Mantras and Prayers for Bipolar Disorder

Mantras and Prayers for Bipolar Disorder

Date of Advice:
August 2014
Date Posted:
July 2016

A student wrote about her elderly mother, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had tried to commit suicide four times in the previous two months. Rinpoche gave the student this advice, and also did specific prayers for her mother.

My very dear one,
You should pray very, very strongly to the Medicine Buddha, and recite each of the Seven Medicine Buddhas' names seven times. At the end recite the Medicine Buddha’s mantra then send nectar to her, to yourself and to all sentient beings. Especially send it to her, so it purifies all her defilements and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths, and especially her depression.

After reciting the mantra, visualize at the end that she becomes Medicine Buddha, who absorbs into her. Of course if you have received Medicine Buddha initiation, then visualize that you become Medicine Buddha. Also all sentient beings—especially your mum—become Medicine Buddha, free from all the sufferings and obscurations.

Pray very strongly to the Medicine Buddha for your mother to recover from this illness immediately. Not just to recover and that’s it, but for her life to become meaningful, to meet the Buddhadharma, especially Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings and follow them. To never ever be reborn in the lower realms and in this life to actualize guru devotion, the three principal aspects of the path, the two stages and then to be able to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. Make this prayer very strongly.

Also recite Vajra Armor for your mother, in particular to pacify all the sufferings and obscurations. You cannot arise as the deity as you don’t have the initiation, but you can visualize the deity in front of you instead.

Do you have the names of the Seven Medicine Buddhas? If not you can find them in English in the Medicine Buddha sadhana. You can also get the names in Tibetan from the middle-length Medicine Buddha puja.

Also, I will pray for her. 

With much love and prayers...

[You can find links to these practices in the FPMT Foundation Store.]