or the temples along the Shikoku pilgrimage, are still places where people come to find some space for themselves. Have you ever visited a temple of the Medicine Buddha?
Experience the practice
Meditation with Yakushi Nyorai is passed on in the initiation, as part of the Shingon Reiki path. If you like, have a look at which entry fits you.
Your path in Shingon Reiki The Medicine Buddha