Yakushi Nyorai, the principal image of Byodoji Temple, said to have been carved by Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi)

According to the Origin Record handed down at the temple, in the spring of the 5th year of Kōnin (814), Kōbō Daishi traveled through this land in search of a place to build a temple hall. When the Daishi climbed the mountain to the north, he prayed, "If this is a land of deep karmic bond where the esoteric teaching will spread, then show a fitting sign," and threw a golden lotus. It is said that the lotus caught on the branch of an old pine and shone in all directions.

Struck by this wonder, the Daishi entered deep samādhi, and within the light in the air a lapis-blue Sanskrit letter appeared, which in time became the figure of Yakushi Nyorai. Yakushi declared, "I heal away the suffering of sentient beings without distinction, equally," and is said to have shed a five-colored light upon the Daishi.

The Daishi carved that noble figure with the practice of ittō-sanrai, a bow at every stroke of the blade. In this way were born the principal image of Yakushi Nyorai, the Nikkō Bosatsu and Gakkō Bosatsu who attend it, and the Twelve Heavenly Generals who guard it. "That the lotus upon the pine shone in all directions," said the Daishi, "is the sign of a great vow to bring deliverance equally to every person," and so he named the temple Byodoji, the temple of equal deliverance.

In other words, that the principal image is Yakushi Nyorai and that the temple is named "Byodoji" were settled together within a single story. The name Byodoji is itself the very vow of Yakushi Nyorai: "to heal without distinction, equally."

And when the Daishi, seeking water for kaji, struck the mountain rock with a tokko (a single-pronged vajra), a spring as white as milk gushed forth. This is the origin of the mountain name (sango) Hakusuisan (White Water Mountain), and that water is still cherished today as kaji water.

The present principal image is thought to be a second-generation figure, fashioned in the Muromachi period after the first image said to have been made by Kōbō Daishi. It is a joined-wood (yosegi) figure finished with lacquer and gold leaf. The medicine jar in its left hand, in particular, is made of metal and is said to be more than a thousand years old, preserving to this day the memory of the prayer of the first image.

One thing that tells of the miraculous grace of this Yakushi is the "hakoguruma" (the box-cart he could lie in) offered in the main hall. In the 10th year of Taishō (1921), Tsutsui Rinnosuke, who had lost the power to walk from a spinal disease, and his father Fukuji built a box-cart in which Rinnosuke could lie down and set out on the Shikoku pilgrimage. In the 12th year of Taishō (1923), they stayed four weeks at Byodoji, the 22nd temple of the pilgrimage, and as they drank the sacred water of Hakusuisan and received the head priest's kaji prayer, sensation gradually returned, until at last he recovered enough to rise to his feet leaning on a pilgrim's staff (kongōzue). With deep gratitude, the parent and child offered to the principal image, Yakushi Nyorai, the box-cart that had sustained his life.

Byodoji has been revered as a temple of strong legs together with such miraculous grace of Yakushi Nyorai. Recovery from illness, warding off cancer, sound legs and hips. Many kinds of wishes are still turned toward this principal image, and the prayers of pilgrims never cease in the hall.

Nikko Bosatsu and Gakko Bosatsu represent the light of Yakushi Nyorai illuminating beings by day and by night. The light of wisdom is not a momentary flash, but a light that envelops the whole span of daily life.

The Twelve Heavenly Generals are those who vowed to protect the teaching of Yakushi Nyorai and to guard those who uphold the scriptures. This is why a faith that faces illness and misfortune comes accompanied by a concrete form of protection.

When you pay reverence to Yakushi at Byodoji as well, taking in not only the principal image but the whole world of light and protection that spreads around it lets you see the depth of this faith.

The scriptures teach that simply hearing the name of Yakushi Nyorai holds great meaning. To hear the name is not merely to hear a sound, but to know where that vow is directed.

When you pray to Yakushi Nyorai at Byodoji, first take a moment to confirm what you are suffering from now and what you wish to set right. Whether it is bodily ill health, unease of the heart, a matter concerning your family, or the hardship of daily life, you may begin your prayer from anywhere.

On that basis, the mantra becomes a short path that settles the heart. You need not understand all of its meaning, but it is important not to lose sight of why you are chanting it.