Bedurya is delighted to offer publications on Tibetan medicine and related yogic techniques
to students, therapeutic and medical practitioners, scholars, and anyone interested in broadening their perspective on health, illness, longevity, well-being, and the workings of the body-mind.
Let’s shine a light on these unique healing traditions!
Tibetan medicine (more accurately called Sowa Rigpa) is the ancient yet living knowledge of health through balance that has been put into practice for centuries on the Tibetan Plateau, across the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, as well as in Mongolia and several Russian republics with significant Buddhist influence. In the last few decades, Sowa Rigpa has become increasingly well-known outside its homelands. As an exceptional synthesis of Eurasian medical knowledge and through its deeply rooted association with the Buddhadharma, Sowa Rigpa has incredible potential to benefit life on this planet.
What is «Bedurya» ?
Bedurya (pronounced “bay-do-re-ya“) is a simplified phonetic spelling of the Tibetan བཻ་ཌཱུརྻ་. A loanword derived from Sanskrit, it has been commonly identified as the gemstone beryl or cymophane, or translated as lapis lazuli in East Asian contexts. However, only beryl appears naturally in the color varieties attested in Tibetan sources: aquamarine (blue), goshenite (white), heliodor (yellow), and so on.
But the supreme form of bedurya is more extraordinary. Mahayana teachings such as the Lotus Sutra indicate it is in fact an extremely precious relic, an utterly pure blue light radiating from the bodies of fully enlightened buddhas that brings health and happiness to all beings. This is also why the Medicine Buddha is called the King of Bedurya Light. His rays are said to pervade all directions of samsara, blessing all beings and curing their physical and mental ailments, and negative karma.
“And when I have arrived at awakening, may my body be like a precious beryl, perfectly flawless inside and out, bright, brilliant, large, great, firm, well fixed, fully ornamented with a net of rays surpassing the moon and sun!”
Medicine Buddha Sutra
(translated by Gregory Schopen, Buddhism and Medicine, 2017, p. 238)
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