medicine buddha OM practice - mixed media

"the object of all work is to obtain leisure."
~ lawrence durrell / alexandria quartet

if one has the good fortune to have any leisure time
and if one has the propensity for spiritual practice of some kind
and if one has the desire to practice asana as a spiritual practice
and if one then feels so inclined to generate oneself as the medicine buddha
for the great benefit of all sentient beings..
ode to joy!

this is what i do..
having received the initiation
of the medicine buddha directly from
the 14th dalai lama numerous times..
i imagine myself as the lapis lazuli medicine buddha..
every cell is a medicine buddha..
every breath is a medicine buddha..
as i cultivate a motivation for that day's practice,
i generate my resolve:
i will do this practice for the benefit of all beings..

all the poses are infused with that intention..
using the ujjayi breath (darth vadar)
to accentuate the posture..the areas of sensation..heat..
say..knees or hips or thyroid or prostate*
bringing to mind any friends, family, enemies, strangers..
their faces, their knees and needs, their hearts, their shoulders..
perhaps inwardly chanting the medicine buddha mantra..
how astonishing to watch the practice unfold..

i make sure to set no time constraints..
this is easy to do in a retreat setting -
the poses seem to flow so easily from one to another..
i end up adding more and more postures just to get to
the nooks and crannies we all have as bodies
that limit us, pain us, nag us, ache us..
all the while, attentive to the breath, the medicine..
the sentient beings..
knees, elbows, breasts and brains..

as the body comes to rest in the final pose, savasana..
the medicine buddha dissolves in to and out of every cell..
leaving a sillouette in lapis hue..
that too dissolves into the great emptiness
and then i dedicate the merit of the practice
to all beings, all galaxies, all universes..
offering up the fruits of the actions..
out and out and out .....

what is surprising is the timelessness
of this practice..hours go fleeting by in seconds..
well, okay..not quite..
but you get the drift..

imagine! this medicine buddha
could be done in a class session, in aerobics..
even in the kumbiya dancersize..
pure intent..
still, home practice is the best~

turn off the telephone,
send out the dog and cat ..sorry puss and pup!
(remember, you're doing your practice for them
not with them...)
set up your mate with march madness
or spring training or american idol
and
enjoy a deeply profound practice
that benefits not only you but the full spectrum
of all beings everywhere..

as i came down the steps from my session,
i saw a gift bowl on the kitchen cutting board;
fotini had turned the pear into stuffed cabbage rolls..
medicine!

* even though in this life i do not have a prostate,
i can imagine them healthy..wherever/whosever they are!