Yao
Shih Fwo - Bhaisajyaguru Buddha
Yao
Shih Fwo, one of the three foremost Buddhas of the Chinese Pantheon,
is a Buddha of the past era. Better known to the people as the
Buddha of Medicine or the Master of Healing, he is dear to the
hearts of many, for they have indeed received his blessings
in the forms of miraculous cures of all kinds of illness. The
Buddha's efficacy in preventing calamities and granting prosperity
besides curing illness has attracted a steady number of believers
and devotees since the time of the Eastern Chin Dynasty (AD
317-420) to the present day. The Sutra of the Buddha of Medicine
(Bhaisajyaraja Sutra) was also translated into Chinese at that
period of time which provided a full account on the peerless
Buddha, his Paradise and his Twelve Great Vows. However the
later translation made by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Tsang, the
famous monk of the Tang Dynasty, known as The Sutra of the Master
of Healing (Bhaisajyaguru - Vaidurya - Prabhasa Tathagata),
is the more popular Sutra which is widely read by most people
today.
The
title 'Master of Healing', is a literal translation of his Sanskrit
name 'Bhaisajyaguru', the Buddha who favours worshippers with
relief from the troubles of the world. Apart from curing illness,
warding such calamities as famine, drought and plague, granting
longevity and assisting the dead, Yao Shih Fwo is known to have
dispensed all kinds of mundane benefits to those who pray to
him. Despite his great popularity, temples dedicated to him
are very scarce so that those who wish to worship him may do
so at temples where his images can be found. He is often found
in a triad with Sakyamuni Buddha and Amitabha Buddha, and his
symbols are either the medicine bowl or the pagoda. When depicted
alone, he holds his symbol with his left hand and he is normally
attended to by his prominent disciples, the Great Bodhisattvas
'Radiance of the Sun' and the 'Radiance of the Moon'.
