HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA
EMPOWERMENT AND LONGLIFE CEREMONY

Wednesday 5th of August, from 9:30 to 11:30

MEDICINE BUDDHA EMPOWERMENT
The Medicine Buddha (“Sangye Menla” in Tibetan) is one of the best-known deities of Mahayana (Large Vehicle) Buddhism, which developed in the Far East and in the Himalayas. In Tibet many practices are dedicated to him, in order to obtain cure for oneself and others. Traditional doctors invoke the Medicine Buddha specially to bless their medicine.

Generally represented by the blue color of lapis lazuli, the Medicine Buddha makes it possible to prevent diseases, supports healing by purifying habitual tendencies (karma) and negative emotions which are the source of the disease, and is a support for those who are approaching the end of their life span. The practice of the Medicine Buddha is beneficial for good health, necessary for both ordinary and spiritual life. Ultimately, it leads to the realisation of Enlightenment and the achievement of good for others.

According to a contemporary Tibetan Master, “the Medicine Buddha is more than a healer of the body or the mind. It is the very force of the indefatigable compassion that illuminates the whole world, the therapeutic energy of our most intimate being”. (quoted from the Dictionary of Buddhism, Philippe Cornu, Le Seuil, Paris).

The term “empowerment” comes from the Tibetan word “wang”, which literally means “transmission of power”. On this subject, His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains: “To start, our fundamental nature, what is called “the Buddha nature”, the true nature of our mind, is present in us in a natural and fundamental way. The mind that is ours has been functioning since beginningless time; The same holds for the more subtle nature of our mind. Based on the continuity of this subtle nature is the possibility of attaining Enlightenment, the state of spontaneous freedom of all suffering. This potential is what one calls the seed of Enlightenment, the Buddha nature, the fundamental nature….

It is certain that in all of us resides this potential which enables us to attain the state of Buddhahood (...) and to recognize the nature of our mind. The process of initiation, or wang, brings out to some extent this potential, and allows the Buddha nature to appear more fully. When you receive an initiation, it is the nature of your own mind, the Buddha nature, which enables the initiation to mature inside of you”.

(Extract from a teaching given in Vincennes on October 7, 1982 during the transmission of Sangwa Gyachen, a treasure revealed by the 5th Dalai Lama).

An empowerment creates the necessary conditions for the development in us of the same qualities as the Medicine Buddha. This initiation is open to all, and can also be received by non-Buddhists as a blessing.

LONGLIFE CEREMONY FOR AND WITH THE PRESENCE OF HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA (TENSHUG)
The practice of Tenshug has existed for a long time in the Buddhist tradition. It consists of a religious offering destined to request a spiritual Master to live for a long time, so that he can work for the welfare of all beings as long as possible. This ceremony realized by the Tibetan communities of Switzerland and Europe are a great occasion to pray for the long live of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and at the same time are a unique opportunity for each practitioner to strengthen their connexion with His Holiness. The Tibetans who participate in the Tenshug aspire to develop a pure motivation and compromise, reciting as many Long life prayers as possible for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is a ceremony open to everyone.

The Long Life ceremony – Tenshug for His Holiness the Dalai Lama is organized by the Tibetan Communities in Europe.