The full name of Medicine Buddha is translated from the Medicine Buddha Sutra and the Sutra on Consecration and Removal of Sins and Attaining Liberation from Birth and Death, as Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Radiance or Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata. Some scriptures directly translate the Sanskrit name as Medicine King Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Radiance (or Tathagata), but this is often abbreviated in translations and titles. The characters “琉“ and “瑠“, as well as “璃“ and “瓈“, are all used. In Chinese regions, he is commonly referred to as the Great Medicine King Tathagata of Dispelling Disasters and Prolonging Life. The scriptures describe Medicine Buddha as having a completely transparent body, blue in color like lapis lazuli, pure and untainted, emitting light that dispels the darkness of the three realms, and pervades the vast world. Therefore, he is named after the merit of “Lapis Lazuli Radiance.“ The pure Lapis Lazuli World that he achieves and governs is also filled with the pure radiance of lapis lazuli. One meaning of the “medicine“ in Medicine Buddha is to heal people's minds and free them from samsara. Medicine Buddha made twelve great vows, wishing to relieve all beings from the physical and mental suffering caused by ignorance.

《药师琉璃光如来本愿功德经》及《佛说灌顶拔除过罪生死得度经》翻译全名作药师琉璃光佛或药师琉璃光如来，有些经典称梵文直译为药师琉璃光王佛（或如来）但译经与称名多省略； “琉“与“瑠“ 、“璃“ 与“瓈“等字皆有用例。汉地常称之药师消灾延寿大医药王如来。经中记载，药师佛全身透彻、身蓝色如琉璃，清净无染发出光芒照度三有之黑暗、遍及大千世界，故以“琉璃光“为功德名号；其成就和主管的净琉璃世界亦处处是琉璃净光。药师佛的“药“其中之一意思是医人心、离轮回。药师佛曾发十二大愿，愿为众生解除因内心无明所引起的肉身痛苦与精神痛苦。

Lapis Lazuli, also transliterated as 瑠璃, is a kind of jade with a glassy surface when fired. Lapis Lazuli is the abbreviated form of the Sanskrit term “Vaiḍūrya,“ which is a naturally occurring blue gemstone in India that can emit pure light. It is considered one of the seven treasures in Buddhism. Because Medicine Buddha's merits are perfect, and he has achieved Buddhahood, his body is transparent and clean like lapis lazuli, and so is his Buddha realm, hence it is called the Pure Lapis Lazuli World. The Medicine Buddha Sutra states:

“In the east, beyond ten Ganges River worlds, there is a world called Pure Lapis Lazuli, where the Buddha is named Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata, the One Worthy of Offerings, Perfect in Enlightenment, Perfect in Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Supreme Being, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One.“

The pure Lapis Lazuli light of Medicine Buddha radiates brightly, achieving both worldly and transcendental illumination. Shakyamuni Buddha encourages faithful beings to aspire to be reborn in Medicine Buddha's Pure Lapis Lazuli Land. The sutra states:

“Faithful men and women should aspire to be born in the Buddha's world.“

净琉璃。 琉璃亦翻作瑠璃，为一种具有玻璃质表面的烧制玉石。琉璃是梵语薜琉璃之略称，它是印度的一种天然的青色宝石，可放出净光，为佛家七宝之一。因药师佛功德圆满，成就佛道，故通身透明、亮洁，如同琉璃一般干净无染，祂的佛国亦是如此，故称净琉璃世界。《药师琉璃光如来本愿功德经》中说：“东方去此，过十恒河沙等佛土，有世界名净琉璃，佛号药师琉璃光如来、应正等觉、明行圆满、善逝、世间解、无上士、调御丈夫、天人师、佛、世尊。“药师琉璃光如来的清净琉璃光明炽燃，成就世间光明与出世间光明。释迦牟尼佛鼓励有信心的众生往生到药师佛的净琉璃净土去，经文载“诸有信心善男子、善女人，应当愿生彼佛世界“。

The sutra records Shakyamuni Buddha telling Bodhisattva Manjushri:

“ If there are any beings who earnestly recite this sutra, they will be free from illness and have a long life; after death, they will be reborn in that world and achieve irreversible progress until attaining Bodhi. Therefore, Manjushri, if there are men or women who sincerely respect and worship Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata and always recite this mantra, they will never forget it.“

In the Sutra on the Original Vows of Medicine Tathagata translated by Dharmagupta during the Sui Dynasty and the Medicine Buddha Sutra translated by Master Xuanzang, it is also mentioned:

“If there are monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen, or other faithful men and women, who can uphold the Eight Precepts for one year or three months, and wish to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, they will, due to hearing the name of Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata, at the time of death, be approached by eight Bodhisattvas who will come from the sky and show them the way, and they will naturally be born in that realm in various forms of lotus flowers.“

经文载释迦牟尼佛告曼殊室利菩萨言：“若有所求，志心念诵，皆得如是无病延年；命终之后，生彼世界，得不退转，乃至菩提。是故曼殊室利！若有男子、女人，于彼药师琉璃光如来，至心殷重，恭敬供养者，常持此咒，勿令废忘。“隋天竺三藏达摩笈多译《佛说药师如来本愿经》及玄奘大师所译的《药师琉璃光如来本愿功德经》中，亦说明：“若有四众：苾刍、苾刍尼、邬波索迦、邬波斯迦，及余净信善男子、善女人等，有能受持八分斋戒，或经一年、或复三月受持学处“若欲往生西方极乐世界阿弥陀如来所者，由得闻彼世尊药师琉璃光如来名号故，于命终时，有八菩萨乘空而来，示其道径，即于彼界，种种异色波头摩华中自然化生“

In Chinese Buddhism, the common depiction of Medicine Buddha features a snail-shaped topknot, with his left hand holding a medicine jar and his right hand in the gesture of granting fearlessness (or in the gesture of granting wishes). During the Tang Dynasty, the prevalent iconography of Medicine Buddha showed him holding a monk's staff in one hand and a medicine bowl in the other.

According to the ritual practices for reciting and offering to the Seven Medicine Buddhas described in the Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Radiance King Seven Buddhas Original Vows and Merits Sutra, the iconography of Medicine Buddha is described as having his left hand holding a medicine container (or a priceless jewel), his right hand making the Three Realms Mudra, wearing a monastic robe, and seated in a lotus position on a lotus pedestal, with twelve divine generals beneath.

In Chinese Buddhist temples and folk temples, the three Buddha statues typically enshrined together are usually seated. Medicine Buddha is depicted holding a bowl, a stupa, an immortality elixir bottle, or a willow branch, all symbolizing the dispelling of disasters and prolonging life. Shakyamuni Buddha is shown with his hands in the meditation mudra or holding a wish-fulfilling jewel, while Amitabha Buddha is shown holding a lotus flower. However, there are also depictions of Medicine Buddha holding a wish-fulfilling jewel. For example, in the main hall of Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the Medicine Buddha in the trio of Buddhas has his right hand in the meditation mudra holding a wish-fulfilling jewel and his left hand in the gesture of granting wishes, symbolizing the fulfillment of all wishes.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Medicine Buddha is generally depicted as having a blue body, adorned with auspicious signs, holding a bowl filled with nectar in his left hand and a myrobalan fruit (a medicinal fruit) in his right hand.

汉传佛教一般流传的形像为螺发形，左手持药壶，右手结施无畏印（或与愿印）。唐朝时期所盛行的药师如来造像为一手执锡杖，一手拿药钵。

据药师琉璃光王七佛本愿功德念诵仪轨供养法载，药师佛之形像是左手执持药器（或无价珠），右手结三界印，著袈裟，结跏趺坐于莲花台，台下有十二神将。

汉传佛教寺院、民间庙宇所供三宝佛中，通常三尊佛俱为坐姿，药师佛手持钵、卒塔婆、不死甘露瓶或杨柳枝等；都是消灾延寿的意思。释迦牟尼佛结禅定印或捧摩尼宝珠，阿弥陀佛手捧莲花。但是也有药师佛拿持摩尼宝珠的法相，如：佛光山寺大雄宝殿三宝佛中的药师佛就是右手正定印，持摩尼宝珠，左手与愿印，象征“所求愿满“之意。

藏传佛教一般流传的形象为药师佛全身蓝色相好庄严，左手持钵盛满甘露，右手持诃梨勒果（诃子药）。

According to the Sutra on the Consecration for Removing Sins and Attaining Liberation from Life and Death translated by Master Pusaramitra, Medicine Buddha made twelve great vows during his bodhisattva practice:

First Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, have a body of light that illuminates the ten directions. My body will be adorned with the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs of a great being, allowing all beings to be just like me.

第一上愿：使我来世得作佛时，自身光明普照十方世界，三十二相、八十种好而自庄严，令一切众生如我无异。

Second Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, have a body like pure, translucent lapis lazuli, free from blemish and impurities. My body will be vast, radiant, and majestic, residing in the ten directions like the sun, enlightening all beings in darkness.

第二上愿：使我来世得作佛时，自身犹如琉璃，内外明彻，净无瑕秽，妙色广大，功德巍巍，安住十方，如日照世，幽冥众生，悉蒙开晓。

Third Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, possess infinite wisdom as vast as the ocean, nourishing and benefiting countless beings, ensuring they are free from hunger and thirst, and providing them with delightful food and drink.

第三上愿：使我来世得作佛时，智慧广大如海无穷，润泽枯涸无量众生，普使蒙益，悉令饱满无饥渴想，甘食美膳悉持施与。

Fourth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, achieve the supreme path, radiating brilliance like the moon among stars, dispelling the clouds of birth and death. I will illuminate the world, enabling practitioners to find the path, purify their defilements, and abandon the paths of the voice-hearers and solitary realizers.

第四上愿：使我来世得作佛时，佛道成就，巍巍堂堂如星中之月，消除生死之云令无有翳，明照世界，行者见道热得清凉，解除垢秽，弃舍声闻缘觉乘。

Fifth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, inspire beings to practice great diligence, uphold pure precepts without defilement, and protect their vows without violation, ensuring all precept practices are complete and lead to the path of non-doing.

第五上愿：使我来世得作佛时，发大精进，净持戒地令无浊秽，慎护所受令无缺犯，亦令一切戒行具足，坚持不犯至无为道。

Sixth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, restore the faculties of beings who are disabled, enabling the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, the crippled to extend their limbs, and the lame to walk, ensuring all those with physical deficiencies become whole.

第六上愿：使我来世得作佛时，若有众生诸根毁败，盲者使视，聋者能听，哑者得语，軁者能申，跛者能行，如是不完具者，悉令具足。

Seventh Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, provide great medicinal teachings to those in the ten directions who are suffering and without refuge, curing their diseases and eliminating their suffering, guiding them to Buddhahood.

第七上愿：使我来世得作佛时，十方世界，若有苦恼无救护者，我为此等摄大法药，令诸疾病皆得除愈，无复苦患至得佛道。

Eighth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, explain the wondrous Dharma to countless beings who are ignorant and deluded, enabling them to attain liberation and enter the gate of wisdom, dispelling all doubts.

第八上愿：使我来世得作佛时，以善业因缘，为诸愚冥无量众生讲宣妙法，令得度脱入智慧门，普使明了无诸疑惑。

Ninth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, subdue evil spirits and external paths, revealing the pure and supreme Dharma, guiding beings to the right path without deviation, and directing them toward the Bodhi path of the eightfold noble path.

第九上愿：使我来世得作佛时，摧伏恶魔及诸外道，显扬清净无上道法，使入正真无诸邪僻，回向菩提八正觉路。

Tenth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, liberate beings who are oppressed by kings' laws, facing execution, and suffering from immeasurable fear and anguish, as well as those who are beaten, chained, and tortured, freeing them from all such suffering and fear.

第十上愿：使我来世得作佛时，若有众生王法所加临当刑戮，无量怖畏愁忧苦恼，若复鞭挞枷锁其体，种种恐惧逼切其身，如是无量诸苦恼等悉令解脱，无有众难。

Eleventh Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, relieve beings tormented by hunger and fire, providing them with various delicious foods and heavenly delicacies, ensuring they are fully nourished and satisfied.

第十一上愿：使我来世得作佛时，若有众生饥火所恼，令得种种甘美饮食、天诸肴膳，种种无数悉以赐与，令身充足。

Twelfth Great Vow: May I, upon attaining Buddhahood, provide clothing to those who are cold and exposed, offer treasures to the poor, fill their warehouses, and ensure they lack nothing, allowing all beings to experience boundless joy and have harmonious appearances, pleasant to behold, accompanied by the sounds of musical instruments and heavenly voices, bestowing these to countless beings.

第十二上愿：使我来世得作佛时，若有贫冻裸露众生即得衣服，穷乏之者施以珍宝，仓库盈溢无所乏少，一切皆受无量快乐，乃至无有一人受苦。使诸众生和颜悦色、形貌端严诶、人所憙见，琴瑟鼓吹如是无量最上音声，施与一切无量众生。

根据帛尸梨蜜多罗大师所译的《佛说灌顶拔除过罪生死得度经》记载，药师佛在因地修行菩萨道时，曾发十二上愿：