Held on the night of the 8th each month
The 8th is the ennichi of Bhaisajyaguru. At Byodoji we perform the homa before the Medicine Buddha from 8:00 p.m. on the 8th of every month.
Rites
Yakushi Homa
On the 8th of each month, the ennichi of Yakushi, we perform this fire rite before Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of medicine and healing.
Prayers for recovery from illness, good health, and peace of body and mind are carried on the flame of the homa. You can apply online.
Table of Contents
At a glance
from 8:00 p.m.
8th of each month Yakushi Homa
Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of medicine and healing
Bhaisajyaguru is the teacher of the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli, who vowed to remove the illnesses of beings and grant peace of body and mind. His full name is Bhaisajyaguru, the Lapis-Lazuli Radiance Tathagata.
A calamity-averting (sokusai) rite
Sokusai means removing illness and misfortune and keeping body and mind well. We pray by joining Bhaisajyaguru's power to free beings from illness with the flame of the homa.
You can apply online
Submit your name and wish from home. We read them aloud and pray at the rite, and you can attend remotely by live stream.
Schedule and details
When8th of each month, from 8:00 p.m. (about 2 hours)
Honored BuddhaBhaisajyaguru (Yakushi Nyorai)
WhereByodoji (Shikoku Pilgrimage Temple No. 22) / online stream
Offering500 yen per wish
Main wishesRecovery from illness, good health, freedom from sickness, peace of body and mind
About the Yakushi Homa
The Yakushi Homa is a prayer for recovery from illness and peace of body and mind, performed as a fire rite before Bhaisajyaguru.
A homa is a Shingon rite in which the wisdom-fire is kindled in the homa hearth and, while reciting the mantra, sticks are offered one by one into the flame. We read aloud each applicant's name and wish as we offer the sticks and pray.
Bhaisajyaguru vowed to remove the illnesses of beings and make body and mind at peace. Looking to that power to free beings from illness, we pray for healing, health, and the averting of calamity.
The 8th is Yakushi's ennichi
The 8th of each month is the ennichi of Bhaisajyaguru. An ennichi is a day of deep affinity with a particular Buddha; it has long been said that praying or visiting on such a day forms an especially strong bond of merit.
At Byodoji we perform the Yakushi Homa on the 8th, Yakushi's ennichi, praying for the health and well-being of that month.
Bhaisajyaguru's vow and mantra
Bhaisajyaguru is the Buddha who himself vowed to remove the illnesses of beings and make both body and mind at peace.
The Bhaisajyaguru Sutra sets out the Twelve Great Vows he made while still a bodhisattva. The seventh is a vow to save beings who suffer from illness.
Words of the sutra
May it be that, when I attain awakening in a future life, if beings are oppressed by many illnesses, with no rescue and no refuge, no physician and no medicine, no kin and no home, poor and full of suffering, then as soon as my name once reaches their ears, all their illnesses shall be removed and their body and mind made at peace.
When I attain awakening in a future life, even if beings are tormented by many illnesses, without rescue or refuge, without physician or medicine, without kin or home, poor and burdened with suffering, may all their illnesses be wholly removed and their body and mind made at peace the moment my name reaches their ears.
Seventh Great Vow, Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, trans. Xuanzang (Taisho No. 450)
The work of Bhaisajyaguru
Freedom from illness, ease (jobyo-anraku)
Bhaisajyaguru's root vow to remove illness and grant ease. This is the basis of prayers for recovery.
Peace of body and mind (shinjin-anraku)
Easing not only the body but the suffering of the mind, bringing peace.
Averting calamity, long life (sokusai-enmei)
Removing misfortune and keeping life well and whole.
Mantra of Bhaisajyaguru
on korokoro sendari matogi sowaka
oṃ huru huru caṇḍāli mātaṅgi svāhā
This is widely recited as the heart-mantra of Bhaisajyaguru, chanted to remove the suffering of illness and to pray for peace of body and mind.
How the homa unfolds
On the night of the 8th, before Bhaisajyaguru, the homa unfolds as follows.
STEP 1
Write your name and wish
Online or at the temple office, write your name and wish and make an offering. Byodoji receives your application and reads it aloud to pray at the homa.
STEP 2
Kindle the wisdom-fire
The officiant forms the mudra before Bhaisajyaguru, recites the mantra, and kindles the wisdom-fire in the homa hearth.
STEP 3
Offer the sticks into the flame
Reading aloud each applicant's name and wish, we offer the homa sticks one by one into the flame and convey them to Bhaisajyaguru.
STEP 4
Dedicate the merit
We dedicate the merit of the homa toward each applicant's recovery, health, and peace of body and mind. Remote participants can see their prayer card appear on screen and be drawn into the Buddha.
A prayer for health is not for oneself alone. Together with the wish for the recovery of family and those close to you, you may also pray for your own peace of body and mind.
Wishes you can entrust
The Yakushi Homa can hold many prayers for the well-being of body and mind.
Recovery, good health
For those who pray for recovery from illness and the keeping of health.
Successful surgery, recovery
For those facing surgery or treatment, and for the family who pray for their recovery.
Freedom from illness, ease
For those who wish to ease bodily trouble or heaviness of heart and be at peace.
Averting calamity, well-being
For those who wish to keep misfortune at a distance and live in good health.
Apply
You can apply at the temple office or online. Online applicants, too, have their name and wish read aloud and prayed for at Byodoji, and may attend the rite by stream.
Yakushi Homa
8th of each month, 8:00 p.m. / Now accepting
Performed on the night of Yakushi's ennichi, before Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of medicine and healing.
Offering500 yen per wish
When8th of each month, from 8:00 p.m.
Honored BuddhaBhaisajyaguru
AttendanceRemote attendance by live stream
Select "Yakushi Homa" in the application form. You may also apply for several homa rites, or for prayers over a period (six months or a year).
A year of prayer (annual prayer)
We also accept annual prayers, read aloud at the Yakushi Homa on the 8th of each month for a full year. Choose a period of "12" months in the form.
See also
- Sunday Homa The weekly Yakushi homa held on Sunday afternoons.
- Ennichi Compendium A reading that traces, from the sources, why the 8th is Yakushi's ennichi and the basis of each Buddha's ennichi.
- Rites of Byodoji A list of the homa and rites performed at Byodoji.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to common questions about applying for the Yakushi Homa.
Yes. Anyone may apply, regardless of faith or denomination.
Yes. You may apply on behalf of family, friends, or others. Please write their name and wish.
Yes. Each name and wish you submit is read aloud and prayed for one by one at Byodoji's homa. The prayer is the same whether or not you visit.
Yes. We accept annual prayers read aloud at the homa on the 8th for a full year. Choose the period in the form.
Yes. The homa from 8:00 p.m. on the 8th is live-streamed. From home, you can join your hands to the flame through the stream.
On the 8th, Yakushi's ennichi.
Bhaisajyaguru is the Buddha who vowed to remove illness and make both body and mind at peace. The flame of the homa on the 8th is for looking to that healing power on Yakushi's ennichi.
To all who pray for their own health or that of their family, we offer the Yakushi Homa on the 8th of each month. We pray sincerely for the peace of your body and mind.