Tayata Om Bekandze Bekandze Maha Bekandze Radza Samudgate Soha is the mantra of Medicine Buddha, the azure blue healing deity of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Chanted with sincere intention, this mantra is said to purify negative karma, remove obstacles to healing, and invoke the blessings of all the healing buddhas for the benefit of oneself and others.
Meaning and Pronunciation
Tayata means "it is like this" and serves as an opening stabiliser. Om is the primordial sound. Bekandze means "eliminating pain" and appears three times in ascending intensity: ordinary suffering, the deeper suffering of the cycle of existence, and the ultimate suffering of ignorance itself. Maha means great. Radza means king. Samudgate means the one who has risen above or transcended. Soha seals the prayer. Pronounced Tah-yah-tah Om Beh-kahn-dzeh Beh-kahn-dzeh Mah-hah Beh-kahn-dzeh Rah-dzah Sam-ood-gah-tay So-hah, the mantra flows best when chanted slowly and reverently.
How to Use It in Your Practice
This mantra is most powerfully used in the context of healing intention. Begin by visualising Medicine Buddha in his pure azure blue form, seated in meditation, holding a lapis lazuli bowl filled with healing nectar. As you chant, visualise that nectar flowing from his bowl into your own body or the body of someone you are holding in healing intention.
Even without the visualisation, simply chanting this mantra during illness, recovery, or at the bedside of someone who is unwell creates an atmosphere of healing intention that many people find genuinely comforting and strengthening. The mantra is used widely across Tibetan communities not just as a spiritual practice but as a form of practical care.
