【Description】
Do you desire a life blessed with health, longevity, children, and wisdom? Do you wish to bask in the light of a bright, auspicious future? For the fulfillment of wishes, making offerings to Medicine Buddha is a sacred key. But how do you make offerings correctly? Find out in this teaching from Grandmaster JinBodhi and feel the compassionate blessings of Medicine Buddha for health and happiness.
【Content】
Making offerings to Medicine Buddha brings benefits such as disaster relief, longevity, and wisdom, guidance to abandon the evil path for a kind and righteous life, and enlightenment for practitioners. Everyone should make offerings to Medicine Buddha. Countless miracles await. The Buddha said, if one sincerely wishes to make offerings to Medicine Buddha, there are many ways to do so. Let’s learn them one by one.
The first is the most important. You can build a Medicine Buddha statue. This is often called statue gilding. If you help build a statue near your home, you will feel a sense of “this is our Medicine Buddha.” It’s a wonderful connection. You have contributed money or effort. You feel a sacred bond between yourself and the statue, a Divine connection. This brings you more luck and kindness. You, your family, and even your career will be blessed by the buddhas. This is wonderful. To accumulate merits, first gild a Buddha statue.
Then, place the finished statue in a clean, elegant space and make offerings to it. It should be placed higher than our face. A little higher is better. Additionally, one should regularly offer flowers and food to the statue. Today, offerings are very varied. Fresh flowers and food are commonly offered daily in the South. In the North, non-plant offerings are common. Examples include peanuts, red dates, and other nuts. At times, steamed buns and rolls are also offered. Each region has different offerings based on its environment.
Some even offer gold, silver, or gems. Also, Tridacna, agates, and gemstones. It depends on your wealth, sincerity, and generosity. When Sakyamuni Buddha was alive, kings donated lavish buildings with gilded floor bricks. These buildings featured exquisite carvings and paintings, like Heavenly palaces. That was the case. The Buddha did not seek these. To him, all is unreal. One day, it will all be destroyed. So, there’s no need to spend so much money. But the donors thought otherwise. The kings wished for the country’s peace and prosperity, and for the people’s happiness. They believed great blessings come from great sincerity.
In the offering hall, solemn prayer flags should be displayed to symbolize respect. Ancient Indian kings used these to adorn their palaces. They conveyed a sense of dignity. In the past, when emperors traveled, they were shielded by luxurious umbrella canopies. These could be decorated with banners symbolizing solemnity.
In the past, practitioners observed the Eight Precepts. This means no stealing, killing, sexual misconduct, lying, and so on. It was a practice to purify the body and mind. We may see it as a religious act, and that’s fine. It can also be treated as a health practice, as it greatly benefits both our body and mind. It’s very effective. How long is the gap between your two daily meals? More than 12 hours? Most people can’t handle that. But if you get used to it, it could improve your health. There are many precepts highlighting behaviors that we should avoid. When we maintain this purity, the body naturally remains clean and undergoes a kind of self-purification.
Practicing the Eight Precepts is good for both physical and mental health. This means no cursing and no anger during this time. Maintain pure and kind thoughts. In front of the Medicine Buddha statue, you should play beautiful music or sing hymns, as if the Buddha is present. You can delight the Buddha through music and dance. This brings blessings. You may receive auspicious energy and blessings. I think that is wonderful. You are making offerings to a buddha of great compassion. When he has a good impression of you, all your troubles and problems you wish to resolve may soon be solved.
What I say may go beyond ordinary reason. You see, the state of a buddha is beyond human or superhuman realms. When a buddha feels affection for you, your life is transformed and filled with blessing. That is how it is. So, focus on gilding statues, make offerings, sing praises, and protect the statues.
Next, if you can teach others the stories of the Medicine Buddha and his legacy, including his vows and greatness, you will earn great merit. You gain great merit when you share the dharma with others. This is essential. Later, you may wish for a long life or wealth. Some seek power. Others desire authority—as a governor, president, or even king. If the buddhas find you to be a ruler who will serve the people well, they will help your wish come true. Many wish to have descendants, you know, sons or daughters. The buddhas and bodhisattvas will grant their wishes. Isn’t that wonderful?
Again, when we make offerings, gilding statues should be our first priority. Offering comes next. Together, these fulfill all our needs. Medicine Buddha once vowed that upon enlightenment, all beings would be blessed. This reflects basic human needs. In truth, his greatest wish is for all beings to attain buddhahood. Ordinary people don’t think that far ahead. They simply want to marry, have children, and be prosperous. Medicine Buddha supports this, if that is what people desire.
As you reach higher spiritual levels and develop greater aspirations, you will require deeper wisdom. This is why Medicine Buddha vows to help all beings become indistinguishable from all other buddhas. That’s his greatest wish. Basic needs come first: food, shelter, and clothing. If you want a car or a spouse, you need money. The Medicine Buddha can even bless you with children. Basic human needs must be fulfilled first. Only then can people be guided toward higher life goals. The Medicine Buddha’s guidance comes gradually, in a thoughtful way.
(Q: What do we gain by making offerings to the Medicine Buddha?)
In today’s world, what disaster happens most often? Traffic accidents. Next are disasters caused by sudden misfortune. Then, scams where you’re deceived into believing in investments that promise huge returns. Scammers tell you the investment is tailor-made to make you rich. These are all sudden disasters. Wrong investments, wrong careers, wrong paths— these are dangerous.
These disasters ultimately arise from karma. It means you didn’t accumulate enough merit in the past. When you face bad luck, you are surrounded by ghostly energy. The Black and White Impermanence ghosts will come for you, and you may die instantly in a car crash, or you might survive, only to die after being bedridden for seven years.
Sounds bad, right? There’s more. If you harbor too many harmful intentions, your home or body may carry dark energy. The souls of those you hurt, their spirits cling to you. So you’d better pray that nothing bad happens to you. After a bad investment, accept the loss and learn from your mistakes. Right? After a breakup, stay rational and promise yourself to do better. Right? But if you lack merits and your bad karma is strong, your energy will decline. You’ll hear the devil’s whisper, calling you to join it in hell.
If you make offerings to the Medicine Buddha, you receive the illumination of the Medicine Buddha. Then, you will tell yourself, “Tomorrow will be better.” “The sunshine is coming.” No more suicidal thoughts. Sometimes, life and death are just a thought away. A flash of positivity can erase all suicidal thoughts from your mind. So, by your making of offerings, all sudden misfortunes will disappear. One goes from being a sinner to a person of virtue and merit. If someone tries to scam you out of money or pretends to love you you can see through it immediately. “This person is a scammer.” This insight is brought to you, all thanks to Medicine Buddha.
Thus, we gain merit, receiving Medicine Buddha’s protection and guidance. You will not easily lose money or invest foolishly. You will know not to invest during risky times. You will understand that not investing means you remain wealthy and avoid poverty. Remember this; it is very important. With Medicine Buddha’s guidance, disasters will not befall you. They will be prevented. Many places are unsafe. Thieves and robbers will not target you. In some countries, armed robbers patrol the streets. Some even break into homes to steal things or harm people. There are quite a few such cases. If you have this blessing, you won’t face danger. You will be protected; that’s how it is.
Ultimately, you will receive what you ask for. Like longevity. Everyone wants this, regardless of their wealth, appearance, or health. All wish to live long. And everyone wants to be rich and live in wealth. How do we gain wealth? Make offerings to the buddhas, and they will arrange it for you. You’ll find the right job and friends, and do the right things; these bring wealth and even power. At the most crucial moments, your words will impress your boss and those around you. So, if you want to advance in your career, it becomes easy with the Buddha’s blessings.
After marriage, some wish for a son, others for a daughter; this is easy too. Many women struggled to conceive due to various gynecological issues. When they show their babies, people call it a miracle. This even surprises the doctors. Just one light-offering, and that’s it. Then, simply leave everything to your body, and you will conceive. Right. Imagine the baby crossing time and space to come to you. Fascinating, isn’t it? This is truly miraculous. Without the buddhas’ care, science alone cannot achieve this. In this life, it’s impossible. But it happened. Even the doctors are surprised when the buddhas intervene. Making offerings to the Medicine Buddha brings immeasurable benefits.