[Skull]

From a talk by late Lama Yeshe:

Our love is weak. We know we have love, but our love is so limited. That is why we have to meditate on limitless love. The limitation of our love is the problem. Our jealousy comes from this limitation. “I love you.” What does that mean? Does that mean I want you to be happy? No! That means I want to be happy. “I love you” almost means taking advantage in some way. So that is not love; it is completely the opposite. But limitless love is the psychologically healthy way. With limitless love, no one can irritate you. It is amazing! And its function is to understand every person’s needs and to wish that they get the happiness they need. Everyone needs happiness, without exception. With limitless love we give our energy and time with a wish-fulfilling attitude, instead of feeling jealous when someone else receives something.

What is bodhicitta? Bodhicitta is a Sanskrit word. Citta means heart, the totally open heart. It is like the lotus, which first grows in the mud and then slowly, slowly opens up fully into a pristine lotus blossom. So this sense of totally open, or totally developed, can also be understood as omniscience, total wisdom and compassion. And this is what we call “buddha.” “Buddha” means one who is totally open and totally developed, one in whom all limitations have been extinguished. This buddhahood state is also one of total healing. And bodhicitta is the attitude wishing to lead all beings to that total healing state.

And how did the Medicine Buddha become so special, having this energy to heal disease and so forth? The Medicine Buddha was once a sentient being, like us. He was not special. But at a certain point he woke up and saw all living beings, filled with disease, misconceptions, karma, demons and so forth. On this earth how many sentient beings have sicknesses or disease? Now in our twentieth century cancer is everywhere; it is this century’s worst disease. Also, how many people’s minds are sick, occupied by spirits or demons? Then, of course, there is the demon of our ego, which creates great suffering, shaking our minds.

Seeing all this, his bodhicitta attitude grew and became great healing for all these universal living beings. As a bodhisattva he prayed with great determination to be successful in helping sentient beings. He was very determined, which is why he became a great healer.

So what is Medicine Buddha? Medicine Buddha is this attitude, bodhicitta. He is the fully developed consciousness energy of wisdom-compassion, manifesting as blue radiating light.
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This teaching by Lama Yeshe is from a Medicine Buddha initiation given at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, on December 18–19, 1979. Excerpted from Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe. Edited from archive #168 by Nicholas Ribush.