Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Transcript of video teaching

Medicine Guru is a Buddha doctor whose function is to liberate living beings from outer and inner sickness. This is his specific function. We know that some particular sicknesses can be cured by our normal doctors, but this is only temporary. No doctor can give us permanent liberation from sickness. We have to experience sickness again and again throughout this life and in our countless future lives. Only through receiving the special blessings of Medicine Guru can we cure permanently all sicknesses including cancer.

But you should know in detail how because our normal doctor cannot give permanent liberation from sickness. Of course particular sicknesses can be cured by our normal doctor, but this is just temporary. We have to experience sickness again and again in this life and in countless future lives. What we need is permanent liberation from sickness. This is given only through receiving the special blessings of Medicine Guru. Only through receiving the special blessings of Medicine Guru can we cure permanently all sicknesses including cancer.

We should know that the worst sickness is the inner sickness that is our own delusions. That is our own delusions of attachment, anger and ignorance – the ignorance of self-grasping. This inner disease, or delusions, gives us physical pain and mental pain throughout our life, and in life after life, continually and endlessly. Other than Dharma, Buddha’s teaching, there is no medicine to cure this inner disease of delusions.

Since we will receive the supreme medicine of Dharma from our Spiritual Guide, we should regard our Spiritual Guide as an emanation of Medicine Guru, from whom we will receive the empowerment of Medicine Guru.

Buddha introduced seven different Medicine Buddhas. The principal is called Medicine Guru. ‘Guru’ means Spiritual Guide. ‘Medicine’ in this context is Dharma, Dharma medicine. Through taking Dharma medicine we can cure permanently both outer and inner diseases.

Any Spiritual Guide who sincerely liberates us from the worst disease, that is our delusions, by giving pure medicine of Dharma, is our own Medicine Guru. Any spiritual teacher who sincerely liberates us from the worst disease that is our delusions by giving pure Dharma medicine is our own Medicine Guru.

So it seems that we have two Medicine Gurus. One is invisible, that we cannot see, cannot contact directly – that is the Medicine Guru who is the Buddha doctor. We cannot see Medicine Guru. He is Buddha doctor, enlightened being. We cannot see him, we cannot contact him directly because he is too pure, too pure, too high for us. Our mind is contaminated by ignorance of self-grasping. The Medicine Guru who is the Buddha doctor is too pure, too high, invisible.

The other is our own Spiritual Guide who is sincerely liberating us from the delusions by giving pure Dharma medicine. This Medicine Guru we can see, we can contact directly because he or she is not too pure and also not too high. If he or she is too pure it is impossible to see them. If they are too high also we cannot see them. Fortunately he or she is not too pure, not too high. But if they are too impure, too low, there is also a problem, you know. So therefore that Medicine Guru is very fit for us. He is the middle way. So such a Spiritual Guide is an emanation of Medicine Guru who is a Buddha doctor. So we perfectly fit the Medicine Guru prepared for us.