Practice in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Thubten Kunga Center, Deerfield Beach, Florida, US, February 2018. Photo by Martha Lucia Gonzalez.

On the afternoon of February 14, a mass shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, US. Fourteen students and three teachers were killed. A further fourteen people were wounded.

In the days after the shooting, Thubten Kunga Center, an FPMT center located near the tragedy, held a Medicine Buddha puja and read the “King of Prayers,” which is often recited to benefit those who have recently died.

Practitioners at the center lit a total of eighteen candles: one for each of the victims and one for the young man that carried out the shooting.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche always advises to make strong prayers to Medicine Buddha for anyone who is dying, sick, injured, or who has already died from violence such as that which occurred in Florida or elsewhere.

The short mantra of Medicine Buddha is:

TADYATHĀ / OṂ BHAIṢHAJYE BHAIṢHAJYE / MAHĀBHAIṢHAJYE [BHAIṢHAJYE] /
RĀJA SAMUDGATE SVĀHĀ

Find the long and short Medicine Buddha mantras with their common pronunciations on FPMT.org.

Read The Benefits of Medicine Buddha Mantra and Practice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

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