IMAGE 4: Detail, ‘Top Three Registers: Medicine Buddhas & Early Rishis’, from ‘Blue Beryl Medical Compositions (charts) commissioned by the 3rd Desi Sanggye Gyatso (1653-1705)’. Date Range: 1700 – 1799. Collection: Private. Description: ‘The overall image above is created by layering fifteen strips of register found at the top of the first fifteen Blue Beryl compositions. …. The first topic, Medicine Buddha and the Medicine Buddha Sutras, are a religious teaching and group of several texts. Initially it is using the idea of a Medicine Buddha and healing as a metaphor for suffering as sickness and healing with correct methods as the Dharma teachings of Buddhism. It was only in Tibet in the 11th and 12th century that Medicine Buddha and the Medicine Buddha Sutras began to be directly linked to medicine and the new concept of Tibetan Medicine. The linking of Medicine Buddha and Tibetan Medicine can be found in the Four Medical Tantras and in the later Yutog Nyingtig. Both of these texts are classifies as ‘terma’ Revealed Treasure teachings of the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. … The top register begins with the 5th Dalai Lama followed by the Eight Medicine Buddhas, and the five activity emanations of the Medicine Buddha. Those are followed by four Indian deities which include Indra and Prithi Devi, twelve Indian rishis and six further Indian gods including Brahma, Mahadeva, Vishnu, Kumara, Ganesha and Ramana. The gods and rishis are also repeated in the depiction of the Medicine Buddh[a] Realm. They surround the central figure and each has a name inscription.’ Downloaded from Himalayan Art Resources, Item No. 35810. © 2020 Himalayan Art Resources Inc. Images Provided Courtesy of Private Collections.