Bhaisajyaguru Buddha (Phật Dược Sư)

Phật Dược Sư (Sanskrit: Bhaisajyaguru), is the Buddha of healing and medicine in Mahayana Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the "Medicine-Master Buddha", he is described as a doctor who cures suffering using the medicine of his teachings. He is also called formally Dược Sư Lưu Ly Quang Vương Phật (Medicine-Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light Buddha).

Because of his root vow is “Heal all sufferings and diseases of sentient beings” so he also has a name “Tiêu Tai Diên Thọ Dược Sư Phật” (the Medicine-Master Buddha who eradicates disasters and raises lifespan up for all sentient beings). As he has other six embodied Buddhas in order to instruct Dharma in seven realms at the same time so that they are respectively called “Thất Phật Dược Sư” (Seven Medicine-Master Buddhas). These seven Medicine-Master Buddhas are: 1. Thiện Danh Xưng Cát Tường Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Quang Thắng realm in the East; 2. Bảo Nguyệt Trí Nghiêm Quang Âm Tự Tại Vương Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Diệu Bảo realm in the East; 3. Kim Sắc Bảo Quang Diệu Hạnh Thành Tựu Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Viên Mãn Hương Tích realm in the East; 4. Vô Ưu Tối Thắng Cát Tường Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Vô Ưu realm in the East; 5. Pháp Hải Lôi Âm Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Pháp Tràng realm in the East; 6. Pháp Hải Thắng Du Hý Thần Thông Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Thiện Trụ Bảo Hải realm in the East; 7. Dược Sư Lưu Ly Quang Như Lai, teaching Dharma in Tịnh Lưu Ly realm in the East. His realm has name “Tịnh Lưu Ly”, from this Saba realm towards the East, to reach his realm it must go through Buddha’s realms as much as number of sand in ten Ganga rivers.
While he was practicing Bodhisattva’s actions, Bhaiṣajyaguru made twelve great vows. The Twelve Vows, as the followings:
1. To illuminate countless realms with his radiance, enabling anyone to become a Buddha just like him.
2. To awaken the minds of sentient beings through his light of lapis lazuli.
3. To provide the sentient beings with whatever material needs they require.
4. To correct heretical views and inspire beings toward the path of the Bodhisattva.
5. To help beings follow the Moral Precepts, even if they failed before.
6. To heal beings born with deformities, illness or other physical sufferings.
7. To help relieve the destitute and the sick.
8. To help women who wish to be reborn as men achieve their desired rebirth.
9. To help heal mental afflictions and delusions.
10. To help the oppressed be free from suffering.
11. To relieve those who suffer from terrible hunger and thirst.
12. To help clothes those who are destitute and suffering from cold and mosquitoes.
Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha has two Bodhisattvas standing two sides, at left side is Nhật Quang Biến Chiều Bodhisattva and at right side is Nguyệt Quang Biến Chiếu Bodhisattva. These three Ones are call “Dược Sư Tam Tôn”. In addition, Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha has other eight Bodhisattvas who are call helpers, they are: Văn Thù Sư Lợi Bodhisattva, Quán Thế Âm Bodhisattva, Đại Thế Chí Bodhisattva, Vô Tận Ý Bodhisattva, Bảo Đàn Hoa Bodhisattva, Dược Vương Bodhisattva, Dược Thượng Bodhisattva and Di Lặc Bodhisattva.
Namo Tiêu Tai Diên Thọ Dược Sư Lưu Ly Quang Vương Phật.
Hoang Minh Phu



Taking the three refuges and five precepts Ceremony


Make vows to take refuge in the Three Jewels
Today, I kneel in front of the Buddha
Sincerely make vows to be industrious in cultivating,
Take three refuges and practice definitely
Pray the great, holy One to grant and help me.


Take refuge in the Buddha
The first is taking refuge in the Buddha,
Cultivate Bodhi mind, fulfill Buddha-body
Rely on the Buddha’s constantly true nature
Quit defilement and purify unwholesome karmas
Practice the nobly Bodhi Path and right mediation
Keep my own mind pure and perfect
Always live with a true happiness in this life
Manifest the transcendental wisdom everywhere
Follow the Buddha’s compassion, extreme perfection
And progressively cultivate every good deed
Obtain a completely pure and good mind
Abandon fame and wealth and illusive habits
Avoid craving loves and binding situations
Vow to practice disciplines strictly
Don’t need delicious foods and tasty drinks
Don’t need to stay in luxurious houses
Use ten good virtues to make-up Buddha nature
Give up doing all evil and impure things
With my pure nature, enlighten myself and others
Take refuge in the Buddha is likely to become a Buddha
Pray for all sentient beings understand Buddhism clearly
Always live with right awareness and mindfulness
Likely attain the enlightenment, escape the dark hell
Fulfill the unborn and enlighten result together
Namo Buddhas existing in ten directions (Repeat 3 times).


Taking refuge in the Dharma
The second is to take refuge in the Dharma
Cultivate right thoughts and succeed dharma-body
Stop wrong, impure and misleading thoughts
Practice the mindful awareness, cultivate the true dharma-nature
Study four noble truths and cultivate eightfold path:
Right understanding, recognize real characteristics of the true nature
Right thought, perceive unreal essence of universe
Right speech, say true and right words
Right action, set one’s mind on doing good virtues
Right livelihood, to be diligent in doing good works
Right effort, persevere in discover Buddha-mind
Right mindfulness, always reflect on the Dharma
Right concentration, practice meditation and gain insight.
Attain the Buddhahood, have an insight in the true nature
Cultivate the greatest vehicle, extinctive and unconditioned Nirvana
Refuse superstitions, unreal forms and appearances
Avoid false, superstitious and illusive theories
Those are root of obstacles of our virtuous minds
Make up one’s mind on to be free from the birth-death cycle.
Take refuge in the Dharma, keep in mind the Dharma,
Pray for all sentient beings to understand scriptures deeply
Right understanding, clearly perceive the Buddha-path.
Whereby escape the hungry ghost realm and false schools
Fulfill the noble and righteous result together.
Namo Dharma existing in ten directions (Repeat 3 times).


Take refuge in the Sangha
The third is taking refuge in the Sangha
Keep a pure mind and complete the Sangha
Quit craving, desires and impure thoughts
Follow Buddhas and Sages to come to a right way
Eliminate three poisons, seven emotions and six desires
Those are things created hell and made people overwhelmed in misfortune
Stop sufferings and desires which make us unhappy
Quit four forms and three unwholesome thoughts
Often confess sources of guilt and bad karma
Always keep our threefold action completely pure
Keep our body-action righteous and do pure practices
Avoid stealing, killing, and sexual misconduct
Practice pure speech and speak kind words
Don’t embellish, don’t incite and stop saying unreal things
Refuse telling lies and evil, harmful words
Keep our mind pure and purify our thoughts
Abandon our greed, hatred, and delusion.
These are ten noble virtues
Taking refuge in Sangha makes our mind pure
With a pure body one certainly becomes a Sangha
Wish for Sangha always live in harmony and respect,
For all sentient beings follow the bright and noble path,
To be freed from six paths of birth-death circle
Fulfill the perfectly pure result together.
Namo Sangha existing in ten directions (Repeat 3 times).


I have already taken refuge in the Buddha, I vow not to take refuge in any Gods, evil spirits and animals for ever and ever.
I have already taken refuge in the Dharma, I vow not to take refuge in any other religions and false philosophies for ever and ever.
I have already taken refuge in the Sangha, I vow not to take refuge in any harmful friends and evil groups for ever and ever.
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times).


Make vows to take the five precepts
Today I sincerely make vows
To observe five good and righteous precepts

1. The first precept is to avoid killing and protect human beings
Not to kill any human and animal life
Follow the Buddha who had boundless compassion
Love every piece and vow to save all sentient beings
Don’t let the evil and harmful thoughts occur
Always keep in mind the thought of protecting lives.
Because animals and human beings both have life,
Both are born from an equal origin.
All sentient beings crave for living and scare death,
Have the Buddha-nature and the potential of improvement.
The cause and effect law shows good fortunes and misfortunes clearly
Series of enemy borrows and returns definitely.
Not because of my own satisfaction of desires and protect myself
To create the karma of killing human beings or animals.
Keep body, mouth and mind are pure as Buddha’s
Spread compassion to save animals and benefit humans.
Killing life and beating, torturing animals and humans,
And feel cheerful when we see or hear others do so
These things have the same sin, same karma
The effect of these seeds is that we will be killed in future
And transform into the life of animal with horns or fur.
2. The second precept is to avoid stealing
Follow the righteous and moral principles
Stop stealing possessions which belong to others,
Don’t have greedy thoughts as seeing beautiful things.
With possessions belong to the Three Jewels,
We promise never steal or hide them.
Set our mind on cultivation and keep it righteous
Not to steal even if it is a bit of fur.
Keep in mind words “Honest and Righteousness”.
Abandon craving thoughts and then practice True Path.
Imitate the Buddha’s and Sages’ noble purity
Keep far away wealth, the factor disturbs our mind
Keep our mind, mouth and body pure and righteous
Stop wrong thinking and not to be infected by six sense objects
Pray to the Buddha for pinpointing the Truth
Vow to cultivate our body and mind precisely.
Neither concern nor struggle for a wealth
Exterminate worldly life and try to be born in Pure Land.
The desires are a main cause of sufferings,
Now we set our mind to cease them
And avoid the sea of pains and sorrows.

3. The third precept is avoid sexual misconduct,
Always keep our mind civil and our sexual organ pure.
Vow to cultivate and purify ourselves,
Avoid sexual misconduct, the action of wasting our energy,
It damages our body and causes diseases,
Also makes our intelligence dispersed and declined.
In Sangha, men and women follow up their precepts
Keep separated and give up sexual misconduct.
Avoid seeing and hearing any uncivil words or scenes,
Skip and not to talk about obscene issues
Keep our body pure, avoid doing evil actions
Take care of our spirit and nourish the root of wisdom.
Purify our thoughts and restrain our sexual desires,
Practice pure living and improve the Buddha’s wisdom
Constantly think of protect the True Boddhi Body,
Follow the Buddha’s and Sages’, never forget the righteousness.
Vow to live purely from now on.
Free from three realms, get out of the suffering sea.
Pray the Buddha for transferring sexual habits
To enter a pure realm and continue to cultivate.

4. The fourth precept is avoid telling lies
Conserve faithfulness, keep our mind honest.
Stop telling lies and not to do wrong things,
Not to deceive others, delude the Good Conscience.
Often tell artful words and inconsistent opinions,
Create evil karmas and to be caught in an unfortunate life.
In the Sangha, friends have to be polite with each other,
Believe each other because of the sincerity.
Lying leaves a bad reputation in our world
Everybody will despise and make us shameful.
Unfaithful people draw up schemes, create false things
No one believes and people keep far away.
Vow to practice honesty and faithfulness
Dare not to tell untruthful and false things.
To conserve the faithfulness with sincere mind
Study the True Path and recognize the nature of this life
Cultivate the bodhi-noble-dharma body
Follow the Buddha and Sages, to be reborn in the Pure Land.
If we do unfaithful and evil things,
We produce sufferings and will be banished to the hell.

5. The fifth precept is avoid taking alcohol and other intoxicating drugs
Keep our wise nature in order to practice the Noble Path.
Taking intoxicating drugs destroys our body and declines our mind
Eating meat and drinking alcohol make us violent and obscure
Develop dishonesty, greed, violence and produce sins.
Give rise of disasters and create bad and disastrous things.
In the alcohol has poisonous and harmful enzyme,
Intoxicating drugs have full of injurious viruses,
One has fell into these substances
Will destroy his life and ruin his merits.
Make his body breakdown and his mind frightened,
With such mental disorders, not easy to receive the noble wisdom.
Now we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Set our mind to stop taking those poisonous drugs.
Always keep our wise mind strong
Strengthen our bodhi-body from day to night
Not to go to the dissolute places,
Keep our body, mouth, mind, eyes, ears and noses clean.
Follow the Buddha and sages, cultivate our wisdom
If we are delirious, we must wear the yoke of sufferings.
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times, kowtow 3 times).

I vow to observe five precepts for ever and ever:
Not to kill humans, harm animals
Not to steal and not to be dishonest, greedy.
Not to indulge in sexual misconduct
Not to make false speech
Not to drink alcohol and not to take other intoxicating drugs
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times).

I have taken refuge in The Buddha, have taken refuge the Dharma, have taken refuge the Sangha, I vow:

Not to do any evil things,
To cultivate good things,
To purify my mind,
To become a true Buddhist.
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times). (Kowtow 3 times)

Translated from Vietnamese into English by Minh Nguyen