Bhaiṣajyaguru, Menla, Yaoshi, Yakushi: the names by country
The same Buddha has a different name in each language. A short glossary to find your way and search better.
The Medicine Buddha travelled from India to Tibet, China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. At each step his name was translated, and knowing these names helps when looking for books, music or objects.
Glossary
- Sanskrit: Bhaiṣajyaguru (“master of remedies”), long form Bhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja, “king of lapis lazuli light”.
- Tibetan: Sangye Menla (སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), “Buddha master of remedies”.
- Chinese: Yaoshi Fo (药师佛; 藥師佛 in traditional characters), or Yaoshi Liuliguang Rulai.
- Japanese: Yakushi Nyorai (薬師如来), familiarly “O-Yakushi-san”.
- Korean: Yaksa Yeorae (약사여래) or Yaksabul.
- Vietnamese: Phật Dược Sư, or Dược Sư Lưu Ly Quang Như Lai.
- Mongolian: Otoch Manla (Оточ Манла).
- French: Bouddha de la médecine; German: Medizinbuddha.
Why it matters
The same book may be listed under “Yakushi” in Japan and under “Menla” in a Tibetan bookshop. The search box in the catalogue accepts all these names: try “薬師”, “Menla” or “lapis”.
Read the articleLapis lazuli, the colour of the Medicine Buddha