Omamori-Cure Cancer
A Ganfuji omamori to carry with you as you hold your prayer close.
Offering ¥1,000Apply with this item
Prayer to Bhaisajyaguru, Byodoji’s principal Buddha
Entrust your Ganfuji prayer to Bhaisajyaguru
Please let me make it through. Please let this person I love make it through.
Even after you have done everything you can, some prayers cannot be set aside. Byodoji receives names and prayers from people facing cancer, their families, and others close to them. We perform the Yakushi homa before Bhaisajyaguru, our principal Buddha, praying for relief from illness and peace in body and mind.
Contents
Ganfuji and the Yakushi homa
Entrust us with the prayer you cannot set aside
Please let me make it through. Please let this person I love make it through. That is enough.
The moment a diagnosis is given. A night spent waiting for test or treatment results. News of recurrence or metastasis. The point when treatment options begin to narrow. At times like these, illness can fill every thought, leaving no strength to search for words. Even then, you can still pray. You do not need to compose yourself before requesting prayer.
May the illness ease. May treatment proceed safely. May suffering lessen, even a little, and may the days shared with loved ones be protected. Send the one prayer in your heart as it is. If you cannot describe the circumstances, leave the free-text note blank and simply select “Prayer concerning cancer.”
The abbot brings each prayer before Bhaisajyaguru, Byodoji’s principal Buddha. During the Yakushi homa, he recites the mantra, kindles the sacred fire of wisdom in the homa hearth, and reads aloud the applicant’s name, the name of the person receiving prayer, and each “Prayer concerning cancer.” He also places the prayer requester’s homa stick into the sacred fire. We dedicate the merit cultivated through the Yakushi homa to the person receiving prayer. In Buddhism, this is called dedicating merit.
We receive your heartfelt prayer
On the application form, enter the name of the person receiving prayer and select “Prayer concerning cancer.” You do not need a detailed medical history or polished wording. The free-text note of up to 100 characters is optional.
We kindle the sacred fire of wisdom before Bhaisajyaguru
The abbot forms a prayer mudra and recites Bhaisajyaguru’s mantra. He then kindles the sacred fire of wisdom, which represents the Buddha’s wisdom, in the homa hearth.
We read each name and prayer aloud
We read aloud the applicant’s name, the name of the person receiving prayer, and the words “Prayer concerning cancer.” Names marked as anonymous are read without revealing the real name. The abbot may adapt the free-text note or decide not to read it aloud.
We dedicate the merit of the Yakushi homa
Praying for relief from illness and peace in body and mind, we dedicate the merit cultivated through the Yakushi homa to the person receiving prayer.
Prayers from the person facing cancer and from those beside them
Even when you are beside someone, you cannot take their illness from them. You may entrust Byodoji with your wish to do something for them.
When you apply for yourself, we receive your name and the prayer now in your heart. You do not need to turn fear or uncertainty into polished prose. Write only what you want the temple to know.
Family members and others close to the person may keep searching for something they can do. Some nights, no words of encouragement come, and all that remains is the wish that the person will make it through. Byodoji also receives prayers entrusted out of care for someone else.
The person and those close to them may not share the same wishes about prayer or about how much of a name or medical condition to disclose. When the person’s wishes are known, respect them. Treat information shared only with the temple separately from information made public on the livestream.
Before Bhaisajyaguru, we read aloud the applicant’s name, the name of the person receiving prayer, and each “Prayer concerning cancer.” Names marked as anonymous are read without revealing the real name. We then dedicate the merit cultivated through the Yakushi homa to the person receiving prayer.
Entrust your names and prayer to the Yakushi homa
You may apply from far away or from a hospital room.
Enter the applicant’s name and the name of the person receiving prayer, then select “Prayer concerning cancer.” The free-text note of up to 100 characters is optional.
Yakushi homa
Sun, August 23 at 15:00
¥500 for one person and one prayer
The ¥500 prayer does not include a devotional item. You may add one on the application form if you wish.
Omamori and wooden prayer tablets
Devotional items available with your prayer
You may request the prayer on its own. If you would like something to keep the prayer close or enshrine at home, you may add an omamori or wooden prayer tablet on the application form.
Bhaiṣajyaguru wooden tag large 30 cm
A 30 cm wooden prayer tablet of Bhaisajyaguru, suitable for enshrinement at home.
Offering ¥5,000Apply with this item
Special Kifuda 30cm
A special 30 cm wooden prayer tablet available in a choice of colors.
Offering ¥10,000Apply with this item
Devotional items are optional. If you do not select one, your request remains a single ¥500 prayer, with nothing shipped.
Join the prayer from wherever you are
The prayer is the same even if you cannot watch.
We stream the Yakushi homa from Byodoji’s main hall free of charge. If you wish to watch, open “Watch the livestream” shortly before the start time and place your hands together at home, in a hospital room, or wherever you are.
Any names and free-text notes the abbot reads aloud are included in the livestream audio. To withhold a real name, select “Read anonymously.” Do not write information you wish to keep private in the free-text note. The name display on the livestream can be turned off separately from the spoken readout.
If you need help with the application, call the temple office at 0884-36-3522 (8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. JST).
Byodoji and Bhaisajyaguru
Bhaisajyaguru’s great vow for those suffering from illness
Byodoji’s principal Buddha is Bhaisajyaguru, who vows to bring well-being in body and mind to people suffering from illness. According to temple tradition, in 814 Kobo Daishi Kukai perceived the form of Bhaisajyaguru at this place. He carved the principal image through ichito sanrai, making three bows with each stroke of the blade.
The Sutra of the Original Vows and Merits of the Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light, also known as the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, teaches Bhaisajyaguru’s great vow for people pressed by illness and left without help or refuge: that their illness may be removed and that they may know well-being in body and mind. The sutra also describes relatives and friends of a sick person taking refuge in Bhaisajyaguru on that person’s behalf and asking monks to recite the sutra.
Before this principal Buddha, Byodoji performs the Yakushi homa and prays for relief from illness and peace in body and mind. We carry to Bhaisajyaguru prayers from people facing cancer and prayers entrusted by their families and others close to them.
Medical care, support, and prayer
Continue medical care. Keep hold of prayer.
Continue with the care available to you, and entrust to Bhaisajyaguru the hopes that medical language cannot fully hold.
Byodoji’s Ganfuji is a prayer for relief from illness offered while the person receives the medical care they need in consultation with doctors and medical institutions. It does not replace diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your doctor before stopping or changing treatment.
Alongside illness and treatment, people may face concerns about work, money, or family relationships and be unsure whom to talk to. Cancer Information and Support Centers across Japan offer free consultations to patients and family members.
Family members sometimes put their own anxiety or exhaustion aside because they feel that “the person with cancer has it worse.” Cancer Information and Support Centers also welcome questions about family members’ own feelings and daily lives.
Speaking about fear, receiving a medical explanation, meeting people with similar experiences, and praying to the Buddha do not have to be separate choices. Continue with what you can do, one thing at a time. Entrust the prayer you cannot let go to Byodoji.
Frequently asked questions
Learn about Byodoji and join in prayer
Read more about Byodoji’s history, the 8,000-stick homa, and the livestream from the main hall.
About Byodoji
Learn about the principal Buddha, Byodoji’s history, and visiting the temple.
Learn more8,000-stick homa
Separate from the Yakushi homa, this major rite is performed with Acala as its principal deity.
Learn moreLivestream
Watch homa rites and daily services streamed from Byodoji’s main hall.
Learn more