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  1. Top page
  2. Rites
  3. Sunday Homa
Rites

Sunday Homa

A regular fire rite held every Sunday afternoon 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. Visit on Sunday afternoon, or apply online.

平等寺 本堂本尊 薬師如来

Next service

September 20, 2026 at 3:00 PM

Offering 500 yen per wish

Apply for a prayer

Table of Contents

  1. At a glance
  2. About the Sunday Homa
  3. A homa every Sunday
  4. Bhaisajyaguru's vow and mantra
  5. How the homa unfolds
  6. Wishes you can entrust
  7. Apply
  8. Amulets and talismans for this service
  9. Frequently asked questions

At a glance

from 3:00 p.m.

Every Sunday Sunday Homa (Yakushi Homa)

Held every Sunday afternoon

At Byodoji we perform the homa before Bhaisajyaguru from 3:00 p.m. every Sunday. A rite on the easy-to-visit Sunday afternoon.

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.

In person, or online

On Sunday afternoon you may visit and attend the homa. You may also submit your name and wish from home and attend remotely by live stream.

Schedule and details

WhenEvery Sunday, from 3:00 p.m.
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 Sunday Homa

The Sunday Homa is a prayer for recovery from illness and peace of body and mind, performed every Sunday afternoon 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.

A homa every Sunday

The ennichi of Bhaisajyaguru is the 8th of each month, yet at Byodoji we also perform the Yakushi Homa every Sunday afternoon, so that it may be visited within the rhythm of the week.

On Sunday afternoon, giving thanks for the week that has passed and praying for the well-being of the week to come. As such a turning point, anyone may visit.

For the origins of ennichi, see the Ennichi Compendium

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

Translation
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.
Original text
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.
Source
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.

Amulets and talismans for this service

Along with your prayer request, you can receive items matched to the honzon of this service.

Amulet-fivecolor

Amulet-fivecolor

Apply for one prayer and one item together.

¥1,000Apply with this combination
Yakushi Nyorai amulet(card)

Yakushi Nyorai amulet(card)

Apply for one prayer and one item together.

¥500Apply with this combination
Bhaiṣajyaguru wooden tag large 30 cm

Bhaiṣajyaguru wooden tag large 30 cm

Apply for one prayer and one item together.

¥5,000Apply with this combination

Items are delivered after the prayer service. You can change the wish and quantity on the application screen.

How the homa unfolds

Every Sunday afternoon, before Bhaisajyaguru, the homa unfolds as follows.

The resident priest cultivating the goma before the sacred fire of wisdom in Byodoji's Main Hall
Holding a goma stick, he presents the prayer before the principal deity.(平等寺)

STEP 1

Write your name and wish

Visitors at the temple office, and online applicants through the form, write their name and wish and make an offering. We read it aloud and 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 Sunday 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.

A safe week

For those who give thanks for the week past and pray for the week to come.

Apply

You can apply in person or online. Online applicants, too, have their name and wish read aloud and prayed for at Byodoji, and may attend the rite by stream.

Sunday Homa (Yakushi Homa)

Every Sunday, 3:00 p.m. / Now accepting

Performed every Sunday afternoon before Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of medicine and healing.

Offering500 yen per wish
WhenEvery Sunday, from 3:00 p.m.
Honored BuddhaBhaisajyaguru
AttendanceIn person or by live stream

Apply for a prayer

Select "Sunday Homa" in the application form. You may also apply for several homa rites, or for prayers over a period (six months or a year).

Ongoing prayer

We also accept ongoing prayers, read aloud at the Sunday Homa for a set period. Choose the period in the application form.

See also

Yakushi Homa (8th of the month)The Yakushi Homa held on the night of the 8th, Yakushi's ennichi.Ennichi CompendiumA reading that traces, from the sources, the basis of each Buddha's ennichi.Rites of ByodojiA list of the homa and rites performed at Byodoji.

Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about applying for the Sunday Homa.

Yes. Anyone may apply, regardless of faith or denomination.

Yes. The homa from 3:00 p.m. every Sunday is open to visitors. Please come with time to spare.

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. The homa from 3:00 p.m. every Sunday is also live-streamed. From home, you can join your hands to the flame through the stream.

Every Sunday, in the afternoon.

Bhaisajyaguru is the Buddha who vowed to remove illness and make both body and mind at peace. The flame of the homa each Sunday is for looking to that healing power at the week's turning point.

To all who pray for their own health or that of their family, we offer the Sunday Homa each week. We pray sincerely for the peace of your body and mind.

Apply for a prayer