During the ROC period in mainland China, a turbulent situation beset with difficulties both at home and abroad, Taixu’s (1890-1947) “Buddhism for Human Life” initiated a new way for Buddhism to interact with the society at that time, also a chance for Buddhism to clarify itself, rectify and revive. The method focuses on Bodhisattva oriented to the world and to make the world a pure land. Therefore a neglected branch in Chinese Buddhism—the Method of Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha), which places an importance on salvage within this lifetime and healing both the body and mind, was promoted by Taixu and the others. Besides, since Bhaisajyaguru’s pure land “Vaiduryanirbhasa” is on the east side, it portrays the vision of an eastern pure land in this world as China an orient country. In that time of wars, when the nation and people were in danger and disorder, the power of healing was a fundamental need. For that reason people like Tai Chi-tao (1891－1949) started the assembly of Bhaisajyaguru for its elements like life-support ritual procedure and dharani training to avoid calamities and protect the nation and people. Tai Chi-tao also wrote a 2-level modern version Twelve Vows of Bhaisajyaguru to vow and put prosperity and well-being into practice. These were the new interpretation and promotion on both theory and daily practice of the Method of Bhaisajyaguru under the influence of that era. To the history of the Method of Bhaisajyaguru, the development above was a chronicle progress, an eager response based on Humanistic Buddhism toward the need of time. Accordingly, the article is to probe into how Taixu and the others formed the new interpretation to reason the analogy between Vaiduryanirbhasa and a pure land in this world, also the Method of Bhaisajyaguru to be the practice method of Humanistic Buddhism; and how the Method of Bhaisajyaguru developed under the new promotion “Pray and practice with the Bhaisajyaguru” and “Save the nation, aid people and benefit the world”.
