The Medicine Guru (Urgyen Menla)

Framed print of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) in the rare Urgyen Menla form, manifesting as the Medicine Buddha, the supreme physician. He has two piercing eyes, and a radiant deep blue complexion like that of blue beryl. With his left leg drawn up and his right leg slightly extended he sits in the posture of royal-ease upon a white moon disc and a multicoloured lotus of many petals that arises from a lake.

His 'lotus-hat' is fashioned from red and orange silk, with folded upward-pointing flaps on both sides, and a central crest with five cloud-like curves.

As clothing he wears a white undergarment that represents the Mahayana vehicle, a blue robe with a copper-edged 'cloud-collar' that represents the Vajrayana vehicle, and a patched orange robe that represents the monastic vehicle of pratimoksha vows or moral discipline. Outside of these three robes he wears a loose dark maroon cloak that represents his perfection of all vehicles or paths to enlightenment, and to emphasize this all of his robes are richly embroidered with golden designs. In the crook of his left arm he supports the blue-black bamboo shaft of his tantric staff or khatvanga.

With his right hand resting upon his knee Urgyen Menla makes the mudra of supreme generosity, with his index finger and thumb holding the budding stem of the medicinal myrobalan or ink-nut tree (Teminalia Chebula). The fruit of this tree is widely used as a panacea in both the Indian Ayurvedic and Tibetan medical traditions, where it is known as arura (Tib). His left hand rests on his lap in the dhyana-mudra of meditative equipoise as he holds a skull-cup containing six myrobalan fruits and their leaves.

Dimensions: 23x29 inches

• Name : Berry Shepherd