Zenmyōshō Kichijōō Nyorai

The wish for people seen in the first vow

The first vow in this sutra teaches the wish to save people suffering from illness and lead them to awakening. This is one example of the original vows taught in the sutra, and does not set out all of this buddha's vows.

Source: CBETA／義浄訳

The pure land described in the sutra

The Yakushi Rurikō Shichibutsu Hongan Kudoku-kyō, translated by Gijō, records the name of the pure land as "Mushō" and depicts it as lying in the east beyond countless buddha worlds. Shōhōin's introduction uses the name "Kōshōkoku." The differences between the sources are presented separately here.

Source: CBETA／義浄訳・飛不動尊 正宝院

Seven pure lands in the east, and prayers for good health

The Seven Yakushi Buddhas are a group of buddhas, from Zenmyōshō Kichijōō Nyorai to Yakushi Rurikō Nyorai, said to dwell in seven pure lands in the east. Within faith in Yakushi, they are worshipped with prayers for things such as salvation from the suffering of illness. The pure land of the last, Yakushi Rurikō Nyorai, is called the Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli (Jōruri Jōdo).

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Prayers handed down as the Shichibutsu Yakushi ritual

Shōhōin introduces the Shichibutsu Yakushi ritual, in which seven Yakushi images are worshipped, and the tradition that Ryōgen of the Tendai school prayed with it for safe childbirth in the regent families (sekkanke). This is the history of a ritual that treats the seven buddhas as one set.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Related kami and buddhas

• Shichibutsu Yakushi七仏薬師