In the Forest of the Medicine Buddha’s Mandala

This painting depicts a specific event: the Medicine Buddha, seated in the center of his mandala palace, explaining the science of healing to four groups of disciples—gods, saints, Buddhists, and non-Buddhists. Yet the painting can also be viewed as a metaphor for the inclusive, holistic nature of Tibetan medical knowledge and practice—representing the entire physical world, where everything can be used for healing, as the story of the medical student Jivaka tells. His master asked him to find a substance or a plant that could not be used as medicine. After a long search, Jivaka returned empty-handed, but his teacher congratulated him and said his training was complete—now he knew that there is no substance on earth without healing properties.

Explore the interactive below to learn about the different figures and ingredients depicted in this painting. At the end of the interactive there are additional video resources to watch about this painting and Tibetan medicine.