Bhaisajyaguru

Glossary

Also known as the Medicine Buddha, he is the Buddha of healing and medicine in Mahayana Buddhism and is believed to cure suffering through his teachings. He is considered a bodhisattva who took twelve significant vows upon attaining enlightenment. He is also an important deity in Chinese Buddhism, along with Amitabha and Shakyamuni. The deity is typically depicted seated, holding a lapis or blue jar of medicine in his left hand and the stem of the aruna fruit (myrobalan or Terminalia chebula) in his right hand. He is also depicted with a blue halo. From the Sanskrit bhaisajyaguru, meaning “medicine master.”

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Pre-Modern Art

Chicago	MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Art. “Bhaisajyaguru”. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://mapacademy.io/glossary/bhaisajyaguru/
MLA	“Bhaisajyaguru.” MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Art. https://mapacademy.io/glossary/bhaisajyaguru/. Accessed 27, April, 2024.
Harvard	MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Art. (2022) Bhaisajyaguru. [Online]. Available at: https://mapacademy.io/glossary/bhaisajyaguru/. (Accessed: 27, April, 2024)