Menlha (Medicine Buddha) practice
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Rinpoche,
I led the “trainees” thru one session of menlha, with explanations for the chanting and ritual.
Now Gim Lee is umze-ing the group n they are doing a full run of the puja proper.
Thank you again Rinpoche for making it possible for so many local M’sians to do these very same pujas as those in monastery. I feel very excited whenever I think of how we have local serious practitioners right here now, and growing!
(2 pix attached)
- Altar (andrew and Thierry brought their own menlha statue).
- The large group attending puja training.
Love, Paris.
Beautiful tormas made by members for sacred Medicine Buddha (Menlha).
Our Members in Kechara today learning how to do Medicine Buddha Puja. Thank you Paris…I love this update!!
Paris a wonderful, young and smart writer of Kechara Media & Publications who always sends me wonderful, scrumptious, delicious updates. Her enthusiasm to be spiritual and adapt it to her modern contemporary life is such an inspiration to many INCLUDING ME. I am proud of Paris.
She is a good friend for anyone. Good student. Good staff for any employer…my meaning a reliable person.
She sent me these nice pictures with the sms above that I am sharing with all of you.
In Kechara we are able to do very special, advanced and traditional pujas. Our members have trained under qualified monks and now training more members. How wonderful lay people can do pujas to benefit others as it has been done in Gaden for 600 years by the monks.
Tsem Rinpoche
Click for high-resolution image
Medicine Buddha (central figure)
Lama Tsongkhapa (top tier), Green Tara (2nd tier), White Umbrella (3rd tier), monk representing sponsor offering mandala (bottom left), Dorje Shugden (bottom, rightmost)
Dorje Shugden is said to have the strength of a thousand Dharma Protectors. Therefore, he has the amazing ability to protect the lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa, have the healing abilities of Medicine Buddha, fulfill wishes in the manner of Green Tara and protect one from spirits and other negative afflictions like White Umbrella.
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Everyday I see pastors and few Kechara members do puja at wisdom hall, even some of the staffs join in too! All of them are very busy with schedule, often they need to go outstation to perform puja for outsiders.
I’ve heard pastors talk about stories which they encounter during puja, its heartwarming and touching. Puja bring good energies to people and the environment. It’s good that more people are learning to do puja.
Kechara has lay students leading pujas, something I personally found fascinating. I always thought only the ordained sangha can do pujas. so, i was very surprised when I saw lay students leading.
But, then again, what they are doing is to benefit others. So, I guess, that makes them”sangha” in a way. Maybe, I’m wrong but that’s how i feel. Kechara really do things a bit different but with the motivation of helping and benefiting others.
May all these umze be blessed for their work to benefit others.
I would like to thanks Guru for teaching and guiding us about Medicine Buddha Puja. This Puja really really benefited so many people, including my grandfather. Early this year 2012, my grandfather was struggled either to stay alive or pass away. And, our family member was not sure is he going to die or able to live for another years. The whole situation went to a lot of tensions. Thus, we request a Buddha Medicine puja. Finally, after the puja, he was awake.
I chanted Buddha Medicine Mantra in ICU, strange things happened. My grandfather was in great pain, he can’t speak anymore and have hard time in sleeping, when i begin to chant the mantra, slowly he went to sleep, not only that his facial expression is not so in pain but his cheek too is pinkish. This is not only happened to my grandfather. In ICU many patients are suffering there, some even cry and some shouted in great pain, during chanting, slowly the ICU went to silent and peace. The next day, i discovered the nurses there even put up the “pocket” size Photo of Buddha Medicine on top of my grandfather bed.
Experiences a lot of “miracle” that Menlha Puja helps in sick and suffered. Without H.E Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, we can’t possibily known about this treasure.
Thanks for sharing this Freon. I have shared with you our own personal experiences recently at a late night blog retreat. _/*\_
I remember when the Medicine Buddha Puja or Menlha Puja was conducted in Kechara House before Kating Rinpoche came to train Rinpoche’s students to do the puja. There were only 4 people attending. And the prayers were recited in English led by umze Lim Han Nee. Then Rinpoche invited Kating Rinpoche and another ritual monk from Ganden to teach the members how to prepare tormas and recite the prayers in Tibetan. Selected students went for the training. Later Jamie Khoo led a group of students to do the Pujas. And now the crowd at the Pujas has increased. There are now 15 to 20 people attending the pujas now.
Is the privilege to learn the Medicine Buddha ( Menla ) pujas. Though our lama kindness and blessing. Early this year, rinpoche has invited 2 monks from Gaden monastery, venerable Kating rinpoche and Gen Lobsang Yeshe to teach the select pujas group to train up at Tsem Ladrang. The pujas group members not just practice the rituals, they also have to learn how to make torma and offering setup according the tradition of Gaden Monastery.
After that select pujas group will do their practice at ladrang and train up our Kechara members to do the Medicine Buddha pujas. Though Medicine Buddha pujas, people suffering of sickness, deceases and dying able to get the blessing and get help. How fortunate.
This practice of Menlha is extra special because it comes accompanied by direct teachings from rinpoche.
As luck would have it (!) Rinpoche popped down to the Ladrang prayer hall one day just as we were practising the prayers.
We thought, oh dear, he will surely laugh at us for misguided pronunciation and tone-deaf singing.
Instead, he gave us the most powerful, profound meditation to help us make the most of our practice and meditations, something that will always go beyond the misguided pronunciation and garbled singing.
This is something that everyone can do, even if you’re doing the medicine buddha puja at home on your own (either in English or Tibetan). Most important, as always, is to maintain a good motivation and to focus wholeheartedly on the person who you are dedicating these prayers for, your Guru’s long life, and the good health & wellbeing of all sentient beings.
VISUALISATION FOR MEDICINE BUDDHA PUJA
When you do the Medicine Buddha puja, visualise that your root and lineage Gurus are one with Medicine Buddha.
How do you do this?
1. Medicine Buddha’s purpose is to heal, and the highest form of healing is the Dharma. Your Guru teaches you the Dharma, to alleviate your ultimate suffering. Therefore in action, because your Guru does the Buddha’s work, he and Medicine Buddha are one.
2. Medicine Buddha resides in non-dual space. Non-dual space is the clarity of the mind. In that state, it means he is without attachment – there is no good or bad, no right or wrong, no black or white. In that state, Medicine Buddha exists only to benefit us, no matter what actions he manifests and however it appears. Without attachment, Medicine Buddha manifests in his physical blue form. Like that, our Guru is also without attachment – everything about our guru’s body, speech and mind is for others. One example is that he takes on the robes, to show he is in service of others. We cannot take on the robes ourselves but our Guru can, because he is without attachment.
When we do the puja, we begin with the meditation/prostration:
1. As we recite NAMO GURU BEH and NAMO BUDDHA YAH, think, “May I attain your non-dual space body”
2. As we recite NAMO DHARMA YAH, think, “May I attain your non-dual space speech”
3. As we recite NAMO SANGHA YAH, think, “May I attain your non-dual space mind”
4. As you go down to the ground in your prostration, think, “I surrender everything to you”
5. As you come back up, think, “I rise to practise the Dharma for others”
Thank you “Paris” for the last bit. I will remember and practise.
I witnessed, on a couple of times when I visited Tsem Ladrang, Jamie leading her team of dedicated puja members in this powerful healing practice. They practiced very hard throughout including making torma for offering. This group of Kecharians will be instrumental to teaching other Kecharians to engage in Medicine Buddha puja at Kechara House for members and the public.
This was made possible by the kind arrangement of Rinpoche by inviting Venerable Kating Rinpoche and a geshe from Gaden Shartse to teach.
Currently a weekly Medicine Buddha puja is on at 8PM at Kechara House. You may call Mr Lim Tat Ming at 03 78033908 for details.
Tsem Rinpoche invited two learned monks from Gaden monastery to Malaysia in 2010 to teach his students how to do special pujas and sadhanas in Tibetan. I was invited to take part in Tara or Drolchok puja and we recited it in Tibetan. We started off making tormas for the offering from butter, sugar, milk, oat, water, flour, yogurt, honey and shaped them into cones with ears and flowers.
Tara puja was so beautiful although it was long but I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying it. I loved the sound of the words. Jamie had been fantastic at guiding us through the process. Thank you, Tsem Rinpoche for bringing in monks like Kating Rinpoche directly from Gaden monastery to give us this privilege to learn from.
Terima Kasih Rinpoche!
Yup! I was there for this event and it was an interesting one and the Medicine Buddha, being my favourite Buddha after Amitabha and Avalokitesvara for many years now.
Having undergone the previous old format in English and now in Tibetan, it was a good experience of learning and re-learning.
I must say that Jamie was very patient and kind with all of us and we had a great time learning all of the processes.
I must confess though that the sung tune used for the new Tibetan format sounded like an old Japanese 50s song LOL.
Tayata Om Bekanze Bekanze Maha BeKanze BeKanze Radza Samugate Soha!
The great pure Blue Lapis lazulite King of Healing, the all sacred Bhaisaja Guru has the most amazing healing effect on us sentient beings during this degenerate times. It is said that the 8 Medicine brothers are most efficacious during these degenerate times.
It is stated in the Sutras as well that the practice of Medicine Buddha requires one to uphold their vows very well and keep a clean relationship with thier Spiritual Guide. In this way, when we visualize the Medicine Buddha and our Spiritual Guide as one during our practice, the effect will be much better.
We’re very lucky in Kechara House to be able to receive teachings and proper guidance into doing this holy pujas which will help us realise our inner and outer Medicine Buddha nature.
Come to Kechara House and experience for yourself this amazing unbroken lineage of healing from the time of buddha Shakyamuni!
Sarva Mangalam
JJ
Please say you recorded this. I have the empowerment, but I have not had too many teachings on it. I would love to hear Your HE speak about and do this practice.
Many heartfelt thanks,
Steven Parisian H2OFly