Medicine Buddha Healing Stories

Author’s Experience: Medicine Buddha Mantra

Watch video: A Story of Healing with the Medicine Buddha

“I got up an autumn morning in September with a desperate feeling. I had been taking my 15-year-old son to a doctor regularly for about three weeks to have an infected wound cleaned and packed with antibiotics. We had just discovered that he had a series of large cysts just below his spine.

The cysts were interconnected and had broken through to the surface. It was a mess. The surgeon wanted to clear up the infection before doing surgery to remove the cysts. Unfortunately, things were going from bad to worse.”

Finding the Medicine Buddha Mantra

“I had been chanting daily as a spiritual practice for almost four years, usually early in the morning. At the time I was doing a 30-minute session of livestream mantras each weekday online, usually joined by several others virtually. It was about 4am when I woke up that day. With the ominous feeling hanging over me, I immediately started searching on my phone for a mantra for healing.

Fortunately, I found the Medicine Buddha Mantra. After listening to several versions, I wrote a quick melody of my own. At the end of my livestream session that morning, I explained the situation with my son briefly and led the Medicine Buddha Mantra for the first time.

As the day went on, my feeling of dread grew. By lunchtime I was so stressed out that I was feeling physically ill. I went to bed. Then I had the idea that I should record the Medicine Buddha Mantra. I dragged myself out of bed, went downstairs to my basement and recorded the chant on a single take, then rushed off to pick up my son from school to take him to his medical appointment.”

Unexpected Surgery for My Son

“Arriving at the doctor’s office, we were informed to our great surprise that he was going in for surgery immediately. The infection was too significant to continue to treat with antibiotics. We were told to report upstairs to the operating room. The plan was for two surgeries. First the infection would be cleaned out. Then in a couple of months a second surgery would be performed to remove the cysts.

My son was prepped for the operation. I called family and friends to let them know what was going on. By the time the surgery was in progress, we were well into the evening and the hospital was deserted. This was September 2020 at the height of COVID concern. I was only allowed to remain on the premises because my son was a minor.”

Medicine Buddha Mantra in the Waiting Room

“No one else was in the waiting room. However, there was a beautiful grand piano. The piano was covered with a tarp and marked with a sign instructing musicians to call the central desk for permission to play. I called. The operator gave me permission immediately. By this time it was dark outside. The expected 45 minutes of surgery was passing rapidly. I sat down and played and sang the Medicine Buddha Mantra.

After about an hour, a nurse called to let me know that the surgery was going longer than expected. Finally the surgeon finally called to let me know he was finished. The problem had been more extensive than he had realized. He had to be very aggressive. Now. The only good news was that there would not be a second surgery. 

The surgeon had removed a significant amount of soft tissue and skin, all the way to the bone and the fibrous connective tissue surrounding the spine. There was no way to suture the large surgical wound. My son would be on a wound machine for weeks or months to come to drain the site and prevent infection.”

Through the Night with the Medicine Buddha

“I was in shock. Just weeks ago, I had no idea that anything was wrong. The surgeon said he estimated that my son had been battling the infection and cysts at some level for one to two years. My son had not complained or even told anyone about the situation until the pain became constant. We discovered later that he had actually stopped growing during that period. He had been large for his age, so we had not noticed or been concerned.

I slept in a chair next to my son’s hospital bed that night. Every time I woke up, I could hear that somewhere in my consciousness the Medicine Buddha Mantra was playing. In the months that ensued, the Medicine Buddha Mantra became an anthem of hope and healing. Some of those who had been coming to my online events began to use this recording to chant and pray for my son.

A friend loaned me a hand-painted tanka of the Medicine Buddha in those early months after the surgery. This is the image used in the Medicine Buddha Mantra video. Another friend lent me a beautiful blue statue of the Medicine Buddha to put in my music room as a focus for my own chanting and prayers.”

Recovery with the Medicine Buddha

“My son was released from the hospital with a portable version of the wound vac machine. He was constantly connected to the machine for thirty-three days. For the next four months, we went to the Wound Clinic three days a week for his bandages to be changed and the wound to be cleaned. Eventually I learned to do this twice a day myself. My son was finally able to return to school in late January.

The Medicine Buddha Mantra was a life raft for me during this difficult medical situation. The mantra has remained as a central part of my chanting repertoire. I find the Medicine Buddha Mantra appropriate for so many situations and for the world at large during challenging times.

I am so grateful for the Medicine Buddha Mantra and for all of those who chanted and prayed so faithfully on behalf of my son. Please feel free to use this as a musical meditation for any situation or loved one in your life in need of healing.”

NOTE: I would love to hear your story! Contact me any time to share your own experiences with the Medicine Buddha mantra.