"Bodhicitta"
From
a talk by Venerable Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal
Rinpoche
"In both the Sutra tradition and the Tantra tradition of the
Mahayana, there are many teachings on the Bodhichitta mind. It is called the only
teaching of Buddha. One may ask, 'What exactly is Bodhichitta?' It is compassion
for all sentient beings, or using all sentient beings as a base. The cause of
Bodhichitta is compassion and the desire for the enlightenment of all sentient
beings. Through the raising of the four immeasurables we attain: a desire for
the happiness of all sentient beings, that all sentient beings be away from suffering,
that all sentient beings remain in happiness and in the cause of happiness, and
that all sentient beings always reside in the great equanimity. This is what is
known as the nature of the substance of Bodhichitta. In order to follow the practice
of Bodhichitta, to raise Bodhichitta, there are two different aspects: one is
called the aspiration and the other is called the actual practice of entering.
The path of aspiring Bodhichitta is to pray or think whatever you do is for the
sake of all sentient beings. Whatever you do, you will be able to help all sentient
beings reach Buddhahood. On the basis of the practice of entering, one actually
aspires to enter the path of Bodhichitta, which is to practice the six paramitas
of giving, morality, patience, vigor, samadhi, and meditation on egolessness,
or wisdom. This is known as entering the path of Bodhichitta."
"The
most important point of all the Buddha's teachings through your passion. You raise
that thought and carry it into the practice of the path of Dharma. In the precious
mind of Bodhichitta, there is a quote by Patrul Rinpoche which says that to have
the Bodhichitta mind is the highest, supreme possession; if one does not possess
the Bodhichitta-mind, it is impossible to reach Buddhahood. Consequently, at the
end of the quotation it says: 'I take refuge,' or 'I prostrate to the Bodhichitta.'
There are many different ways to talk about Bodhichitta as there are different
kinds of Bodhichitta, such as the relative and the absolute. These two are the
most important for you to meditate upon. Whatever you do, you should do with a
Bodhichitta-mind. Sometimes it is good to just do the Bodhichitta meditation seperately."
"You should always think that whatever you do is for the benefit of other
beings. If you continue practicing such compassion, spiritual and personal growth
will be your reward. You can then take the actual Bodhisattva vow with a Lama,
or you can go to a shrine and raise the Bodhichitta-mind. By making this vow that
from today onwards I will raise the Bodhichitt-mind, by this profound thought,
from that day on you become a Bodhisattva, and a place or object of reverence
by gods and people. Through this, one's practice flourishes. Because of this connection,
whatever one does or wants is accomplished. You acquire a peaceful, tranquil mind
and long life. It is said in one of the Buddha's sutras that even if you raise
one thought of Bodhichitta, one thought of enlightenment, if that thought were
transposed into form, so to speak, that form would not be able to fit within all
the world systems."
"Bodhichitta
is a Sanskrit word. The word Bodhi in Tibetan is changchub, meaning that the two
obscurations of emotion and knowledge are completely purified and so the ultimate
aim is realized. The word citta is the Tibetan word sem, or mind. It is the mind
that is raised for enlightenment; it is unchanging, unwavering, and made of great
strength and power. That is the meaning of Bodhichitta. And the person who has
this thought in their mind-consciousness or mind-stream is known as a Bodisattva."
"At the time of taking refuge, then who is it you take refuge in?
You take refuge in the completely perfect Buddha who is omniscient, possessing
all the different qulities of omniscience and compassion. He is completely realized,
the supreme holder; he has reached the end of what has to be known. He is completely
omniscient, has all-pervading compassion and power."
"Who is it
who takes refuge? It is we who take refuge. You take refuge in the Buddha because
the Buddha is the teacher who shows the path of enlighenment. Now you do not have
complete omniscience, nor complete compassion, nor complete power. It is the Buddha
who possess these qualities and for that reason you take refuge in him until you
yourself have reached final enlightenment. The reason for taking refuge is that
one does not possess these supreme qualities of the Buddha, because of the suffering
and the fearfulness of Samsara. By remembering the supreme qualities of the Buddha,
one should take refuge. One takes refuge in order to become enlightened, and since
one is not yet enlightened it is necessary to take refuge in the Buddha; and after
one has reached supreme enlightenment, there is no reason to take refuge."
"The result of taking refuge is that demons and demi-gods are not able to
harm you. The benefit of taking refuge is that one remembers past lifetimes and
gains the blessing of Buddha at all times. You take refuge by visualizing the
object or place of refuge as in the preliminary practices. One goes for refuge
continuously. It can be done similarily to the one in the refuge formula, or a
very concise way of doing it is to visualize in front of yourself a very beautiful
and pure land where Guru Rinpoche dwells with all the Buddhas of the past, present,
and future, and all the Bodhisattvas. Then you take refuge not only with all your
friends, parents, and enemies, but with all sentient beings. You should then recite
the refuge. After taking refuge many times, the visualization is dissolved into
the main visualization. This then dissolves into light and is absorbed into oneself.
For as long as possible, one should remain in the void nature; all knowable things
remain in the void nature. After the refuge, there are many different practices
of Vajrasattva."
"You
should do the meditation continuously on the Buddha Shakyamuni, the holder of
Dharma,in this vast time. Or you should do the visualization of Guru Rinpoche
who is the second Buddha. You can interchange these two concurrently to meditate
on the Buddha Shakyamuni. You take refuge and raise Bodhichitta. From the natural
world of dharma, all things are voidness. Out of this voidness there arises on
a lion throne a lotus and moon disk, the letter "A", and from the letter
"A" in one instant arises the Buddha Shakyamuni. If you look at a thangka
you comprehend the visualization which should be clear and bright in front of
oneself. With your mind, you should think that you prostrate to the Buddha. And
then you offer up all your possessions and eleven of the various enjoyable things
in the world. You confess all the sins and obscurations in this and past lifetimes,
and rejoice in the virtue of all sentient beings. One prays, beseeching the Buddha
to turn the wheel of Dharma. As you follow, think that the Buddha should remain
as he is in front of you now; you beseech him to remain and not pass into Nirvana.
Then you offer up; you share all the merit gained from doing this. This prayer
of the Seven Branch Offering is very important. This is the prayer to the Buddha
of beseeching refuge and the mantra of the Buddha Shakyamuni. You should say it
as many times as possible. Then light emanates from the Buddha, which strikes
or is absorbed into oneself and all sentient beings, purifying them. After the
light radiates out from Buddha, objects are without any inherent existence and
their nature is voidness. One should remain meditating in that state. Then after
that you should recite the sloka (skt) that comes in the printed book, the sadhana
of the Buddha Shakyamuni. The meaning of the sloka is that you say to the Buddha,
"May myself and all sentient beings realize or actually obtain the same qualities
and omniscient knowledge, compassion, and power as you have. May myself and all
sentient beings actually obtain this."
"Now
I will also give a very short version of a sadhana of Guru Rinpoche. Going for
refuge and raising the Bodhichitta is the same as in the Shakyamuni sadhana. You
must understand the three samadhis. The first one is the Suchness Samadhi: that
all dharma, all things from the very beginning have been pure; they have no inherent
reality; their nature is voidness. Through grasping onto self and outside dharma
where there are none, sentient beings wander through suffering. So through this
raising of compassion, the All Phenomena Samadhi, known as the second samadhi,
is realized. It is the samadhi of compassion because it covers all phenomena.
The third part is that out of this voidness, there then arises the completely
pure, beautiful Buddha-field of either Dewachen, the Pure Land of Great Bliss,
or the Pure Land of the Copper-Colored Mountain. In one instant, from the voidness
of the Pure Land, there arises a palace; the place where one practices is the
Pure Land of Great Bliss. Then one must visualize that in one instant one becomes
Guru Rinpoche. From the letter HRI, which is our awareness, in one instant, like
a fish jumping out of water, one becomes Guru Rinpoche. He is seated on a lotus,
sun and moon, in the kingly position, wearing different robes. In his right hand
he holds a golden five-pointed dorje at his heart and in his left he holds a skull
cup and vase. On his shoulder is his Khatanga which is his consort, or the symbol
of his consort. You can use a thangka to see exactly what he looks like. He is
extremely light, made of rainbow light; he is extremely brilliant and bright.
As Guru Rinpoche, one must not have the slightest doubt, but remain in complete
certainty and pride that one is Guru Rinpoche. One must not for one second think
that one has one's ordinary body. Do not think even for one second of one's ordinary
body, but one must raise great pride in that of Guru Rinpoche's translucent form.
You should think that you are the body, speech, and mind of Guru Rinpoche. In
your heart center on the moon disk base, you can visualize either the syllable
HRI or the syllable HUNG. When you visualize the syllable, it should be very fine
and its nature is very bright and clear light. Around that is the mantra of Guru
Rinpoche, the Vajra Guru Mantra. Lights radiate from the mantra, from the heart
center out, making offerings to all the Buddhas in all the different Buddhafields,
and return, bringing the blessings of all the Buddhas in all the different realms.
And again the lights radiate down and out towards all sentient beings, purifying
them. Then the lights return back into oneself. One should visualize this when
one's mind is very clear and steady. One does not have to do this visualization
at all times, but it is good to do it when one's mind is very steady. Then one
must raise great pride and without any doubt, one should think that one's body
is that of Guru Rinpoche. From the very beginning, one's mind is the self supreme
awareness/voidness. One should have the understanding without any doubt that one
is the body, speech, and mind of Guru Rinpoche."
"And
so remain in the meditation without the slightest wavering, without the slightest
ordinary thoughts and in that way recite the mantra. The twelve-syllable mantra
of Guru Rinpoche, OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG is very important; it
is the secret speech of Guru Rinpoche. It is the heart of the mind of Guru Rinpoche.
It is called the heart mantra of Guru Rinpoche because it is the heart or life
mantra of Guru Rinpoche. This is a very special mantra, very important. It is
Sanskrit, and although we could make up also a Sanskrit mantra or words, they
would not have the power, the blessings, would not have any benefit. It is a very
powerful mantra. This sound is Guru Rinpoche. It is like the form one sees from
the eyes: and in the realm of sound, this is Guru Rinpoche. Even if one says the
mantra once, it is of inconceivable benefit. This mantra is like the wish-fulfilling
gem (norbu); it is the place where the obscurations will be purified; it is a
place of gaining great accumulation of merit; and it is a way for realization
to arise in the mind. Then one will gain long life and one's wishes will be fulfilled.
And so one should not regard it lightly. One should think that by understanding
the qualities of the mantra, then one will raise great certainty in these qualities
and thereby gain great benefit. If one takes it lightly, one will not gain the
blessings. By remembering this, one will have great devotion. In raising great
devotion, one will attain great benefit from reciting the mantra. If one thinks
why do you get such great benefit out of doing the Vajra Guru Mantra and why you
would not get very much benefit if you made up a Vajra Guru Mantra, it is good
to question. If we look at the difference between Guru Rinpoche and ourselves,
we will see that we are just ordinary, obscured human beings, and that Guru Rinpoche
is the wisdom of the Buddha; he is completely purified, omniscient. We will then
see very obviously that these two different things exist. We're not even able
to think of the abilities or the power of the Buddha. The mantra is the words
that contain the blessing of all these qualities or powers of the Buddha. So by
saying it, it is a way of arousing the blessings of the Buddha. It is not like
other mantras, it is very special, incredibly powerful, many blessings. If one
gave a commentary on each of the twelve syllables of the Vajra Guru Mantra, all
the teachings of the Buddha would be contained in it."
"Now I will
give you a very brief, concise meaning of the syllables. This first seed syllable
is OM and the meaning of that is the essence or blessing of the Vajra Body. The
seed syllable AH is a symbol of the Vajra speech of all the Buddhas. Third is
the HUNG which is the symbol of the Mind of the Buddha which is wisdom; the blessing,
the wisdom of all the Buddhas. The word Vajra or Dorje is the Dorje which is the
symbol that all things from the very beginning are pure. It also is a symbol of
the Dharmakaya of the Buddha, and its blessings; the Vajra also has the seven
different qualities of a diamond unchanging, indestructible, a symbol of the void
nature of all things. The word "Guru" in Tibetan "Lama," means
something that has great weight, the substitute of the Buddha; it is the person
who shows the teachings of the Buddha. It is the vast and unencompassable Sambhogakaya
Body of the Buddha. The meaning of Guru is that it contains the inconceivably
vast Samghogakaya. The word Pema is from the family of flowers that grow out of
the water. It is a very special flower. It is a symbol of the Nirmanakaya of the
Buddha. The lotus arises in purity out of impurity of Samsara the same way that
the Nirmanakaya form of the Buddha arises out of the ignorance and defilements,
desire and anger, from the different emotional obscurations of sentient beings
in the world. The same way the Nirmanakaya body arises, so the lotus is like a
symbol, for it is pure itself and arises out of impurity. The word SIDDHI, in
Tibetan gumdrop, means actually accomplished, it means to obtain the fruit. What
is the fruit that one obtains through doing this mantra? The person who does this
mantra will have long life and they will be able to accomplish what they wish.
This is the temporary or ordinary accomplishment or result that will happen. The
cho gyi gumdrop, or the supreme accomplishment or fruit or siddhi, is that one
obtains the five wisdoms and the four kayas. Contained in the word SIDDHI are
the two accomplishments, the ordinary and the supreme. The last syllable HUNG
has many different meanings; it is the symbol of the wisdom of the Buddha sangye
gyi yeshe; it is also like a weapon with which one can destroy one's enemies.
In this case, it is an expression of beseeching; you are beseeching Guru Rinpoche
that you can accomplish the blessing and accomplish the meaning. If you ask what
accomplishment you are asking for . . . You are asking for the accomplishment
of the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha. One is beseeching for the accomplishment
of the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya of the Buddha, the Vajra body,
speech and mind of the Buddha. You are asking that would you please, please bestow
the three enjoyment bodies for the benefit of all beings."
"In this mantra is contained the meaning
of all the Dharmas like the Five Wisdoms; all the different teachings are contained
in this mantra; it is enough. It is all-encompassing, powerful, so think very
strongly like this. Now that you understand the character, the reason of the mantra,
you should practice like that. Then at the time of meditation, when one meditates
on Guru Rinpoche, the form body of Guru Rinpoche is the phenomena; the form body
is the voidness and the voidness, form. The speech is the sound of voidness, sound/voidness;
and the mind of Guru Rinpoche is the wisdom awareness/voidness (yeshe rigtong).
If one remains in this meditation, doing the meditation this way, then it is like
the union of the arising yoga and the perfecting yoga. If one does this, one does
not have to do the visualization of Guru Rinpoche dissolving into light; but if
one meditates in this way of the form/voidness, then everything is contained within
that."
"One can visualize Guru Rinpoche on top of one's head in
the manner that Guru Rinpoche contains the essence of all the lineages, the holder
of all the lineages. So one meditates with Guru Rinpoche on one's head. There
are many other ways of meditating and all these are different stages of the practices
of the tantra, classes of the tantra. The best way is if one does the meditation
of the union meditation of the two yogas as we have just discussed. If one meditates
in that way at all times, that is the best. There will be no "Now I am meditating
and then coming out of meditation." It will be both the meditation and post-meditation
practice. Both will be fulfilled in meditating this way. If one cannot do this,
then one has to do the meditation and one has one's ordinary state, but it is
best to practice the arising and perfecting yogas. Because phenomena have no inherent
reality, one should meditate and keep this view when ever possible. Afterwards
one should dedicate the merit, not just by saying a few words, but from the bottom
of your heart, you should believe the merit you dedicate to be of benefit to all
sentient beings. You should not have any doubt, but be completely sure and pray
from the bottom of your heart that all this merit will be shared with all sentient
beings. This is most important."
"If you ask what is the essence
or main point of the Dharma, then it is in order to discipline the mind, to overcome
the different emotional obscurations of ignorance and passions. This is the main
meaning: the essence of the Dharma is to discipline your mind. At all times one
should raise compassion for all sentient beings and devotion to the Dharma; and,
one should keep in mind, have devotion to, faith in the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
At all times keep in mind that all things have no inherent reality. One should
also keep in mind, contemplate, impermanence and the difficulties of obtaining
a human birth. One should also remember virtue and unvirtue and remember the methods
for increasing virtue and remember the antidote to prevent the arising of all
unvirtuous actions and the leaving of unvirtuous actions."
"The
great teacher Patrul Rinpoche said that if you're not able to really practice
the Dharma, don't get angry; and that not getting angry, that in itself, is practicing
the Dharma."
"In brief, if one explains what the Dharma is: at all
times one should have devotion and compassion and pure vision--keep those in mind
at all times. If one practices like that, one will quickly be accomplished in
this lifetime and after death and wherever one goes, it is of great benefit. If
one doesn't practice the Dharma within and just keeps the outward form, so to
speak, then it is not of any benefit. The greatest and most important and highest
benefit comes when one constantly, and from the heart, has devotion, faith, and
pure vision."
New York. 1982.
*********************
Bodhisattva
Commitment
by Yongey Mingyur
Dorje Rinpoche
Kagyu Samye Ling, Scotland, August 2003. Translator: Chödrak
This
afternoon we are going to have instructions on taking the Bodhisattva Vow and
the benefits of taking it. Generally speaking, having desire, anger, pride and
many conflicting emotions in our mind is the cause of all the suffering that we
experience. Suffering is caused by conflicting emotions and also we have a mind
which has great grasping.
If we have great grasping and a mind which is under
the power of conflicting emotions, then our mind becomes smaller and smaller.
Normally what is the thought that occupies our mind? It is the thought that I
am the most important, I should succeed, I should have victory and the other person
should fail. If we have a mind state where we think only about ourselves, and
try to put ourselves at the top or be the best, then generally speaking, whatever
we try to accomplish, we will fail. So then we lose both the benefit which we
could have obtained for ourselves, and also benefit for anyone else. It is like
what was taught yesterday: if you wear a pair of glasses with blue tinted lenses
then everything will be perceived as blue. Or if one wore yellow tinted lenses
everything would be perceived as yellow.
We are going to use an example of
somebody who habitually steals. Wherever he goes, as he passes by people's homes
he looks in wondering how he could break in and steal their belongings. If he
is in town he looks at the shop doorways and windows thinking how he could get
inside and steal things. Imagine that thief is in his own house with his own belongings,
there is jewellery and other precious things that he owns. Somebody comes to his
house and happens to look at some of the things on the table. The thief automatically
thinks, "This person comes to my house and after one second he is looking
to see how to steal my stuff!" If you went into a house where you have never
been before, it's quite natural that you might look around at the windows, doors
and the contents of the house. Someone does this and the thief is thinking, "Oh,
he really is thinking of stealing my stuff and not only that, he is working out
how to escape!" So if one is a confirmed habitual thief, you will perceive
other people as having that kind of mind state and intention. And if you are a
person who has a lot of anger, then you will perceive other people to have anger
and ill intent towards you.
What beneficial method could be used at this point?
At this point we need wisdom. We need to think, "What appears to me to be
somebody else's anger or whatever emotion is arising, is an appearance, just an
illusion. It's not real. One needs to understand the illusory nature of appearances.
So it's like before in the thief's house - the man comes in and just generally
looks around. He is not thinking of stealing things but your perception is such
that you think he intends to steal your belongings. The person who has an habitual
tendency to steal, to be a thief, will perceive other people to have that intention
towards him, and without reason he will shout at this person, abuse them and accuse
them of trying to steal his things.
But if the thief realizes that "Oh,
the person just entered my house, and it's just my own illusion that I think he
is a thief - if he understands that, if he has that wisdom, he won't have any
problem. The first stage of wisdom is to recognize that you have, for example,
anger in your mind. One needs to recognize, "I have anger in my mind and
this is how it manifests, this is how it makes me think and react." It is
the same for jealousy.
With anger, a person always has an object for their
anger. Having that object gives rise to anger in his mind: seeing the object makes
him unhappy. Then jealousy comes, thinking that he and other beings are exactly
the same. But it seems that other people like others better than him. "That's
not very good. We are equal, same type of person and we have the same amount of
belongings. In the future this person may get more wealth than me and that's not
going to be good at all." With that fault in his mind, he starts to think
badly about that person, he has thoughts of harming him. Then come harmful thoughts
and harmful actions. Meaning and benefit are lost. Both people end up accomplishing
nothing.
Now if we look at pride, this is based on wanting someone to be inferior
to you. "This person has no good qualities at all, he is nothing. I'm the
best, I've got so many possessions and so much wealth. I'm really famous. He has
got nothing. I can meditate really well. He doesn't understand anything. The sort
of realization and experience that I've got - nobody has that." That's what
we call pride. If we have pride in our mind we rule out the possibility of having
much opportunity to obtain any more qualities. The fault we have is thinking that
nobody else has any qualities at all.
Desire comes from an object which causes
desire to arise in the mind. We are completely out of control, our mind thinks
solely about obtaining this object. Any other thoughts are totally obstructed.
One has only one idea, to obtain this object.
Ignorance is really not knowing
what is good and what is bad. One's mind becomes smaller and smaller and one can
only think about small things.
That's what we call the classification of the
five emotions, the mind poisons. But all of these various emotions really are,
if you bring them down to one point, thinking that one is superior, and one needs
certain things, and that others are worse than you. So, if a person has these
five emotions in his mind and also the attitude of selfishness and thinking solely
about themselves and maybe putting other people down, then this will result in
not being able to obtain a mind which has any happiness or peace in it. We will
have an example.
If a person has a very strong grasp of the idea that they
are the most important, what kind of emotions would come up in the mind of that
person? The sort of thing that would come up is "that person is intending
to harm me. So then anger will arise and he thinks: "That person wants to
get higher than me, wants to be better than me." Then jealousy will arise.
Thinking that that person has nothing, no qualities whatsoever, and "I've
got everything, I'm very clever" or "I'm very famous", this is
giving rise to pride. Thinking that "I need to get this object and I don't
want anybody else to get it, I'm the only one who can have it", that's giving
rise to desire. So ignorance is that one's mind becomes very small and one doesn't
have a light body or a vast open mind and one has thoughts only about very small
topics.
The arising of these five mind poisons depend really, if you look
at it, on the feeling that I myself, I am the most important, and having a very
great grasping at that idea. The main point is that one thinks only about oneself.
"That person doesn't want to do anything nice to me, he wants to hurt me."
Me, me, me. "That person wants to go higher than me, again me, that person
and me, we are not equal. That thing I need to obtain." If we have this kind
of mind state, which is pervaded by the five emotions, and grasping at the thought
that we are the most important, then one will never be able to say: that's enough
now, I'm satisfied. You would never to be able to say that, because you would
never feel it. So you will have a very small and very touchy mind. You think,
"He is not good, that person is not nice
" For example, if you
look at somebody who is not doing anything, just neutrally sitting there. You
are looking at this person and he just sits. "Hmm, I don't think he likes
me." You look at him out of the corner of your eye. The man, who is just
sitting there, minding his own business, thinks, "That's a bit strange, that
guy is giving me a really strange look. I haven't done anything to him, what's
wrong? Maybe he is a bit crazy; he might be thinking of harming me." Then
he looks back at you and thinks, "Maybe you are not very nice." So then
you think: "He did look at me very strangely. Now he is looking me strangely
again! That's twice now." Then the two of you end up arguing and it will
grow and grow. That's what we call misunderstanding. The reason for the misunderstanding,
arguing and fighting, is that one's mind has become very small, very sensitive.
We'll have another example. If we have an argument, it's normally based on
something very small. For example one person puts his watch down. The other person
says, "Don't put it there, put it here." The first one disagrees. They
change it backwards and forwards, "I'm right, you are wrong." There
is no point to it. Starting with a very small idea, we make it bigger. That's
a sign of having a very sensitive mind. It's also a sign that one has a very strong
sense of feeling that one is important and just thinking about oneself. If we
have this very strong grasping, that we are the most important, we will never
be able to accomplish our wishes. If we have love for another person they will
generate love for us, return love. So, if we give love to another person, that
love is the best. Then we can give rise to the best type of love.
Generally
speaking, all our problems and suffering start with a very small beginning. In
the beginning, at the point when anger arises, we need to recognise it. Then think,
"Oh, I'm beginning to become angry." That's called wisdom or mindfulness.
If one doesn't have any other method, if one just has that method, that's wisdom.
So, one will be able to control one's mind. Normally one will be able to have
this awareness arising, mindfulness.
I'm going to give you a story. This story
is related to love and compassion. This story happened in China. There was a husband
and wife. Traditionally the wife and her mother-in-law don't get along very well,
they are constantly arguing. One day it happened that they had quite an argument
in someone's home. The wife was thinking that her mother-in-law is very cruel
and often says very bad things. She felt very angry towards her. Later she was
even angrier. She thought, "I'm going to kill my mother-in-law. How am I
going to do it?" She went to a doctor and asked for poison. "I need
the poison, because my mother-in-law is always nagging me and shouting and putting
me down. So I shall give her poison and then she will die. I'll be happy."
The doctor agreed and gave her some medicine. He gave advice with it, "Now
you give this medicine to your mother-in-law, but she won't die immediately, she
will die very slowly. So you need to give this medicine a little bit every day
with the food. If she dies immediately, then everybody will know that you gave
her the poison. They will know that I gave the poison to you, and they will take
me to jail. So it's better she doesn't die straight away. "Give the medicine
a little bit every day and after you have given it, you have to be really nice
to her, say nice things to your mother-in-law." She thought, "This is
great." Every day she put little bit of poison in the food and gave it to
her, saying nice things. In her mind she thought - she is going to die soon. A
few days later she looked at her mother-in-law and thought, "She doesn't
seem so bad after all." After a month she thought, "She actually is
a decent person, a very good person. Oh dear, I have been giving her poison for
a month!" What to do? Although she had given poison to her mother-in-law,
now she liked her. Also the mother-in-law's attitude had changed and she liked
her daughter in law more than her own son.
So the daughter-in-law ran off to
the doctor again, worrying. She said, "Look I came to you a month ago and
asked for poison to kill my old mother-in-law, but actually I really like her
now, she is very good. When I thought she was bad before I was mistaken. If you
have any antidote for this poison, please give it to me." The doctor said,
"Is it really true? Do you really believe that?" She said, "Yes,
I really believe this." The doctor said, "Sorry, there is no antidote."
She was very sad. The doctor said, "If you don't give poison to somebody,
there is no need of an antidote. If you do give poison to somebody, then you need
an antidote. In this case you didn't give her poison and I haven't got any antidote
to a poison which hasn't been given." Both the doctor and the daughter-in-law
were happy. Then the doctor gave her a technique. What the doctor told to the
daughter-in-law I'm going to tell you. I'm going to give you this method.
In
the first instance the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law had a misunderstanding,
and they both saw each other in a very negative way, so they had many arguments.
At the time the daughter-in-law was speaking nicely to the mother-in-law, they
both changed somewhat, and they both saw each other in a different light. If we
have very small and shrivelled up minds, we will cause problems for ourselves
and others. But if we have a light, open mind we are going to give happiness and
peace to others and we will also experience happiness and peace in our own mind.
That's the end of the story.
So, if we don't have a mind which is intent on
benefiting others, we will see other people as enemies and cause harm to them,
and we will never obtain peace and happiness. As many enemies as we try to subdue,
we will never be able to do it, there will always be another one. If we really
want to defeat an enemy, the best way is to kill them. If you kill an enemy, behind
him are two further enemies. Kill two - four come. If you kill four, eight come.
In the end the whole world becomes transformed into enemies. Then you will not
be able to subdue the enemies. They increase. If you look at it, the real enemy
is anger etc. If we have peace in our mind, a peaceful mind, everybody will perceive
us as a friend and we will have no enemies at all. Whatever we say, people will
listen. Our friends will become more and more. They will become stronger friends.
As an example, if the leaders of Britain (whoever they are) look after the people
in a good way, the people will vote for them, support them and their power will
grow. If they don't look after the people, we won't vote for them and they will
become less powerful. This is the nature of things, interdependence.
If you
take as an example Hitler in Germany, he subdued and killed lots of his enemies.
But even at the time he was killing his enemies he didn't have any peace in his
mind and in the final instant he committed suicide. He didn't achieve his purpose
at all.
If we really do have this desire in our minds to be of benefit to other
beings, then our mind becomes open and vast, we have courage and self-confidence
and our view will be spacious. We will see other sentient beings as our friends.
All beings will naturally give rise to a feeling of love in us. Then we will see
everybody as good. If we wear a pair of glasses with lenses extremely clear and
clean, we'll see everything as being clear and clean. We'll have no enemies. You
will have self-confidence, peace and happiness.
Here is another example. At
the end of this example there will be a question. The question is not difficult.
It's about a man in a forest. The man in the forest walks around, up and down
the hills. Long time ago people were like that. While walking, the man was getting
stones and thorns in his feet. He thought, "How can I stop my feet being
hurt by the gravel and thorns? I know what to do, I'll cover all the roads with
leather." So he covered the roads, but he only managed to cover about three
miles before the leather run out. After those three miles he had to walk on gravel
and thorns again. At that point, what method could he use?
Answers: Use shoes.
Walk on his hands. Jump from a tree to another. Learn to levitate.
Rinpoche:
If it is possible to do all these it's very good. Now I'm going to tell you. The
best method would be to have a small piece of leather, just the size of his feet.
That will be enough. Long time ago people did not have shoes. And they weren't
able to meditate very well. If one had just enough leather to cover the shape
of one's feet, then one could go all over the world and it would be the same as
covering the whole world with leather. Likewise with us, if we have peace in our
mind, if we pacify the conflicting emotions, then it is the same as conquering
all the enemies in the world.
Having the motivation to benefit others is a
benefit for us in the present life. It's said that if one has even a small particle
of compassion, at that moment it purifies countless aeons of negative karma. If
we have a mind which benefits others, then demons and ghosts and so on cannot
harm us. Also the black magicians cannot harm us, if we have the wish to bring
benefit. If we have a mind which causes harm to other people by generating anger,
we are also harmed. But if we have a mind which wishes to benefit others and our
actions are motivated by that, we will receive the best of benefits and others
are benefited too. So, naturally, benefit arises both for us and others.
Following
this bodhisattva path to the level of complete enlightenment, buddhahood, this
is the way the previous Buddhas and Bodhisattvas followed, and when you reach
complete enlightenment, then you will have total omniscience and you will have
complete and vast love. One has complete power.
What's the reason for these
three qualities arising? The cause is having generated the bodhicitta mind previously
and the wish to benefit others. The cause for us to be travelling around in samsara
lifetime after lifetime is the selfish idea that we are the best and we should
be victorious and others are inferior and they should lose.
There are three
types of mind which wish to benefit others: there is loving-kindness and compassion,
there is limitless loving-kindness and limitless compassion, and there is the
bodhicitta mind. With these three, one's mind will become vaster and greater,
open. What is the most vast, open and strong of minds? The most vast of minds
would be to think that based on the realisation of my natural mind state, my bodhicitta
mind, I have the desire to bring all sentient beings, totally freed from suffering,
to the level of complete and perfect enlightenment. For that reason I am going
to practise and I will bring all beings out of suffering to the level of perfect
enlightenment. Then one's mind becomes very vast. There is no other way to get
a mind so vast, that's the only way. The bigger one's mind, the bigger the benefit
will be.
For example, if you plant the seed of a medicinal plant, the root
of that plant will be medicinal and beneficial. If you plant a poisonous plant,
then the result will be poisonous. That's the completion of the explanation of
the benefits of the bodhicitta mind.
If you take the commitments of the bodhisattva
vow, what are the commitments we have to stick to, what do we have to think about?
There are several kinds, but if you want to put them into one there is one main
point of teaching which contains all types of commitments.
One has the intention
to bring all sentient beings out of suffering to the level of complete enlightenment.
To have that in mind is the basis of one's commitment. So even if there is one
sentient being with whom from time to time you have arguments, and who maybe causes
harm to you, you don't abandon them, you don't leave them out. You think, "At
the moment you are causing harm to me, but in the end, even you I'm going to take
to enlightenment." But at certain times you might have arguments and unpleasantness
between you. If you haven't completely purified your mind stream of the five mental
poisons, then of course it is easy to have arguments with people and unpleasantness
from time to time without you being in control of that.
You can't think: ""I'm
going to take all sentient beings except that one, to the level of enlightenment,
that's not correct. But it does happen from time to time that we might give rise
to some small doubts and think that we are not able to bring all beings to enlightenment.
That's okay, it is possible something like that may arise, but in your deep mind
you still hold onto the idea that to bring all sentient beings out of suffering
to complete enlightenment would be a very good thing. It is very good to have
that.
It is said that even if you broke your bodhisattva vow, there is great
benefit in taking it in the first place. There are two situations: one is when
you have not taken the bodhisattva vow and you are not generating either too much
good or negative karma and the second situation is when you take the bodhisattva
vow and you keep it a certain period of time, and you again don't generate too
much negative or positive karma, and you actually come to a point that you break
your vow. Out of these two situations, having taken the vow up to the point of
breaking it is more beneficial, it is said. But if you can take the bodhisattva
vow and not break it, then it is said you swiftly reach the level of enlightenment.
That is the completion of the advice about the bodhisattva vow.
********************
Buddhism,
Health and Disease
Pinit Ratanakul,
Ph.D.
Director of the College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya,
Puthamoltoll 4, Nakornpathom, 73170, Bangkok, Thailand
Email: pinitratanakul2@hotmail.com
Eubios
Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 15 (2004), 162-4.
Health
and disease are among the common experience of human life that is the special
concern of religion. Religion, in every society, in every stage of history, upholds
the value of well-being and health as necessary for a meaningful life, and provides
its adherents with ways and means to enhance their health and to enable them to
deal creatively with human vulnerability to disease, pain and suffering.
There
is a consensus that health and well-being does not mean only or simply the absence
of pain and suffering or the lack of disease, disability, defect and death, but
has a positive meaning. There is much debate today over what this positive meaning
is. This article is a short introduction to the Buddhist approach to health and
disease. After all Buddhism has over 2,500 year history of involvement in medical
theory and practice. As a living religion its teachings have much influenced the
ways Buddhists think and act in matters of life and death. Since health is a human
value that all of us are concerned with, it is hoped that this introduction will
serve as a Buddhist contribution to the ongoing discussion on how to define health
and therefore the role and function of the modern health care professionals who
represent and serve this crucial human value.
Buddhist
worldview, dependent origination, and kamma
The Buddhist worldview is holistic
and is primarily based on a belief in the interdependence of all phenomena and
a correlation between mutually conditioning causes and effects. This belief is
formulated by the principle of dependent origination, also referred to as the
law of conditionality, the causal nexus that operates in all phenomena - physical,
psychological, and moral. In the physical realm, for example, all things in the
universe are intimately interrelated as causes and effects without beginning and
end. And the world is an organically structured world where all of its parts are
interdependent. Similarly in human society every component is interrelated. The
same is also found in the psycho-physical sphere, in which the mind and the body
are not separate units but an interdependent part of the overall human system1.
The
Buddhist worldview also comprises a belief in kamma, the correlation between deed
and its subsequent consequences, as in the moral realm this principle of dependent
origination operated by the name of the law of kamma stating the conditionality
of this causal relation2. This implies that the Buddhist law of kamma does not
entail complete determinism. If such a determinism were accepted there would be
no possibility of the eradication of suffering. A man would ever be bad for it
is his kamma to be bad. But this is not so and the effect of kamma can be mitigated
not only in one life but even beyond, as, according to Buddhism, life is not limited
to a single, individual existence. Present life is only a part of the round of
existence (samsara) which stretches out across space and time. A single existence
is conditioned by others proceeding it and in turn conditions one or a series
of successive existences. Existence is thus at the same time and effect in one
respect and a cause in another. This imprisonment in the round of existence is
the result of one's own deeds (kamma), good or bad. Conditioned by deeds, the
present form of existence can be changed or dissolved by deeds. This is possible
because the present is not the total effect of the past. It is simultaneously
cause and effect. As an effect, we are conditioned by the causal matrix made up
of the social and biological continuities of life themselves and thus are the
effect of our past deed. What we are now is the result of what we have been before.
But as a cause, we are the absolute master of our destiny. The present, though
elusive, is the building block of the future. What we shall be depends on what
we are and shall do, with our own choice.
Dependent
origination, health, and kamma
Within this worldview, health and disease involve
the overall state of a human being and are interwoven with many factors such as
economics, education, social and cultural milieu. All these conditional factors
need to be seriously taken into account in the understanding of health and disease.
Health is therefore to be understood in terms of holism. It is the expression
of harmony - within oneself, in one's social relationships, and in relation to
the natural environment. To be concerned about a person's health means to be concerned
with the whole person, his (her) physical and mental dimensions, social, familial,
and work relationships, as weel as the environment in which he (she) lives and
which acts on him (her). Therefore the tendency to understand health only in relation
to particular parts of the human organism such as the defects in unacceptable
to Buddhism. In the Buddhist holistic perspective, disease is the expression of
the disturbed harmony in our life as a whole. By its physical symptoms, disease
draws our attention to this disturbed harmony. Hence healing in Buddhism is not
the mere treatment of these measurable symptoms. It is more and expression of
the combined effort of the mind and the body to overcome disease than a fight
between medicine and disease. Its real aim is to enable the patient to bring back
harmony within himself and in his relationships with the others and the natural
environment. In this context healing is not an end in itself, but rather a means
by which medicine helps to serve the value of human health and well-being.
Apart
from this holistic approach, Buddhism attributes kamma as an important contributing
factor to health and disease. In the Buddhist perspective good health is the correlated
effect of good kamma in the past and vice versa. This interpretation of health
and disease in terms of kamma is to emphasize that there is a relationship between
morality and health. Health depends on our life-styles, i.e. the way we think,
the way we feel, and the way we live. Illness is the consequence of an unhealthy
life-style such as one characterized by sensual indulgence, for example. This
is the normativistic component of the Buddhist perspective on health which involves
the practice of moral and religious values such as compassion, tolerance, and
forgiveness. This is the underlying reason why Buddhism advises those who want
to be healthy to practise morality (sila), mental discipline (samadhi), and wisdom
(panna), in the Noble Eightfold Part.
Perhaps we will understand the role of
kamma in health and illness as we look at the following cases. For example, in
the time of an epidemic there are usually some people who succumb while others
escape even though both groups are exposed to the same conditions. According to
the Buddhist view the difference between the former and latter is due to the nature
of kamma of each in the past. Other examples are the cases where though the treatment
given was successful the patient died, and where in spite of ineffective treatment
the patient lived. There have also been cases of remarkable and unexpected recoveries
when modern medicine has given up all hope for remission. Such cases strengthen
the Buddhist belief that besides the physical cause of disease, illness can be
the effect of bad kamma in past lives. A disease with a kammic cause cannot be
cured until that kammic result is exhausted. But the kamma of every person is
a mystery both to himself and others. Hence no ordinary person can definitely
know which disease is caused by kamma. Therefore one has to be careful in imputing
kamma especially for disease because it may lead to a fatalistic attitude of not
seeking any cure at all or giving up treatment out of despair. Buddhism advises
us that for practical purposes we have to look upon all diseases as though they
are produced by mere physical causes. And even if the disease has a kamma cause
it should be treated. As no condition is permanent and as the causal relation
between deed and its correlated consequence is more conditional than deterministic
there is the possibility for the disease to be cured so long as life continues.
On the other hand we cannot tell at what point the effect of bad kamma will be
exhausted. Therefore we need to take advantage of whatever means of curing and
treatment are available. Such treatment, even if it cannot produce a cure, is
still useful because appropriate physical and psychological conditions are needed
for the kammic effect to take place. The presence of a predisposition to certain
diseases through past kamma and the physical condition to produce the disease
will provide the opportunity for the disease to arise. But having a certain treatment
will prevent a bad kammic result manifesting fully. This kind of treatment does
not interfere with the working of the individual kamma but reduces its severity.
The advice of Buddhism to a person with and incurable disease is to be patient
and to perform good deeds to mitigate the effects of the past bad kamma. At least
the individual effort to maintain or recover is itself good kamma.
The belief
in kamma in relation to health and disease does not lead to fatalism, nor to pessimism.
As mentioned before, the law of kamma does not rule with an iron hand or bring
a curse. This law only stresses the causal relation between cause and effect.
It does not entail complete determinism. Te believe in kamma is to take personal
responsibility for health. Health is not given. It has to be gained by one's own
efforts, and one should not blame others for the suffering one is going through
because of the disease. Besides, it may be a comfort to think that our illness
is no fault of our present lives but the legacy of a far distant past, and that
by our own attitudes and efforts towards illness good kammic effects can arise.
The belief in kamma also enables us to cope with the painful aspects of life,
for example suffering from terminal illness such as leukemia or a more malignant
form of cancer with tranquility and without fruitless struggle, nor negative and
depressing mental states. Such acceptance will also enable us to overcome despair,
endure the condition to the last days, and thus die a peaceful death.
The emphasis
on the kammic cause of health and disease implies individual responsibility for
health and illness. Kamma is created by choices we made in past lives. Health
is to be gained by continuing personal efforts in this life. Good deeds (e.g.regular
exercise, proper nutrition, etc.) lead to good health whereas bad deeds (e.g.
poor living habits, abusing the body and the mind) in this and previous lives
bring illness. The sense of responsibility is much needed in health care. At present,
with the invention of "miracle drugs" and the development of new technologies,
many people tend to have the illusion that all pain and suffering in life can
be eliminated and that all suffering is bad, whether physical, mental, emotional,
moral, or spiritual. And by blaming it on external forces people seek external
means (e.g. pills, injection, therapies, etc.) of alleviating suffering rather
than examining themselves and their own lives and seeking to change what it is
within themselves that has resulted in illness. The Buddhist kamma view of health
and disease, on the contrary, recognizes the reality of self-inflicted disease
that can be traced to an individual's own life-style and habits, and encourages
one to seek also for the cause of our disease, pain, and suffering within oneself,
e.g. in relation to one's own life-styles, decisions, attitudes, and relationships
that must be changed. It also recognizes the positive role of disease and suffering
in refining our spirit and in strengthening our moral character, e.g. courage,
self-understanding, and sympathy towards others.
However, the Buddhist emphasis
on individual kamma or personal responsibility for health does not mean that Buddhism
assigns personal responsibility for all illness. In the Buddhist view kamma has
both individual and social dimensions. This latter component is what may be termed
as social kamma which, in health care, refers to the environmental factors that
could aggravate or mitigate and individual kamma. These factors such as socio-economic
factors, e.g. unhealthy and dangerous working conditions, can act as the hazardous/supporting
environment for health/illness of and individual. And society could hold employers
and businesses responsible if they did not maintain a healthy environment for
their workers or provide safety measures. This concept of social kamma also implies
responsibility on the part of government to provide adequate health care services
to all its citizens in proportion to their health needs and medical conditions.
The
body and physical health
In the Buddhist perspective the unique body of each
of us, both in appearance and structure, is a result of our past kamma. The human
body is at the same time the means by which we contact the world and the physical
manifestation of our mind. Being such an important instrument, the body must be
duly attended to, i.e. one must not abuse it through food, alcohol, drugs, or
by taxing it with over-indulgence and deprivation. Even enlightenment, the highest
goal of Buddhism, cannot be attained by the mortification of the body, as witnessed
in the personal experience of the Buddha. This is due to the interdependency of
the mind and the body. Intellectual illumination can be attained only when the
body is not deprived of anything necessary for the healthy and efficient functioning
of all bodily organs.
According to Buddhism, any life lived solely for self-seeking
or self-indulgence is a life not worth living. Buddhism therefore encourages us
to make use of the body for higher purposes, particularly for attaining the highest
goal, nibbana, liberation from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara)
as subjects of contemplation. Constant practice of morality and meditation will
enable us to have self-control over the appetites, sensations, and egoistic drives.
Physical
health is viewed by Buddhism as constituted by the normal functioning of the body
and its organically interrelated organs. When one of them fails to function, debility
and disease set in. The normal function of the body organs is the result of the
harmony and equilibrium of the four primary elements in the body, i.e. earth (pathavi),
water (apo), wind (vayo), and fire (tejo). If the balance is disturbed, the normal
function is disrupted and a state of disease appears. Curing is the restoration
of this balance, i.e. putting the entire physical being, and not just the pathologically
afflicted part, into good condition. Since each part of the human body is organically
related to all other parts, for good health the entire body must be in good condition.
In view of the fact that the body, like all phenomena, is always in a state of
change, decline, and decay, physical health cannot last long. It is impossible
for the body to be perfectly healthy and free from all diseases at all times.
Human life is vulnerable to disease at very stage. Disease is a reminder of human
fragility. This implies that (complete) health is not a totally attainable state.
Human wholeness or well-being, therefore, does not mean the absence of all pain
and suffering in life, but learning to deal with pain and suffering, how to use
it and transcend it for the sake of personal growth and sympathetic understanding
of others.
The Buddhist understanding of physical disease in terms of the disturbance
of the harmony and equilibrium in the body is different from the militaristic
view of disease focused on the hostile germs. According to this view disease is
caused by the attack of the hostile germs in the environment to a particular part
of the body. These different views lead to different ways of curing. The Buddhist
way is to bring harmony to the body where disharmony has taken place either by
medicine or by the change in thought and way of living. Medicine is used to boost
the body's self-healing power i.e. to be able to deal with the disease, to restore
the balance in its own way. Healing is more an expression of the combined efforts
of the mind and the body to overcome disease than a fighting between medicine
and disease. On the contrary the other way is to fight back the germs with drugs
which usually are chemical. The effectiveness of these drugs depends on their
attacking power on the inflicted part and not on the restorative power as in the
case of Buddhism.
The mind and mental
health
Physical health is important because Buddhism regards is to be the means
to intellectual enlightenment. Buddhism does not want people to spend a large
part of their lives in poor health or else they will not be able to devote themselves
to the highest purposes. Although Buddhism views the mind and the body in interdependence,
its teaching gives special attention to the mind and its power. It is stated in
the very first verse of the Dhammapada that what we are is the result of our thoughts.
The source of our lives and hence of our happiness or unhappiness lies within
our power. No one can harm us but ourselves. It is the kind of thought we entertain
that improves our physical well-being or weakens it, and also ennobles us or degrades
us. This it the reason why Buddhism designates thought as the cause of both physical
are verbal actions with their kammic results and considers mental health of the
utmost importance and the training of the mind to attain the highest stage of
health as its sole concern. This preoccupation with mental health is also regarded
as the true vocation of Buddhist monks. The training is based on the belief that
both the body and the mind are prone to sickness. But since the mind is able to
detach itself from the body it is possible to have a healthy mind within a sick
body.
According to Buddhism for the mind to be healthy, first it is necessary
to develop a correct view of the world and ourselves, i.e. a realistic acceptance
of the three traits of existence: impermanence, insubstantiality, and suffering
of unsatisfactoriness. The adoption of the wrong views makes us see the transitory
as permanent, the painful as happy, the impure as pure, and what is not-self as
self. Consequently we crave and struggle for what is not something that does not
seem to change, e.g. the illusory permanent and identical self and the permanent
object od desire -and we always suffer disappointment. By accepting thing as they
reality nothing more than a name for the complex of psycho-physical elements (nama-rupa)
- the mind no longer strives for the satisfaction of self-seeking impulses nor
clings to objects. As a result the mind is at rest and thereby psychological suffering
is eliminated leading to improved mental health.
Apart from changing our thought
by the adoption of this correct view and by developing an attitude of detachment
towards the world and ourselves, our mental health is dependent on our power to
rein in our appetites and to restrain and/or eradicate negative motions much as
greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), anger (moha), and our possessive and aggressive
tendencies. All these unwholesome states can act as the cause of mental and physical
illness. Such control can be achieved through the practice of morality and meditation.
Every set of Buddhist precepts and every type of meditation are aimed at controlling
the senses, impulses, and instincts and easing the tension and eliminating the
unwholesomeness of thoughts that tend to make the mind sick.
Buddhist meditation
is not only a means to cure the mind from its ailments caused by incorrect views,
self-indulgence, hatred, and anger of all forms, but is also devised as a means
to induce positive wholesome mental states, particularly the four sublime states:
loving kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity
(upekha). Loving kindness enables us to love and be kind to one another while
compassion wants us to help those in distress. Sympathetic joy is an ability to
rejoice in the joy of others and equanimity is the equanimous temperament without
being either elated or dejected in the face of the vicissitudes of life - gain
and loss, fame and lack of fame, praise and blame, happiness and sorrow. The continual
cultivation of these wholesome mental states is an important Buddhist way of making
the mind healthy. Actions spring from this healthy mind are always good and wholesome
and thus conductive to our holistic health. This over-all health is reflected
in all aspects of life including thinking, speaking, living and doing.
Concluding
Remarks
The Buddhist concept of health and disease is formulated within the
context of the principle of Dependent Origination and its related law of kamma.
Accordingly health and disease are to be understood holistically in their over-all
state in relation to the whole system and environmental conditions-social, economic,
and cultural.
This view is diametrically opposite to the analytic view which
tends to dissect human beings into different segments both in the physical and
mental realms. As a result health is defined too narrowly as the mere absence
of measurable symptoms of disease. Doctors and other medical personnel who hold
such view direct their attention to particular parts of a person when considering
whether or not a person is healthy and have not been concerned enough with their
patients as whole human beings, reducing their care of them to the quantifiable
control of physical symptoms. The Buddhist holistic perspective, on the contrary,
focuses on the whole person and argues that since human beings are not merely
physical creatures but mental, emotional, social and spiritual beings as well
and that, as a psychosomatic unity, bodily illness affects the mind and emotions
and emotional, mental and social maladjustments can affect the body, then to be
concerned about a person's health one must be concerned about his entire person,
body, mind and emotions, as well as his social environment. This may seem an utopian
goal that medicine or health care services alone cannot accomplish. But it should
be thought of and striven for Perhaps this overall health could be made possible
only through the concerted efforts of medicine, the individual and social agencies
concerned.
Notes
1. The most
detailed and coherent systematic exposition of the principle of Dependent Origination
is given in Visuddhi Magga: The Path of Purification.
2. This law is also referred
to as the law of causality according to which a deed is likened to a seed which
will sooner or later result in certain fruits.
*********************
Buddhist
for the future
By Venerable
Dr. Sri Dhammananda Venerable Sri Dr Dhammananda Nayake Maha Thera holds a doctorate
in Buddhist studies and is one of the most widely known senior Monks in the world.
To date, the Venerable has more than fifty-five publications in his credit, which
have inspired Buddhist and non-Buddhist all over the world.
He founded the
the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia in 1961, and embarked on a speaking and
writing career, which literally transformed the state of Buddhism in the country.
He has received numerous awards in recognition of his work, the most recent of
which is from Myanmar, which carries the title, "Agga Maha Pandita".
The Third Millennium
This year we, the
members of the Human Race entered into what has been termed by the largely Western-dominated
international media as the Third Millennium or Y2K for short. We have been subjected
to an enormous amount of hype by commercial interest groups and some religious
enthusiasts who promised us that the world would surely end. The ignorant, the
superstitious and the fearful were especially a target for these groups. New cults
sprang up threatening the wrath of a frustrated God on humanity that has consistently
refused to believe in him or obey his unrealistic commands. The gullible were
persuaded to part from their material wealth and even kill themselves to escape
the ultimate, final, holocaust of the end of the world. Then of course, there
were those who made loud and strident calls to warn us of the horrors of the "millennium
bug" which would wipe out modern civilisation at midnight on the last day
of 1999. Computers were supposed to erase information relating to when we had
been insured, when we were last inoculated, that our fixed deposits interest rates
would have to be renewed - the prospects were simply horrifying! Then came the
great anticlimax - nothing happened! There were many shamefaced religionists who
had to run to their holy books and interpret them - once again.
Now, what
was the Buddhist attitude to all of this? We did not join the mad crowd and view
this whole situation calmly and rationally. To begin with, we remembered that
we reached our second millennium five hundred years ago and we are already half
way into our third millennium. That certainly gave us some greater seniority and
maturity with which to view the universe and to advise our fellow beings on how
to conduct ourselves in the pursuit of ultimate happiness. Perhaps we could now
prevail on our younger brothers and sisters with different world views that their
perspectives have motivated them to act in ways dangerous not only to the human
race but to all inhabitants on this lovely planet, including plants and animals.
Before we become too smug and divide the human race into "us" Buddhists
and "them", the rest, let me hasten to remind ourselves that all of
us have been guilty of joining the same rat race and those who call themselves
"Buddhists" have just as happily trod the "primrose path"
of sensuality, materialism and greed like almost everyone else in the 20th Century.
What I will proceed to discuss in the rest of this essay is how the Sublime Teachings
of the Buddha, if rightly understood and correctly followed by everyone can save
the human race from ultimate disaster.
We need not think that the beginning
of the 21st Century had any particular, or cosmic significance in the supramudane
sense. Time is a human invention and a human being is no different today from
what his ancestor was two or three thousand years ago. We humans have the same
propensity for good or evil as our forebears, did during the time of the Buddha.
The difference may be that today, given our vast technological advances and education,
we are in a better position to develop our good or evil natures. If we have the
good sense to slow down and look at the Teachings without bias and practice them
sincerely, we can raise the human race to high levels of divinity. If we persist
in ignoring the precious teaching we will continue to give in to the beast in
us. The choice is ours. The Buddha taught for all mankind. If this message can
be brought to all human beings, if we can persuade all human beings and their
governments that the Buddha was not bound by narrow sectarian interests, but that
he was concerned with all sentient beings, we would have gone a long way towards
making this world a better place for all its inhabitants.
To effectively promote
social harmony and universal peace through Buddhism we have some serious thinking
to do. We should seriously consider what our attitude to the Buddha's message
is; we must be united and not waste precious energy and resources arguing about
the superiority of any particular school of Buddhism, we must recognise the rights
of our fellow inhabitants on earth (including plants and animals); we must recognise
the equality of all members of humanity, (including women and children). Once
we have set our own house in order, so to speak, we will be in a better position
to work for the happiness and welfare of everyone just as the Buddha intended.
Social Concerns
A great deal has been spoken and written about the Buddha's
concern for the well-being of all living beings and humankind in particular. While
the greater part of his ministry was devoted to the edification of those who renounced
the worldly life, he was most free with his advice to uplift the condition of
the householder. Some of the best known Sutras are devoted to the development
of social harmony and are addressed to royalty as well as common folk. In the
Agganna Sutra for example the Buddha speaks in mythical terms about the origin
of society and the causes of inequality; in the Kasibharadvaja Sutra he distinguishes
between labour for spiritual progress and labour to gain material wealth. In the
Sigalovada Sutra he explains the duties and responsibilities of the different
groups which comprise society - parents, children, husbands, wives, employers,
employees, teachers and religious persons. He speaks of the benefits to be derived
when every member of a community knows what is expected of him or her and sincerely
fulfils his or her obligations. In the Parabhava Sutra he enumerates the various
forms of antisocial behaviour which cause personal and social loss. In the Vyagghapajja
Sutra he describes the benefits that can be gained by the householder even without
"going forth". In one section of the Mahaparinibbana Sutra the Buddha
explains the government and national unity. In the Mangala Sutra he enumerates
good social behaviour which obstructs misery and woe to the individual and thereby
the community.
Beside these sutras, there are of course the numerous stories
and legends recorded in the Dhammapada and the Jataka which again emphasise the
factors which promote social harmony and universal peace. The question now remains
to be asked, how practical are these admonitions in modern times? It has often
been suggested that the Buddhist formulae for social well being are rather idealistic.
They may have worked when governments exerted far more power over their subjects
in ancient India than they do today. Today's citizens are too independent and
selfish to be ruled with gloved hands. This need not be so. People can still be
treated humanely and we can still follow the principle that if you treat people
well, they will behave well. Part of the reason why governments are so harsh today
is that they operate from a point of view that the world is finite and that everything
is real. We must remember that all the Buddha's advice was given against a world
view which is totally different from the world view of a vast majority of humans
today. If we want to effectively make use of the Buddha's Teaching to promote
social harmony and universal peace we must begin to see the world as the Buddha
did. We must "see the world as it really is". We must use all our efforts
to give an understanding of the three characteristics of Anicca (impermanence),
Dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and Anatta (non self). Admittedly this is a huge task.
We have to overcome two millennia of propaganda which spread the false notion
that the world and its creatures were specially created for the selfish pleasure
of man. We have to counter the Renaissance notion that "man is the measure
of all things."
Surely it is a difficult task, but certainly it is not
impossible. More and more people in developed countries are waking up to the obvious
fact that the world was NOT made for man's pleasure, and that it was not created
in one glorious moment but that everything that exists is an illusion and dependent
on everything else, that man's ultimate happiness lies in his working not for
himself alone but for the safety and happiness of others. This is exactly the
Buddha's view and a large number of people, weary of past excesses and fearful
of impending disaster are ready to give heed to the Buddha's advice on peaceful
coexistence where duties and responsibilities take precedence over rights.
The
time is therefore ripe for Buddhists all over the world to explain the message
of the Buddha in modern terms, to help people understand the REAL nature of existence.
Once there is Right (or Perfect) Understanding then naturally all other aspects
of the teaching will not seem so naive and impractical after all. Already many
education systems in the west are paying due attention to the development of a
culture where man is taught to put the concerns of others before his own needs.
Increasingly the innate goodness of beings is fostered through proper education
and understanding. Yes, the Buddha's model for a Perfect Society can work, but
we must work intelligently and ceaselessly to make it work. A Buddhist value system
is already recognisable in many organisation such as UNESCO, WHO, FAO and so on.
It is of no concern to us whether or not every human being is converted to Buddhism.
The Buddha has declared that we can respect any system which contains aspects
of the Four Noble Truths which obviously these organisations do. Our concern is
only for the happiness of humanity, both material and spiritual. Greater awareness
of the Buddha's teachings will make his principles universally accepted.
Unity
in Buddhist Schools of Thought
To create this awareness Buddhists must adopt
a two fold strategy. First we must put our own house in order. Two millennia of
dissension within ourselves and aggression from outside have weakened our practice.
We must look at ourselves clearly and examine what are our inner weaknesses which
reduce our ability to truly practise the Buddha's message to help our fellow beings.
Ever since the First Council following the passing away of the Buddha we Buddhists
have expended enormous amounts of energy to develop different schools or traditions
within Buddhism. Of course this development of our divergent views took place
with a degree of brotherly feeling which is unique in the history of religion.
We can proudly assert again and again that we have practised a path of peace which
is unique. We can proudly assert again and again that guided by the Master's Teachings
in the Kalama Sutra (and reiterated in the edicts of Asoka) we have never shed
a drop of blood or raised a single whip to spread our beliefs or to defend them.
This record alone gives us a greater credibility over others. We have the blueprint
to create universal peace.
However, let's be realistic. While we can go on
forever patting ourselves on our backs for our tolerance, the fact remains that
we have gone in different directions and that we have tended to consider "our"
school superior to that of others. The Buddha taught only one Path to Perfection.
Our imperfections gave rise to the different schools. The time has come for us
to transcend our narrow sectarian views and look forward to developing an understanding
of what has been, described as "Transcendental Buddhism". This pooling
of our resources, and leaving behind our culture-bound approach to the teachings,
has become absolutely necessary, given the fact that the world has shrunk so much
and so many people with such diverse languages, beliefs, cultures and attitudes
are taking an interest in the Buddha and his teachings. All of us, who have inherited
this rich treasure from various sources, must come together to help all of mankind
gain ultimate happiness.
This does not mean of course that we must abandon
the indescribable richness and variety of our different traditions. The world
would be so much poorer if we lost the invaluable treasures of Sri Lankan, Japanese,
Korean Chinese, Tibetan and South East Asian Buddhist way of life. No, what I
mean is, while we continue to foster the mundane manifestations of the teachings
within our own cultures, we must vigorously make efforts to let the world hear
the Buddha's voice. This will reduce the confusion regarding the Teachings especially
among people who hear it for the first time. After all, we must never lose sight
of the Buddha's first injunction to spread the Dharma for "the happiness
and welfare of sentient beings". This clearly altruistic motive for our missionary
efforts must never be forgotten. To realise this ideal we must be humble and be
prepared to look at the teachings of the other schools without discrimination.
Members of the Sangha particularly must highlight the areas of agreement amongst
the various schools so that the younger generation is helped to view Buddhism
as a perfect, harmonious whole that evolved from a single teaching.
One way
of doing this of course is to encourage more dialogue amongst the different traditions.
The "First World Buddhist Propagation Conference" organised by the Nembutsu
Sect of Japan, in Kyoto in 1998 is an excellent example of such a successful meeting
of Buddhist minds. Such gatherings of prominent Buddhists from different traditions,
meeting amicably, serve to remind the world that Buddhists are really united and
do share identical views on such issues as enlightenment and service to mankind.
An obvious area where Buddhists can promote co-operation effectively is in
the dissemination of the Dharma. Books, periodicals, magazines and more recently
the Internet should all try to encourage inter-sectarian dialogue between schools
of Buddhism so that readers begin to see the underlying unity of Buddhism in the
apparent diversity of its practices.
Role of the Sangha
Aside from making
efforts to come together and fostering the acceptance of the concept of Transcendental
Buddhism, one more area we must look at seriously to ensure our inner strength
in the Buddhist world, is the Role of the Sangha. It is clear that the Buddha
recognised the vital importance of the Sangha in keeping alive the purity of his
Teaching. This is evidenced by the fact that he included the Sangha as the third
component of the Holy Triple Gem. The Sanghas important role then and now as the
transmitter of the Dharma across time and space can never be underestimated. From
the Buddha's time until now the history of Buddhism has been illuminated by such
glorious names as Sariputta, Moggallana, Ananda, Mahinda, Sanghamitta, Nagarjuna,
Vasubhandhu, Bodhidharma, Asvaghosa, Buddhaghosa, Yuan Chuan, Fa Hsien - the list
is endless. Philosophers, preachers, commentators, travellers - they all had one
thing in common. They were sons and daughters of the Buddha. Even in our own times
there are so many names of members of the Sangha who keep the glorious flame of
the Dharma alive, bringing the voice of the Buddha to every corner of the globe.
From
the time of the Buddha right up to our own times, the members of the Sangha have
been the force which sustained and interpreted the Buddha-word so that it is kept
ever alive and fresh in the hearts and minds of men and women. So much for their
importance. Let us now look at their function in today's society and the challenges
that they face.
Although there have been great monks who went far beyond the
monasteries in which they first donned the mendicants' garb, the vast majority
of monks never strayed beyond their monastery walls. They were content to live
quiet secluded lives of contemplation avoiding as much as possible the turmoil
of the outside world. But as we reach the end of the twentieth century we cannot
ignore the fact that the world is indeed very different from what it was for centuries,
particularly in Asia. The world is creeping very much into the monastery. The
monk is increasingly called upon to serve the society which supports his material
needs. It is no longer enough to conduct the occasional devotional practices for
the lay person or teach the rudiments of reading and writing and calculation to
his children. The world has shrunk. Events which occur in the US or Europe deeply
affect the lives of everyone on the planet. The Buddhist monk is part of that
global life. Social harmony and Universal Peace are the responsibility of everyone
on this planet: the Buddhist monk must carry out his part of that responsibility.
The obvious exception to this is of course, the Bhikkhu of the Forest tradition,
who completely renounces all contact with society and seeks salvation for himself.
The monastery monk does not fall into this category.
Not only in Asia, but
in Europe, the Americas, Australia, and increasingly, even in Africa, Buddhism
is playing a vital role in contributing to social harmony and universal peace.
The Buddhist monks or nuns are the vital links between the Buddha's message of
peace and harmony and the people of the world who so desperately need it.
Is
the Sangha ready for the challenge?
My immediate and honest answer to that
is "No. At least not yet".
To begin with, traditional life in rural
Asia has changed very little over the centuries. But at the same time, technological
and urban developments and westernisation have moved ahead at dizzying speeds.
The result : the average Buddhist in a traditional Buddhist country (possibly
with the exception of Japan) has become increasingly disoriented and there exists
a vast gap within him, between his traditional values and his modern concept of
the world with its banking systems, sensational entertainment, materialism, nuclear
families and so on. He is torn between what he is "told" he should be
as a model Buddhist parent, son, employee or citizen, and the demands made on
him in the real world: the world of materialism, greed and selfishness. Too often,
the Sangha is ill-equipped to help their lay supporters to bridge the gap between
the modern and the traditional. The average modern monk in a Buddhist country
is found to be woefully out of touch with the modern world. It is more likely
he has not even seen a computer, let alone being proficient to operate one! He
has very little contact with the outside world, so how can he help his fellow
beings to cope with it?
What is interesting to note here is that this has not
always been so. Who can deny that a Buddhist monk has always been an agent of
change for the better throughout history? Who can deny that it was the Buddhist
monk who brought Art, Architecture, Technology, Music and Medicine to every country
in Asia? It has even been suggested that the ancient Egyptian THERAPEUTAE who
practised monasticism and specialised in healing ("therapeutic") were
originally Buddhist monks, therapeutic being a corruption of THERAVADA! Be that
as it may, the Sangha civilised the ancient world. But they can hardly be held
up as role models for change today! What happened? Of course we can point a, finger
at colonisation, but blaming others for our shortcomings is a luxury we can ill
afford. The only thing we can do is to ask ourselves how we can change the situation
and once again make the Buddhist monk the leader of men and women in his society.
I believe the key is in Education. Governments as well as social reformers
in Buddhist countries must recognise the tremendous potential that members of
the Sangha have to help their fellow beings. They are generally highly intelligent
as can be seen by their ability to memorise, understand, interpret and teach the
Sublime Dharma. While continuing to uphold these traditional forms of learning,
we must give them additional skills - computer-literacy, farming techniques, counselling,
engineering, nursing, teaching for example. They must not only be proficient in
the Dharma, they must be practical in serving society's material needs. Over the
centuries the Saffron robe has earned its wearer a high degree of respect. Today
the Buddhist monk can make use of this psychological tool to help laymen become
better people. It must never be forgotten that the Buddha never condemned material
prosperity. There are enough Sutras in our scriptures to show that the Buddha
even went to the extent of declaring that wealth, honestly earned, gave a person
self esteem, human dignity and the power to do good. The Buddhist monk who helps
his lay devotee to attain material success with Right Understanding is indeed
following his Master's injunction to work for the benefit and welfare of humanity.
All of this however could possibly lead to a further problem. And that is,
we could have monks who are trained without understanding. They could go to the
other extreme and cut off all links with the past. (It has happened!) No, monks
have an all important role to uphold tradition. Tradition links us to the past.
It gives us our roots, it helps us to remain steady against the onslaught of alien
cultures, alien religious practices and alien values. The monk must be so steeped
in and proud of his significant traditions that he imbues his devotees with that
same love and pride in his own culture. Can it be done? Of course! Just look at
Japan.
This is one area where the Sangha can perform a useful function as
a factor in promoting harmony by contributing to the success of that society economically.
The Bhikkhuni Order
Another area which is worth looking into is the Bhikkhuni
Order. I am certainly aware that this is still a thorny issue among some quarters,
but I am convinced that there are fewer people around who cannot see the importance
of the Bhikkhuni Sangha. It is again a matter of great pride to us, that the Buddha
was the first religious teacher to constitute the component of female monasticism.
While it cannot be denied that he had some well-founded initial reservations,
he did give in to Ananda. What is generally (conveniently?) overlooked is that
the organisation spread like wildfire, almost literally, as soon as it was instituted,
showing the tremendous spiritual need women had for upliftment. It is also a matter
of record (to the eternal credit of the Buddha) that once accepted, women had
no difficulty whatsoever in achieving the highest pinnacles of spiritual achievements
human beings are capable of: Patacara, Khema, Kisagotami, Dharmadinna, Uppalavanna,
Visakha - need one continue?
Today, women have proven that they are capable
of becoming Presidents, Prime Ministers and Scientists as well as teachers and
nurses, women are equal partners in every field of human endeavour. It is time,
therefore that Buddhists recognise the tremendous contributions women can make
to the promotion of Social Harmony and Universal Peace. In fact women have made
contributions to both these areas and they can do so today. It is of course a
credit to the Buddha's Teaching on this matter that the first woman prime minister
of the world was a Buddhist woman from Sri Lanka. A belief that as nuns, Buddhist
women have an undeniable role to play especially in harnessing the female workforce
and playing an efficient and intelligent part in human development. Their contribution
can be invaluable as teachers, nurses, counsellors, in fact, as anything, to effect
social change. The voice of the women can no longer be ignored as a voice to seek
and promote International Peace. As mothers they are better qualified than anybody
else to speak against the sacrifice of sons and husbands on the altars of war.
The Sangha male and female, if properly trained and conversant in many languages
and skilled in many disciplines, can be a powerful force in the development of
peace. Thanks to world leaders like H.H. the Dalai Lama, the Buddhist monk has
always been a symbol of peace even among non-Buddhists. What is necessary now
is for Buddhist monks and nuns the world over to equip themselves with the skills
needed to spread the Buddha's message of peace to all mankind. Given our past
history of non-violence, we are better qualified than anyone else to encourage
everyone to practice the "love thy neighbour" policy.
The Lay Person
In a wider sense the Sangha comprises not only Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis but
Upasakas and Upasikas (male and female lay devotees) as well. Given the admirable
spirit of democracy proclaimed and practised by the Buddha, the members of the
Sangha as well as lay people have duties and responsibilities towards the development
of Social Harmony and Universal Peace. There are today upasakas and upasikas who
are performing an invaluable service in spreading the Buddha's message in the
world. This is especially true in non-traditional Buddhist countries like Malaysia
and Singapore where lay devotees are leading their friends to practice the noble
Teachings by leading fellow Buddhists along the Path. They even build and run
Viharas, Orphanages, Old Folks Homes, Clinics to serve the community. In the Western,
developed countries also lay Buddhists will play an increasingly important role
to promote International Peace in the world, although perhaps they may not be
needed as much in areas of social development. This does not mean however that
the Sangha will be replaced by lay workers in the cause of Buddhism either in
the near or distant future. The Sangha will and must continue to play an important
role not only as guardians of the Dharma but also as a role models and teachers
of the lay people in matters pertaining to Buddhism. This of course further emphases
the point that the Sangha must be capable of taking on this added responsibility
of training lay people for Dharmaduta work.
Buddhism as a force against war
Still on the theme of International Peace, religious leaders have an increasingly
important role to play in teaching their followers to walk in the path of peace.
Sadly however, the history of mankind is replete with examples of so called religious
people who waged war in the name of religion. Buddhism never has and never can
ever condone war even if it is disguised as a "just" or "holy"
war. The Buddha condemned violence of any kind for whatever reason. He repeatedly
declared that the only victory is the conquest of self and the only miracle is
the conversion from evil to good. Buddhists therefore, Sangha and lay people alike,
are bound by precedent and precept never to wage war but to persuade all people
to walk the path of Peace. It, is certainly not an accident therefore that the
UNESCO Charter begins with the preamble: "Since it is in the minds of men
that wars are created, it is in the minds of men that the fortresses against war
must be erected". This is almost exactly like the very first verse of the
Dharmapada which states:
"Mind precedes all wholesome and unwholesome
states and is their chief; they are all mind wrought. If with an impure mind a
person speaks or acts, misery follows him like the wheel that follows the foot
of the ox".
If one speaks or acts with pure mind, because of that, happiness
follows one, even as one's shadow that never leaves. The teaching of the Buddha,
if inculcated in the young mind from the beginning, will no doubt be a powerful
civilising factor that will turn humanity from violence to compassion. One of
our tasks therefore is to make available the teachings of Buddha in more languages
and through various media, including the Internet.
Although the human race
has made such tremendous progress in almost every field of endeavour, warfare
is one area in which we have behaved no better than animals. In fact one might
even say that we have even descended lower than animals because given our higher
intelligence we should know better than to succumb to our lower instincts of lust,
anger, hatred and delusion. It has been said that man's worst characteristic is
his ability to inflict pain - mental and physical - on his fellow beings. The
worst manifestation of this irrational behaviour is man's tendency to wage war
on the flimsiest of excuses. Ever since man learnt to hold a weapon he has waged
war against his fellow beings, and any student of history will readily agree that
there never has been such a thing as a "just war". And wars get from
bad to worse. At least in the past, wars were only waged between men silly enough
to get involved on the battlefields. But today whole hordes of innocent men, women,
children and even animals suffer indescribable privations as a result of war.
Mothers are separated from children, husbands are separated from wives, brothers
are separated from sisters - there is no end.
Some people argue that conflict
and war cannot be avoided because they are expressions of human nature. I am realistic
enough to realise that it would be foolhardy to sit down and do nothing when aggressors
are brutally destroying innocent lives on the basis of unrealistic and unfounded
claims, but we must always bear in mind that war is at best a last resort to maintain
peace. However, if we believe that war is inevitable, then we will wage war. But
if, like the great emperor Asoka, we have the spiritual development and the wisdom
to see the folly of war we can certainly avoid it. Buddhists can be very proud
of the fact that in our own times the greatest advocate of peace is His Holiness
the Dalai Lama of Tibet. For nearly half a century this great Buddhist leader
has worked tirelessly to regain his homeland, without once uttering a malicious
word against those who occupy his land. He has never condemned them but treated
them as fellow-beings. On the other hand, he has not been a coward either. He
has fearlessly spoken against the ill-treatment of his subjects and the lies spread
against him. But he has not chosen to take arms against his people's aggressors.
This is because he lives by the advice of the Buddha given in the Dharmapada,
"Hatred does not end by hatred
By love alone it is quelled".
A struggle which is ended by force is no victory. Real victory can only be
attained by a true change of heart founded on understanding on the part of the
aggressor. His Holiness the Dalai Lama truly believes in inculcating peace through
non violence.
We are all familiar with the story of how during the time of
the Buddha a prince called Vidudabha annihilated the entire Sakya clan simply
because he harboured a grudge against them for a slight insult. We have to learn
from that example and seek rather to follow in the footsteps of the great king
whose name was changed from Chanda (cruel) Asoka to Dharma (righteous) Asoka because
he had the wisdom to walk the path shown by the Buddha. Let us also recall the
Buddha's declaration that the people of a certain kingdom could not be overcome
by force because they followed the seven conditions for the progress of a nation.
These examples show that war is avoidable if we truly wish it. There is a principle
of Modern Management today which declares that if we expect Zero Defects in our
operations we will achieve them. Similarly if we envisage a society without war,
we will achieve peace. Unfortunately we have been so indoctrinated to believe
that war is the only way to get what we want, that we will continue to wage war.
The most horrible irony of it is that people even wage wars in the name of religions
which teach the brotherhood of man.
Therefore the greatest challenge facing
us in the next millennium is to grow up, to stop fighting like small boys and
heed the word of the Enlightened One:
"All fear death, all fear the rod,
knowing this we should never strike nor cause to strike".
Proselitisation
The world today is divided by many factors. Sad to say one of the most important
of the organisations responsible for these many divisions is religion. Today,
perhaps like at no other time in history, are the vast resources of certain religious
organisations being exploited shamelessly in a mad scramble to win converts at
any cost. These include the spreading of malicious lies against other religions
like Buddhism. Young, innocent impressionable people are being lured away from
their traditional religion through blatant false propaganda and even through bribes.
There are instances of whole villages in certain countries being converted en
masse through the promise of material gain. Conversion in itself may not be a
bad thing, but when methods employed and the motives for converting are suspect
then we must not stand idly by and do nothing about it.
In many countries
conversions which are not accompanied by a full understanding of what is being
accepted can lead to serious problems, often causing the break-up of marriages
and families and other social problems. Therefore it is not conversion but buying
people.
There is therefore an urgent need for Buddhists to seek the dialogue
with other religious groups to voice our dissatisfaction with their activities.
There are genuine members of these faiths who are themselves embarrassed by the
antics of their fellow religionists. They must speak against their own kind and
Buddhists must make every effort to urge them to do so. In the past, traditional
religions were the victims of colonial missionaries. Today, the problem is much
more insidious - citizens of the same country are working to undermine the traditional
cultures and practices of their forefathers and introducing alien ways to their
people, separating parents and children, the old and the young.
Ecumenism
On a more positive note, however, Buddhists have always been encouraged, in
the Kalama Sutra for example, to seek dialogue with others to show respect for
other genuine seekers after the truth. We need to talk with other religionists
formally and informally to know how they think, to show them how we think and
to find common ground on which we can co-operate to work for the betterment of
the human race. In some cases we must even be humble enough to admit that we can
adopt their methods particularly in social and charity work and help the poor
and the weak and helpless in every corner of the world.
Buddhist Values
Having
examined some of the challenges facing Buddhists today and how we can help to
promote peace and social harmony let us examine how we can identify some Buddhist
values which we will need to achieve our goals.
It cannot be said that there
are "Buddhist Values" which are unique to Buddhism and not to be found
in other religious systems. The Buddha recognised this when he declared that we
must accept and recognise the worth of any religion in so far as that religion
contains the Four Noble Truths. What is unique about Buddhism is our understanding
of the nature of these values and why we practice them. When the Bodhisatta practised
the Ten Paramis, he was motivated in an entirely different way than any other
follower of a spiritual path either in part or as a whole.
The ten paramis
- dana (generosity), sila (precept), nekkhamma (renunciation), panna (wisdom),
viriya (energy), khanti (patience) sacca (truthfulness), adhitthana (determination),
metta (loving kindness) and upekkha (equanimity) - can form a solid value system
on which a Buddhist builds his or her personal spiritual life. This individual
effort is then extended to members of the family, the community, the nation and
finally the world as a whole. All Buddhists all over the world must consciously
make the effort to understand the importance of practising these values, endeavour
to practice them earnestly, and then explain them to others. Our education system
and our media network must spread these values through every means possible so
that our daily thinking is affected by them. We all know the famous Jataka tale
in which the Bodhisatta advises his acrobat master. To ensure perfect safety each
performer must be fully concerned about his own welfare and security first. In
that way both parties will be safe. Therefore the implementing of a Buddhist value-system
involves making each individual understand his responsibility towards the rest,
to understand the inter-relatedness of all beings, to guard him or herself and
thereby guard others.
The year 2001 holds many promises and challenges for
all members of the human race. Buddhists are in a particularly strong position
to help all human beings realise their full potential and live in peace and harmony
not only with themselves but with others as well. It is our duty to help spread
the Buddha's message by spreading it through the written and spoken word, but,
far more importantly through the example of living noble lives in accordance with
the Sacred Teachings.
*********************
Buddhist Healing
The Buddhist view
is that all phenomena and experiences are manifestations of causes, gross and
subtle, and ultimately linked to the individual experiencing them, and beginning
in the mind.
What is the cause of disease? All of the alternative therapies
have their own answers and because they achieve results, they probably all claim
to be right.
Homoeopathy attributes disease to a disturbance of the vital
force and this in turn is caused by an array of factors: hereditary, environmental,
life-style, diet, emotional, suppressive allopathic drugs, etc.
Nutritionally
led disciplines say, "you are what you eat". Extraordinary cures are
obtained from special diets.
Hypnoanalysis and psychotherapy lay the blame
at repressed memories, inner conflicts, unfulfilled needs etc.
Still others
claim that unhealthy electro-magnetic waves, natural and man made are contributors.
Buddhism
recognises all of these explanations of disease as valid, but would claim that
such causes of disease were themselves manifestations of deeper causes.
The
Buddhist concept of disease is a multitiered system of causes. The following analogy
will explain: A man drinks a bottle of vodka, steps out of the pub, and blindly
walks into the road, where he is at once knocked down and killed by an oncoming
bus. What was the cause of the man's death?
The apparent cause was being knocked
down by a bus - analogous to dying of lung cancer. A deeper cause was being drunk
- analogous to the cancer being caused by smoking. But why was he drunk? Because
he was unhappy - analogous to the actual cause originating in the mind. And why
was he unhappy? Because his wife had left him - analogous to the law of cause
and effect (karma).
Hence Buddhists would ultimately say that the lung cancer
was created by negative karma: the negative energy created in dependence upon
a negative thought or its consequent actions (in this life or a past life), and
therefore ultimately to remove somebody's predisposition to disease one would
need to remove the negative karma.
Karma makes sense of why two similar people
can both spend their lives smoking 40 cigarettes a day and why one dies of lung
cancer and the other lives to be a hundred and dies of natural causes. Unless
the root cause of negative karma to experience a particular effect exists, the
secondary causes cannot function.
Whilst karma is virtually impossible to prove
to a sceptic, I suggest there is a link between the negative energy created by
karma, and the vital force as perceived in homoeopathy, or even a disturbance
of the libido as described by Freud. Experiments with Kirlian photography clearly
show that the electro-magnetic field surrounding the body (aura) is affected by
thought forms and that there is a definite correlation between the weakening of
the aura and disease (this also supports the theory put forward by Dr Edward Bach,
which has much in common with Buddhist thought).
Buddhist healing involves
working with both the primary and the secondary causes. Many of the methods act
upon both and one aim is to restore physical and emotional balance. In common
with the system of Chinese medicine, Buddhism recognises that the mechanism of
disease is to disturb and imbalance the inner elements, so many healing exercises
are aimed at harmonising the elements.
The ultimate healing in Buddhism which
acts upon primary and secondary causes and also re-establishes equilibrium is
to destroy the innate concept we have of the self as being a real and solid entity.
As a result of such ego identification we generate fearful, tight and negative
minds: the ultimate cause of all disease, mental and physical. By learning to
relax our grasping and see through the illusion like ego we gain a state of openness
and ease, and physical afflictions can melt away. However, this is not an easy
practice and requires considerable instruction.
Buddhism calls upon a great
range of methods to alleviate pain and illness, some of which can be performed
by oneself and others which require the assistance of another person. They include
many different visualisations, breathing exercises, mantra recitation and rituals.
Perhaps one of the most strange types of healing is the pacification of "malevolent
spirits".
For most Westerners (including Western Buddhists) this seems
quite hard to believe and is almost always relegated to the realms of primitive
beliefs. I have however had direct experience of spirits causing both physical
and mental disturbances. Some years ago I entered a room in a Buddhist temple
to discover a young man suffering from an epileptic fit. Conventional measures
were applied without alleviating the horrendous convulsions. Remembering the possibility
of spirit intervention, I began to recite the mantra of a wrathful deity very
forcefully and within no more than a minute the fit stopped and the young man
came back to his senses muttering something about having been possessed. A similar
event happened some weeks later and consequently I gave the man an exercise to
do daily to give him protection. During the 3 months that he performed the exercise
he was free of epilepsy. Shortly after stopping the exercises the fits returned.
Buddhist
masters cite spirits as the cause of more than half of all illnesses and claim
that many serious illnesses can be cured with the help of certain rituals. Immediately
one thinks of Western style exorcists and indeed the rituals do have much in common,
the fundamental difference being that the foundation of Buddhism is compassion
and therefore it is not permissible to harm the spirits when encouraging them
to leave. Perhaps the belief in spirits does not seem so impossible if we consider
Western beliefs in positive forms of spirit like entities such as fairies and
devas. Is it not the case that huge vegetables have been grown with the help of
devas? Of course, there are many interpretations, and many a Western psychotherapist
writes off malevolent spirits as negative thought forms, or claim that the healing
rituals work via a trance-induced suggestion.
Buddhism talks about the life
force and this may be the same force as talked about in homoeopathy: the vital
force. For example, Buddhism attributes 3 main causes to death: the karmically
determined lifespan ends, the positive energy (karma) becomes exhausted or the
life force becomes depleted. The life force is a subtle energy which sustains
life and all of the functions of the body. It can be depleted through any excess
use of energy - for example sexual activity or even jogging etc., as well as sleeping
too much or too little, eating unwholesome food, emotional disturbances etc. Other
Eastern forms of thought and medicine aim to cure life force disturbances with
exercise methods such as Chi Kung and emphasise that Western forms of aerobic
exercise are seriously harmful to the life force if practised in excess.
One
method described by many Buddhist teachers to increase the life force is extracted
from the tantric teachings and presented in a simplified form which can be learnt
in a few minutes (Yoga teaches a similar method).
The technique is performed
either in a traditional meditation posture or sitting on a chair, with an erect
but relaxed spine. One begins inhaling deeply with abdominal breathing, whilst
mentally hearing the sound OM (Aum). The breath is then held and imagined at the
spiritual heart (midway between the breast towards the spine) whilst mentally
hearing the sound Ah. After holding the breath for 3-5 seconds, or until it becomes
uncomfortable, the breath is exhaled whilst mentally hearing the sound Hum (Hung).
The whole process is then repeated for between 5 and 20 minutes. It is not necessary
to take exaggerated breaths and it is essential to perform the exercise whilst
remaining physically and mentally relaxed. Many people engage in meditation to
overcome stress and illness and finish up worse than before because they push
and strain in meditation. There are a number of variations on this meditation
linked to colour. One is to think of the colour white whilst inhaling the OM,
to think of red whilst holding the Ah at the heart and to think of blue whilst
exhaling the Hum. Those who practice this exercise, diligently, every day for
a few weeks will soon start to notice the benefits.
Mantras are very powerful
healing aids. They are not simply sounds in the conventional sense but are the
resonance of subtle primordial energies which we have within ourselves, the vibrations
of which distribute gentle healing energies throughout our being.
Most healers
have their fair share of failures. Often it is said that when a patient doesn't
get better it is because he does not wish to get better. Of course, sometimes
this is the case: when the illness provides the patient with a significant benefit;
but sometimes the cause of failure is deep rooted negative karma going back to
a previous life. Such a case is difficult to heal and sometimes not possible at
all. The Buddhist solution is to purify the negative karma and Buddhism teaches
many methods of purification.
The practice of Taking generally depends upon
two things: compassion and faith. Compassion is like the power which heals and
faith is like the fuel which sustains the power. Love and compassion are great
healers and are two sides of the same coin. One definition of love is a universal
wish for others to experience happiness. Compassion is a universal wish for others
to be free of suffering. They are not to be confused with our usual self-centred
emotional responses which we attach similar names to. To generate compassion it
is necessary first to reduce our own sense of self importance: most of us feel
as if the world revolves around ourselves. However, we are just one of many beings
seeking happiness. We then need to empathise with others and to contemplate their
suffering.
Faith can refer to many things. It can mean to have confidence.
Without faith most mental healing practices won't work. On the other hand, with
faith miracles can be achieved. One way to understand faith is to perceive it
as a focuser or magnifier. By focusing our healing efforts through the mind of
faith the power of healing is magnified and concentrated. Faith can also mean
acknowledging our innate perfect nature variously described as Buddha nature,
the Inner Guru, the Inner Wisdom or the Higher Self, or perhaps from a Christian
point of view as God. Faith in such an Inner Wisdom would mean to rely upon the
ability we have to perfectly heal ourselves and provide whatever is necessary
for that process. It can help greatly to imagine our Inner Wisdom as an external
source of power and to receive its healing energy.
Faith can also be understood
from a Western psychotherapy point of view. Faith is to programme the unconscious
mind with a certain idea or image, which then needs to find expression in our
everyday life. Therefore faith would seem to have much in common with the power
of suggestion and many hypnotherapists would say that all ancient healing methods,
including rituals, exorcisms and visualisations are all forms of hypnosis and
positive suggestion.
To perform the practice of Taking one starts by contemplating
others suffering from the same illness or problem (if emotional) as yourself.
So for example if you suffer from cancer, you think about all of the people suffering
from cancer. Many of them are suffering more than you. You think about their pain,
about how they fear death, about the sadness they have thinking about leaving
their family behind, or how they fear and suffer from any conventional treatment
they are due to receive. Essentially you identify your own pain and then empathise
with others who suffer a similar pain. It is important to think that these people
are just like you. They share a common wish of wanting to be happy and free from
suffering.
By thinking like this, in time a warm feeling, a feeling of compassion
will arise in the heart. This is the beginning of real healing. Just thinking
like this already reduces your suffering. Why? Because suffering depends upon
your awareness of it and if your awareness is turned towards others instead of
towards yourself your pain diminishes! The power of the compassion should not
be underestimated! It is said in the Buddhist scriptures that true strength comes
from compassion.
The next step requires a radical thought! Having generated
compassion and the wish for others to be free from suffering, one courageously
thinks, "if I could take on the suffering of all these people and therewith
free them from their pain, I would do." It is quite a thought, isn't it?
Supposing it really were possible that one person could choose to suffer instead
of a million people suffering! We try to imagine we have the courage to think
like that and to identify with that thought. It is like a man who is taken prisoner
and tortured. If he gives in to the pain and gives his torturer the information
he wants, maybe a thousand people die. He has to choose. Of course, such a choice
takes great courage. So, one tries to think like that. At first, our compassion
is so weak that we cannot genuinely generate that thought. At first we have to
imagine. Imagination is a very powerful tool and since reality depends upon the
mind, imagination can be used to shape reality.
Having generated that thought
you then think, "right now I will take on their suffering". You imagine
their suffering and illness dissolving into thick black smoke and you absorb this
smoke into your spiritual heart. As it dissolves into your heart you think of
it destroying your ego grasping; your selfishness.
Then you imagine all the
other people free from their suffering and such a thought makes you very happy;
very joyful. And so you become very still and bask in that sunshine-like happiness
and let it pervade your whole being. Joy is another powerful healing agent. When
joy flows through our bodies and minds it generates a powerful positive energy
which heals, nurtures, relaxes and regenerates. The practice is repeated several
times in a session if desired, and performed daily. Tibetans are very familiar
with this practice and many people have been cured from seemingly incurable diseases.
These
are just a few of the many techniques which Buddhism has to offer. Fundamental
to all healing, of course, is the power of relaxation. Half an hour of quality
meditation a day can do much to rebalance our minds, bodies, energies and emotions.
When we gain deep awareness of these factors and learn to harmonise them, healing
can be achieved without recourse to outside influences.
*********************
Buddhist
Healing
By Steven Lane
Mention
chakra disturbances, spirit intervention or karma to most people and they may
ask what planet you live on! Whichever planet, Buddhist healing works with all
such forces, and many more, and can obtain extraordinary results.
Of course,
it is not for everyone! It requires time and effort, and the willingness to take
responsibility for your own health. Buddhist healing, in common with other esoteric
traditions, believes that the power of the mind can be employed to combat illness
and restore health.
Modern research is beginning to support the idea that
visualisation and imagery can have hugely beneficial effects for health, as can
joy and relaxation - all aspects of Buddhist practice. So, whilst Buddhist healing
methods are centuries old, modern science, as it begins to observe and understand
the mind-body connection, is cautiously opening itself to its possibilities.
The Buddhist view is that all phenomena and experiences are manifestations of
causes, gross and subtle, and ultimately linked to the individual experiencing
them, and beginning in the mind.
What is the cause of disease? All of the
alternative therapies have their own answers and because they achieve results,
they probably all claim to be right.
Homoeopathy attributes disease to a
disturbance of the vital force and this in turn is caused by an array of factors:
hereditary, environmental, life-style, diet, emotional, suppressive allopathic
drugs, etc.
Nutritionally led disciplines say, "you are what you eat".
Extraordinary cures are obtained from special diets.
Hypnoanalysis and psychotherapy
lay the blame at repressed memories, inner conflicts, unfulfilled needs etc.
Still others claim that unhealthy electro-magnetic waves, natural and man made
are contributors.
Buddhism recognises all of these explanations of disease
as valid, but would claim that such causes of disease were themselves manifestations
of deeper causes.
The Buddhist concept of disease is a multitiered system
of causes. The following analogy will explain: A man drinks a bottle of vodka,
steps out of the pub, and blindly walks into the road, where he is at once knocked
down and killed by an oncoming bus. What was the cause of the man's death?
The apparent cause was being knocked down by a bus - analogous to dying of lung
cancer. A deeper cause was being drunk - analogous to the cancer being caused
by smoking. But why was he drunk? Because he was unhappy - analogous to the actual
cause originating in the mind. And why was he unhappy? Because his wife had left
him - analogous to the law of cause and effect (karma).
Hence Buddhists would
ultimately say that the lung cancer was created by negative karma: the negative
energy created in dependence upon a negative thought or its consequent actions
(in this life or a past life), and therefore ultimately to remove somebody's predisposition
to disease one would need to remove the negative karma.
Karma makes sense
of why two similar people can both spend their lives smoking 40 cigarettes a day
and why one dies of lung cancer and the other lives to be a hundred and dies of
natural causes. Unless the root cause of negative karma to experience a particular
effect exists, the secondary causes cannot function.
Whilst karma is virtually
impossible to prove to a sceptic, I suggest there is a link between the negative
energy created by karma, and the vital force as perceived in homoeopathy, or even
a disturbance of the libido as described by Freud. Experiments with Kirlian photography
clearly show that the electro-magnetic field surrounding the body (aura) is affected
by thought forms and that there is a definite correlation between the weakening
of the aura and disease (this also supports the theory put forward by Dr Edward
Bach, which has much in common with Buddhist thought).
Buddhist healing involves
working with both the primary and the secondary causes. Many of the methods act
upon both and one aim is to restore physical and emotional balance. In common
with the system of Chinese medicine, Buddhism recognises that the mechanism of
disease is to disturb and imbalance the inner elements, so many healing exercises
are aimed at harmonising the elements.
The ultimate healing in Buddhism which
acts upon primary and secondary causes and also re-establishes equilibrium is
to destroy the innate concept we have of the self as being a real and solid entity.
As a result of such ego identification we generate fearful, tight and negative
minds: the ultimate cause of all disease, mental and physical. By learning to
relax our grasping and see through the illusion like ego we gain a state of openness
and ease, and physical afflictions can melt away. However, this is not an easy
practice and requires considerable instruction.
Buddhism calls upon a great
range of methods to alleviate pain and illness, some of which can be performed
by oneself and others which require the assistance of another person. They include
many different visualisations, breathing exercises, mantra recitation and rituals.
Perhaps one of the most strange types of healing is the pacification of "malevolent
spirits".
For most Westerners (including Western Buddhists) this seems
quite hard to believe and is almost always relegated to the realms of primitive
beliefs. I have however had direct experience of spirits causing both physical
and mental disturbances. Some years ago I entered a room in a Buddhist temple
to discover a young man suffering from an epileptic fit. Conventional measures
were applied without alleviating the horrendous convulsions. Remembering the possibility
of spirit intervention, I began to recite the mantra of a wrathful deity very
forcefully and within no more than a minute the fit stopped and the young man
came back to his senses muttering something about having been possessed. A similar
event happened some weeks later and consequently I gave the man an exercise to
do daily to give him protection. During the 3 months that he performed the exercise
he was free of epilepsy. Shortly after stopping the exercises the fits returned.
Buddhist masters cite spirits as the cause of more than half of all illnesses
and claim that many serious illnesses can be cured with the help of certain rituals.
Immediately one thinks of Western style exorcists and indeed the rituals do have
much in common, the fundamental difference being that the foundation of Buddhism
is compassion and therefore it is not permissible to harm the spirits when encouraging
them to leave. Perhaps the belief in spirits does not seem so impossible if we
consider Western beliefs in positive forms of spirit like entities such as fairies
and devas. Is it not the case that huge vegetables have been grown with the help
of devas? Of course, there are many interpretations, and many a Western psychotherapist
writes off malevolent spirits as negative thought forms, or claim that the healing
rituals work via a trance-induced suggestion.
Buddhism talks about the life
force and this may be the same force as talked about in homoeopathy: the vital
force. For example, Buddhism attributes 3 main causes to death: the karmically
determined lifespan ends, the positive energy (karma) becomes exhausted or the
life force becomes depleted. The life force is a subtle energy which sustains
life and all of the functions of the body. It can be depleted through any excess
use of energy - for example sexual activity or even jogging etc., as well as sleeping
too much or too little, eating unwholesome food, emotional disturbances etc. Other
Eastern forms of thought and medicine aim to cure life force disturbances with
exercise methods such as Chi Kung and emphasise that Western forms of aerobic
exercise are seriously harmful to the life force if practised in excess.
One method described by many Buddhist teachers to increase the life force is extracted
from the tantric teachings and presented in a simplified form which can be learnt
in a few minutes (Yoga teaches a similar method).
The technique is performed
either in a traditional meditation posture or sitting on a chair, with an erect
but relaxed spine. One begins inhaling deeply with abdominal breathing, whilst
mentally hearing the sound OM (Aum). The breath is then held and imagined at the
spiritual heart (midway between the breast towards the spine) whilst mentally
hearing the sound Ah. After holding the breath for 3-5 seconds, or until it becomes
uncomfortable, the breath is exhaled whilst mentally hearing the sound Hum (Hung).
The whole process is then repeated for between 5 and 20 minutes. It is not necessary
to take exaggerated breaths and it is essential to perform the exercise whilst
remaining physically and mentally relaxed. Many people engage in meditation to
overcome stress and illness and finish up worse than before because they push
and strain in meditation. There are a number of variations on this meditation
linked to colour. One is to think of the colour white whilst inhaling the OM,
to think of red whilst holding the Ah at the heart and to think of blue whilst
exhaling the Hum. Those who practice this exercise, diligently, every day for
a few weeks will soon start to notice the benefits.
Mantras are very powerful
healing aids. They are not simply sounds in the conventional sense but are the
resonance of subtle primordial energies which we have within ourselves, the vibrations
of which distribute gentle healing energies throughout our being.
Most healers
have their fair share of failures. Often it is said that when a patient doesn't
get better it is because he does not wish to get better. Of course, sometimes
this is the case: when the illness provides the patient with a significant benefit;
but sometimes the cause of failure is deep rooted negative karma going back to
a previous life. Such a case is difficult to heal and sometimes not possible at
all. The Buddhist solution is to purify the negative karma and Buddhism teaches
many methods of purification.
One powerful method taught initially centuries
ago in India is the practice of Taking. Some years ago I was approached by a man
who had been diagnosed as having AIDS, and was estimated by his doctor to live
only 3-6 months more (in itself a dangerous negative suggestion). I instructed
him in the practice of Taking, as well as another Buddhist purification practice
and suggested that he enter a retreat for a few weeks. He was very sceptical,
but nevertheless agreed to try. After the retreat he continued to practice and
a few months later he told me that the doctor had noticed a considerable improvement
and could not understand it - at the same time the doctor ridiculed the practice
he was doing. Three months later the man returned to say that the doctors were
now saying there was no trace left of AIDS and that they must have mis-diagnosed
him. Interestingly the man himself arrived at the same conclusion some months
later and dismissed the practice he had done as wishful thinking. Most healers
will be familiar with such occurrences of post recovery denial.
The practice
of Taking generally depends upon two things: compassion and faith. Compassion
is like the power which heals and faith is like the fuel which sustains the power.
Love and compassion are great healers and are two sides of the same coin. One
definition of love is a universal wish for others to experience happiness. Compassion
is a universal wish for others to be free of suffering. They are not to be confused
with our usual self-centred emotional responses which we attach similar names
to. To generate compassion it is necessary first to reduce our own sense of self
importance: most of us feel as if the world revolves around ourselves. However,
we are just one of many beings seeking happiness. We then need to empathise with
others and to contemplate their suffering.
Faith can refer to many things.
It can mean to have confidence. Without faith most mental healing practices won't
work. On the other hand, with faith miracles can be achieved. One way to understand
faith is to perceive it as a focuser or magnifier. By focusing our healing efforts
through the mind of faith the power of healing is magnified and concentrated.
Faith can also mean acknowledging our innate perfect nature variously described
as Buddha nature, the Inner Guru, the Inner Wisdom or the Higher Self, or perhaps
from a Christian point of view as God. Faith in such an Inner Wisdom would mean
to rely upon the ability we have to perfectly heal ourselves and provide whatever
is necessary for that process. It can help greatly to imagine our Inner Wisdom
as an external source of power and to receive its healing energy.
Faith can
also be understood from a Western psychotherapy point of view. Faith is to programme
the unconscious mind with a certain idea or image, which then needs to find expression
in our everyday life. Therefore faith would seem to have much in common with the
power of suggestion and many hypnotherapists would say that all ancient healing
methods, including rituals, exorcisms and visualisations are all forms of hypnosis
and positive suggestion.
To perform the practice of Taking one starts by
contemplating others suffering from the same illness or problem (if emotional)
as yourself. So for example if you suffer from cancer, you think about all of
the people suffering from cancer. Many of them are suffering more than you. You
think about their pain, about how they fear death, about the sadness they have
thinking about leaving their family behind, or how they fear and suffer from any
conventional treatment they are due to receive. Essentially you identify your
own pain and then empathise with others who suffer a similar pain. It is important
to think that these people are just like you. They share a common wish of wanting
to be happy and free from suffering.
By thinking like this, in time a warm
feeling, a feeling of compassion will arise in the heart. This is the beginning
of real healing. Just thinking like this already reduces your suffering. Why?
Because suffering depends upon your awareness of it and if your awareness is turned
towards others instead of towards yourself your pain diminishes! The power of
the compassion should not be underestimated! It is said in the Buddhist scriptures
that true strength comes from compassion.
The next step requires a radical
thought! Having generated compassion and the wish for others to be free from suffering,
one courageously thinks, "if I could take on the suffering of all these people
and therewith free them from their pain, I would do." It is quite a thought,
isn't it? Supposing it really were possible that one person could choose to suffer
instead of a million people suffering! We try to imagine we have the courage to
think like that and to identify with that thought. It is like a man who is taken
prisoner and tortured. If he gives in to the pain and gives his torturer the information
he wants, maybe a thousand people die. He has to choose. Of course, such a choice
takes great courage. So, one tries to think like that. At first, our compassion
is so weak that we cannot genuinely generate that thought. At first we have to
imagine. Imagination is a very powerful tool and since reality depends upon the
mind, imagination can be used to shape reality.
Having generated that thought
you then think, "right now I will take on their suffering". You imagine
their suffering and illness dissolving into thick black smoke and you absorb this
smoke into your spiritual heart. As it dissolves into your heart you think of
it destroying your ego grasping; your selfishness.
Then you imagine all the
other people free from their suffering and such a thought makes you very happy;
very joyful. And so you become very still and bask in that sunshine-like happiness
and let it pervade your whole being. Joy is another powerful healing agent. When
joy flows through our bodies and minds it generates a powerful positive energy
which heals, nurtures, relaxes and regenerates. The practice is repeated several
times in a session if desired, and performed daily. Tibetans are very familiar
with this practice and many people have been cured from seemingly incurable diseases.
These are just a few of the many techniques which Buddhism has to offer.
Fundamental to all healing, of course, is the power of relaxation. Half an hour
of quality meditation a day can do much to rebalance our minds, bodies, energies
and emotions. When we gain deep awareness of these factors and learn to harmonise
them, healing can be achieved without recourse to outside influences.
*********************
Buddhist
Psychotherapy
"Of
the eyes of the thousand-armed thousand-eyed bodhisattva of great compassion,
which is the true eye?"(Question from Zen tradition)
The goal of both
Buddhist discipline and psychotherapy (to the extent that psychotherapy can be
considered a unified discipline) is freedom from suffering. It is not unusual
to hear the claim that psychotherapy aims to establish emotional health, and that
contemplative disciplines - such as Buddhism - have aims deeper or beyond those
of therapy. Consequently, it is possible to think of psychotherapy as a complement
to meditation. However, this isn't a comprehensive view: not only does psychotherapy
have significant insights of its own to contribute to our understanding of the
essentials of an engaged human life, but it is possible that we may see a psychotherapeutic
practice develop in this the twenty-first century which can be pursued as a life-long
spiritual path.
In Buddhist terms, one of the psychotherapeutic approaches
that provides a particularly valuabe link to spiritual practice is Object Relations
theory. Buddhism deeply investigates, and its practitioners transcend, the 'subject/object
split' in human consciousness. In object relations psychology this split is able
to be explored from what could be thought of as a karmic (intentional) viewpoint
- that is, object relations psychotherapy asks the questions: "How does the
consciousness of a child create the subject/object relationship?" and "How
does this process contribute to suffering?" it is possible that in future
we will see an extension of this approach into the realm of transendence. It is
already being developed in the (non-Buddhist) work of A.H.Almaas. So, on this
site, along with Buddhist links exploring these matters further, I've provided
some links that introduction the work of A.H.Almaas. Almaas' approach to therapy
isn't Buddhist, but it does take psychotherapy as a legitimate spiritual path
in itself, and anyone interested in pursuing the links between spiritual practice
and object relations psychotherapy would do well to investigate his teachings.
The key to understanding suffering lies in understanding the personality
- what is its nature, and how is personality activity maintained? To what end?
We spend much of our energy struggling to maintain a coherence of personality
that has no basis in actuality. That is, the basis of the unexamined personality
is ignorance, and the attempt to maintain a basically painful, false, separate,
independent, solid entity-like self constructed in childhood - what Alan Watts
called the 'skin-encapsulated ego' - produces the significant level of personal
strife that we take to be quite normal. The root of our problems is found in the
fact that we take our representations of our self to be the self. We have, as
a Buddhist text says, "mistaken a thief for a friend". Western psychology
has studied the ways in which this mistaken identity becomes established (although
they usually don't see it as mistaken), and although the formation of personality
is only rarely spoken of in terms of being a loss of Being, nevertheless such
a rich body of knowledge is invaluble for understanding how the self obscures
the essential riches of Being.
Another aspect of the beneficial interchange
between Western therapy and Buddhism can be found in the process-orientation of
both, especially where therapeutic models are influenced by the phenomenological
philosophical traditions. In the long-term this could transform 'present-centred'
therapy into a profound discovery of the transcendent dimensions of Being, as
in the Essence work of A.H.Almaas, or as in the Buddhist-oriented work of John
Welwood (book), or as in the work of Hakomi. The Existential therapies speak of
the present moment, but my sense of them is that they don't often enter into this
spacious dimension of mind, that is, into mind as Space. Phenomenological psychotherapy
- the experiential approach to therapy, the direct exploration of Being - if it
looks to the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, for example, will find such Spacious
dimensions, if they include the practices practice of mindfulness and meditation
as a part of their investigative praxis. (Specialists in cognitive psychology
might want to read Varela, Thompson & Rosch's book: The Embodied Mind. There
authors, respected scientists, say: "Mindfullness means that the mind is
present in embodied everyday experience; mindfulness techniques are designed to
lead the mind back from its theories and preoccupations, back from the abstract
attitude, to the situation of one's experience itself.").
Another gentle
and yet powerful experiential approach to human understanding that can support
self-knowledge is "Focusing", a body-oriented process that has been
explored and articulated by U.S. philosopher, Eugene Genglin. It awakens an appreciation
of the body's 'knowings.'
It is possible, then, to use psychotherapy to search
for the true life of the human being - the inter-dependent, sacred life - the
discovery of which dissolves the identifications that make up the personality,
dissolves the false way of seeing the world, and allows the emergence of the inherently
pure nature of the mind, what the Chinese Buddhist sage Lin Chi called "The
True Person of no rank". Lin Chi spoke of the realisation of our basic nature,
which is always free of conditioning. He said:
"Buddha - this is the
cleanness and purity of mind. The Dharma - this is the shining brightness of the
mind. The Way - this is the pure light that is never obstructed anywhere."
An understanding of the mind as primordially-pure, unobstructed, uncompounded,
and space-like, is of crucial importance for the development of a comprehensive
psychotherapy. Here, the anguish of existential emptiness, and of other states
of deficient emptiness, give way to the vast fruitful Void.
*********************
Buddhist
spirituality--a compassionate perspective on hospice care
by
Pam McGrath
Mortality
Vol. 3 No. 3 Nov.1998
Pp.251-264
Copyright by
Mortality
ABSTRACT
The practical, everyday metaphysic of Buddhist philosophy, which
is based on
notions of compassion and wisdom, a willingness to serve,
tolerance, a duty
to do no harm, and the significance of death, shares a
commonality with hospice
discourse. This discussion explores the connection
between these two compatible
discourses by detailing some of the findings
of research recently completed
on a Brisbane community-based, Buddhist
hospice service (the Karuna Hospice
Service).
Karuna
Hospice Service [KHS] [1] is a community-based, Buddhist
organization in Brisbane,
which provides comprehensive home care services
for people with a life-threatening
illness and their loved ones. It
provides full hospice-at-home service, with
expert nursing, counselling and
respite care. Nursing care is provided on a
24-hour, seven-days-a-week
basis and specialist palliative care medical consultation
is made available
if required. Individual and family counselling is provided,
as well as
bereavement counselling and support, and pastoral care. The KHS
team cares
for adults and children who have a life expectancy of under six
months, who
have a caregiver available and a general practitioner willing to
be
involved in home-based care. The service was established by a group of
'visionaries'
in the community under the charismatic leadership of a
Buddhist monk. It is
now five years old and presently receives some of its
funding from the Regional
Health Authority. Although it has only been
established for five years, the
organization has already earned an
excellent reputation in the local community
for its innovative, committed
and compassionate work with the dying.
Reports
I received about KHS, from both health professionals and clients,
were that
it had a caring and genuine approach to working with the
terminally ill that
was considered in someway 'unique'. These reports
stimulated and sustained
a desire to explore and describe, through
research, the organization's 'uniqueness'.
This exploration was developed
with two secondary questions in mind: how is
this uniqueness (if
documented) sustained in relation to the biomedical model?
What
constructive contribution could such an alternative model offer to our
approach
to death and dying in our society? This discussion is not
concerned with the
totality of these findings, but rather focuses on the
data that arose from
the research which specifically addressed the Buddhist
influence within the
organization.
Buddhist
spirituality emerged as one significant factor in inscribing KHS's
'uniqueness'.
This discussion will look closely at the findings on this
Buddhist factor,
and in so doing will seek to demonstrate the value and
commensurability of
this Eastern metaphysic with the hospice ideology and
practice of humane and
compassionate care of the dying.
Methodology
This
research was not concerned with the modernist notion of simulated
neutrality,
supposedly attainable through methodological strictness, which
is expressed
in beliefs about proof, objectivity or measurement (Powles,
1973; Fay, 1975;
Chalmers, 1976; Oldroyd, 1986; Capra, 1990; Fox, 1991;
Lather, 1991). The interest
was rather to capture and document the way in
which 'reality' (in this case
the 'reality' of KHS's 'uniqueness') is
socially constructed through organizational
'talk'. The methodological
focus was on exploring Mumby & Stohl's (1991:
313) notion of how "social
collectives come to privilege certain articulations
of reality over
others". A postmodern approach to research was used which
focused on
Foucaultian notions of discourse (Foucault, 1972; 1973; 1980; Lyotard,
1984;
Weedon, 1987; Best & Kellner, 1991; Valverde, 1991; Fairclough, 1992;
Davies,
1994). The research task was to record and explore the description
of KHS's
'uniqueness' articulated in the 'talk' of individuals both within
and outside
the organization. Such descriptions were taken as examples of
discourse and
analysed using the insights of writers on deconstruction
(Norris, 1982; Dear,
1988; Lemert, 1992; Smart, 1993; Elam, 1994). The
assumption that underpinned
the analysis was that:
Language
does not simply inform; it creates the very possibility for the
creation of
meaning environments. (Mumby, 1988: 102)
The
methodological issues surrounding this research are as important as the
findings.
Consequently, care has been taken to publish the full details
separately so
that understanding is not compromised by brevity in
discussions that are designed
only to present aspects of the findings. For
those interested, a complete discussion
is now available internationally as
several chapters in a book published on
this research or in journal
articles focusing on specific epistemological concerns
(McGrath, 1997a;
1997b; 1998a; 1998b).
In
summary, the data, which comprised 15 participants' comments
(language/texts)
about KHS, were collected through open-ended,
non-structured interviews. The
participants were representative of a
diverse group of individuals associated
with KHS. This selection included
those with roles within the organization,
e.g. doctor, nurse,
administrator; those outside the organization e.g. health
professionals and
patients; those with a past connection and those presently
involved.
Participants included those with both positive and negative experiences
with
the organization. Exact replication of the spoken texts was made
through audio
recordings and then transcribed verbatim. Each interview when
transcribed varied
from 6,000 to 10,000 words, producing an immense amount
of data. The texts
were then developed using a thematic analysis of
significant statements. All
ideas expressed were included, with one
interview at a time being used to create
categories and with subsequent
interviews analysed in such a way as to build
on these or to create new
categories. As this research was concerned with discursive
practices, such
an analysis used the exact words of the participants, not abstract
concepts
developed from such transcripts. It must be emphasized that the statements
that
became categorized under headings associated with the Buddhist factor
in the
organization, and which will consequently be used for this
discussion, were
only part of the wider findings. These statements were
included under a specific
category entitled 'Buddhist philosophy', which
included further subcategories
such as 'contributing to the difference';
'Buddhist representation'; 'Buddhist
principles'; 'public presentation of
Buddhism'; 'translation of principles
to service provision' and 'the
problems of translating Buddhist philosophy'.
Although the spirituality of
the organization is informed by Buddhism, it tolerantly
embraces a wide
variety of philosophical/theological positions. Consequently,
the
statements on Buddhism were also included under more generic headings such
as
'spirituality' and 'charismatic leadership'.
Findings
The
findings which arose from the research suggested that the respect given
by
members of this service to the transcendent notion of spirituality was
seen
as the important factor inscribing KHS's stated 'uniqueness' (McGrath,
1997a;
1997b). A caveat to the discussion on this finding is that it is the
'talk'
about spirituality and the valued discursive space inscribed by a
respect for
this transcendent dimension in KHS's everyday existence, which
is presented
in these findings. There is no attempt to engage in a
positivist discussion
of the empirical proof or otherwise of spirituality
per se. It is acknowledged,
however, that the challenge of making the
connection between empirical data
and philosophy is presently an
interesting trend taken by leading scientific
writers (Hawking, 1988;
Heisenberg, 1962; Koestler, 1967; Davies, 1983; Dyson,
1988; Capra, 1991;
Capra & Steindl-Rast, 1992; Davies, 1992; Smoot &
Davidson, 1993; De Duve,
1995).
A
significant part of KHS's generic, everyday 'talk' on spirituality was
informed
by the primacy within this organization of a Buddhist discourse.
The discussion
in this article will present the findings on this Buddhist
construction of
reality and how it relates to both hospice ideology and
KHS's spiritual way
of 'speaking the world'. By developing such a focus on
Buddhism this discussion
will be presenting only part of the story of KHS's
spirituality. To balance
such a discussion it must be emphasized that the
organization's discourse embraces
a theological/metaphysical openness which
is respectful of a multiplicity of
world views. As one participant stated,
it welcomed:
People
of all different religious backgrounds but who have spiritual
yearning for
some sort of satisfaction. (EQ:A.21.j) [2]
Introducing KHS's Buddhist discourse
As
a Buddhist based organization the Karuna Hospice Service also acts as a
compassionate
service model to the dying for the world Buddhist community.
Our vision springs
from a Buddhist value base. (The Karuna Hospice Service
Vision and Values Statement,
1995)
Karuna Hospice
Service is in the unique position of being the only
Buddhist-based community
hospice service in Australia. Although it now
receives significant funding
from the Queensland Government's Regional
Health Authority, KHS, a registered
charity, is part of the Foundation for
the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
(FPMT). The FPMT is a non-profit
network of Buddhist healing, meditation and
publishing houses with over 70
centres in more than 17 countries.
This
hospice service was established by a group of visionaries in the
community
under the charismatic leadership of their founder, Ven. Pende
Hawter, a Buddhist
monk. The initial idea for the hospice came from an
instruction from Ven. Pende
Hawter's Buddhist teacher. During the initial
stages of the establishment of
the service the members were labelled, 'Just
that bunch of Buddhists' and met
a great deal of resistance from the health
establishment. They have now earned
a reputation for excellence and are
seen as leaders in the provision of community-based
hospice care.
Clearly,
Buddhist philosophy is of considerable importance to the
organization. Throughout
the language/texts, such a Buddhist influence was
seen to give a significant
stamp of difference specific to KHS, setting it
apart from other local hospice,
palliative care or nursing organizations
working with the dying. As participants
stated the case:
What is different is our spiritual philosophy is Buddhist. [EQ:A.20.e]
Karuna
is also unique partly because it is a Buddhist organisation.
[EQ:A.20.a]
In
this research Mahayana practitioners (Dharma students) spoke in detail
of the
Buddhist principles which guide their work. Although KHS is a meld
of theological-metaphysical
traditions (including, for example Christian,
Zen, atheist) with an inscribed
tolerance of a multiplicity of
perspectives, even non-Buddhist members of the
organization spoke with
great respect for the influence of the Buddhist philosophy
and about their
attraction to, and ability to be comfortable with, such ideas.
Ideas
of particular significant which surfaced throughout such discussion
can be
summarized as an understanding of, and commitment to, notions of
compassion
and wisdom, the importance of a practical metaphysic, a
willingness to serve,
tolerance, the duty to do no harm, and the
significance of death. These ideas
will now be explored in detail.
The notion of compassion and wisdom
Compassion
(the sanskrit word for which is Karuna) and wisdom (or prajna),
according to
Florida (1994: 107) are the core values in the Buddhist
metaphysic, and are
intricately linked as the essence of the Buddhist way:
compassion being the
practical expression of wisdom (ibid). Metaphorically
described as the pillars
of Buddhist teaching, wisdom and compassion are
seen as one (Humphreys, 1974:
109; Kornfield, 1977: 14), each one is
considered dangerous without the other.
The
Buddhist principles articulated by the participants, although concise
and without
full description, were reflective of these core Buddhist
principles, as stated
in the literature, and exemplified by the following
language/text:
I
guess compassion ... they call the two wings of enlightenment wisdom and
compassion
... and so I guess compassion and wisdom in trying to cut
through some of your
own [problems], in trying to just be more open to
situations and less defensive
and ego centred or more just open and not
always trying to do the best for
me and protect me. (EQ:A.20.mm)
The
Buddhist concept of universal compassion has traditionally been tied to
the
care of the ill through the provision of a caring and loving service
(Ratanakul,
1988: 302). The desire to serve is seen in Buddhist literature
as the moral
imperative of compassion (Florida, 1994:107): a self-giving,
self-denying act
of generosity of spirit. Ratanakul stated that to
demonstrate by example, "when
nurses or doctors stay with patients who need
them, night and day, foregoing
rest and family, this is an act of
compassion, of self-denial" (1988:
312).
This aspiration
to be of benefit to all living things is described in the
Mahayana Buddhist
literature as a desire directing the central path to
Buddhahood (Dalai Lama,
1995:10). Such a desire is privileged throughout
the discourse of this organization.
One example illustrates the point:
Buddhist
principles of serving others the whole organization was based on
what the client
needs, what do they and their family need, and how can we
meet it. [EQ:A.20.uu]
Understandably,
compassion is also a central concept emphasized throughout
the literature on
hospice care (Fulton & Owen, 1981; Koff, 1980; Manning,
1984; Munley, 1983;
Saunders & Baines, 1983; Saunders et al., 1981).
Compassionate, caring
hospice service is seen to provide the dying with a
sense of security and trust,
and hence safety, which is only available when
a dependable plan of care is
maintained by people who really do care (Mor
et al., 1988: 10).
A practical, everyday metaphysic
As
can be seen by the above quotes, a Buddhist discourse is highly
compatible
with hospice care as it creates the discursive space for a
caring day to day
practice. Mahayana Buddhism is chiefly an altruistic
psychological metaphysic
with implication for the everyday actions of
individuals. As Keown (1996: 60)
explains "the highest ideal in the
Mahayana is a life dedicated to the
well-being of the world ... the
Mahayana places great emphasis on working to
save others". Throughout the
literature on Buddhism, and certainly as
demonstrated by the language/texts
of this research, abstractness is not privileged
as a virtue by itself, as
is often the case in Western philosophical theory.
The Buddhist metaphysic
is guided by religious insight, rather than philosophically
abstract and
rational argumentation. Buddhists speak of a 'religious path',
a 'spiritual
journey'; their philosophical orientation is pre-eminently practical
(Florida,
1994:107). There is no dichotomous separation between intellect
and psychology.
The first step to wisdom is self-domination: "he who
conquers himself
is the greatest warrior" (Humphreys, 1974: 61). This idea
was clearly
expressed by one of the participants, who stated that:
Everything
about Buddhism is about how you see the world ... everything and
so it all
comes back to you. (EQ.A.20.nn)
The
inward discovery is not a journey into egoic consciousness, as in
Western psychology,
which privileges the importance of a sense of self or a
personal identity to
be protected, developed and self-actualized. Rather,
the Buddhist notion of
the inward journey is to discover the non-self, 'the
original self', which
is both pure and empty: in short, to discover our
buddha-nature (Humphreys,
1974: 43). Buddhism steps outside the dualism of
Western thought and posits
the interconnectedness of all existence which is
integrated into a single,
non-dual reality (Ryomin, 1990: 86). While
promoting ideas of self-awareness
and responsibility for one's own actions,
such an idea silences the right to
impose dogma and values on others, and
incorporates a respect and flexibility,
honesty and humility in
relationships with others (Kornfield, 1977: 133). This
is definitely seen
as a positive aspect of working in the KHS, as seen by the
following
statement of a participant:
Working
in a Buddhist organisation I feel more obligation or whatever to
own my own
stuff and work through it, rather than trying to find ways of
externalising
it ... it has an incredible influence. (EQ:A.20.c)
This
is a flexible metaphysic with a central psychotherapeutic message
(Ross, 1993:
160), moral rather than intellectual purpose (Ward, 1947: 61),
and practical
foundation (Florida, 1994: 107) which emphasizes the
importance of personal
humility and self-awareness.
Although
the palliative care/hospice literature is awash with sensitive
insights into
the experiences of the dying and their caregivers, this
wisdom is not usually
accompanied by an emphasis on the role of
self-awareness, or the need for 'pure
motivation' in acting out this
understanding. Indeed, even in such an important
document on hospice
spirituality as the 'Assumptions and principles of spiritual
care' which
was developed by the Spiritual Care Working Group of the International
Work
Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (1990: 78-81), no direct reference
is
made to self-awareness or to the need for purity of motivation, in spite
of
the sensitivity of the document to the needs of the dying.
Tolerance
The
basic thing ... I guess is tolerance, it is a religion or philosophy
which
sees that there are many different paths ... it doesn't say this is
the right
way as some religions do ... it can embrace all religious beliefs
that don't
cause harm to people. (EQ:A.20.kk)
Buddhism
is documented as a tradition of tolerance, which affirms freedom
in matters
of belief, worship and religious practice (Florida, 1994: 105).
Simply stated,
in the words of one interviewee:
a
basic principle of Buddhism is ... that caring for others is a source of
happiness
and that if you are self-centred and care only about yourself
that is a cause
for sadness. So actually, the two things go hand in hand:
your own happiness,
your own satisfaction and being of service to others.
It is what the Dalai
Lama calls being wisely selfish. If you can generate
compassion and kindness
towards others you will have your own happiness.
(EQ:A.20.rr)
Such
a caring, compassionate tolerance of others in the discourse of KHS is
not
just privileged in relation to the families they care for, but also in
relation
to the members of the organization and the wider social network.
As with the
previously mentioned notion of self-investigation, this virtue
of tolerance
emerged as one of central importance in defining KHS's
difference.
An
indication of KHS's practical application of the notion of tolerance can
be
seen by the non-proselytizing, non-ritualistic approach taken to the
expression
of their Buddhist philosophy. From the perspective of
deconstruction, the language
texts demonstrated a silencing of the notion
that rituals (e.g. chants, meditations
or ceremonies) are, or should be,
prioritized as the modus operandi or public
face of this Buddhist
organization. There were also no references to the need
to convert,
advertise or persuade. In short, at KHS the Buddhist philosophy
is
expressed through the process of actively engaging in a strongly held
commitment
to a tolerant Buddhist outlook. That outlook does not emphasize
difference,
but rather affirms a shared compassionate commonality with all
other 'sentient
beings'. The only overt signs of KHS are the small altar,
occasional Buddhist
artifact, the brief meditations before the commencement
of meetings, and the
robes worn by the leader of the organization. As most
of the work of the hospice
is carried out in the community, even these
signs are not visible to most clients.
However, members of KHS's staff will
perform ritualistic practices with clients,
but only if specifically
requested by a patient with an understanding of Buddhist
philosophy.
Equally,
tolerance is seen as a cornerstone of hospice care. The very
notion is enshrined
in clauses found in the Dying Patient's Bill of Rights,
such as, "I have
the right to retain my individuality and not be judged for
my decisions which
may be contrary to the beliefs of others" or "I have the
right to
discuss and enlarge my religious and/or spiritual experiences,
whatever these
may mean to others" (Koff, 1980: 26).
The duty to do no harm
Another
Buddhist notion which surfaced in this research and is highly
compatible with
the spiritual and holistic goals of hospice palliative care
(Manning, 1984;
Martocchio, 1982; Munley, 1983; Seibold, 1992) is that of
ahimsa: the duty
to do no harm. As one participant commented:
Dalai
Lama says the basic foundation is if you can't do anything else,
don't do any
harm to anybody. (EQ:A.20.jj)
The
Buddhist duty not to harm is seen as important in human relationships
in general,
but especially in medicine (in this case the care of the
dying), where one
is dealing with the vulnerable, those already
experiencing the harm of pain
and helplessness of disease and disability of
terminal illness. Indeed, the
duty of ahimsa, when applied to those
suffering from illness that can not be
cured, has a conceptual paralleled
with Western ideas on palliative care. The
idea is to 'cloak', alleviate,
or lessen the distress. This Buddhist ethical
notion was expressed by
Ratanakul (1986: 99) as, "if one cannot remove
it [harm or disease], our
duty is to alleviate it, lessen it [i.e. relieve
the suffering, care for
and comfort the dying and maintain as best we can those
beyond our capacity
to cure] ".
Similarly,
the philosophy of hospice/palliative care grew out of a response
to the distress
caused to the dying by the invasive processes of highly
technologized, institutional,
curative treatments (Munley, 1983; Ratcliff
et el., 1989: 264; Rinaldi &
Kearl, 1990; Seibold, 1992). The aim of
hospice care, similar to ahimsa, was
to provide a less harmful approach
which offered death with the dignity of
caring designed to comfort, not to
cure aggressively (Saunders & Baines,
1983).
The significance of death
So far in
this discussion central concepts in Buddhist discourse such as
karuna, prajna,
and ahimsa, have been shown to have a similarity and
compatibility to ideas
in hospice/palliative care. The resemblance between
these two discourses is
further strengthened by the shared view of the
significance of the dignity
and importance of death. Participants in this
research believed that Buddhist
ideas could enrich hospice practice, as
seen by the following language/text:
Having
studied the Tibetan literature on death and dying, I am totally
convinced of
the amazing understanding that the Tibetan understanding of
dying can make.
(EQ:A.20.qq)
Buddhism
is a metaphysic which points to an understanding of the
significance of death
as an essential ingredient in understanding the
meaning of life. The intense
significance attributed to the time of dying
flows from the Buddhist idea of
reincarnation. A calm and peaceful death
can positively improve the next rebirth
(or samsara), despite negative
karma of past lives. According to Rinpoche (1992:
224), such a privileging
of the significance of the moment of death is predicated
on the assumption
that the last thought and emotion individuals have before
death has an
extremely powerful determining effect on their immediate future,
their
rebirth into a new life.
A
core Buddhist belief is that the whole of life is a preparation for
death:
the mark of a spiritual practitioner is to have no regrets at the
time of death
(Hawter, 1995: 3). As Pende Hawter, the Buddhist monk who
founded KHS, explains:
the
basic aim is to avoid any objects or people that generate strong
attachment
or anger in the mind of the dying person. From the spiritual
viewpoint it is
desirable to avoid loud shows of emotion in the presence of
the dying person.
We have to remind ourselves that the dying process is of
great spiritual importance
and we don't want to disturb the mind of the
dying person, which is in an increasingly
clear and subtle state. We have
to do whatever we can to allow the person to
die in a calm/happy/peaceful
state of mind. (1995: 4)
Participation
by all in the multi-disciplinary team is seen as making an
important contribution
to achieving this calm and peaceful state.
Participants
in this research made comments referring to the idea that
death is "extremely
significant" [EQ], indeed, the "culmination of all
life" [EQ],
and hence, that the moment of death is the "most important
moment in your
life" [EQ]. The orientation in working with the dying was to
achieve a
calm and peaceful death: a notion directly compatible with
hospice care.
It
is important to note, however, that although the hospice practitioners
at KHS
bring a deep respect for the process of dying, because of their
tradition of
tolerance they in no way see it as their right to impose the
Buddhist philosophy
of dying on their clients. There are specific rituals
for Buddhist practitioners
(Goss & Klass, 1997: 381) but these are only
engaged in if requested by
the client. The Buddhist tolerant and
non-judgemental commitment to supporting
others in their individual journey
necessitates a flexible, compassionate approach
to dying which affirms the
right of each person to die in the way they choose.
Participants
made reference to the individual variability of the dying
experience, and KHS's
non-judgmental support of individuals' choice of how
they die. Underpinning
such supportive work was the stated fact that
members of this organization
were comfortable with issues of death and
dying.
This
acceptance of death as a spiritual event and ease with the dying
experience
parallels the hospice notion of the 'normalization of death' in
which death
is seen as a very human event, a legitimate and normal process,
an inevitable
part of life (Hamilton & Reid, 1980: 48). Such an orientation
is a significant
move away from the dominant attitudes in our death-denying
society, where the
medical 'war' against death is maintained to the end
(Fuchs, 1968: 192; Short,
1985; Dutton 1988: 351-352; Jonsen, 1990: 51).
In
hospice care, as with Buddhist philosophy, the final days and hours of
death
are given particular attention, with opportunities provided for
patients to
experience their final moments in a way meaningful to them (Mor
et al., 1988:
10).
Summarizing the connection between Buddhist spirituality and hospice care
This
discussion has presented research findings on Karuna Hospice Service
which
indicate that the organization's Buddhist discourse not only
contributes significantly
to defining the 'uniqueness' of the organization,
but is also seen as a major
ingredient in the service's success in
achieving an excellent reputation for
compassionate work with the dying.
As
Fairclough (1992: 55) states when pointing out the primacy of
interdiscursivity,
"any discursive practice is defined by its relations
with others, and
draws upon others in complex ways". The 'talk' of KHS, it
is suggested,
draws on and combines both the hospice and Buddhist discourse
as an effective
discursive space for working compassionately with the
dying. In particular,
Buddhist notions of compassion and wisdom, the
importance of a practical metaphysic,
a willingness to serve, tolerance,
the duty to do no harm, and the significance
of death are seen as
commensurable with and supportive of hospice practice.
Situated
at the crossroads of two compatible and complementary discourses
(Buddhism
and hospice) the KHS 'talk' sanctions compassionate,
non-judgmental caring
which translates into practical, humane care of the
dying. In doing so, KHS
demonstrates the commensurability of Buddhist
philosophy with hospice practice.
The spiritual ideology central to both
discourses embraces a commitment to
Rinpoche's Buddhist vision for the care
of the dying, which is:
To
inspire a quiet revolution in the whole way we look at death and care
for the
dying, and so the whole way we look at life and care for the
living. (1992:
358)
Notes
[1]
The postal address of this service is Karuna Hospice Service, PO Box
2020,
Windsor, Queensland 4030, Australia. Tel: (07) 3857 8555.
[2]
The reference (EQ) is used to signify a verbatim quotation from a
language/text
of the research.
Correspondence
to: Pam McGrath, Centre for Public Health Research,
Queensland University of
Technology, Kelvin Grove Campus, Locked Bag No. 2,
Red Hill, Queensland 4059,
Australia. Tel: + 61 (07) 3864 5916. Fax: + 61
(07) 3864 3369. E-mail: p.mcgrath@qut.edu.au
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Biographical note
Dr Pam McGrath,
BSocWk, MA, PhD, is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the
Centre for Public
Health Research at the Queensland University of
Technology. Dr McGrath is presently
directing a program in psychosocial
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By Pam McGrath,
Centre for Public Health Research, Queensland University of
Technology, Australia
*********************
om
muni muni mahamuniye svaha
A
powerful technique for the control of the inner and outer environment involves
the use of mantras. One that we often repeat is that of Shakyamuni Buddha,
om
muni muni mahamuniye svaha. Mantras are effective because they help keep your
mind quiet and peaceful, automatically integrating it into onepointedness. They
make your mind receptive to very subtle vibrations and thereby heighten your perception.
Their recitation eradicates gross negativities and the true nature of things can
then be reflected in your mind's resulting clarity. By practising a transcendental
mantra, you can in fact purify all the defiled energy of your body, speech and
mind.
Whether repetition of a mantra is a transcendental meditation or not
depends on you and your wisdom. Its power does not come solely from itself. It
is not as if there were some ancient sacred syllables that you could recite without
contemplation and they would bring you great spiritual benefit automatically.
This is misconception. For instance, if you are under the sway of craving desire,
your mindless repetition of the most blessed mantra in the universe will be of
limited benefit. It will be just another samsaric activity.
Suppose
you are sitting somewhere reciting a mantra yet thinking, 'chocolate, chocolate,
delicious chocolate'. If you are totally preoccupied by the thought of this or
some other supermarket treat, how can such a practice ever be a transcendental
meditation? How can it lead to an everlasting peaceful result? For a mantra to
be effective you need to have stilled your mind to a certain extent and to have
gained at least some measure of concentration.
In addition, you should have
a pure motivation. It is not enough to be concerned with gaining temporal pleasure
for yourself. The true purpose of all mantras, as with all other dharma practices,
is to benefit all motherly sentient beings. Rather than always thinking, 'I want,
I want', try to develop the pure wish to be helpful to others. You need not be
either too intellectual or super-emotional about this. Merely dedicate the mantra's
energy for this altruistic purpose and beneficial results will follow by themselves.
Mantras also have the power to cure diseases. For example, some people become
temporarily insane because they are preoccupied with the false energy of their
distorted minds. The purifying vibration of a mantra is able to bring the mind
back to a calm and smoothly functioning state and the mental illness is thereby
cured. Since physical diseases are also intimately related to distorted states
of mind, mantras are effective as part of their treatment as well. There is nothing
magical about this. Scientific experimentation has clearly demonstrated their
healing powers.
The specific connotation of the Buddha mantra, om muni muni
mahamuniye svaha, is 'control, control, greatest control'. Now you might think
that Buddhism emphasises control too much and feel that the lamas are saying,
'Your deluded mind is so full of negativities that you must restrict it tightly'.
But this is not what we mean. Rather, if in the morning you establish a certain
kind of mind you will automatically be more conscious of your actions during the
day. Once set, your mind's internal watch continues to run by itself. This is
true because by channelling a great deal of energy in one direction you ensure
that all subsequent energy will flow along the same path.
In Tibet we say
that directing the mind is 'like bridling a fine horse to make him rideable'.
A horse is a tremendously powerful animal and if you do not have the means to
control him properly he may gallop off wildly, possibly destroying himself and
others as well. If you can harness all that energy, however, the horse's great
strength can be used for accomplishing many difficult tasks. The same applies
to yourself. Looked at scientifically, your body, speech and mind are nothing
but varying forms of energy. Thus, if in the morning you direct this energy by
strongly affirming your motivation, all the remaining energy of body, speech and
mind will follow in the came direction. So the control we are talking about is
similar to that of a pilot who does not restrict but rather directs the power
of his aeroplane. The problem with language is that words cannot really describe
inner experiences exactly. But if you yourself practice a particular teaching
and gain a realisation from it, then such words as 'control' will no longer be
any problem for you.
********************
Dharma
Talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh on July 16, 1998 in Plum Village, France.
Our
Appointment with Life
© Thich Nhat Hanh
Dear Sangha,
today is the sixteenth of July, 1998, and this is the first Dharma talk for the
Summer Opening. I would like to invite the young people to meet together today,
in order to discuss how to profit from the practice, from the Summer Opening,
because there must be things that you like to do for your practice to be more
fruitful, more joyful; and we have to meet about that. So the young people will
find time to meet today and discuss these issues: do you like to practice with
grown-up people, and how much do you want to share their practice? Of course,
as young people you like to be together as a group, and you may like to have practices
of your own, but from time to time you would also like to participate in the activities
of other people. So, discuss how much you want to do on your own, and how much
you want to do with other groups of people. Then I would like you to discuss joy
and difficulties in your daily life, because I would like to know more about your
daily life in order to offer the appropriate teaching and practices.
What
are the kinds of difficulties you encounter in your daily life, in your family,
in school? Please have a very thorough discussion, and write down all the kinds
of difficulties that you encounter at home and in school. We have to be able to
call these difficulties by their true names: what you don't like to happen in
school, what you don't like to see happening in your family. I need you very much
to tell me what kinds of difficulties you encounter at home, or in school, or
in society. And then I would like you to tell me also about your daily joy and
happiness, what kind of things you like in your family, in school and in society.
Take time to sit quietly and recall, and to think, not as an individual but as
a group, and each person will help the others to remember what kind of joy, what
kind of happiness, what you like that happens at home, in society, in school.
It is the opposite of what we just discussed before, when we mentioned what we
dislike, and don't what to happen. The second topic is what is happening that
you really like, in school, in society and in your family. Thirdly, I think this
is important, what you really like, but it has not happened
what you wish
to happen, but it has not happened, and what you think would be the conditions
for it to happen.
I think you can discuss this among yourselves, as the
young people, and then you can talk with other people, grownup people, and you
will have a deeper view, a clearer view about what has been happening, and why
the things you wish for have not happened. This discussion is already the practice
of meditation, because to me, to meditate means to be still and to look deeply
into our situation, to really find out what is there in our situation. And when
you sit down together calmly and practice looking together, you will begin to
see things more clearly. I would like you to record all that you have seen in
your practice of collective looking.
I know that life is difficult sometimes,
and as a young person you have already suffered. But the Buddha says that there
is always a way out of suffering, but you cannot see that way out of suffering
unless you see very clearly the nature of your difficulties. You are only eleven,
or twelve, or thirteen, but you already suffer. You are fourteen, fifteen, or
sixteen, you are almost an adult, yet you have the impression that life is already
very difficult. All my life I have been in touch with young people. I have managed
to always be in touch with young people. I like to listen to them, I like to understand
their suffering, their difficulties; that is why I am very interested in hearing
more about what is really happening, and you are the ones who can help me. In
retreats that I organize in many countries, I always welcome the young people
to come and to practice with us. The presence of young people makes the retreats
very alive. Your practice of looking deeply together will be a great help to me.
However, if you think that today you cannot finish that practice of looking deeply
at your difficulties and your joys, you can organize other meetings tomorrow and
after tomorrow. And the fruit of your practice will be enjoyed by other groups
that come after you. So please note, first of all, how much you want to practice
with the adults, and how much you want to practice as a young group; the difficulties,
the suffering that you encounter in your daily life, at home, at school, and in
society; the kind of joy and happiness that you are able to have every day in
school, in society, and at home; and finally, what you like, what you think to
be wonderful, to be uplifting, to be nourishing, but which have not happened yet;
and what kind of conditions you think you need in order for these things to happen.
For the very young people, I would like them to draw a wave for me, on paper.
Do you know what a wave is? A wave is what you observe when you look at the ocean,
at a river. You know that a wave is made of water. Try to draw the water also.
It is very difficult-I don't know whether you can draw the water. I am sure that
you can draw a wave, but without having succeeded in drawing in a wave, try to
draw water. You think you can do it? There is one child who had drawn a wave,
and I asked her, "What about the water?" She was very intelligent, and
she pointed at the wave and she said, "This is water." But you may have
other ideas. We know that water and wave cannot be separated. Sometimes the water
is still, and sometimes it is not still. When it is not still, the water becomes
waves. And when the water becomes still, what does it become? Can you draw it?
We have a poem that helps us to practice: "Breathing in, I see myself
as a flower; breathing out, I feel fresh." And the young people can practice
this. You breathe in and you visualize your self as a flower. "Breathing
in, I see myself as a flower; breathing out, I feel fresh." I think the grownup
people can practice this too. It's easy to see children as flowers. Everything
in the child looks like a flower: their eyes are a kind of flower, their nose
is a kind of flower too, their mouths, their hands, their feet, their faces look
like flowers. So it would not be difficult to visualize yourself as a flower,
because you are a flower by yourself. "Breathing in, I see myself as a flower."
A flower is always fresh and beautiful. And that is one of the reasons I like
to have children with us during retreats. These are flowers
we want to decorate
the retreat with flowers, and children are also beautiful flowers. "Breathing
in, I see myself as a flower; breathing out, I feel fresh." The grownup people
are also flowers, but many of them don't know how to maintain their flowerness.
That is why their flower is somehow a little bit tired. So this practice is to
restore your flowerness, so that you'll be fresh again. You know that you can
be fresh, like children, but because many of us have not had the opportunity to
learn how to maintain our flowerness, our flower has suffered. We also have beautiful
eyes like children, but because we have cried so much, we did not sleep well so
many nights, our eyes look tired. But if you know how to take care of your eyes,
they will become flowers again. And so with your face, your face was originally
a flower, but because you have not taken good care of your flowerness, an expression
of despair and fatigue makes your face look less than a flower. So this practice
is very helpful: "Breathing in, I see myself as a flower"-you restore
your flowerness. "Breathing out, I feel fresh."
The second exercise
is: "Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain." Believe it or not, inside
of you there is a mountain, the element of solidity, stability-you cannot take
the mountain out of you. There is a mountain in you: the capacity to be solid,
to be stable.
Because we have not taken care of our mountain, we have lost
a lot of that element of stability and solidity within us. So sit like a mountain
again, learn how to sit like a mountain again, learn the half-lotus position,
learn the lotus position, or learn the chrysanthemum position. Do you know what
the chrysanthemum position is? That is the position that you find the most comfortable,
with or without a cushion. So, "Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain;
breathing out, I feel solid." Do you know that the sitting position is one
of the most beautiful positions of the human body? A half-lotus, lotus or chrysanthemum-find
a position that fits you the best, using a cushion or two. Your cushion might
be more or less thick, but you have to try in order to find the cushion that fits
you. When you have found the position, your chrysanthemum position with the cushion,
I am sure you can sit for at least twenty minutes like a mountain. And sitting
like that is a wonderful way to restore your mountain. We suffer because we are
less than a mountain. We are shaky, we are vulnerable, but there is a mountain
in us, and we have to restore it, and to practice sitting meditation is one of
the ways to do it.
Children are capable of sitting also; if they don't
sit half an hour, then they can sit two minutes, or three minutes. I'm sure all
of you can sit like a mountain for two or three minutes. I'd like to see each
of you sitting in that position, then someone can take a picture of you as a mountain,
like this, smiling: " Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain; breathing
out, I feel solid." Solidity is one basic condition for happiness. If you
are not solid, you suffer. So, restoring the element of solidity within you means
that you can be happy right away. "Flower fresh, mountain solid."
Enjoy your breathing!
First of all, "Flower fresh, and then mountain
solid." Now we come to the third exercise: "Water reflecting."
"Breathing in I see myself as still water." You know still water is
not a wave. Sometimes you enjoy being a wave-it's very wonderful to be a wave,
coming up very high, and going down very low. But sometimes you are tired, you
don't want to be a wave anymore. You just want to be still water. To be still
water is also a great joy-you feel peaceful, you feel quiet, and you enjoy the
peace and the quietness that is in you. I know the young people like to be waves,
but they should know that it is also wonderful to be still water. Have you seen
a pond that is very still? You look into the water and you see reflected in the
water the blue sky, the clouds, the trees. You can even take a picture of the
sky and the clouds just by pointing your camera at the water, because still water
reflects things perfectly. Still water does not distort things. When you are not
still, you distort things. When your mind is not still, you distort everything.
The other person did not hate you, but you believe that she hated you. That is
a distortion, because your "water," your mind, is not still. Therefore
it is very important to practice so that your mind becomes still water. And now
you know why I asked you to draw still water. "Breathing in, I see myself
as still water; breathing out, I reflect things as they are." This is very
important. We should not be victims of our wrong perceptions. In order for our
perceptions not to be wrong, our minds should be still, like water. And there
are ways to help your mind to become like still water.
The last exercise
is: "Breathing in, I see myself as space; breathing out, I feel free."
Space is very important. Imagine a bird without space. A bird without space could
not fly; it would have to die. We humans are like birds: if there is no space
around us we cannot move. If there is no place inside our hearts we also cannot
move. So it is very important to practice in order to give us a lot of space inside,
to practice in order to give our beloved one space so that she can move, so she
can breathe. That is the practice of love. So you can ask yourself whether you
love him, or whether you love her. If you love him, if you love her, you'll give
him or her a lot of space, both inside and around him or her. It is very important
to bring space into ourselves, and to restore space around us. And we will learn
how to do it together.
I would like everyone to sing with me the song:
"Flower Fresh," so that we memorize it, and we will begin to learn to
practice like a flower, a mountain, still water, and space.
Breathing
in, breathing out,
Breathing in, breathing out,
I am blooming as a flower,
I
am fresh as the dew.
I am solid as a mountain,
I am firm as the earth.
I
am free.
Breathing in, breathing out.
Breathing in, breathing out.
I
am water, reflecting
What is real, what is true.
And I feel there is space,
Deep
inside of me.
I am free, I am free, I am free.
Shall we sing it once
more? I think we have to sing it in French.
Quand j'inspire, quand j'expire,
Quand
j'inspire, quand j'expire,
Je me sens comme une fleur,
Aussi fraiche que
la rose est.
Je suis solide comme une montagne,
Je suis firme, comme la
terre.
Je suis libre.
Quand j'inspire, quand j'expire,
Quand j'inspire,
quand j'expire
Je suis l'eau reflectante
Ce qui est vrai, ce qui est beau.
Et
je sens il y a de l'espace
Tres profonde en moi
Liberte, liberte, liberte.
I think we have other versions ready
today we shall learn the Italian
version, the Vietnamese, and so on. Now I think it is time for the very young
people to stand up and to bow to the Sangha and go out.
The transformation
and healing we are looking for is not outside of us, it is in us. It is like the
wave: if it wants to be still, the stillness should not be obtained from the outside,
it is in the water itself.
We have the capacity to be a wave, but we also
have the capacity to be still water. So we look for peace, we look for stability,
we look for well being within ourselves, and these things are not something that
we can acquire from outside. But maybe there are those of us who are only used
to being waves, and we have forgotten how to become still water again. We know
that we have the capacity of becoming still water again, but we have forgotten
how to do it. That is why we need the practice. We need a teacher who will tell
us how to restore our stability, our stillness. We need a Dharma brother, a Dharma
sister, we need a Sangha in order to learn how to be stable and still again. Peace
is first of all something that you are, not exactly something you do. That is
why we like to use the expression "being peace," the way to be peace.
Peace is there, only if we allow it to be, then it will be. Because we have not
allowed peace to be, that is why peace is impossible. We cannot say that peace
is not there, peace is there somehow, but we have to allow it to manifest. It's
like in a wave-there is water, and the capacity of the water to be still is there
inside the wave. That is why learning how to be peace, to allow peace to be, is
very important. There is a kind of energy that is pushing us day and night, preventing
our becoming peace. Within Buddhism that energy is called vasana, meaning "habit
energy." And we have to learn how to recognize it. We don't have to fight
it, we have to learn how to recognize it in our daily life, and when we are able
to recognize it and smile to it, it will lose its energy, and allow us not to
be carried away by it. Vasana," tap khi, this is like chi gong, khi energy,
and "tap" means what you have learned so that it becomes a habit, so
we translate it as "habit energy."
We have more than enough
intelligence to know that if we say these words, then we will damage our relationship
with the other person. Yet when the time comes, we cannot be ourselves--we say
it. We know that we should not do it, because if we do it will cause damage to
our relationship, and yet we do it. We say, "It was stronger than I am."
What was stronger than you were? It is the habit energy. We know very well that
we should not say these things, that we should not do these things; we know very
clearly that saying it will destroy our relationship, will cause a lot of damage.
Yet we find ourselves in the situation, and we say it, or we do it. And after
the destruction, after the damage has been done, we regret a lot, and we say,
"Why have I said that, done it? I already knew that if I said it, if I did
it, I would cause damage, and yet I have said it, I have done it." And we
promise to ourselves that we will not do it again, we will not say it again. We
know that we are very sincere in that moment, we want to begin anew. "That
is the last time that will happen. I will never repeat that again." Yet,
because the habit energy is always there, when you find yourself in the same kind
of situation, you will say it again, you will do it again. And the damage continues,
we know that it takes several months to repair the damage, yet it will take only
a few minutes to cause the damage. We have learned the lesson, yet we cannot practice
it, because the habit energy is so strong.
We are taught to practice mindfulness
in order to recognize the habit energy every time it manifests. Mindfulness is
also a kind of energy, the kind of energy that can help us become aware of what
is going on, as when I look at my hand and I know that I am looking at my hand,
that is mindfulness of looking. When I drink some water and I know that I am drinking
water, that is mindfulness of drinking. When I walk, if I know that I am walking,
that is mindfulness of walking. When I breathe, if I know that I am breathing,
that is mindfulness of breathing. That is the practice that we do in Plum Village,
in order to generate the energy of mindfulness. And the energy of mindfulness
is the only kind of energy that can recognize the habit energy every time it is
manifested. That is why the practice of mindful walking, mindful breathing, mindful
eating is very important, because every moment you practice mindfulness of walking,
or eating or breathing, you generate, you cultivate that energy of mindfulness
in you. That energy is so important because it will help you to recognize what
is going on, and therefore when the habit energy is manifested, we know right
away. "Hello there, my habit energy, I know you." And you just smile
to it, and then it cannot do anything to you anymore. There is no fight. It is
not necessary to fight. The Buddhist way is very gentle, very non-violent. Just
become aware of that habit, smile to it, "My dear friend, I know you,"
that is all, and your habit energy might go back to store consciousness a little
weaker. And next time when it manifests itself you will say, "My dear little
habit energy, I know you are there. I will take good care of you." Then it
will go back to the store consciousness again.
I would like to tell you
the story of a young man who came from America and practiced here, I think more
than ten years ago. During the first three weeks, he enjoyed the practice so much.
He enjoyed stability and joy during practice, because the practice of the Sangha
in the Upper Hamlet was so strong. He was supported by monks and lay people who
practiced here in the Upper Hamlet, and he was quite happy. One day he was sent
by his fellow American practitioners to Ste. Foy-la-Grande, the town nearby, to
do some shopping, because on that day we organized a Thanksgiving Day, and each
national group was supposed to cook a dish typical of that nation to be placed
on the ancestral altar. And he was sent by his American friends to Ste. Foy-la-Grande
to do the shopping. It was the first time he had left the Upper Hamlet to go to
a city. During the time he was shopping, he suddenly realized that he was rushing,
there was no calm or stability anymore, because he wanted to get things done quickly.
And that was not pleasant, because in the three weeks before he had not had that
kind of feeling, that kind of energy. But since he had been practicing mindful
breathing, he was able to recognize that the energy of rushing was in him, the
energy of wanting to get things done very quickly was in him. He was capable of
seeing that that energy had been transmitted to him by his mother, because his
mother was always like that, always rushing and wanting to get things done very
quickly. At that point he took a deep in-breath, and he said, "Hello, Mommy."
And suddenly the energy of rushing was no longer there. And he knew that without
the Sangha around him he should practice strongly, and he followed his mindful
breathing until he finished the shopping, and from that moment on the energy of
rushing was no longer with him.
When you are supported by a strong Sangha
and a strong practice, the practice becomes very easy, and negative habit energies
will have no occasion to manifest themselves. But when you find yourself alone,
and you are not supported by the collective energy, these negative habit energies
can spring up and manifest themselves, and you have to be equipped with enough
mindfulness in order to be able to recognize them, and not to let them lead you
and push you to do things that you don't want to do, to say things that you don't
want to say.
When you practice mindful breathing and mindful walking,
you allow peace to be. The negative energies are still in you, but they do not
manifest themselves. If you continue, if your practice works out, then the negative
energies will be transformed little by little in the depth of your consciousness.
They are transformed in two ways. The first way is that when they manifest themselves,
you recognize them, you smile to them, and every time you do that they will go
back to the form of seeds in the lower level of your consciousness and they will
lose some of their strength, through the phenomenon of discharge. Your habit energy
will still be there, but it will lose a little bit of strength every time it is
embraced by your mindfulness. So the next time it manifests itself, you do the
same, you embrace it, you recognize it, and it loses a little bit of strength
and it goes back to the lower level of your consciousness. And that is the first
way to help it to transform.
The second way is that you continue to cultivate
the energy of peace, the energy of mindfulness, and during one hour of walking
meditation or mindful breathing, you nourish and you cultivate the energy of peace
and mindfulness in you, because the energies of peace and mindfulness also have
their own seeds in the lower level of your consciousness. And these seeds continue
to grow in you, and when they are important, they know how to take care of the
opposite kinds of seeds. You don't have to directly touch the negative seeds.
You cultivate only the positive energies in you, and during the time you sleep,
during your daily life, the positive seeds, the seeds of peace and stability,
will know how to take care of the negative seeds, and there will also be a transformation,
even if you don't directly deal with them. I have many stories to tell about this.
When I was first exiled from my country in 1966, when the war in Vietnam had
become very intense, I had to leave the country for a few months in order to go
to Europe and the United States to advocate for a cease-fire, for the stopping
of the war. Because I tried to speak with the voice of the victims of the war
and not the voice of the warring parties, I was not allowed to go home, and I
was exiled from my own country. It was very hard for me. At that time all my friends
were in Vietnam, all my work was in Vietnam, and it was very difficult to survive
if I did not go home. Everything in Europe and America was very strange to me.
There were no Vietnamese refugees abroad yet. I had to travel extensively in order
to speak about the situation in Vietnam, and I stayed two or three days in each
city. Sometimes I woke up during the night and I did not know what city or what
country I was in, because of the extensive speaking tour.
During the first
year of my exile I used to dream of going home. The same dream came back again
and again. Usually I saw a beautiful hill, a green hill, with beautiful trees
and little houses on it, and I was climbing on it. I knew that everything I loved
was on that hill: my friends, my work, the people I loved, they were all on that
hill. And always, halfway up, there was something preventing me climbing anymore.
And I always woke up at that moment, and realized I was exiled. The same kind
of dream came back again and again. But at that time I was already practicing
mindfulness, recognizing what was happening in the present moment. I learned to
appreciate the trees, the birds, the fruits, the people, and the children in Europe
and America. In Vietnam we had different kinds of trees, fruit and birds. I spent
time with children in Germany, in France, in England and in America, and I talked
to and made friends with pastors, Catholic priests and all those who would like
to support me in helping end the war. I continued to make friends, I continued
to learn how to appreciate what was there in the present moment. The practice
brought fruit, because that dream did not come back any more. It looks like I
have adopted this part of the world as my home also. I did not meditate on the
dream. No, I did not analyze my dream. I did not invite my dream up in order to
have a talk with it, I did not do any of that work. I just tried to live mindfully
each minute of my daily life in Europe and in America, and I was able to touch
what was wonderful, beautiful, refreshing here in this part of the world, and
I cultivated this kind of joy and relationship. It was exactly that joy and relationship
that took care of my pain of being in exile, and I experienced a transformation
deep down in store consciousness. I did not work on it intellectually at all.
So transformation and healing can happen in two ways: the first way is that
you directly embrace it and look deeply into it. The second way is to just cultivate
the positive energy of peace, of solidity, of joy, and then they will know how
to take care of the negative energy within you. So, the habit energy that we have
within us
if we allow it to continue to push us in our daily life, then we
will continue to create suffering for ourselves, and suffering even for those
we love. That is why we have to learn how to be able to recognize and to transform
it, and you know already that the factor that can recognize that habit energy,
the factor that can embrace that energy and help it to transform, is the energy
of mindfulness. That is why one hour of mindfulness practice is one hour of cultivating
that energy. That is why, when we come to Plum Village, we should invest our time
and our energy in the practice of mindfulness, so that when we go home we will
be able to continue, because that is the only energy that can help us with transformation
and healing. I used to tell Catholic and Protestant friends that, to me, the energy
of mindfulness is equivalent to the energy of the Holy Spirit, and we are capable
of generating that Holy Spirit within ourselves.
Habit energy manifests
itself several times a day. If you are attentive, you will recognize it, in your
way of walking, for instance. There is a belief that what you are looking for
is not here, it is somewhere in the future. You believe that the things you want,
whether it is peace, or happiness, or stability or freedom or God or the Buddha,
are not available in the here and the now. So there is a belief that you have
to look for them somewhere else, or in the future. That is why the way you walk
is conditioned by that kind of belief. You walk as if peace and happiness are
not available in the here and the now. That habit energy can be seen in every
step you make. You run
and we have been running for a long time, not only
during this life, but in previous lives we have been running, because the habit
of running was there in our ancestors and in our parents. They still continue
to run in us. Even when we sit down and eat our lunch, they continue to run, to
run inside. We are not capable of eating our lunch in peace. There are those of
us who practice strongly-once they sit down, they want to be there. And they want
to enjoy their lunch with the brothers and sisters who have come, and to enjoy
the practice with them. There is a strong determination to stop in the here and
the now, and to live deeply this moment of your daily life. So, sitting like a
mountain, do not allow the past and the future to carry you away. Bring your mind
back to your body, and sit there as if sitting there is the most important thing
of your life. And when you eat your lunch, eat your lunch in such a way that peace
and joy are possible. And in order to really do that, you have to stop running.
When one hundred people, three hundred people are sitting together and eating
lunch together, a number of us are capable of sitting still in the present moment,
not allowing any projects, any worries to invade us. Just sitting there and establishing
ourselves in the here and the now, because sitting with the Sangha is a joy, by
itself. While we eat, we touch deeply the food that is a gift of earth and sky,
of the cosmos, and we just enjoy our sitting and our eating, our breathing. We
enjoy our life, expressed in our presence and in the presence of brothers and
sisters who surround us. The only condition for that to be possible is to stop
running. We have been running for a long time, and even during our sleep we continue
to run. Learning to stop is the most important practice of Buddhist meditation.
To stop on the ground of the insight that what you are looking for is already
there in the present moment, in the here and the now. The Buddha was very clear
about it. Do not allow the past to get you, don't be attached to the past because
the past is already gone. Do not allow the future, worries about the future, to
get you, because the future is not yet here. There is only one moment for you
to be truly alive, and that is the present moment. All the wonders of life can
be touched in that moment. So the Buddha was clear on that. Everything belonging
to life is there in the present moment; the blue sky, the beautiful face of your
child is there, available in the present moment. If you get lost in the future,
in worries about the future, or in sorrow about the past, life will not be available
to you. So the basic condition is to go back to the present moment, to allow yourself
to be touched by the wonders of life.
There are elements that are beautiful,
refreshing and healing. If we allow ourselves to be touched by these elements,
we can restore our well being, our peace. How can we do that, unless we learn
how to stop running, to allow our bodies to rest, to be in the here and now, and
to allow our mind to be present, to touch life. And this is our practice. When
we find ourselves alone, and try to practice according to the teachings in a book,
it may be difficult. But when we find ourselves in a Sangha where everybody is
doing that, then it will be very easy, like walking meditation. You know that
the monks and the nuns and the lay people who are permanent residents in Plum
Village practice walking meditation every day. Every time they need to go from
one place to another place, even if the distance is only two or three meters,
they always practice walking meditation. There is no other style of walking but
mindful walking. You walk in such a way that every step can bring you solidity
and peace. It is not only during retreats that we practice like that, but outside
of retreats we always walk like that, because you can enjoy every step you make.
Every step, make it more solid. Every step, make it more peaceful. And you cultivate
peace and solidity with every step you make. If you are a visitor coming to Plum
Village, and you see everyone is walking that way, then you can do it very easily
because you are reminded by everyone. Everyone is a bell of mindfulness, calling
you back to the practice of mindful walking. And when you walk, and experience
the peace and the joy, you become a bell of mindfulness yourself. And when we
see you walking like that, we have confidence. If it happens that we get lost
in our worries, in the past, in the future, and we see you walking like that,
we have a chance to come back to the here and the now and enjoy our steps also.
That is the virtue of a Sangha.
What we enjoy here in Plum Village, when
we come, is the presence of the Sangha. A teacher without a Sangha cannot do much.
Therefore, take refuge in the Sangha, have confidence in the Sangha, surrender
yourself to the Sangha, and allow the Sangha to transport you like a boat on the
ocean. That is our practice. Don't worry, we know that our practice is to cultivate
mindfulness. That is why during the time of eating, we eat in such a way that
mindfulness is there. It means body and mind united, you are really there in the
present moment, and you enjoy your lunch, and you enjoy the brothers and sisters
around you. Please do not think of the past, of the future, of anything-just sit
there, allow yourself to be there. Simply being there, eat in such a way that
peace and happiness are possible, and the place will become the Pure Land, the
Kingdom of God. Whether the place is Hell or the Kingdom of God depends entirely
on you. If you can dwell in the here and the now, if you can let peace and solidity
and freedom be the energies nourishing you in that moment, then the piece of land
you are walking on, sitting on, is the Pure Land, the Kingdom of God. Everything
depends on us.
In the meditation hall, we sit and we walk. What is the
purpose of sitting and walking? Sitting is to cultivate our stability, our solidity.
The sitting is not an exercise for you to arrive at a certain state of mind. This
means that you have to enjoy the sitting, sitting just for sitting. And the moment
when you enjoy the sitting, joy and stability become a reality already. When we
are a wave, let us be a real wave. When we want to be still water, we can enjoy
being still water. To be a wave is wonderful, but to be still water is also wonderful.
Sitting is to allow our bodies to be quiet, to be solid, and to allow our minds
to be at one with our bodies. While we sit we might enjoy our breathing, because
our breathing will bring our minds and bodies together, and will help keep our
minds and bodies together. Every moment of our sitting and breathing can be a
moment of joy and peace. If you sit as though at hard labor, it will not result
in anything at all. So the problem is not to sit a lot, but to enjoy the sitting,
and to make the sitting pleasant.
We should use our intelligence in order
to do sitting meditation. It is like when you stand and contemplate a beautiful
sunset. If I ask you, "What is the purpose of standing here and looking at
a sunset?" you don't see any purpose--you just stand there enjoying the beautiful
sunset. Sitting is like that. If someone says, "Why do you sit like that?
What is the purpose of sitting like that?" you could say, "I just enjoy
sitting." That is the best way of sitting, to just enjoy sitting. You know,
when Nelson Mandela, the president of South Africa, first came for an official
visit to France, he was met by the press, and the members of the press asked him
what he would most like to do now, and he said, "Just sit down, because since
the time I got out of prison I have not had a chance to sit down and do nothing."
And now Plum Village offers you that opportunity, just to sit down and do nothing.
Sitting down and doing nothing like that, if you enjoy it, will promote a lot
of transformation and healing.
So in our Dharma discussions, please do
not venture into areas of speculation, but bring our experiences together related
to how we can better enjoy our sitting, our breathing, our walking and our eating
together. The energy that helps you to succeed in enjoyment is mindfulness, because
mindfulness is the capacity of being there, body and mind united, so that you
can touch life deeply in that moment.
The energy of mindfulness can be
generated by mindful walking, it can be generated by mindful breathing. It can
be generated by doing things, or by mindful eating, mindful working, mindful walking,
mindful sitting, mindful breathing. Mindfulness as I define it is the energy that
can help you to be there, in the here and the now. From time to time, we see a
person sit there, but he is not really there. His body is there, but he is completely
absent. We can come and pat on his shoulder and say, "Anybody home?"
and then he'll come back to us. So mindfulness is to be there, body and mind united
in the here and the now. Mindfulness is the capacity to recognize what is there.
Because you have to be there first, and when you are there something else is also
there, and that is life. The beautiful sunset is not for you if you are not there.
The blue sky is not for you if you are not there. And the multitude of wonderful,
refreshing and healing elements will not be for you if you are not there. This
by itself is a gift, because when you love someone, the most precious thing you
would like to offer to her or to him is your presence, because how can you love
unless you are there? Please look deeply to see it: the most valuable gift you
can make to your beloved one is your presence. Therefore, to be present means
to be loving. "Darling I am here for you." That is the most meaningful
statement of love. If you are not there, if you are always absent, if the place
you are used to going is the past or the future, then you cannot love. When you
are there, you can offer your presence as a gift, and then you can do something
else, you can recognize the presence of your beloved one: "Darling, I know
you are there, and I am very happy." To be loved means to be recognized as
existing. If you are too busy, if you are not there, then the person that you
love will have the feeling that she is ignored by you, she does not mean anything
to you. That is why, when you are there, you are in a position to recognize what
is there, and what is there is your beloved one, it is life. The Buddha said,
life is available only in the here and now, and your appointment with life is
in the present moment. If you miss the present moment, you risk your appointment
with life. So the teaching is very clear and also very simple: that we should
train ourselves to go home to the here and the now, and touch deeply the life
that is available in that moment. And everything we do, walking, sitting, breathing,
eating, is to realize that.
*********************
Dharma
Talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh on July 23, 1998 in Plum Village, France.
The
Practice of Mindfulness
© Thich Nhat Hanh
Good
morning my dear friends. Today is the twenty-third of July, 1998 and we are in
the Upper Hamlet. I will speak in English today.
Thank you, young people,
for having performed opinion lines. You did very well, but I have to confess that
some of you spoke too quickly, and I could not get all of the words. I don't know
how much time each of you spends sitting in front of your television sets. I hear
that there are children who spend up to three hours a day sitting in front of
the TV screen, but I don't know whether that is true or not. Three hours, or four
hours, that is a little bit too much. Some grownup people use television as a
kind of baby-sitter. They don't have the time to take care of their children,
so they ask the television to be a baby-sitter for them. I remember, about ten
years ago, I organized a retreat just for young people in Santa Barbara. Many
hundreds of children came, because that retreat was for children alone. I have
conducted a number of retreats like that in North America and in Europe; a lot
of children came, and their parents also came to support them. Dharma talks, Dharma
discussions, lemonade meditation, everything was created just for young people.
Among these children there were those who had been in retreats, that is why they
knew the practice, they enjoyed the practice, and they helped the other children
to join the practice, so it was a wonderful retreat. I think I had two retreats
like that in a row, in Santa Barbara.
I remember that during one of the
retreats, a little girl about eight years old came up to me with a sheet of paper
on which she had very carefully written the sentence: "I vow not to watch
television on weekdays." That statement was made after a Dharma discussion
by the children, who discussed how we should deal with television, how much time
we should spend for television, and what kind of programs we should watch and
what kind of programs we should refrain from watching. That is why that young
lady came up to me with a sheet of paper with that sentence: "No television
on weekdays." She wrote that sentence several times on that sheet of paper-just
one sentence, and when I turned it to the other side, the same thing was written
again. It means that she had really made up her mind not to watch television on
weekdays. And when I asked her why, she said, "Because I want to have more
time for my studies, to have more time to be with my Mommy, my Daddy, my brother,
my sister; that is why is promise with you, Thay, and the Sangha, that I will
not watch television a lot like before. I decided that I will watch television
only on weekends. I asked what were the other reasons, and she said, "On
television there is bad stuff, and that is one of the reasons why I will watch
the TV less." I was pleased with her practice, and I told the story to other
children in the retreat, and I asked whether there was anyone in the retreat who
would like to join that young lady in practicing the same kind of thing, meaning
to watch television less, specially on weekdays. To my surprise, more than twenty
children came up and made the same kind of commitment, not to watch television
on weekdays. All of them promised that they would go back to their rooms and write
the same kind of sentence on both sides of a sheet of paper. I took all these
sheets of paper. I believe that all of these children were very sincere when they
made the commitment, and that also made me happy.
You know, television
is sometimes wonderful, and there are very beautiful programs. You can learn a
lot from watching television. You can learn about the lives of animals and of
flowers, and about the lives of people in other countries far away. You can learn
a lot, and I feel very thankful to those who create such programs so we can learn
without having to go out a lot. But I also observe that there are many bad television
programs, and when we look at these programs we receive a lot of poisons, as when
we eat something that is not healthy, we get poisons in our stomach, and we get
sick. So television is a kind of food, and we have to be careful, we have to be
very mindful when consuming television. You know that if you consume edible food
unmindfully, you can get sick, you might have diarrhea and other things. The same
thing happens when you consume television without mindfulness. There is a lot
of fear, violence, craving, suspicion, and hatred in many programs, and if we
allow ourselves to be penetrated by these poisons we will not have good mental
health. I think that people who have depression have watched a lot of television
and have gotten in touch with a lot of negative things in their daily life, and
that is why they get sick mentally. That is why our practice is to be mindful
in consuming edible food, and television. So I wish that today you will have a
Dharma discussion and continue the discussion in the opinion line. I would like
to hear from you, after your Dharma discussion, about your determination of how
to use your television set.
I learned that in North America many people
are enlightened concerning smoking. They know that smoking is not good for their
health. That is why many people in North America have stopped smoking. Not many
people in my country have stopped smoking. I am very sad about that, and I would
like the people in my country to stop smoking. Many people get sick because of
smoking, because of nicotine. About ten or fifteen years ago, every time I took
the train or the bus or the airplane, I was very afraid of sitting close to someone
who smoked. I suffered a lot because of the cigarette smoke. But now there are
air companies that offer us non-smoking flights. That's wonderful. There are many
non-smoking flights, even in France. I think there must be many of us who have
been working silently and continuously in order to increase awareness that smoking
is hazardous to our health. It is wonderful to see on every package of cigarettes
in America that wonderful sentence: "Be aware-smoking may be hazardous to
your health." An awakening, enlightenment on the dangers of smoking, has
been made into law. If you produce cigarettes, you have to put that label on each
package of your cigarettes; otherwise it would be against the law. That is why
I think our American friends have been wonderful in working on that aspect of
enlightenment, so that mindfulness regarding smoking has become daily life.
We have to step up our efforts regarding other aspects of our daily life.
I would like to urge that our American friends do something similar with television
sets. I wish that someday, when we go to buy a TV set, we will see stuck on each
TV set the same kind of sentence: "Be aware-if you are not mindful, this
can be very toxic, and can bring you a lot of suffering." This is our practice,
mindfulness of consuming. When we sit around a table, about to eat our dinner
or lunch, we should have enough time to practice breathing in and breathing out,
and to look deeply into the food that we are going to eat, to see whether this
food contains poisons or toxins. There are many kinds of food that are not good
for us, and if we eat them, we'll suffer later on. It may be half an hour later,
it may be two hours later. That is why before eating something you have to practice
mindfulness of breathing and look deeply to see whether the food is good for you
or not. The food might be okay for other people, but for you it's not good. That's
why you have to be very careful. In Plum Village we call that kind of practice
"mindfulness of eating, mindfulness of drinking."
We should
also apply it in other aspects, such as when you pick up a newspaper, when you
are about to read an article, when you pick up a novel, you should also breathe
in and out and smile, and look deeply to see whether what you are going to read
will bring into you a lot of poisons or not. So next time you see your brother
reading a novel, you might like to ask, "Dear brother, have you looked deeply
into it to see whether there is poison in that novel?" Or if your sister
is reading a magazine, you also might like to look and see whether that magazine
is healthy, or whether that magazine contains a lot of poisons, a lot of toxins,
because we would not like to intoxicate ourselves by consuming those kinds of
things. That is also mindfulness of consuming.
Concerning television,
I think that is a big issue, because many people have got a lot of violence, craving,
hatred, and fear, just because they consume television without mindfulness. So
I think we should practice looking deeply, because "to meditate" means
to look deeply, to understand, for our own protection, and I think the young people
should join us in the practice of looking deeply in order to identify poisons.
When you identify poisons in the items of consumption, you should tell yourself
that this is not a good thing for consuming, and you tell your friend that this
is not a good thing to consume, and that is the practice of meditation. Maybe
you don't need to practice for a long time, perhaps just one minute of breathing
in and out and looking deeply can reveal the truth. I have friends who are writers,
who are film-makers, who are artists, and they are helping us very much in making
this kind of mindfulness known to many people, because everyone has to practice
mindfulness to protect ourselves, to protect our families, and to protect our
society.
I also have friends who are in Congress, and the other day, travelling
with such a friend on the train, I had the occasion to suggest to him that he
should work with other Congressmen to bring about mindfulness of television consumption.
He agreed with me that there is a lot of negative stuff in many television programs,
and these TV programs have affected a lot of young people. They have become more
violent, they have acted out what they have seen in films, and when they are angry
they don't know what to do, or how to handle their anger. They just explode, and
if they cannot manage and take care of their anger, they would like to express
themselves in a violent way, and if a gun is available, then they would not hesitate
to use the gun in order to kill people. That is why our society is now suffering
so much, because of so much violence, sex and cravings, and so on. That Congressman,
with whom I talked on the train, is an influential Congressman; he's a leader
in the Congress and his words are listened to by many of his fellow Congressmen,
and he said "Thay, this is a little bit difficult, because in our Constitution,
in our Bill of Rights, it is said that people are free to express themselves
"freedom
of speech"
we cannot tamper with the Bill of Rights." I said that
we are not proposing anything against the Bill of Rights, because freedom of speech
is wonderful, and we don't want to lose it. To declare that everyone is free to
say what he wants to say is wonderful. But freedom has to be defined, freedom
is not irresponsibility. We cannot, in the name of freedom, allow the destruction
of our body and our spirit, and the bodies and spirits of the people in our families
and our society. That cannot be described as freedom, because freedom is not destruction.
That is why, when we work on an amendment to the Constitution, we also bring about
another revolution, and this revolution is going to support the first Revolution.
To declare that we should have freedom of speech is a revolution, and we have
all profited from that revolution. But to help people understand that freedom
is not irresponsibility, that we have to practice mindfulness in order to protect
our bodies and our minds, and the bodies and minds of our families, and the collective
body and mind of our society, is also a revolution, one which will support and
make the first revolution even greater. So the Congressman was very happy, and
he was going to go back and talk about that to his fellow Congressmen.
I
hope that our friends over here, whether they are young or less young, whether
they are educators, or film-makers, or journalists, can do something with their
talent to create that kind of awareness, that kind of mindfulness. Supporting
every kind of action which will stop the destruction of our bodies and our consciousness
through unmindful consumption. Of course, the basic practice in Plum Village is
the practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. The fifth Mindfulness Training
is about mindful consumption, because mindful consumption seems to be the only
way to help us get out of this situation where destruction is going on every day-the
destruction of our bodies and our consciousnesses-because of the way we consume,
not only edible food, but also sights and sounds, everything.
I trust
that the young people will join us in the practice. Please join us to practice
breathing deeply and looking deeply to find ways to protect ourselves and our
families from that kind of unmindful consumption that will bring a lot of suffering
and pain to our bodies and our souls.
So, young people, when you hear
the sound of the small bell, please stand up and bow to the Sangha before going
out. This is the end of the Dharma talk for very young people.
Perhaps
you are familiar with the expression "Pure Land." There is a Buddhist
school called the school of the Pure Land. The Pure Land is the land of bliss,
the equivalent to the Kingdom of God, where we feel safe, we feel protected, we
feel solid, and we feel free-free from afflictions, from anger, from despair.
Of course, if we look for a word that describes the opposite, we have the word
"Hell." Hell is a place where we have to suffer a lot, where it's very
hot. I think all of us have had some taste of Hell. We suffer so much; we are
burned by the fire of our anger, our despair, and our afflictions. We know what
Hell is. So we aspire to be somewhere else: the Pure Land, the land of bliss,
the Kingdom of Heaven. In the teachings of the Buddha, both Hell and the Pure
Land are there within yourself, and they exist within every cell of your body.
If you allow Hell to manifest, then it will manifest; and if you want the Pure
Land, the land of bliss, to manifest, it will manifest. What we learn is that
every time Hell is about to manifest, we should be able to be aware of it, and
to do something so that Hell will stop manifesting. We could also learn how to
give a chance to the Pure Land in us to manifest. Also in Buddhism we have the
expression: "crossing over to the other shore," Paramita. We may be
standing on this shore, the shore of anger, the shore of despair, the shore of
ill being, and we don't like it here. We want to cross the river and to get to
the other shore. The other shore is the shore of well being, the shore of freedom,
the shore of solidity. A good practice is a practice that can allow us to cross
over to the other shore.
It is said that every enlightened being, like
a Buddha or a bodhisattva, would love to create a Pure Land for himself or herself
to be in, and also to welcome friends into that Pure Land. We know that "Buddha"
is not the name of a person, Buddha is a word to describe an enlightened person,
and Shakyamuni is only one of the Buddhas. There were Buddhas in the past, there
are Buddhas in the present moment, and there will be Buddhas in the future. According
to the teaching of the Buddha Shakyamuni, each of us is a Buddha-to-be, un Bouddha
devenir. It means that we have the capacity to be enlightened, to be liberated,
and that capacity is in every cell of our bodies. We call it Buddha nature, or
Buddhata, or la nature du Bouddha. The practice is to touch the Buddha nature
in us, in order to touch the nature of enlightenment, the nature of freedom, and
if we are able to touch that the Pure Land will manifest, and will be available
to us.
Last week in a Dharma talk I spoke about the therapist who tried
to create a space for people to come and to feel safe, to feel protected, and
to work for healing and transformation. I said that the therapist should be an
architect, because an architect is someone who creates space for people to live
in--space where you feel safe, where you feel protected, where you feel supported
in your work of transformation and healing. When the Buddha wants to create a
Pure Land, he or she is motivated by the same desire, to create a space for people
to come and to feel safe, to be protected, to be supported in the work of transformation
and healing. So the Buddha is a kind of therapist, and we can learn from him or
her how better to create an environment, for ourselves, for our beloved ones.
Because we want ourselves and our beloved ones to be protected, to live in an
environment where they can feel safe, where they can get the support they need
in order to work for their transformation and healing. A practice center is a
kind of "mini-Pure Land."
If you are motivated by the desire
to set up a practice center where people can come and touch the wonders of life,
and feel protected, then you are on the same path with Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Because I think that what Buddhas and bodhisattvas want most to do is to create
a space, a kind of island, a kind of country, where people can come and take refuge.
Many of us are sick, in our bodies and our consciousnesses, and we all need therapy.
We are exposed to all kinds of sickness, because we have not learned how to protect
ourselves, how to consume. Not only can edible food that we eat every day bring
a lot of war into our bodies, but the food for our six senses that we ingest every
day has brought into our consciousness a lot of war, a lot of poisons, a lot of
toxins. We allow our children to be intoxicated in their daily lives, because
we have not taught them how to consume mindfully, and we have allowed ourselves
to be intoxicated because we have not been careful in consuming.
Even
conversation can be highly toxic. Remember that day when you spoke to him or to
her-the conversation lasted just one hour, but after the conversation you felt
paralyzed, because the content of the conversation was so toxic. There was a lot
of sorrow, a lot of despair in the conversation. We did not know that the conversation
was toxic, that's why we sat for one hour and we joined in the conversation, and
after that we had all the toxins. So, sitting there and watching a television
program, or reading an article, or just driving through the city and looking at
these images and listening to these sounds can be toxic. We have not known how
to protect our bodies and our consciousness from the invasion of these toxins,
and that is why we have gotten sick. Sometimes we create the toxins within ourselves.
Our minds, with their imagination, and thinking, can create a lot of ideas, a
lot of feelings, a lot of fear, and our depression may come from ourselves, our
way of thinking, our way of conceiving things. When we cannot do it anymore, when
we feel that we need help, we go to a therapist: to a doctor for our physical
pain, and to a psychotherapist when we have a mental problem. The therapist would
want to listen to us, to know what is wrong in us, and that is the general tendency-when
you come to the therapist you want to tell him or her what is wrong in you, and
she always wants to hear what is wrong in you. But in the Buddhist way of practice,
we need more than that. Maybe the first thing we need is to touch what is not
wrong in us and around us. The therapist, like the Buddha, like the bodhisattva,
should be able to create a space where the sick person, upon arrival, will feel
better already: a space that can be refreshing and healing, a space where you
can feel protected, where you can feel supported. Everything you touch with your
eyes, with your ears, and with your body, should be able to support you and to
help you.
Creating a space is so important, and in that mini-Pure Land
there must be healthy living beings, like trees, birds, plants, water, air, and
brothers and sisters who are successful in their practice, namely people who are
capable of smiling, of walking peacefully, of sitting peacefully, of drinking
tea happily, of cooking or washing with happiness. We need a number of people
who are sane, who are healthy, who are refreshing, who are supportive, in order
for our Pure Land to be truly a Pure Land. In any Pure Land there would be a number
of bodhisattvas, young or less young, a number of Buddhas who are there, ready
for us, to welcome us and to protect us and to support us in our practice. A therapist,
like a physician, might like to do as Buddhas and bodhisattvas do: they know that
people come to them because they are sick, and they want these people to feel
better already from the moment that they arrive. So creating an environment is
a very important practice.
If the therapist or the physician works alone,
and the only instruments they have is their knowledge and a medicine cabinet,
that will not be enough. We know how important the environment is. That is why
therapists, like doctors, have to come together and operate as a Sangha. To me,
it is very important, because therapists and physicians also need support and
nourishment, otherwise they will also get sick very quickly. We know of therapists
who cannot help themselves, who do not have good relationships with members of
their own families, who are not able to transform the suffering within themselves,
and in that case, how can they help other people? That is why therapists, as well
as physicians, need a Sangha, a Pure Land like us, in order for them to go far,
in order not to burn out, in order for them to help more people. They also need
protection, nourishment and support. People in the helping professions know it
is very easy to burn out, it is very easy to give up half-way; that is why we
have to arrange the building up of mini-Pure Lands for our own nourishment and
support. It is very crucial in our times.
I know that there are medical
centers where doctors and nurses work together as a Sangha, but they don't live
there as a Sangha. They don't share with each other. They do share about questions
of how to help this patient or the other patient, but they don't have a chance
to share with each other their own difficulties, their own negative aspects. But
in a practice center, we live as brothers and sisters, and everything that happens
to one brother happens to all of us. Everything that happens to a sister happens
to all of us. And we practice taking care of the other person.
In Plum
Village everyone has a "second body" to take care of, and you have to
be aware of anything that happens to your second body. You are aware of the quality
of practice of your second body, you are aware of all the difficulties of your
second body, and you are in charge of your second body. You try to help, and if
you need help from other brothers and sisters, you ask them, but you are the main
one responsible for your second body. And your second body also has her second
body. Everyone in the Sangha takes care of his or her second body. It means that
not only do you have a second body, you have a third body and a fourth body. Your
third body is the second body who is taken care of by your second body, and so
on. So everyone in the Sangha is your body, and that is why we use the word "Sangha-body,"
Sanghakaya. If you travel as a Sangha, and if your second body has not stepped
into the bus, you won't. You have to make sure that she is in that bus. If you
are sick, and you need some medicine, or something special to eat, then the person
who takes care of you - you are his second body, and he has the duty, the joy,
to take care of you. By taking care of one person in the Sangha, you take care
of everyone in the Sangha. You practice the teaching of no-self, because you have
so many bodies, and you have a big, big body that is the Sangha-body.
To
live together twenty-four hours a day as a Sangha is a very important thing, because
you can help each other to advance on the path of transformation and healing.
Then you can offer yourself as a center, as a place for other people to join you
in the practice. Of course, the space has trees, and water, and air, but also
it has people, people who know the practice, people who have succeeded in the
practice, and they are there for you, they are there to share the practice. For
instance, when you arrive in Plum Village, you notice that all the monks and nuns
and lay people walk mindfully. There is only one style of walking in Plum Village-that
is mindful walking, walking in such a way that every step can bring you healing
and transformation. You only accept walking in the Pure Land, you don't walk in
Hell. If we allow our afflictions, our anger to overwhelm us, then the place where
we walk must be Hell, and soon you'll walk like that. Walk in such a way that
each step of yours transforms this very land into the Pure Land. Every step should
have the quality of stability and freedom, because walking meditation is not to
arrive, walking meditation is to put yourself into the Pure Land. By making steps
like that, you transform the very place where you live into a Pure Land, a safe
place for yourself, for your brothers and sisters, and those people who come to
you to share the practice.
To practice walking meditation is to learn
how to live deeply the wonders of life that are available in the here and the
now. In the here and the now there may be negative things, like sickness, like
fear, like sorrow, but also in the here and now there are refreshing, healing,
and wonderful elements. They are to be touched within ourselves, and they are
to be touched around us. To go back to the present moment is first of all to touch
the positive elements that have the power of transforming and healing, and the
therapist, and the Dharma brother, or the Dharma sister will help you to do that
from the very first day of your visit. You might have the habit of allowing yourself
to be caught in your sorrow, the sorrow of the past: you cannot get rid of the
sorrow or the regret concerning the past, and you cannot get rid of your anxiety,
your anguish, and your fear about the future. You are not capable of touching
life in the here and the now. In the here and the now there are many wonderful,
healing and refreshing elements that can help you, but if you are caught by the
past and by the future, by your fear, by your anguish, then these elements will
not be available to you. So, from the moment you arrive, there should be a brother
or a sister helping you, pointing out to you that there are many positive things,
that you should get out of your prison of sorrow and fear to get in touch with
these things, because these things are healing and nourishing.
If you
are a therapist, you can do the same thing: when the other person comes, you'll
be able to take his hand or her hand and show him or her that there are positive
things to be with, to touch. You don't begin with "What is wrong?" You
begin with "What is not wrong?" The practice of Plum Village places
much emphasis on that, because while there are things that go wrong, there are
still things that do not go wrong. Your own life is like a garden: there may be
a number of trees that are dying in the garden of your body, in the garden of
your life, but you should know that there are still many vigorous and beautiful
trees, and you should not allow the negative aspects to overwhelm you. You have
to be able to touch the positive aspects. That is why the environment, and the
people who inhabit that environment, should be a support for you, so that you
can get out of your prison of sorrow and fear, and touch the wonderful, positive
aspects of life that are available. The Buddha is very clear about this. He said:
"The past is gone, the future has not yet come; there is only moment for
you to live, and that is the present moment." Life is available only in the
present moment, and if you miss the present moment you miss your appointment with
life. The message is very simple, very clear. It sounds easy, but without a brother,
or a sister, or a teacher, without a good environment you cannot do it, you allow
yourself to be caught in despair, in the negative. That is why the therapist should
be like a Buddha, should be like a bodhisattva. The therapist should be like a
Dharma brother, like an architect - capable of creating a space and convening
joyful people in that space, in order to help you to touch life.
Walking
meditation is a wonderful way to go back to the present moment.Your destination
is the here and the now, and if you are to arrive somewhere, that somewhere is
the here and the now. So every step should bring you back to the present moment.
You arrive with each step. You have been running all your life. You have believed
that happiness is not possible in the here and the now-happiness may be possible
in the future. That is why you have always sacrificed the present moment for the
sake of the future, and you have developed the habit of running. But when we come
to a place like Plum Village, the first thing we learn is how to stop running.
Only stopping will help us to get in touch with the here and the now. The things
that you would like to see and touch the most are available only in the here and
the now. The Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, peace, stability, the kingdom of
God, everything, should be contacted in the here and the now. The present moment
is the only moment when life is available. That is why it is very important that
we make an effort, with the support of these brothers and sisters, to practice
stopping.
Stopping is a very important practice of Buddhist meditation.
It is only when you have stopped that you can realize calm and concentration,
that you can encounter life. That is why the practice of mindfulness is described
first of all as the practice of stopping and touching life deeply in the here
and the now. To be mindful means to be here, fully present, fully alive; not to
be caught in forgetfulness, not to be caught in the past and the future; to make
yourself available in the here and the now, to be fully present. What does it
mean to be fully present? To be in a state of being where body and mind are fully
united with each other. That state of being we call the oneness of body and mind.
Usually in our daily lives our body may be here, but our mind is not here, it
is caught in the past or the future, it is caught in our anguish, our projects,
our fear--so you are not really here. The practice of mindful walking, or mindful
breathing, can help you to bring body and mind back together. Our body may be
here, but our mind is going in another direction. That is what happens in our
daily lives. Between the body and mind, there is something that connects the two
like a bridge, and that is our breath, our mindful breathing. The moment when
you hold to your breath and breathe in and out mindfully, your body and your mind
will come together, and that is the first exercise of mindful breathing that the
Buddha proposed: "Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in; breathing
out, I know that I am breathing out."
There is a discourse given
by the Buddha, called the Anapanasati Sutra (the Discourse on Mindful Breathing),
and in that discourse he proposed sixteen breathing exercises for transformation
and healing. Just a month ago I offered a twenty-one day retreat in North America
on the theme of Mindful Breathing, and about four hundred people practiced together,
just the sixteen exercises on mindful breathing for transformation and healing.
If you had been there, you would have witnessed the transformation of so many
people. When you practice mindful breathing, you naturally bring your body and
your mind back together, and the exercise is so simple: "Breathing in, I
know that I am breathing in; breathing out, I know that I am breathing out."
It is the practice of identifying the in-breath as in-breath, and the out-breath
as out-breath. It is like a children's game, and yet the outcome is very great.
Mindful of your in-breath, mindful of your out-breath, you become concentrated.
The object of your concentration is your in-breath. "Breathing in, I know
that I am breathing in. " Suppose that this pen symbolizes the length of
my in-breath: I begin to breathe in here, and I finish my in-breath here. Usually
we don't breathe mindfully, but now the practice is mindful breathing, and for
that reason we need to bring our minds into it. Suppose my finger is my mindfulness.
Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. I can be mindful of this flower.
I can be mindful of the pen, and I can be mindful of my in-breath. Suppose this
is my in-breath. It begins like this: "Breathing in, I know I am breathing
in," and you are mindful all the way through, "this is my in-breath,
this is my in-breath," and you nourish that mindfulness of life all the way
through. By doing so, you are perfectly concentrated on your in-breath, and you
stop all other thinking. The past is no longer a prison; the future is no longer
a prison; you are going back to your in-breath, which is something that is happening
in the here and the now. "Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in."
You might like to use the sentence, because that is the sentence that is proposed
by the Buddha. Or you might like to have a shorter version of the sentence, using
only the word "in." "In
Out...."
These words,
"in" and "out" are the means for you to nourish your mindfulness
of life, mindfulness of in-breath or mindfulness of out-breath. You will get the
"stopping" that you need. In our daily lives we keep thinking of this,
or thinking of that-we never stop. There is something like a cassette tape, turning
non-stop, day and night. And sometimes we think too much, and the thinking is
not helpful, the thinking is sometimes harmful. It does not seem to be true that
"I think, therefore I am," because thinking brings me out of myself,
it does not help me to be in the here and the now, so the quality of being is
lost. I think, therefore I am not. Sometimes our heads are like a television set
that is left on for a long time and becomes very hot: so much thinking, so many
worries, make our heads hot. Sometimes we cannot sleep because we cannot stop
the thinking. With a cassette tape, it's easy, because there is a button you can
push to stop it. But there is no button here.
When you find it too difficult
to sleep because of your thinking, you get alarmed and go to a doctor, who gives
you a prescription. Even with that kind of drug, you don't get stopped. Even during
your sleep, which is not natural, you continue to run, you continue to think,
and you continue to have nightmares. But this is a natural process of stopping,
just mindful breathing, and you may enjoy it a lot. Just sit there, or lie down
in a relaxed way, and just enjoy your in-breath and out-breath. Because breathing
can be very enjoyable, especially when your nose is free, when your lungs are
good, and the air around you is clean. The pleasure of breathing! There were times
in the past when you were nearly suffocated, with things like asthma, or your
stuffy nose, or the quality of the air prevented your enjoying that kind of breathing.
But it is still possible for you to enjoy breathing. One of the things that we
do during the practice of sitting meditation and walking meditation is to just
enjoy our mindful breathing, and to make ourselves available to life, namely,
to the here and the now. If you practice mindful breathing, in and out like that
for five minutes, you get five minutes of stopping. You don't think during these
five minutes. You give yourself a chance to rest, whether in a sitting position,
in a walking position or in a lying position. If you want fifteen minutes of rest
like that, you just practice fifteen minutes of mindful breathing, in and out.
This is the first exercise in the Discourse on Mindful Breathing, you may also
like to try the second exercise, which is also nice. There are sixteen exercises.
When you practice mindful breathing, you bring your mind and body together,
and you attain that state of being called "the oneness of body and mind."
It means the state of being present. You become fully alive and fully present.
If you are alive and fully present, if you are really there, someone or something
else will be there also at the same time. That is life, because when you make
yourself available to life, life will make herself available to you. This is clear.
Suppose you are standing there, and enjoying the beautiful sunset. In order to
really enjoy the beautiful sunset, you have to be there one hundred percent, body
and mind united. If you stand there with other people, and yet you allow your
mind to be caught by your worries, the past and the future, then the beautiful
sunset will not be for you. That is why the basic condition is that you be there
fully, and if you are there fully, then the beautiful sunset will be yours.
To make ourselves available to life is the first practice, and you can do
it just by taking steps, or by taking in-breaths and out-breaths, and you have
freed yourself. That is already the practice of freedom. You have freed yourself
from the past, from the future, from your worries, and just going back and enjoying
your in-breath and your out-breath, you have become alive. Now, the wonders of
life become available to you. Touch what is positive, touch what is beautiful,
refreshing, nourishing and healing around you, and do that with the support of
the brothers and sisters who are already there and who have the experience of
the practice.
Having sickness in your body, or sorrow or pain in your
consciousness, does not prevent your practicing, and your getting in touch with
positive elements of life. Please do not wait until you do not have anything wrong
in your body or your consciousness to enjoy life, to enjoy the practice. You'll
never get it. Perfect health is just an idea--perfect health does not exist. All
of us have some problem in our bodies, or in our consciousness. All of us have
some pain or sorrow in our consciousness. Some of us have some problems in our
bodies. But it is like a garden with a few trees dying, but where all the other
trees are still solid, vigorous and beautiful. Therefore, we should not allow
these few negative elements to block the way. We should learn, with the support
of the Sangha, to touch the positive elements of our environment, of our selves,
for the sake of nourishment and healing. That is why a Sangha is important. When
you have an opportunity to be with the Sangha, please do take advantage of the
presence of the Sangha, because there are things you can do very easily in the
presence of the Sangha. These things become difficult when you find yourself alone
at home. Sitting meditation, walking meditation, enjoying a silent meal, all these
things become very easy if you do it together with the Sangha, because the Sangha
radiates the collective energy of mindfulness, and you feel supported by the energy.
Suppose you have just come to Plum Village, and when you observe, you see
that the monks, the nuns, the lay brothers and sisters enjoy mindful walking,
mindful breathing, and mindful sitting. That creates a collective energy. If you
allow yourself to be transported by the vehicle of the Sangha, you already begin
to profit. The energy has begun to penetrate your body and consciousness. Allow
yourself to be in the Sangha, allow yourself to be penetrated by the collective
energy of the Sangha. That means the process of transformation and healing has
already taken place. Surrender to the Sangha. The Sangha is a community where
every member practices mindfulness of walking, mindfulness of sitting, mindfulness
of breathing, in order to go back to the present moment and to become fully alive.
That practice has the power of healing and transforming. When you join the Sangha
you just allow yourself to be transported by the Sangha, as if transported by
a boat. The boat will carry us-don't resist. You don't have to be polite, you
don't have to find words to say to this brother or sister. You are here in order
to enjoy the Sangha, you don't have to say anything, to be polite. Don't ask questions
about whether you should bow or not bow, these things are not important. If you
enjoy it, if you are mindful of the things that are happening in the present moment,
bowing or not bowing will not be a problem.
The rituals, all these things,
are not important at all. What is important is that you become alive. The Sangha
is not an obstacle, the Sangha is an opportunity, because you might feel very
safe in the Sangha. In fact, mindfulness practice is the practice of protection,
because our mindfulness is the energy that can protect us, help us not to get
lost in our worries, in our fear, in our anger. When that energy is there, we
can profit from it. That is why, when you come to a practicing Sangha, you feel
that you are safe. You are safe because other people are practicing protecting
themselves and protecting the Sangha at the same time. Even the living beings
around feel safer, because we are mindful and we do our best not to do harm to
them, and to trees and insects. That is why safety should exist in the mini-Pure
Land, in a practice center, in the space created by Buddhas, bodhisattvas, therapists,
and so on.
When you go back to the present moment, you may discover something
wonderful, you may touch something wonderful. Like when you are walking you find
out something valuable that you had not realized existed before, yet it is there.
When going back to the here and the now, and becoming fully alive, you have the
chance to identify it, such as the fact that you are alive. There are many things
that are wonderful, among them the fact that you are still alive. To be still
alive is a miracle. You have seen a dead person-no matter what you try to do,
you cannot make him or her come back to life. Yet, when you go back to the here
and the now, and become fully present, you may discover many wonderful things,
among these the fact that you are alive. To be still alive is a miracle, is the
greatest miracle. That is one thing we can treasure, we can value, and we can
be joyful about. It is a jewel, the greatest jewel, that we are alive. We also
find out that because we have not been able to touch that fact, that miracle,
we have allowed life to go away. There were days when we were not alive at all,
when we did not really live our lives deeply. We have allowed days and months
to pass by like that, like water through our fingers. We did not touch the wonders,
the miracle of life, during those days and months. If someone were to ask you
the question of whether the most wonderful moment of your life has arrived or
not, you might be tempted to say, "Well, it does not seem that the most wonderful
moment of my life has arrived, but I am sure it will have to arrive soon."
That famous "most wonderful moment" of our lives
when you look
deeply into it, you see that if you continue to live without mindfulness, the
way you have lived the last twenty years of your life, then that most wonderful
moment of your life is not likely to happen during the next twenty years. We have
not allowed that moment to arrive. It's not because it does not want to arrive,
it's because in the past we have not allowed it to arrive, because we were always
running. So we missed life, we missed the greatest miracle of our lives.
According
to the teachings of the Buddha, it is possible to make the present moment into
the most wonderful moment of your life. If you wake up, if you are capable of
waking up to the fact that you are alive, then you know how precious this moment
is. We should do our best to make the most of it, to profit from it, and to live
our lives deeply in that moment. That is really the practice of Buddhism. The
word "buddh" means to wake up, and "Buddha" just means "the
one who is awake, who has awakened." When you are awake, you touch that miracle
'that I am alive', and that is very precious. So you know that you have something
very valuable. And when you encounter something negative, when you get angry,
when you feel irritated, when you feel that you don't like standing on this shore,
the shore of affliction, fear, jealousy, despair, and you want to cross over to
the other shore, the shore of well being, joy and freedom, you can go back to
the present moment and touch the miracle, because you have stored these wonders
within yourself. Just breathing in and out and touching these wonders, you'll
be able to cross to the other shore very quickly, and suddenly what bothers you,
what makes you unhappy can disappear right away.
In a sutra the Buddha
described the practice as "changing the peg." A carpenter can use a
peg to connect two blocks of wood, and if he finds that the old peg is no good,
he would like to change it with another peg. Just by driving the new peg into
the old one, he can replace the old one with the new one. So if you have a state
of being that you don't like, you can change the peg. That peg is called a mental
formation. We have fifty-one categories of mental formation. Fear is one, anger
is another one, and jealousy is another one. If you don't like it, change the
peg: use another peg and change it. And since you have stored within yourself
many wonderful pegs, it is very easy for you to take one of the pegs and just
change it. Then, suddenly, you find yourself on the other shore. And by going
back to the present moment, you will discover these pegs, these wonders that belong
to life, that are available to you: the positive things that you can identify
through your full presence. That is why it is said that our true home is in the
here and the now; and if you practice going back to your true home, you'll be
able to meet, to touch, to identify these wonderful things, these miracles that
will be available to you every time you need them. Crossing to the other shore
is a matter of seconds or minutes if you are already capable of identifying the
positive things that are still available to you. Among them I just mentioned one:
the fact that you are still alive.
Do not allow your afflictions to overwhelm
you and to imprison you, because you are more than that. You are more than your
afflictions, you are more than your jealousy, your fear. The Buddha said that
you have the capacity of joy, of peace, of enlightenment. The Buddha nature is
in you, in every cell of your being, and the practice is deep touching. Deep touching
is possible when you go back to the here and the now.
I would like to
invite all of you to join in walking meditation. Walking meditation is a very
wonderful way to go back to the present moment, and to learn how to live deeply
in this moment. All of us in Plum Village, as permanent residents, have made the
commitment to only walk mindfully. If you learn to walk like that for only one
week, you may develop a good habit, and you may be able to learn to live much
more deeply every minute of your daily life. Many of us have signed a treaty with
our stairs. To begin with, you make the vow that every step you make up the stairs
will be mindful, and if halfway up you realize that one of these steps was not
taken mindfully, you will go down and begin climbing up again. The same thing
must be true when you go down. If you are caught by an idea, by a project, and
if you don't go down step by step mindfully, then you go up and go down again.
Your stair set may be eighteen or twenty, and you can sign a treaty with it. I
myself have done so many years ago, twenty years ago, and in the last twenty years
I have never taken one step without mindfulness, whether I go up or I go down.
Now when I climb the Grdhrakuta Mountain, or the Wu Tai Shan Mountain, or whether
I walk at the airport, or I climb on the airplane, I always climb and take steps
mindfully.
My practice, as well as the practice of many of us here, is
that every step should be able to help you to be alive in the here and the now,
and to cultivate more freedom and stability and joy. So you may like to try to
do the same, and select a distance from your tent or your room to a certain tree,
maybe three meters, or five meters, and sign a treaty with it. And every time
you go by that distance, practice as I do when I climb the stairs. If you find
that you have forgotten, you go back. You don't have to go to the meditation hall
in order to practice mindfulness. You practice mindfulness right there in your
tent. Begin with that, and when you have succeeded with that distance, you go
everywhere mindfully, and you stop running, stop inside and stop outside. There
are many of us who continue to run during our sleep, and when we sit down to enjoy
our lunch together, as a Sangha, we continue to run. There are those of us who
can settle down and enjoy our lunch, and enjoy the presence of the brothers and
sisters around us, but there are many of us who are still running during lunchtime.
Stopping is our practice, stopping first, in order to get the calm and the concentration
we need. Then to practice looking deeply is just another step.
(End of
talk)
*********************
Each of us a Healer: Medicine Buddha and the Karma of Healing
Article
of the Month - July 2002
A glamorous fashion consultant was once diagnosed
with cancer. This is how she attempted to alleviate her suffering:
She sent
a message through a friend of hers, a student at the Vajrapani institute in California,
to ask for advice about healing practices. She was advised to buy animals that
were in danger of being killed and to then free them in a safe place, thus enabling
them to live longer.
This charming woman saved many animals from places where
they were going to be killed. She actually freed two or three thousand animals,
mostly chickens, fish, and worms. She had the chickens taken care of on a farm,
and she freed the fish in open water. She also bought two thousand worms because
they were cheap and readily available, and released them in the garden outside
her home. Liberating worms was believed to be a particularly good idea as they
go straight under the ground when they are released. Since they have some protection
there from predators, they have a chance to live longer. It was less certain that
animals freed in forests, lakes, or the ocean would have lived longer because
they have natural enemies in those places.
It is said that when she returned
to the hospital for a checkup after doing these practices, the doctors could not
find any trace of the cancer.
True or not, this story should not come as a
surprise to those subscribing to the karmic theory. In the words of Deepak Chopra:
"No
debt in the universe ever goes unpaid. There is a perfect accounting system in
the universe, and everything is a constant 'to and fro' exchange."
Thus
by granting those helpless animals the boon of life the lady vindicated her faith
in the authenticity of the karmic law, namely that "karma is both action
and the consequence of that action." The actions she took were not magical
or miraculous but rather a patient planting of causes which eventually bloomed
into the effects of health and happiness. Indeed if we want to create happiness
in our own lives, we must learn to sow the seeds of happiness for others. As with
Buddhist practices more generally, the result one receives depend on one's past
karma. Indeed everything that is happening at this moment is a result of the actions
we have performed in the past. This is but an illustration of the proverb 'as
we sow as shall we reap.' If we have loving kindness and compassion, our prime
concern will always be not to hurt others, and this itself is healing. According
to Buddhist belief a compassionate person is the most powerful healer, not only
of their own diseases and problems, but also those of others. Many of us will
vouch that in a sickbay a doctor's friendly smile among the prevalence of disease
and suffering all around can work wonders for the overall well being of the patient.
Truly the use of love is to heal. When it flows without effort from the depth
of the self, love creates health.
In Buddhist tradition the first and
primordial healer was the great Buddha himself. Known popularly as the Medicine
Buddha he is said to have revealed the teachings embodied in the sacred bodies
of texts known as the Four Medical Tantras. The whole of Buddhist medicine is
said to have derived from this sacred scripture. As explained in the first of
these texts, Buddha the Great Healer was once seated in meditation surrounded
by an assembly of disciples including divine physicians, great sages, non-Buddhist
gods and bodhisattvas, all of whom wished to learn the art of healing. Rendered
speechless by the radiant glory of his countenance, they were unable to request
the desired teachings. To accommodate their unspoken wishes, the Medicine Buddha
manifested two emanations, one to request the teachings and the other to deliver
them. In this way, then, the Buddhist explanation of the various mental and physical
ailments, their causes, diagnoses, and treatment is said to have originated.
Other
than that, the action of the Buddha in understanding his disciple's needs without
their explicitly stating so is in itself a reminder of his infinite compassion.
Indeed healers such as the Buddha are referred to as great physicians not because
of their medical abilities - as great as these are - but because they have the
compassion and wisdom to diagnose and treat the root causes underlying all mental
and physical malaise.
In visual arts the Buddha of healing is sometimes represented
as golden in color, though his characteristic color is blue.
In either representation
his left hand rests in his lap in the mudra of meditation, supporting an iron
begging-bowl. His right palm faces outwards, offering, in a gesture of generosity,
a stem of the myrobalan plant. This is a healing fruit well-known in Tibetan medicine
and a symbol here of the botanical realm's restorative fecundity, reminding us
that the earth provides freely, asking for nothing to sustain her fertility but
gentle care.
However Buddhist science of medicine grants only a limited application
to external medicine. These are considered sufficient only up to the level of
removal of external symptoms of the disease. The cure for humankind's root illness
is stressed to be spiritual illumination, the way to which lies within our own
selves. Towards this end the Medicine Buddha is often shown surrounded with various
fragrant and healing plants of the Tibetan pharmacopoeia, as also innumerable
gods sages, and other exalted beings. Such a densely packed arrangement is referred
to as the 'Paradise of the Medicine Buddha.'
This paradise represents an idealized
universe where remedies exist for every ailment. The Buddha himself is said to
have stated, "For as many sentient beings as exist in this world system,
there is a path to liberation."
According to Romio Shrestha "The
Medicine Buddha is our complete spiritual apothecary. To discover the healing
force within our being is to enter the paradise of the 'master of remedies.'"
In other words this paradise lies within our own selves, only a conditioning of
the mind is required to identify it and partake of its pleasures. Romio Shrestha
further says: "Our body has the capacity to cure itself of any ailment. Every
plant, every herb, every remedy has its counterpart within the subtle essences
of the human body."
We have the capacity to heal not only ourselves but
also those around us as the following story will demonstrate:
There was once
a monk who lived in a small Tibetan village. He was quite ordinary, and spent
his life going about his monastic duties. One year a terrible epidemic of small
pox broke out in the village, killing many people in the area, the monk also contracted
the disease and died. It was the middle of winter, the ground was frozen and the
wood was scarce, so his body was taken to a lake and put under the ice. Shortly
after this, the epidemic stopped. In the springtime, as the ice was melting, people
noticed a rainbow over the place where the monk had been put. They went back and
found his body floating there, perfectly preserved. He was brought back to the
monastery and given a special cremation ceremony. As his body disappeared into
the flames, rainbows came out of the pyre into the sky, and relics were discovered
in the ashes. Everyone then recognized that this monk had been an extraordinary
person in the garb of an 'ordinary' one, and credited him with purifying the negative
karma that had caused the epidemic by taking it (absorbing it) into his own body.
In the world of Tibetan Buddhism, sickness can be a manifestation of spiritual
accomplishment and a sacrifice made on the behalf of others. This is something
a mother can understand, who gives her own vitality to nourish her children. Indeed
here some find the justification for the wasting away of their bodies by rigorous
ascetics, treating sickness as the broom that sweeps away bad karma, thus justifying
their embracing of the hardships and suffering on the spiritual path as the highest
form of purification.
An ordinary person has the capacity for extraordinary
healing. This ability is gained by recognizing the suffering of others as our
own, by suffering as they are suffering, by feeling one with them. Cultivating
such sentiments gives rise to a warm and caring heart, full of compassion. Only
then can be mobilized the boundless powers of healing that reside within the infinite
depths of our consciousness. In fact disease and suffering are believed to be
particularly liberating in as much as they offer us an opportunity to experience
our interconnectedness with other beings by making us aware of our own mortality.
There is a story about an abbot of a monastery who had gained much proficiency
in the powers of compassionate healing. One day while addressing his disciples,
he suddenly yelled in pain. When the lamas asked what was wrong, he told them
that a dog was being beaten outside. Going out, they found an angry man with a
stick chasing away a dog. When the man was called in the abbot pulled down his
own robes to reveal his back. On the same place where the dog was hit were fresh
cuts and bruises. This is the sort of oneness that an ideal healer is sought to
possess.
The Buddhist tradition identifies the Medicine Buddha as the ideal
healer, and it also stresses that the utmost powers of healing lie within our
own selves. According to Deepak Chopra "We have a pharmacy inside us that
is absolutely exquisite. It makes the right medicine, for the precise time, for
the right target organ - with no side effects."
Thus by extension we come
to the realization that the venerable Medicine Buddha is within each of us. The
path to this realization lies through meditation, specifically the meditation
of visualization. By meditating on him and visualizing him in front of us we can
come face to face with the Medicine Buddha whose smile radiates compassion to
the universe, and whose gentle eyes melt with love for all living beings.
Next,
then, a ray of golden light comes from the heart of the Buddha, and gently penetrates
our own heart. (Heart here means 'heart center' - the core of our being inside
the center of our chest, not the physical pumping mechanism). This heart-center
is defined as:
"Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which
you can retreat at any time and be yourself. This sanctuary is a simple awareness
of comfort, which can't be violated by the turmoil of events. This place feels
no trauma and stores no hurt. It is the healing mental space that one seeks to
find in meditation."
--- Deepak Chopra
This realization comes to us
as a flash of insight, and it is not verbal, nor linguistically structured. It
is a feeling of sudden, liberating knowledge, when without words we experience
the truth. A truth gauged through words is not spontaneous since a finite amount
of time is required to dwell on their meaning. It is through this imaginative,
symbolic and creative spiritual experience that 'ordinary' beings are transformed
into extraordinary healers. This is the way to relate to the Medicine Buddha,
the greatest of all healers.
No wonder then that doctors believing in these
ideals perform this meditation and invoke the Medicine Buddha before they prepare
their medicines and when offering them to patients. While doing so they also simultaneously
chant his mantra. This mantra is OM BEKANDZE BEKANDZE MAHA BEKANDZE RANDZE SAMUNGATE
SOHA. As they recite this sacred formula they visualize nectar flowing down from
the syllables of the mantra into the medicine. The syllables then completely dissolve
into the medicine and grant it the potency and power to heal.
This is a symbolic
gesture aimed at the realization that as the sacred syllables making up the mantra
grant the medicine its capacity to heal, likewise by consciously following the
path of righteous karma, we are able to soak our lives with the nectar which flows
from the virtues gained through such action.
References and Further Reading
" Baker, Ian. The Tibetan Art of Healing, New Delhi, 1997.
"
Chopra, Deepak. Journey Into Healing (Awakening the Wisdom Within You), London,
1999.
" Chopra, Deepak. The Seven Spiritual laws of Success: New Delhi,
2000.
" Crow, David. In Search of the Medicine Buddha (A Himalayan Journey),
New York, 2001.
" Landaw, Jonathan, and Weber, Andy. Images of Enlightenment
(Tibetan Art in Practice), New York, 1993.
" Rinpoche, Lama Zopa, Foreword
by Lillian Too. Ultimate Healing (The Power of Compassion), Boston, 2001.
"
Shrestha, Romio. Celestial Gallery: New York, 2000.
" Vessantara. Meeting
the Buddhas (A Guide to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Tantric Deities), Birmingham,
1993.
" Yanagi, The Unknown Craftsman (A Japanese Insight into Beauty),
Tokyo, 1989.
We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments
or feedback that you may have will be greatly appreciated. Please send your feedback
to feedback@exoticindia.com.
Copyright ©2005, ExoticIndiaArt
*********************
Facing
death - Embracing life
by Nirado
First
printed in OurTimes, the Byron Bay, Oz, bi-monthly magazine for free spirits everywhere.
ourtimes@om.com.au
What would you do
if you were suddenly given
3 months
to live ?
It's probably the last
thing you actually want to think about, yet in reality, the only certainty in
life is death, other than birth and that we can assume has already happened. What
is not certain is the time of death. We live in a culture that is in constant
denial of this fact and one that provides very little preparation for this profound
transition.
Being one who has probably had her fair share of losses in life:
death of a parent, separation from a partner, a miscarriage, and the loss of income
due to an extended illness; I thought I knew a thing or two about grieving, letting
go, moving on. I'd experienced death celebrations in other cultures and felt I
had a fairly healthy attitude to death and dying.
About a year ago, however,
I'd reached a plateau in my healing process and a basic enthusiasm for life was
eluding me. I had a subtle, nagging feeling that maybe I was actually scared of
getting totally well and embracing life with my former energy. Who will I be?
What will I do? How will I manifest support for myself? What is my purpose here?
I understood somewhere that until I was ready to confront my own mortality, my
life was going to remain somehow on hold - my potential unfulfilled. It was actually
this fear that motivated me to enrol. A life lived in fear is a life half lived,
and all that!
So it was with a sense of inevitability and not a little trembling,
that I found myself booked to do a two-day workshop called Facing Death - Embracing
Life with Judy Arpana, a friend, teacher, and kind of personal guardian angel
of mine whom I've been privileged to know since I moved to Byron Bay nearly 10
years ago. Her wisdom and compassion is dispensed with straight talking, sensitivity
and humour and I knew I couldn't be in more capable and caring hands.
An inspirational
healer
Arpana's work with the terminally ill and her study of the dying process
with Tibetan lamas and other teachers over the last 20 years has been inspirational
and healing for many people.
I asked her how she came to be involved in this
work. She replied, "Working on the premise that we teach what we need to
learn, I obviously need to be doing this work and I'm really happy if other people
benefit from it. There has been a lot of grief in my life. When my father died
and I wasn't there and I didn't hear about it until later, it was probably the
worst possible scenario for a healthy grieving. This drew me to Tibetan Buddhism
and I have been blessed with meeting many wonderful teachers in my life. If I
can be a vehicle for sharing what I have learned from them, them my life right
now seems to have a sense of purpose."
Here on the North Coast of New
South Wales, Judy Arpana was responsible for establishing a branch of the AIDS
Council of NSW in Lismore. She has been part of a network of support for the sick
and dying that now includes an alternative Funeral Service, where bereaved friends
and families are offered practical information and support in creating meaningful
ceremonies, and a Buddhist Hospice Service in Mullumbimby, staffed by volunteers
who care for those who wish to die at home.
Bringing light to the subject of
death
Arpana is fond of saying that her mission is to 'normalise' death. In
demystifying death, we come to accept it as a part of the natural cycle of life
and we can begin to live less fearfully and save ourselves unnecessary suffering.
"During
the workshop,we examined the whole nature of loss and grief, not only in relation
to physical death, but with all the little deaths that can occur in the course
of a lifetime. It could be the loss of a friendship, a pet, a relationship, a
lifestyle, job or house...children leaving home, menopause, retirement, the loss
of self-image or a physical function."
We often don't recognise grief,"
Arpana says "because it isn't any one feeling or identifiable emotion. We
each have our unique way of dealing with grief, loss and change. Hearing others'
stories in the group, you start to recognise that some of the things you might
have been feeling are actually a manifestation of grief. To realise that denial
is, in fact, a valid coping mechanism is a great relief."
Unreal expectations
Arpana
says that it's been her experience that it takes at least two years to adjust
to the loss of a family member or close personal friend. "We often expect
ourselves to be strong and to be over it in two or three months. Hearing that
this is a totally unreal expectation to put on yourself, allows compassion for
your own pace and way of grieving."
Stephen Levine in his book 'Healing
Into Life and Death ' offers this insight: 'That feeling of not grieving correctly,
of being separate from grief, is grief itself. It is that feeling of separation
from ourselves and others to which the word 'grief' can most accurately be applied...Opening
to the little grief, the little losses, the little deaths, we make room for the
greater grief, the greater losses, the greater death.''
It is important to
understand and honour the grieving process as an essential part of healing. Change
is our only constant. If we can restructure our concept of change as loss and
recognise the gains it offers, we can learn not to resist it. Then major life
transitions become much less painful. Embracing change with grace and ease, we
can move more positively and freely towards the next stage in our lives."
"I think it was Osho who said that there is only one real fear: the fear
of death. If we closely examine all our fears, they actually come back to not
existing. This state is also attainable through meditation. By meditating we are
actually practising for our own death. In the workshop, meditations and guided
visualisations assist participants in accepting and preparing for a conscious
death."
Life: a preparation for death?
Arpana cites the Buddhist idea
that life is just a preparation for death. "They say the most important moment
of your life is the moment of your death, and that we will handle that transition
in exactly the same way that we have dealt with all other changes in our lives.
If we respond at that moment with fear, or anger or grasping (what the Buddhists
call attachment), then we will take a rebirth unconsciously. We will incarnate
very quickly and without a lot of direction. With a calm and clear mind, however,
free of fear, ready to leave and with nothing incomplete, we are able to consciously
choose the mode and place of rebirth."
In the workshop there are opportunities
to complete unfinished business, prepare a will, even write your own obituary,
design your funeral and art-direct your wake. For me, this was a very profound
experience, as I really did complete some issues that had been lingering and draining
energy. In creating a celebration for my passing, I had a huge amount of fun and
really came to appreciate myself as I am now. I realised that I don't need to
become anybody else to be worthy of being celebrated.
What Arpana teaches
is the kind of information to which everyone should have access. We need more
light cast on the subject of death and dying. It needs to be brought out of the
dark, unspoken territory where it currently resides in our society. I beleive
it should be taught in schools!
One participant reported, "As I begin
to prepare for my death consciously, I feel I am preparing for a renewed sense
of appreciation for all that is precious to me in my life."
Arpana adds:
"In facing the inevitability of our death, the ordinary and simple events
in our lives take on a deeper significance. We develop a greater appreciation
for those around us and the planet we share. Life's priorities change. We learn
not to postpone life and awaken to a deeper compassion and a richer, more meaningful
existence."
For me, writing this article has been a confronting journey.
Delving into this territory again has brought up a heap of reminders about uncomfortable
areas that I've yet to clean up in my life: cupboards not sorted, affairs still
to put in order, responsibilities postponed, letters unwritten to loved ones,
creative projects yet to initiate, words left unsaid, gratitude unexpressed.
Although,
giving voice to this fundamental material represents one piece of unfinished business
that's now complete. So if I'm dead by the time this article appears, there'll
be one less pile of papers for my loved ones to deal with! It's been a HUGE life
so far and if this is it, then I'm full of gratitude. (Detailed instructions for
a long, loud and outrageous celebration are scribbled in one of my notepads, guys.
Remember, she loved to party!)
If you'd like more information about the FACING
DEATH - EMBRACING LIFE workshops e-mail Judy Arpana c/o yoni.
*********************
Foundation of healing
By
Tulku Thondup, Rinpoche
Our minds possess the power of healing pain and
creating joy. If we use that power along with proper living, a positive attitude,
and meditation, we can heal not only our mental and emotional afflictions, but
even physical problems.
When we cling to our wants and worries with all our
energy, we create only stress and exhaustion. By loosening the attitude that Buddhists
call "grasping at self," we can open to our true nature, which is peaceful
and enlightened. This book is an invitation to the awakening of our inner wisdom,
a source of healing we all possess. Like a door opening to this wisdom, we can
bring in the sunlight, warmth, and gentle breeze of healing. The source of this
energy is ours to touch and share at any moment, a universal birthright that can
bring us joy even in a world of suffering and ceaseless change.
In Buddhism,
the wisdom taught in the scriptures is mainly aimed at realizing enlightenment.
However, spiritual exercises can also help us find happiness and health in our
everyday life. There are extensive discourses in Buddhism on improving our ordinary
life and having a peaceful, joyous, and beneficial existence in this very world.
THE BENEFITS OF HEALING
Buddhism advocates releasing the unnecessary and
unhealthy tension that we create in our lives by realizing the truth of how things
really are. I have seen many examples of the healing power of the mind for mental
and emotional problems, and for physical sickness too.
One example is from
my own life. When I was eighteen, my dear teacher Kyala Khenpo and I decided to
flee Tibet because of political turmoil, knowing that we were losing home, country,
friends, and livelihood. In an empty but sacred valley, Kyala Khenpo died from
old age and sickness. He was not only my kind and enlightened teacher, but had
cared for me as a parent since I was five. This was one of the saddest and most
confused times of my life. However, my understanding of mpermanence-- the fact
that everything always changes in life-- made it easier to accept. Spiritual experiences
enabled me to remain calm, and the wisdom lights of teachings made the path of
my future life clearer to me. In other words, recognizing the nature of what was
happening, opening to it, and using sources of power that I had already been given
helped me heal from my loss more easily. As we shall see, these three basic steps--acknowledging
difficulties and suffering, opening to them, and cultivating a positive attitude--are
integral to the healing process.
Another of my teachers, Pushul Lama, had
mental problems throughout his youth. He was so destructive that when he was a
teenager, his family had to tie him up to protect others--and himself--from his
violence. Through healing meditations--mainly of compassion--he healed himself
and later became a great scholar and teacher. Today I know of no person more cheerful,
peaceful, and kind.
When I lived in Tibet, physical healing through meditation
and the right attitude were a common part of everyday life. So now when people
ask me for examples of physical healing, it's not easy to figure out which story
to tell. For someone from Tibet, it is accepted as an ordinary event that the
mind can heal the body. The mind leads the energies of the body--this is how it
is. There were so many healings, I never paid much attention when I was younger.
However, I do know of one recent example that many people might find amazing,
even if it is not very surprising from the Buddhist point of view.
A couple
years ago, the present Dodrupchen Rinpoche, a highly spiritual living lama, had
an attack of severe appendicitis while traveling in the remote countryside of
Bhutan. A senior minister of the country arranged for a helicopter to take him
to a hospital. The doctors were afraid Rinpoche's appendix would rupture, and
the pain was very great. Against the strong advice of his doctors, he refused
surgery and healed himself using meditations and mantras.
ANYONE CAN BENEFIT
The ability to recover from such a serious sickness through meditation depends
on a person's level of trust and spiritual experience. Of course, most of us would
be very glad to have the opportunity for surgery if our appendix were about to
burst! I only tell this true story to illustrate the power of the mind, and because
people have such a strong interest in maintaining their physical health. Few of
us are spiritual masters. But anyone can benefit from meditation and a positive
attitude. Beginning from where we are right now, it is possible to live a happier
and healthier life.
Although physical sickness is one subject you will read
about here, this book is meant mostly as a manual for dealing with our everyday
emotions. This is the best starting place for most of us. If we can learn to bring
greater contentment into everything we do, other blessings will naturally flow.
The views and meditation exercises in this book are inspired mainly by teachings
of Nyingma Buddhism, the oldest school of Buddhism in Tibet, dating to the ninth
century, a school that combines the three major Buddhist traditions: Hinayana,
Mahayana, and Vajrayana. However, you need not be a Buddhist to use this book.
Unfortunately, many people perceive Buddhism as a religion propagated by a particular
historical teacher, the Shakyamuni Buddha, that is intended to benefit only the
followers of this tradition.
Buddhism is a universal path. Its aim is to realize
universal truth, the fully enlightened state, Buddhahood. According to Shakyamuni
Buddha himself, an infinite number of beings realized Buddhahood before he was
born. There are, were, and will be Buddhism, the path, and Buddhas (those who
have realized enlightenment) in this world as well as other worlds, in the past,
present, and future. It is true that almost twenty-five hundred years ago, Shakyamuni
Buddha propagated teachings that became known as Buddhism. The Buddhism taught
by Shakyamuni is one of the appearances of Buddhism, but it is not the only one.
People whose minds are open will hear the true way, which Buddhists call Dharma,
even from nature. The Dharmasamgiti says: "People who have mental well-being,
even if the Buddha is not present, will hear Dharma from the sky, walls, and trees.
For seekers whose minds are pure, teachings and instructions will appear just
by their own wishes."
Buddhism recognizes the differences in cultures
and practices of people around the world, and in individual upbringings and personalities.
Many other cultures and religions have traditions of healing, and offer specific
advice about suffering. Even in Tibet there are many approaches to Buddhism. Having
different approaches is good, even if they sometimes appear to contradict one
another, because people are different. The whole purpose is to suit the needs
of the individual.
MEDITATION, MIND, AND BODY
Healing through meditation
is not limited to a particular religious belief. Nowadays, many physicians trained
in conventional Western medical science are recommending traditional methods of
meditation as a way to restore and maintain mental and physical health. These
practices rarely acknowledge the experience of what Buddhists call the true nature
or the great openness, but instead emphasize visualization and the development
of a positive attitude and positive energy. High blood pressure, which in many
cases is created and aggravated by mental stress, is particularly responsive to
such alternative treatments. Some physicians recommend concentrating the mind
on a physical point where the muscles are contracted and then consciously releasing
those muscles, so that relief and relaxation will result. This technique follows
the same principle as the Buddhist way of recognizing a problem and loosening
the grasping at it.
Healing is most effective if it is accompanied by any
spiritual belief or meditation experience. Herbert Benson, M.D., of Harvard Medical
School, who originated the Relaxation Response, writes: "If you truly believe
in your personal philosophy or religious faith--if you are committed, mind and
soul, to your world view-- you may well be capable of achieving remarkable feats
of mind and body that we may only speculate about."
Bernie Siegel, M.D.,
a surgeon and professor at Yale University, describes some of the benefits of
meditation: "It tends to lower or normalize blood pressure, pulse rate, and
the levels of stress hormones in the blood. It produces changes in brain-wave
patterns, showing less excitability. . . . Meditation also raises the pain threshold
and reduces one's biological age. . . . In short, it reduces wear and tear on
both body and mind, helping people live better and longer."
Many journalists,
like Bill Moyers, have long noted the relation of mind and body to health. Here
is what Moyers says in his introduction to the book Healing and the Mind, based
on the Public Broadcasting System's television series.
I suppose I've always
been interested in the relation of mind and body, growing up as I did in a culture
that separated them distinctly. . . . Yet every day in this divided world of mind
and body, our language betrayed the limitations of our categories. "Widow
Brown must have died of a broken heart--she never got sick until after her husband
was gone." My parents talked about our friend the grocer, who "worried
himself sick," and my uncle Carl believed that laughter could ease what ailed
you long before Norman Cousins published his story about how he coped with serious
illness by watching Marx Brothers movies and videos of "Candid Camera."
In recent years, Western medical science has begun to take a closer look at
mind and body, and to examine the connection between the mind, emotions, and health.
In the 1970s researchers found evidence of what they called neurotransmitters,
chemical messengers to and from the brain. Some neurotransmitters, called endorphins
and enkephalins, act as natural painkillers. Others seem to be related to particular
states of mind, such as anger, contentment, or mental illness.
Research is
continuing on the biological links between the brain, the nervous system, and
the immune system. Although Western medical science is not the topic of this book,
discoveries in this area are very interesting. New evidence about mind and body
is always welcomed and may benefit many people. However, the basic idea behind
the research is actually very old. Buddhism has believed in the importance of
the mind for many centuries, long before modern theories of molecular biology
were advanced.
TIBETAN MEDICINE'S APPROACH TO SPIRITUAL HEALING
In Buddhism,
the mind generates healing energies, while the body, which is solid and stable,
grounds, focuses, and strengthens them. The main text of Tibetan medicine is the
Four Tantras (Gyud zhi), which Tibetans see as a terma, or mystical revelation,
discovered by Trawa Ngonshey in the eleventh century. According to these ancient
texts, the root of all sickness of mind and body is grasping at "self."
The poisons of the mind that arise from this grasping are ignorance, hatred, and
desire.
Physical sicknesses are classified into three main divisions. Disharmony
of wind or energy, which is generally centered in the lower body and is cold by
nature, is caused by desire. Disharmony of bile, which is generally in the upper
body and is hot, is caused by hatred. Disharmony of phlegm, which is generally
centered in the head and is cold by nature, is caused by ignorance. These categories--desire,
ignorance, and hatred--as well as the temperatures associated with them can still
be very useful today in determining which meditation exercises might be most helpful,
depending on the individual's emotional state and nature.
According to Tibetan
medicine, living in peace, free from emotional afflictions, and loosening our
grip on "self" is the ultimate medicine for both mental and physical
health.
What is this "self" that has come up now several times in
this book? The Buddhist view of self is sometimes difficult for people outside
this tradition to understand. Although you can meditate without knowing what the
self is, some background on the self will make it easier to do the healing exercises
presented later.
Language can be tricky when we are talking about great truths.
In an everyday sense, it is quite natural and fine to talk about "myself"
and "yourself." I think we can agree that self-knowledge is good, and
that selfishness can make us unhappy. But let's go a bit further and examine the
deeper truth about self as Buddhists see it.
WHY WE ARE SUFFERING
Our
minds create the experience of both happiness and suffering, and the ability to
find peace lies within us. In its true nature, the mind is peaceful and enlightened.
Anyone who understands this is already on the path to wisdom.
Buddhism is
centered on the principle of two truths, the absolute truth and the relative truth.
The absolute is that the true nature of our minds and of the universe is enlightened,
peaceful, and perfect. By the true nature of the mind, Nyingma Buddhism means
the union of awareness and openness.
The relative or conventional truth is
that in the whole spectrum of ordinary life--the passing, impermanent earthly
life of birth and death that Buddhists call samsara--the world is experienced
as a place of suffering, ceaseless change, and delusion, for the face of the true
nature has been obscured by our mental habits and emotional afflictions, rooted
in our grasping at "self."
In Western thought, "self"
usually means personhood, or the ego consciousness of "I, me, and mine."
Buddhism includes this meaning of self, but also understands "self"
as any phenomenon or object-- anything at all--that we might grasp at as if it
were a truly existing entity. It could be the self of another person, the self
of a table, the self of money, or the self of an idea.
If we grasp at these
things, we are experiencing them in a dualistic way, as a subject grasping at
an object. Then the mind begins to discriminate, to separate and label things,
such as the idea that "I" like "this," or "I" don't
like "this." We might think, "this" is nice, and attachment
comes in, or "that" is not so nice, then pain may come. We may crave
something we do not have, or fear losing what we have, or feel depressed at having
lost it. As our mind gets tighter and tighter, we feel increasing excitement or
pain, and this is the cycle of suffering.
With our "relative" or
ordinary mind, we grasp at self as if it were firm and concrete. However, self
is an illusion, because everything in the experience of samsara is transitory,
changing, and dying. Our ordinary mind thinks of self as something that truly
exists as an independent entity. But in the Buddhist view, self does not truly
exist. It is not a fixed or solid thing, but a mere designation labeled by the
mind. Neither is self an independent entity. In the Buddhist view, everything
functions interdependently, so that there is nothing that has a truly independent
quality or nature.
In Buddhism, the law of causation is called karma. Every
action has a commensurate effect; everything is interdependent. Seeds grow into
green shoots, then into trees, then into fruits and flowers, which produce seeds
again. That is a very simple example of causation. Because of karma, our actions
shape the world of our lives. Vasubandhu, the greatest Mahayana writer on metaphysics,
said: "Due to karma deeds various worlds are born."
Grasping creates
negative karma--our negative tendencies and habits. But not all karma is negative,
although some people mistakenly think of it this way. We can also create positive
karma, and that is what healing is about. The tight grip on self creates negative
karma. Positive karma loosens that grip, and as we relax, we find our peaceful
center and become happier and healthier.
WE ARE ALL BUDDHA
Buddhists believe
that all beings possess Buddha- nature. In our true nature we are all Buddhas.
However, the face of our Buddha-nature is obscured by karma and its traces, which
are rooted in grasping at self, just as the sun is covered by clouds.
All
beings are the same and are one in being perfect in their true nature. We know
that when our mind is natural, relaxed, and free from mental or emotional pressures
and situations that upset us, we experience peace. This is evidence that the uncontaminated
nature of the mind is peaceful and not painful. Although this wisdom, the true
nature that dwells in us, has been covered by mental defilements, it remains perfect
and clear. Nagarjuna, founder of the Middle Way school of Mahayana Buddhism, writes:
Water in the earth remains unstained.
Likewise, in the emotional afflictions,
Wisdom remains unstained.
Nagarjuna speaks of peace and freedom as our
own "ultimate sphere," which is within us all the time if we only realize
it:
In the womb of a pregnant woman,
Although there is a child, we cannot
see it.
Likewise, we do not see our own "ultimate sphere,"
Which
is covered by our emotional afflictions.
Peace is within us; we need not look
elsewhere for it. By using what Buddhists call "skillful means," including
meditation exercises, we can uncover this ultimate sanctuary. Nagarjuna describes
the ultimate sphere--the great openness, the union of mind and universe--this
way:
As by churning the milk, its essence-butter appears immaculately,
By
purifying mental afflictions, the "ultimate sphere" manifests immaculately.
As a lamp in a vase does not manifest,
The "ultimate sphere"
enveloped in the vase of mental afflictions is not visible for us.
In whatever
part of the vase you make a hole,
From that very part, light from the lamp
will shine forth.
When the vase of mental afflictions is destroyed through
vajra-like meditation,
The light shines unto the limits of space.
Shakyamuni,
the historical Buddha, says in Haivajra:
Living beings are Buddha in their
true nature,
But their nature is obscured by casual or sudden afflictions.
When the afflictions are cleansed, living beings themselves are the very Buddha.
Buddahood, or enlightenment, is "no-self." It is total, everlasting,
universal peace, openness, selflessness, oneness, and joy. For most people, the
prospect of total realization of enlightenment is very foreign and difficult to
understand. The purpose of this book is not to go beyond self, not to be fully
enlightened, but only to relax our grip on self a little bit, and to be happier
and healthier. Even so, it may be helpful to have an idea of what is meant by
total openness and oneness.
The stories that we hear about "near-death
experiences," of nearly dying but coming back from death, can provide us
with insight. Many people who have survived the process of dying describe traveling
through a tunnel and being met by a white light that touches them, giving them
a feeling of great bliss and peace. Yet the light is not something separate from
that experience. The light is peace. And they are the light. They do not experience
the light in the usual dualistic way, as someone seeing light, as a subject and
an object. Instead, the light, peace, and person are one.
In one near-death
story, a man tells of reviewing everything that happened in his life, from birth
until death--not just one event after another, but his entire life simultaneously.
And he didn't just see with his eyes or hear with his ears, or even know with
his mind; he had a vivid and pure awareness of seeing, knowing, and feeling without
distinctions among them. In such a case, when limits and restrictions are gone,
there is oneness. With oneness, there is no suffering or conflict, because conflict
exists only where there is more than one.
For Buddhists, such experiences
are especially interesting because they could be a glimpse of the "luminous
bardo of ultimate nature"--a transitional period after death that, for people
who have some realization of the truth, transcends the realm of ordinary space,
time, and concepts. But such stories are not just about the experience of death;
they also tell us about the enlightenment that is possible while we are alive.
The enlightened mind is really not so foreign. Openness is here within us,
although we may not always recognize it. We can all experience it at some important
juncture in our life, or even as a glimpse amid our everyday existence. We don't
have to be near death. Although near-death stories can be inspiring and interesting,
enlightenment isn't just one story or another. It is not "this" experience,
or "that" way of looking or being. Total openness is free from the extremes
of "existing" and "not existing"; nor is it both "existing"
and "not existing"--or neither "existing" nor "not existing."
In other words, total openness cannot be contained in concepts and descriptions.
THE PATH OF HEALING
Enlightenment is oneness, beyond grasping at self,
beyond duality, beyond happy or sad, beyond positive or negative karma. However,
when we talk of healing, as in this book, it is not necessary to be too concerned
with enlightenment. Realizing the true nature of our minds is the ultimate healing,
but the ordinary mind also has healing powers. We can use our everyday, dualistic
minds to help ourselves. Most of the exercises in this book take this everyday
approach to becoming more relaxed and happy.
So our aim is simply to go from
negative to positive, from sickness to healing. If we are already in a positive
state for the time being, we can learn how to maintain and enjoy that. However
much we loosen our grasping, that much better will we feel.
On a long journey,
we may want to keep the ultimate destination in mind, but it is good to take one
day at a time and rest along the way. If we want to relax our grip on self, we
shouldn't try too hard. It is better to take a gentle approach. Whatever steps
we take, even if they are small, the most important thing is to rejoice in those
small steps; then they become powerful. Always we should appreciate what we are
able to do, and not feel bad about what we haven't done.
To be a little more
open, a little more positive, a little more relaxed. These are the goals of this
book. If we are newcomers to meditation and spiritual training, it is important
to be practical, to use our knowledge of ourselves to see the right path to take.
When we keep an open attitude, suggestions about specific healing meditations
can help us swiftly along the path. The best guide of all is the wisdom within
us. We are not restricted to a few methods of meditation. Instead, all of life--thinking,
feeling, everyday activities and experiences--can be a means of healing.
*********************
Healing
and the Reality of Death
by
Chogyam Trungpa
Shambhala Sun
We
view our desire to get rid of disease as a desire to live. But it is often just
the opposite: it is an attempt to avoid life. Illness is not so special- nor so
terrible. It is a question of acknowledging that we are born alone and we die
alone, but that it is still okay.
In discussing sickness, whether physical
or mental, we should recognize the importance of our sense of survival. We want
to survive, and when we talk about healing, we are talking about how to survive.
Viewed from another angle, our strategy of survival is the pattern of our reaction
to the fact of death.
One's attitude toward death is central to any healing
process. Although it is frequently ignored it is always in the background. No
one actually wants to face the possibility of death, or even the idea of death.
Even a mild sickness points to the possibility of nothingness: we might lose control
of our physical or mental situation; we might become lost in mid-air. Facing the
fear of loss will not exactly solve the problem, but, to begin with, the problem
should at least be faced.
When we are willing to acknowledge what is really
happening, we pick up spirit, or buoyancy. One could even go so far as to say
that by such acknowledgment some kind of sanity develops. So I think it is very
important to present the possibility to people that they might have to face some
kind of loss, some sense of bewilderment. The healer should encourage people who
are sick to confront their uncertainty. Such open communication will allow a real
meeting to take place, an honest relationship.
Some people talk about healing
in a magical sense, as when so-called healers put their hands on a sick person
and miraculously heal them; others talk about the physical approach to healing,
using drugs, surgery, and so forth. But I think the important point is that any
real healing has to come out of some kind of psychological openness. There are
constant opportunities for such openness-constant gaps in our conceptual and physical
structures. If we begin to breathe out, then we create room for fresh air to rush
in. If we do not breathe, there is no way for the fresh air to enter. It is a
question of psychological attitude rather than of being taken over by external
powers that heal us. Openness seems to be the only key to healing. And openness
means we are willing to acknowledge that we are worthy; we have some kind of ground
to relate with whatever is happening to us.
People tend to feel that their
particular sickness is something special, that they are the only person with such
an illness. But in fact, their illness is not so special-nor so terrible. It is
a question of acknowledging that we are born alone and that we die alone, but
that it is still okay. There is nothing particularly terrible or special about
it.
Often the whole notion of sickness is taken as a purely mechanical problem:
something is wrong with one's machine, one's body. But somehow that is missing
the point. It is not the sickness that is the big problem, but the psychological
state behind it.
We could not have gotten sick in the first place without
some kind of loss of interest and attention. Whether we were run down by a car
or we caught a cold, there was some gap in which we did not take care of ourselves-an
empty moment in which we ceased to relate to things properly. There was no ongoing
awareness of our psychological state.
So to the extent that we invite it to
begin with, all sickness-and not just those diseases traditionally considered
to be psychosomatic-are psychological. All diseases are instigated by one's state
of mind. And even after we have dealt with the disease and the symptoms have disappeared,
by pretending that the problem is over, we only plant seeds for further neurosis.
It seems that we generally avoid our psychological responsibility, as though
diseases were external events imposing
themselves upon us. There is a quality
of sleepiness, and of missing the gaps in the seemingly solid structure of our
lives. Out of that sense of carelessness comes an immense message. Our bodies
demand our attention; our bodies demand that we actually pay attention to what
is going on with our lives. Illness brings us down to earth, making things seem
much more direct and immediate.
Disease is a direct message to develop a proper
attitude
of mindfulness: we should be more intelligent about ourselves. Our
minds and bodies are both very immediate. You alone know how your body feels.
No one else cares; no one else can know but you. So there is a natural wakefulness
about what is good for you and what is not. You can respond intelligently to your
body by paying attention to your state of mind.
Because of this, the practice
of meditation may be the only way to really cure ourselves. Although the attempt
to use meditation as some sort of cure may seem materialistic, the practice itself
soon cuts through any materialistic attitude.
Basically, mindfulness is a
sense of composure. In meditation we are not accomplishing anything; we are just
there, seeing our lives. There is a general sense of watchfulness, and an awareness
of the body as an extremely sensitive mechanism which gives us messages constantly.
If we have missed all the rest of the opportunities to relate with these messages,
we find ourselves sick. Our bodies force us to be mindful on the spot. So it is
important not to try to get rid of the sickness but to use it as a message.
We
view our desire to get rid of disease as a desire to live. But instead it is often
just the opposite: it is an attempt to avoid life. Although we seemingly want
to be alive, in fact we simply want to avoid intensity. It is an ironic twist:
we actually want to be healed in order to avoid life. So the hope for cure is
a big lie; it is the biggest conspiracy of all. In fact, all entertainment-whether
it is the movies or various programs for so-called self-growth-lures us into feeling
that we are in touch with life, while in fact we are putting ourselves into a
further stupor.
The role of the healer is not just to cure the disease; it
is to cut through the tendency to see disease as an external threat. By providing
companionship and some kind of sympathy, the healer creates a suggestion of health
or underlying sanity, which then undermines naive conceptions of disease. The
healer deals with the mishandling of the gaps that occur in one's life, with one's
losses of spirit.
The healing relationship is a meeting of two minds: that
of the healer and patient, or for that matter, of the spiritual
teacher
and student. If you and the other person are both open, some kind of dialogue
can take place that is not forced. Communication occurs naturally because both
are in the same situation.
If the patient feels terrible, the healer picks
up that sense of the patient's wretchedness: for a moment he feels more or less
the same, as if he himself were sick. For a moment the two are not separate and
a sense of authenticity takes place.
From the patient's point of view, that
is precisely what is needed: someone acknowledges his existence and the fact that
he needs help very badly. Someone actually sees through his sickness. The healing
process can then begin to take place in the patient's state of being, because
he realizes that someone has communicated with him completely. There has been
a mutual glimpse of common ground. The psychological underpinning of the sickness
then begins to come apart, to dissolve.
The same thing applies to meetings
between a meditation teacher and his or her student. There is a flash of understanding-nothing
particularly mystical or "far out," as they say-just very simple, direct
communication. The student understands and the teacher understands at the same
moment. In this common flash of understanding, knowledge is imparted.
When
there is that kind of openness, the healer does not have to solve a person's problem
completely. The approach of trying to repair everything has always been a problem
in the past; such an approach creates a successive string of cures and deceptions,
which seem to go hand in hand. Once the basic fear is acknowledged, continuing
with the treatment becomes very easy.
And finally, what do we mean when we
say that a patient has been healed? To be healed, ironically, means that a person
is no longer embarrassed by life; he or she is able to face death without resentment
or expectation.
©1994 Diana J. Mukpo. By gracious permission of the copyright
holder.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1940-1987) was the founder of the Vajradhatu
organization of Buddhist centers, The Naropa Institute, Shambhala Training, and
other contemplative institutions, including the Shambhala Sun. Among his best
known books are Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism; The Myth of Freedom; and
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.
*********************
Healing
Justice : A Buddhist Perspective
David
Loy
"The history of punishment is in some respects like the history
of war; it seems to accompany the human condition almost universally, to enjoy
periods of glorification, to be commonly regarded as justified in many instances,
and yet to run counter to our ultimate vision of what human society should be."[1]
Why
do we punish? It seems a silly question, but only until we try to answer it. To
punish is to harm, and harming must be justified. Three types of justification
are usually offered: the harm of punishment is outweighed by some greater good
(e.g., it deters others); punishment does not really harm offenders (because it
reforms them); and harming offenders is good in itself (because retribution "annuls
the crime"). However, each of these reasons becomes problematical when we
examine it.
The first argument is a utilitarian one, but it seems immoral to
harm someone because we want to influence others' behavior; such a principle could
also be used to justify scapegoating innocents. This is not just an abstract point,
for there is the uncomfortable possibility that offenders today have become scapegoats
for our social problems. And if punishment warns other would-be offenders, why
does the United States, which punishes a larger percentage of its population than
any other Western country, continue to have the highest crime rate?
The second
argument, that punishment reforms rather than harms the offender, obviously is
not true now. The Quakers may have intended the penitentiary to be a place of
penitence, yet there is little doubt that today incarceration makes most offenders
worse. A RAND study found that recidivism is actually higher for offenders sent
to prison than for similar offenders put on probation. That should not surprise
us, for the predatory societies found in most prisons make them more like hell
than places to repent and reform. Prison settings dehumanize, divert offenders'
attention from victims, and reinforce their low self-esteem. As often happens,
an institution which does not fulfill its original purpose continues to exist
for other reasons - in this case because, to tell the truth, we have not known
what else to do with most offenders.
The third argument, that harming offenders
somehow annuls the crime, incorporates several types of justifications. The most
common is the desire for vengeance, which is understandable but morally dubious
and socially destructive. Another version sees punishment as God's retribution;
the Buddhist equivalent understands punishment more impersonally, as an effect
of one's karma. Neither is a good argument for human punishment: neither God nor
an objective moral law needs our help, especially since it is inevitable that
humans will occasionally make mistakes (e.g., execute innocents).
The important
point is that all versions of this third justification build upon the intuitive
belief that something must be done to "make right" the harm that offenses
cause to victims and the social fabric. What motivates the restorative justice
movement is the increasing recognition that our present judicial system is not
doing this well enough. The problem, we are beginning to realize, is a deep one:
we sense that there may be something wrong with our atomistic understanding of
the social contract and its presumptions about "the good life", but
we are not sure which way to look for an alternative paradigm - which is why it
is essential to get perspectives on this paradigm that can only be provided by
the worldviews and values of other cultures.
The Buddhist approach to punishment,
like any other approach, cannot really be separated from its understanding of
human psychology and its vision of human possibility. This suggests that criminal
justice is not solely a secular issue, for questions of fairness and justice cannot
be completely separated from the religious perspectives they historically derive
from: for the vast majority of humankind, crime, punishment and reform are still
inextricably bound up with religious views about sin, judgement and forgiveness.
Justice is one of those ultimate issues that bridge whatever distinction we try
to make between sacred and secular, and our criminal justice system will always
be subordinate to our larger vision of how people should relate to each other.
Then is penal failure a barometer of our social failure in this larger respect
- of our inadequate vision of what personal and social possibilities there are?
This would explain our discomforting suspicion that criminals have become scapegoats,
readily exploited by ambitious politicans (a fourth justification for punishment,
unfortunately).
It is difficult to generalize about crime, because there are
different types, committed by different types of people, which require different
responses. The same is true for Buddhism: there is no such thing as the Buddhist
tradition, for Buddhism has been extraordinarily adaptable in its spread to different
places and cultures. Thailand, Tibet, China and Japan have had very different
political and judicial systems, although some similar threads have been used in
weaving their various patterns: especially the beliefs that all of us, offenders
and victims alike, have the same Buddha-nature, which is not to be confused with
our usual sense of self, an ever-changing collection of wholesome and unwholesome
mental tendencies; that we are usually dominated by our greed, ill-will and delusion,
but it is possible to change and outgrow them; and therefore the only reason to
punish is education for reformation.[2]
We begin with two Pali (early) suttas
which exemplify these threads: the Angulimala Sutta, the best-known Buddhist text
on crime and punishment, about the reform of a serial killer; and the Lion's Roar
Sutta, on the responsibility of a ruler to prevent crime and violence. Although
the first may be based upon a true incident, both suttas are obviously mythic,
which does not reduce their interest for us, since our concern is Buddhist attitudes.
Then we will look at the Buddhist vinaya,which supplies the rules and corrective
measures that regulate the lives of Buddhist bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkunis (nuns);
these have many implications for our psychological understanding of motivation,
education and reform. Finally, we look to traditional Tibet to see how its judicial
system embodied these Buddhist perspectives. Tibet's lack of church/state separation
means it is not a model that a modern secular and pluralistic society can duplicate
- or are we already duplicating it? Does our usual distinction between the religious
and civil spheres merely obscure the fact that the state has become a "secular
god" for us?
The Angulimala
Sutta [3]
Angulimala was a merciless bandit, who murdered many people and wore
their fingers as a garland (hence his name, literally "finger-garland").
Although warned about him, the Blessed One (Sakyamuni Buddha) walks silently into
his area. When Angulimala tries to catch him, however, the Buddha performs a supernatural
feat: Angulimala, walking as fast as he can, cannot catch up with him, even though
the Buddha is walking at his normal pace. Astonished, Angulimala calls out "Stop,
recluse!"
Still walking, the Buddha answers: "I have stopped, Angulimala;
you stop too." In response to Angulimala's puzzlement, he explains: "I
have stopped forever, abstaining from violence towards living beings; but you
show no such restraint." This impresses Angulimala so much that he renounces
evil forever and asks to join the sangha; and the Buddha accepts him as a bhikkhu.
Meanwhile,
people had gathered at the gates of King Pasenadi's palace, demanding that Angulimala
be stopped. King Pasadeni goes forth with five hundred men to capture him. When
he meets the Buddha and explains his quest, the Buddha responds: if you were to
see that he is now a good bhikkhu, who abstains from killing, etc., how would
you treat him?
The king replies that he would pay homage to him as a good bhikkhu,
and is surprised when the Buddha points out Angulimala seated nearby. The king
marvels that the Buddha was able to tame the untamed and bring peace to the unpeaceful.
"Venerable sir, we ourselves could not tame him with force or weapons, yet
the Blessed One has tamed him without force or weapons." Then he departs.
Soon
after, the venerable Angulimala realizes the supreme goal of the holy life and
attains nirvana, Later, however, during an almsround, he is beaten by townspeople,
but the Buddha tells him to bear it, for it is a result of his past karma. The
sutta concludes with some verses by Angulimala, for example: "Who checks
the evil deeds he did/ By doing wholesome deeds instead,/ He illuminates the world/
Like the moon freed from a cloud."
The point of this sutta is not difficult
to see: we need only contrast Angulimala's fate with what our retributive justice
system would do to him. The importance of this story within the Buddhist tradition
highlights the only reason Buddhism accepts for punishing an offender: to help
re-form his or her character. Then there is no reason to punish someone who has
already reformed himself. There is no mention of punishment as a deterrent; on
the contrary, the case of Angulimala may be seen as setting a negative example,
implying that one can escape punishment by becoming a bhikkhu, as if the sangha
were something like the French foreign legion. There is also no hint that punishment
is needed to "annul the crime", although Angulimala does suffer karmic
consequences which even his nirvana (spiritual perfection) cannot escape. More
generally, determining what judicial response is right or wrong - what is just
- cannot be abstracted from the particular situation of the offender.
Nevertheless,
this story is unsatisfactory from a restorative viewpoint. The sutta says nothing
about the families of Angulimala's victims, or the larger social consequences
of his crimes, except for the crowds at King Pasenadi's gate. That the humble
monk Angulimala is stoned by villagers indicates more than bad karma; it implies
that there has been no attempt at restorative justice which takes account of his
effects on society. The social fabric of the community has been rent, yet there
is no effort to "make things right". The particular situation of the
offender is addressed by abstracting him from his social context. It would be
unfair to take this as indicating a Buddhist indifference to society, yet it does
exemplify the early Buddhist attitude to spiritual salvation: liberation is an
individual matter, and the path to achieving it involves leaving society, not
transforming it.
The Lion's Roar
Sutta [4]
The Cakkavatti-sihanada Sutta addresses the relationship between
criminal justice and social justice, especially the connection between poverty
and violence. The Buddha often summarized his teachings into four noble truths:
life is duhkha (unsatisfactory); the cause of duhkha; the end of duhkha; and the
way to end duhkha. According to this Buddhist approach, the way to control crime
naturally follows from correctly understanding the causes of crime. In this sutta
the Buddha tells the story of a monarch in the distant past who initially venerated
and relied upon the dhamma, doing as his sage advised: "Let no crime prevail
in your kingdom, and to those who are in need, give property." Later, however,
he began to rule according to his own ideas and did not give property to the needy,
with the result that poverty became rife. Due to poverty one man took what was
not given and was arrested; when the king asked him why, the man said he had nothing
to live on. So the king gave him some property, saying that it would be enough
to carry on a business and support his family.
Exactly the same thing happened
to another man; and when other people heard about this they too decided to steal
so they would be treated the same way. Then the king realized that if he continued
to give property to such men, theft would continue to increase. So he decided
to get tough on the next thief: "I had better make an end of him, finish
him off once for all, and cut his head off." And he did.
At this point
in the story, one might expect a moralistic parable about the importance of deterring
crime, but it turns in exactly the opposite direction:
"Hearing about
this, people thought: 'Now let us get sharp swords made for us, and then we can
take from anybody what is not given, we will make an end of them, finish them
off once and for all and cut off their heads.' So, having procured some sharp
swords, they launched murderous assults on villages, towns and cities, and went
in for highway-robbery, killing their victims by cutting off their heads.
"Thus,
from the not giving of property to the needy, poverty became rife, from the growth
of poverty, the taking of what was not given increased, from the increase of theft,
the use of weapons increased, from the increased use of weapons, the taking of
life increased . . ."
Despite some fanciful elements, this myth has important
implications for our understanding of crime and punishment. The first point is
that poverty is presented as the root cause of immoral behavior such as theft,
violence, falsehood, etc. Unlike what we might expect from a supposedly world-denying
religion, the Buddhist solution has nothing to do with accepting our poverty karma.
The problem begins when the king does not give property to the needy - that is,
when the state neglects its responsibility to maintain distributive justice. According
to this influential sutta, crime, violence and immorality cannot be separated
from broader questions about the justice or injustice of the social order. The
solution is not to "crack down" harshly with severe punishments but
to provide for people's basic needs. "The aim would be, not to create a society
in which people in general were afraid to break the law, but one in which they
could live sufficiently rewarding lives without doing so" (Wright 7). Today
we prefer to throw our money at "wars on crime", but social indications
suggest what the king belatedly realized, that such wars no one wins.
That
brings us to the second point of the Lion's Roar Sutta, its understanding of violence.
Instead of solving the problem, the king's violent attempt at deterrence sets
off an explosion of violence that leads to social collapse. If punishment is sometimes
a mirror-image of the crime, in this case the crimes are a mirror-image of the
punishment. The state's violence reinforces the belief that violence works. When
the state uses violence against those who do things it does not permit, we should
not be surprised when some of its citizens feel entitled to do the same (Pepinsky
301). Such retributive violence "tends to confirm the outlook and life experiences
of many offenders. Wrongs must be repaid by wrong and those who offend deserve
vengeance. Many crimes are committed by people 'punishing' their family, the neighbors,
their acquaintances" (Zehr 77). The emphasis on nonviolence within so much
of the Buddhist tradition is not because of some otherworldly preoccupations;
it is based upon the psychological insight that violence breeds violence. This
is a clear example, if anything is, of the maxim that our means cannot be divorced
from our ends. If there is no way to peace, peace itself must be the way. Since
the state is not exempt from this truth, we must find some way to incorporate
it into our judicial systems.
The
Vinaya [5]
The Vinaya Pitaka is, in effect, a canonical compendium of the rules
that bhikkhus and bhikkunis are expected to follow. The vinaya is based upon sila
morality, which, although only one part of the three-part path (the others are
samadhi concentration and prajna wisdom), provides the ethical foundation essential
for all Buddhists. The five basic sila precepts are to abstain from killing, stealing,
improper sexual behaviour, lying, and intoxicants. These precepts help us eradicate
the three roots of evil: "As lust, malice and delusion are the basis of all
undesirable volitional activity done by means of thoughts, word and body, the
disciplinary code or Buddhist Laws are regarded as a means established for the
rise of detached actions which finally result in pure expressions of body, speech
and thought" (Ratnapala 42).
Although now rigidly codified, the vinaya
approach is quite practical. Almost all rules originate from actual events (what
we would call case law) rather than from hypothetical possibilities of wrong-doing.
"The spirit of the law suggests that the laws act more or less as sign-posts
or 'danger zones' indicating that one should be careful here, keeping in mind
the example or examples of individuals who fell into trouble by this or that strategem"
(Ratnapala 42). Since not derived from God or any other absolute authority, these
rules are always open to revision, except for the four parajikas (sexual intercourse,
stealing, killing a human being, and lying about one's spiritual attainment) which
constitute automatic self-expulsion. Following the rules well is not in itself
the goal; the reason for rules is that they promote personal and spiritual development.
The
vinaya approach is very practical in another way too: in its realistic attitude
towards human weakness. It is the nature of unenlightened human beings to be afflicted
by greed, ill-will and delusion; that is, all of us are somewhat mad. As long
as human beings are unenlightened, then, there will be crime. The extent of crime
can be reduced by improving social and economic conditions, but no human society
will ever be able to eradicate crime completely. This is consistent with the Buddhist
attitude towards self-perfection: we improve only gradually, step by step, which
implies that offences should be evaluated with tolerance and compassion.
If
we are all somewhat insane, the insanity defense is always somewhat applicable,
for there can be no presumption of free will or simple self-determination. Freedom
is not a matter of liberating individual self-will (often motivated by greed,
etc.) but overcoming such willfulness; not gained by removing external restraints,
but by self-control and spiritual awakening. This denies the distinction we are
usually quick to make between an offender and the rest of us. The rehabilitative
model of secular therapy denies the offender's dignity and responsibility, as
Conrad Brunk points out, but Buddhism avoids this problem by emphasizing the continuity
between offenders and us: the difference is only a matter of degree - at most.
According to Buddhism, the issue is not punishment but correction, and the best
antidote to crime is to help people realize the full consequences of their actions
(Ratnapala12-13).
In determining the nature of an offence against the vinaya,
everything about an offender's situation is taken into consideration in order
to make the best possible judgement about what should be done: one's past, character
and intelligence, the nature and conduct of one's associates, as well as whether
or not one has confessed. This may be contrasted to our own judicial preoccupation
with the black-or-white question of guilty/not guilty. "Degrees of severity
of the offense may vary, but in the end there are no degrees of guilt", which
teaches "the hidden message that people can be evaluated in simple dichotomies."
From a perspective that takes the offender's self-reformation (and is there any
other type?) seriously, such an approach is seriously flawed:
"Much evidence
suggests that offenders often do not act freely or at least do not perceive themselves
as capable of free action. . . . Ideas of human freedom and thus responsibility
necessarily take on a different hue in such a context." (Zehr 70)
The
vinaya supports the notion that our preoccupation with guilt is based on an erroneous
understanding of human nature and how it changes. "Guilt says something about
the quality of the person who did this and has a 'sticky,' indelible quality."
(Zehr 69). Buddhist emphasis on the transience of everything means there is nothing
indelible about our unwholesome mental tendencies; deep-rooted ones may be difficult
to eradicate, but that is because they are an engrained result of past habits,
not an "essential" part of us.
The main concern of the vinaya is
not ruling on guilt but determining the intention, because one's intention decides
the nature of the offence. If there is no consent to commit an act one is not
guilty of it; and the lighter the intention, the less grave the offence (Ratnapala
5, 93, 192).
Intention is also the most important factor in the operation of
the law of karma, which according to Buddhism is created by volitional action:
"I am the result of my own deed . . . whatever deed I do, whether good or
bad, I shall become heir to it." [6] A modern approach is to understand karma
in terms of what Buddhism calls sankharas, our "mental formations" especially
our habitual tendencies. These are very important for Buddhism because they are
not tendencies we have but tendencies we are. Instead of being "my"
habits, their interaction is what constructs my sense of "me". Then
we are punished not for our sins but by them. People suffer or benefit not for
what they have done but for what they have become, and what we intentionally do
is what makes us what we are. My actions and my intentions build/rebuild my character
just as food is assimilated to build/rebuild my physical body. If karma is this
psychological truth about how we construct ourselves, or about how our selves
are constructed by "our" greed, ill-will and delusion, then we can no
longer accept the juridical presupposition of a self-determined subject wholly
responsible for its own actions. Once we understand the mental tendencies that
afflict all of us, desire for vengeance must be replaced with compassion that
emphasizes reformation.
The system of punishments used within the sangha shows
how these principles work in practice. The emphasis is on creating a situation
that will help an offender to remember and reflect upon the offence, in order
to overcome the mental tendencies that produced it. Most penalties involve what
we now call probation. Probation is usually regarded as a modern method of treatment
derived from English common law, but it has been widely used in Buddhism for 2500
years, because consistent with the Buddhist concern not to punish but to reform.
Once the probation was successfully finished, the bhikkhu returned to his previous
position and status, so "the social image of the offender was not harmed.
After the penalty, he was received back and he enjoyed the identical position
he had earlier without stigma or contempt. Human dignity thus was always regarded
as important in the court and in the society, while under a penalty or after rehabilitation"
(Ratnapala 77). This contrasts with the humiliation built into our present retributive
approach. A major factor in many offences is low self-esteem, and a restorative
system must address this explicitly by focusing on ways to help offenders build
self-esteem in the act of accepting responsibility for their actions.
This
does not contradict the Buddhist teaching that there is no separate self. "Reintegration
requires that we view ourselves (and others) as a complex measure of good and
evil, injuries and strengths, and that while we resist and disparage the evil
and compensate for our weaknesses, we also recognize and welcome the good and
utilize our strengths" (Van Ness and Strong on reintegrative shaming, 118).
This is precisely the Buddhist view of human nature, which does not presuppose
a unitary soul or self-determining subject, but understands the self to be a composite
of unwholesome and wholesome tendencies.
To sum up, the vinaya approach suggests
that, if we are serious in our desire for a judicial system that truly heals,
we must find a way to shift our focus from punishing guilt to reforming intention.
Tibetan
justice [7]
Traditional Tibet provides an opportunity to observe how well the
above principles can operate in lay society. The presupposition of its legal system
was that conflict is created by our incorrect vision of situations, itself caused
by our mental afflictions. In Tibetan Buddhist teachings there are six root afflictions
(desire, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and incorrect view) and twenty secondary
ones (including belligerence, resentment, spite, jealousy, and deceit) that cause
us to perceive the world in an illusory way and engage in disputes. Again, we
notice a Socratic-like understanding of human conflict: our immoral behavior is
ultimately due to our wrong understanding, which only a spiritual awakening can
wholly purify.
As long as our minds are afflicted, there is no question of
free will, and Tibet's judicial system did not presuppose it:
"The goal
of a legal proceeding was to calm the minds and relieve the anger of the disputants
and then - through catharsis, expiation, restitution, and appeasement - to rebalance
the natural order. . . . A primary purpose of trial procedure was to uncover mental
states if possible, and punishment was understood in terms of its effect upon
the mind of the defendant" (French 74-76).
This included the disputants
attempting to reharmonize their relations after a court settlement. For example,
the law codes specified a "getting together payment" to finance a meeting
where all the parties would drink and eat together, to promote a reconciliation.
In general, coercion was considered ineffective, for no one could be forced to
follow a moral path. The disputants had to work out their own difficulties to
find a true solution. Therefore even a decision accepted by all parties would
lose its finality whenever they no longer agreed to it, and cases could be reopened
at any later date (French 138).
This emphasis on reharmonizing was embodied
both in legal philosophy and in the different types of judicial process used to
settle problems. Legal analysis employed two basic forms of causation, immediate
and root, both derived from Buddhist scriptures; the root cause was usually considered
more important, because the source of animosity had to be addressed to finally
resolve the strife. The most common type of judicial process was internal settlement
by the parties themselves. If that did not work, private and unofficial conciliators
could be tried; this was usually preferred because it was informal, saved reputations,
allowed flexible compromises, and was much less expensive. A third process involved
visiting judges at home to get their informal opinion of the best way to proceed.
Official court proceedings were a last resort.
This emphasis on consensus and
calming the mind presupposed something generally accepted in Tibet but less acceptable
to us: a belief that it is only the mind, not material possessions or status relations,
that can bring us happiness; in more conventional Buddhist terms, it is my state
of mind that determines whether I attain nirvana or burn in one of the hells.
This helps us to see the more individualistic assumptions operative in our own
judicial system, which emphasizes the personal pursuit of happiness, freedom of
restraint by others, and the right to enjoy one's property without interference.
Tibetan
officials were careful to distinguish religious beliefs from secular legal views
when it came to settling a case. Nonetheless, Tibetan culture was permeated with
a spiritual mentality, and the moral standards of the Buddha and his vinaya influenced
every part of the legal system:
"Each Tibetan knew that the moral Buddhist
cared more for the welfare of others than for his or her own welfare, gave to
others rather than amasses a fortune, rigorously tried to prevent harm to others,
never engaged in any of the nonvirtuous acts, had complete devotion to the Buddha
and his path, worked to eliminate anger and desire for material goods, accepted
problems with patience and endurance, and remained an enthusiastic perseverer
in the quest for truth and enlightenment. As their was no confusion about this
ideal, there was little ambiguity about how the moral actor would deal with a
particular daily situation. Even though the average Tibetan may not have been
any more likely to follow the moral path than a person in any other society, his
or her understanding of that ideal path remained strong" (French 77).
Since
all societies require norms as well as sanctions, we may ask what comparable standards
prevail in Western cultures. Generally, ours are more competitive and atomistic.
In U.S. law, for example, "the question becomes 'Would a reasonable person
leave ice on the sidewalk and foresee harm to a passerby?' The court and the individuals
are not expected to know or to ask the moral question 'What would a correctly
acting moral human have done under the same circumstances?'" In Tibet the
accepted standard was not "a reasonable man" but the moral person exercising
self-control; the members of a Tibetan village or neighborhood recognized that
they had responsibility for other members. Unless there are special circumstances,
a U.S. adult has no legal duty or responsibility to help others. "Tibetans
find such an attitude repulsive and inhuman" (French 77, 142).
This emphasis
on ending strife and calming the mind implied different attitudes towards determining
legal truth and using precedents. "Whereas the American view is that legal
truth emerges from the clash of opposing forces asserting their interests, Tibetans
saw little value in weathering such a process with all its extremity, anger, and
passion. Truth was understood in one of two ways: as an ideal and separate standard
[hence normally unattainable], or as consensus - that is, the result when disagreeing
parties reach a similar view of what happened and what should be done" (French
137). The necessity of consent so permeated the decision-making process that if
the disputants could not agree, truth could not be reached.
This also reduced
reliance on previous legal decisions as precedents. The need to work out the best
way to end conflict meant that emphasis was on decisions harmonizing the group,
rather than on decisions harmonizing with abstract legal principles. As a result,
Tibetan jurisprudence eventually formulated a core of five factors to be considered:
the uniqueness of each case (requiring a sensitivity to its particular features);
what is suitable for punishment (no statutory guidelines for sentencing); considerations
of karma (punishment should be oriented towards improving the offender's future
life); the correct purposes of punishment (to reharmonize with the community and
make offenders mindful of the seriousness of their offenses); and the correct
types of punishment (incarceration was rare because of lack of facilities). Economic
sanctions such as fines and damages were the most common, followed by physical
punishment and forced labor; others included ostracism, publishing the offence,
and reduction of official rank or loss of occupational status; capital punishment
was also used occasionally. In general, local and nongovernmental decisionmakers
were believed to be more likely to find solutions that would actually rectify
behavior and restore community harmony.
In summary, Tibet provides an example
of a country whose judicial system was organized according to very different principles.
However, any attempt we might make to incorporate those principles into Western
criminal justice would seem to be vitiated by one obvious problem: Buddhist Tibet
was not a secular society. Its judicial system was not autonomous, for its framework
of "legal cosmology" was derived from the Tibetan worldview, itself
imbedded in a Buddhist cultural base. For a Tibetan, then, there was no clear
division betwen religion and the state (French 346, 100). Such a judicial system
is difficult to harmonize with our Western legal systems, which have evolved to
fit secular and pluralistic societies. For the West, a distinction between religious
and civil authority is basic.
Or is it? Is our judicial system an Enlightened
secular alternative to such a religiously-based legal cosmology, or is it merely
unaware of its own religious origins and assumptions? There is nothing unique
about Tibet's legal system being derived from its worldview; that is true of any
legal system. Ours too is embedded in a worldview which we take for granted just
as much as Tibetans took for granted a Buddhist cosmology. I conclude by suggesting
that, for us, the role of the Buddha has been assumed, in large part, by the state.
This implies a rather different understanding of what is wrong with our criminal
justice systems.
A Genealogy of
Justice
Our understanding of justice, like every understanding of justice,
is historically constructed. If we want to reconstruct justice, then, it is important
to understand how we got where we are. But there is no perspectiveless perspective.
It is our concern for restorative justice that enables us to see the history of
jurisprudence in a new way.
In premodern Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law, the
notion of a wrong to a person or his family was primary, that of an offense against
the "common weal" secondary. Our distinction between civil and criminal
law hardly existed, even for the most grave offenses. As monarchies grew more
powerful, private settlements of crimes regarded as public wrongs were not permitted,
because they were understood to undermine the Crown's authority.
This development
intersected with another in the religious sphere. Initially, Christian practice
had emphasized forgiving wrongdoing; like Buddhism, it was focused on reconciliation
and spiritual salvation. Beginning in the eleventh century, however, theology
and common law began to redefine crime as an offense against the metaphysical
order, which causes a moral imbalance that needs to be righted. Crime became a
sin against God, and it was the responsibility of the Church to purge such transgressions
(Zehr 116).
These developments intersected in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, when the Reformation initiated a social crisis that culminated in the
birth of the nation-state as we know it today. The religious schism increased
the leverage of civil rulers and the balance of power between Church and state
shifted to the latter. This allowed some rulers to appropriate the Church's mantle
of spiritual charisma. Their power could become absolute because they filled the
new vacuum of spiritual authority by becoming, in effect, "secular gods"
accountable only to God. Thanks to reformers such as Luther and Calvin, who postulated
a vast gap between corrupt humanity and God's righteousness, the deity was now
too far away to supervise their power. Luther and Calvin endorsed the punitive
role of the state, which took over God's role in administering punishment. The
eventual overthrow of absolute rulers freed state institutions from responsibility
to anything outside themselves, since now they "embodied the people".
This
gives us a different perspective on the state's new role as the legal victim of
all crimes, with a monopoly on justice. Instead of viewing the nation-state as
a solely secular institution, we should understand that our historically-conditioned
allegiance to it is due to the fact that it took over some of the authority of
schismatic and therefore somewhat discredited Christianity. Yet the objectivity
and impersonality of state justice led to an emphasis on formal law and due process,
with little regard for the effects of this process on its participants (Wright
112). Such "law can be viewed as being inversely related to personal trust.
With respect to trust, bureaucracy can be viewed as the antithesis of community"
(Cordella 35).
The Anabaptists understood that such a state is inherently coercive
and refused to engage in its civil affairs, because state authority was antithetical
to their own mutualist vision of community. In short, they saw the basic problem
that the rest of us are just beginning to understand: if the nation-state is a
god, it is a false one -- an idol.
What does all this have to do with restorative
justice? The all-important issue is the social context of justice. In a wonderful
passage, Zehr discusses the relationship between Biblical justice and love:
"We
tend to assume that love and mercy are different from or opposite to justice.
A judge pronounces a sentence. Then as an act of mercy, she may mitigate the penalty.
Biblical justice, however, grows out of love. Such justice is in fact an act of
love which seeks to make things right. Love and justice are not opposites, nor
are they in conflict. Instead, love provides for a justice which seeks first to
make things right" (139).
I hope to have shown that the same is true for
Buddhism: Buddhist justice grows out of a compassion for everyone involved when
someone hurts another.
Logically, the opposite of love is hatred; but Jung
and others have pointed out that the psychological opposite to love is fear. By
no coincidence, Hobbes' theory of a social contract makes fear the origin of the
state, for the absolute authority of the state is the only thing that can protect
my self-interest from yours. True or not, that has become our myth: we legitimize
the state's justice insofar as we accept that it is needed to protect us from
each other.
This implies a sharp conflict between Biblical/Buddhist justice
and state justice. The usual understanding of justice and mercy separates them;
Zehr's Biblical understanding, and my Buddhist one, see justice growing out of
mercy; but our myth about the social contract implies that the state's justice
grows out of fear. If fear is indeed the opposite of love, we are faced with two
contradictory paradigms about the origins and role of justice. Then the issue
becomes which kind of society we want to live in.
Notes
1.
Deirdre Golash, "Punishment", 11-12. This provocative paper presents
the three main justifications for punishment, argues that each is flawed, and
concludes that we should abolish our institutions of punishment.
2. There
are many excellent works in English that provide an introduction of Buddhist teachings.
For early Buddhism, see Rahula 1959; for Mahayana Buddhism, see Williams 1989.
3. Majjhima Nikaya ii, 98ff, in The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha,
710-717.
4. Digha Nikaya iii, 65 ff, in The Long Discourses of the Buddha,
395-405.
5. This section draws heavily on Ratnapala's Crime and Punishment
in the Buddhist Tradition.
6. Anguttara Nikaya iii, 59.
7. This section
draws heavily on French's The Golden Yoke.
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focus for crime and justice (Scottsdale, Penn: Herald Press, 1990, 1996).
********************
HEALING:
A TIBETAN BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE
Compiled by: Ven. Pende Hawter
What is
healing?
What do we mean by healing? Do we mean healing of the physical
body, healing of the psyche/soul/mind, or both of these. What is the connection
between body and mind?
Many modern healing techniques regard successful healing
as the cure of the presenting physical problem, whether this be symptoms of cancer,
AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, or some other illness. If the person does not
recover from the presenting physical problem, or if that problem recurs or another
develops at a later time, this may be regarded as failure.
It is not uncommon
in these situations for the therapist or organisation that has been helping the
"sick" person to infer or state that the person must have done something
wrong, that they haven't stuck strictly enough to the diet or meditated enough
or done whatever else it was that they were supposed to do.
In these situations
the person can become very guilty, depressed or angry. In many cases, they just
give up hope. To avoid these problems, it is necessary to consider a more comprehensive
view of healing that incorporates not only physical healing but mental healing.
Mind
is the creator
To understand healing from the Buddhist perspective, a useful
starting point is to consider the Buddhist concept of mind. The mind is non-physical.
It is formless, shapeless, colourless, genderless and has the ability to cognize
or know. The basic nature of mind is pure, limitless and pervasive, like the sun
shining unobstructedly in a clear sky.
The problems or sickness we experience
are like clouds in the sky obscuring the sun. Just as the clouds temporarily block
the sun but are not of the same nature as the sun, our problems or sickness are
temporary and the causes of them can be removed from the mind.
From the Buddhist
perspective, the mind is the creator of sickness and health. In fact, the mind
is believed to be the creator of all of our problems. That is, the cause of disease
is internal, not external.
Unlimited potential
You are probably
familiar with the concept of karma, which literally means action. All of our actions
lay down imprints on our mindstream which have the potential to ripen at some
time in the future. These actions can be positive, negative or neutral. These
karmic seeds are never lost. The negative ones can ripen at any time in the form
of problems or sickness; the positive ones in the form of happiness, health or
success.
To heal present sickness, we have to engage in positive actions now.
To prevent sickness occurring again in the future, we have to purify, or clear,
the negative karmic imprints that remain on our mindstream.
Karma is the creator
of all happiness and suffering. If we don't have negative karma we will not get
sick or receive harm from others. Buddhism asserts that everything that happens
to us now is the result of our previous actions, not only in this lifetime but
in other lifetimes. What we do now determines what will happen to us in the future.
In
terms of present and future healing, the main objective is to guard our own actions,
or karma. This requires constant mindfulness and awareness of all the actions
of our body, speech and mind. We should avoid carrying out any actions that are
harmful to ourselves and to others.
Buddhism is therefore a philosophy of total
personal responsibility. We have the ability to control our destiny, including
the state of our body and mind. Each one of us has unlimited potential - what
we have to do is develop that potential.
Healthy mind, healthy body
Why
do some people get ill while others remain in the best of health? Consider skin
cancer. Of all the people who spend many hours out in the sun, some will develop
skin cancer and others will not. The external situation is the same for all of
them, but only some will be affected. The secondary cause of the skin cancer -
the sun - is external, but the primary cause - the imprints laid down on the mindstream
by previous actions - is internal.
Also, people with similar types of cancer
will often respond quite differently to the same treatment, whether this be orthodox
or alternative. Some will make a complete recovery. Some will recover temporarily
and then develop a recurrence. Others will rapidly become worse and die. Logically
one has to look to the mind for the cause of these differences.
Buddhism asserts
that for lasting healing to occur, it is necessary to heal not only the current
disease with medicines and other forms of treatment, but also the cause of the
disease, which originates from the mind. If we do not heal or purify the mind,
the sickness and problems will recur again and again.
This introduces the notion
of "ultimate healing". By ridding the mind of all its accumulated "garbage",
all of the previously committed negative actions and thoughts, and their imprints,
we can be free of problems and sickness permanently. We can achieve ultimate healing
- a state of permanent health and happiness.
In order to heal the mind and
hence the body, we have to eliminate negative thoughts and their imprints, and
replace them with positive thoughts and imprints.
The inner enemy
The
basic root of our problems and sickness is selfishness, what we can call the inner
enemy. Selfishness causes us to engage in negative actions, which place negative
imprints on the mindstream. These negative actions can be of body, speech or mind,
such as thoughts of jealousy, anger and greed.
Selfish thoughts also increase
pride, which results in feelings of jealousy towards those higher than us, superiority
towards those lower than us and competitiveness towards equals. These feelings
in turn result in an unhappy mind, a mind that is without peace. On the other
hand, thoughts and actions directed to the well-being of others bring happiness
and peace to the mind.
Conscious living, conscious dying
It is important
to consider what happens to us when we die. The Buddhist view is that at the time
of death the subtle consciousness, which carries with it all the karmic imprints
from previous lives, separates from the body. After spending up to forty-nine
days in an intermediate state between lives, the consciousness enters the fertilised
egg of its future mother at or near the moment of conception. New life then begins.
We bring into our new life a long history of previous actions with the potential
to ripen at any time or in any of a myriad ways.
The state of mind at the time
of death is vitally important and can have a considerable effect on the situation
into which we are reborn. Hence the need to prepare well for death and to be able
to approach our death with a peaceful, calm and controlled mind.
Death itself
can be natural, due to exhaustion of the lifespan, or untimely, due to certain
obstacles. These obstacles arise from the mind and can be counteracted in different
ways. One method commonly employed in Tibetan Buddhism to remove life obstacles
is to save the lives of animals that would otherwise have been killed. For example,
animals can be rescued from being slaughtered or live bait can be purchased and
released.
For those with a life threatening illness, it is important to understand
that being free of that illness doesn't mean that you will have a long life. There
are many causes of death and death can happen to anybody at any time.
Not
just pills and potions
Tibetan medicine is popular and effective. It is
mostly herbal medicine, but its uniqueness lies in the fact that in the course
of its preparation it is blessed extensively with prayers and mantras, giving
it more power.
It is said that taking such medicine will either result in
recovery, or, if the person is close to death, they will die quickly and painlessly.
(Another theory, based on personal experience, is that it tastes so bad you want
to recover quickly so that you can stop taking the medicine!)
Blessed pills
and blessed water are also used extensively. The more spiritually developed the
person carrying out the blessings or the healing practices, the more powerful
is the healing result or potential. These pills often contain the relics of previous
great meditators and saints, bestowing much power on the pills.
Many Tibetan
lamas actually blow on the affected part of the body to effect healing or pain
relief. I have seen a person with AIDS with intense leg pain have his pain disappear
after a lama meditated intensely and blew on his leg for twenty minutes. Compassion
is the power that heals.
Visualisation can also be very powerful healing. One
method is to visualise a ball of white light above your head, with the light spreading
in all directions. Imagine the light spreading through your body, completely dissolving
away all sickness and problems. Concentrate on the image of your body as completely
healed and in the nature of light.
This type of meditation is even more powerful
when combined with visualising holy images and reciting mantras. I often tell
my Christian patients to visualise the light as Jesus, with the light emanating
from him.
In the Tibetan tradition, there are many Buddha figures (deities)
which can be visualised while reciting their mantra. The Medicine Buddha; Chenrezig,
or Avalokiteshvara (the Buddha of Compassion); or one of the long-life deities
such as Amitabha are commonly used. Deities can be in peaceful or wrathful aspects.
The wrathful ones are often used to cure heavy disease such as AIDS.
If you
are not comfortable with these images, you can use other objects such as crystals,
or simply visualise all the universal healing energy absorbing into you, transforming
your body into light, and imagine yourself as totally healed.
Over the centuries
many people have used these methods and have recovered from their illnesses, even
from conditions such as leprosy, paralysis and cancer. The aim of these practises
is to heal the mind as well as the body, so that the diseases or problems will
not recur in the future.
Also, many diseases are associated with spirit harm.
Lamas and other practitioners will often recite certain prayers and mantras or
engage in ceremonies to stop the spirit harm and allow the person to recover.
A seven year old girl I knew had petit-mal epilepsy as the result of spirit
harm; the epilepsy disappeared after various rituals and prayers had been performed.
Whenever she had an epileptic attack, the girl would see a frightening apparition
coming towards her. After the initial prayers had been performed, however, her
attacks lessened and she would see a brick wall between her and the frightening
figure. This wall was the colour of a monk's robes. Eventually the attacks and
visions disappeared altogether.
In summary, we can say that the essential ingredients
in the healing process, for both the person doing the healing and the person being
healed, are compassion, faith, and pure morality.
Changing our minds
Another
powerful method of healing in Tibetan Buddhism is to meditate on the teachings
known as thought transformation. These methods allow a person to see the problem
or sickness as something positive rather than negative. A problem is only a problem
if we label it a problem. If we look at a problem differently, we can see it as
an opportunity to grow or to practice, and regard it as something positive. We
can think that having this problem now ripens our previous karma, which does not
then have to be experienced in the future.
If someone gets angry at us, we
can choose to be angry in return or to be thankful to them for giving us the chance
to practice patience and purify this particular karma. It takes a lot of practice
to master these methods, but it can be done.
It is our concepts which often
bring the greatest suffering and fear. For example, due to a set of signs and
symptoms, the doctor gives the label 'AIDS' or 'cancer'. This can cause great
distress in a person's mind, because they forget that it is only a label, that
there is no truly existent, permanent AIDS or cancer. 'Death' is another label
that can generate a lot of fear. But in reality 'death' is only a label for what
happens when the consciousness separates from the body, and there is no real death
from its own side. This also relates to our concept of 'I' and of all other phenomena.
They are all just labels and have no true, independent existence.
Lama Zopa
Rinpoche, a highly realised Tibetan Lama, says that the most powerful healing
methods of all are those based on compassion, the wish to free other beings from
their suffering. The compassionate mind - calm, peaceful, joyful and stress-free
- is the ideal mental environment for healing. A mind of compassion stops our
being totally wrapped up in our own suffering situations. By reaching out to others
we become aware of not just my pain but the pain (that is, the pain of all beings).
Many people find the following technique powerful and effective: think "By
me experiencing this disease or pain or problem, may all the other beings in the
world be free of this disease, pain or problem" or "I am experiencing
this pain/sickness/problem on behalf of all living beings."
One voluntarily
takes on suffering in order for others to be free of it. This is similar to the
Christian concept of regarding one's suffering as sharing the suffering of Jesus
on the cross. Even death can be used in this way: "By me experiencing death,
may all other beings be freed from the fears and difficulties of the death process."
We
have to ask ourselves "What is the purpose of my life? Why do I want to have
good health and a long life?". The ultimate purpose of our life is to be
of benefit to others. If we live longer and just create more negative karma, it
is a waste of time.
Giving and taking is another powerful meditation. As you
breathe in, visualise taking the suffering and the causes of suffering from all
living beings, in the form of black smoke. When breathing in the black smoke,
visualise smashing the black rock of selfishness at your heart, allowing compassion
to manifest freely. As you breathe out, visualise breathing out white light that
brings them happiness, enjoyment and wisdom.
Developing compassion is more
important than having friends, wealth, education. Why? Because it is only compassion
that guarantees a happy and peaceful mind, and it is the best thing to help us
at the time of death
We can use our sickness and problems in a very powerful
way for spiritual growth, resulting in the development of compassion and wisdom.
The highest development of these qualities is the full realisation of our potential,
the state of full enlightenment. Enlightenment brings great benefit to ourselves
and allows us to work extensively for others. This is the state of ultimate healing.
I
have outlined some of the concepts that are the basis of the Buddhist philosophy
on healing. Many of these methods were taught by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Tara Institute
in Melbourne in August 1991 during the first course given by Lama Zopa specifically
for people with life-threatening illnesses.
Some of these ideas may appear
unusual at first, but please keep an open mind about them. If some of the ideas
appear useful to you, please use them; if not, leave them aside.
May you achieve
health and happiness.
(revised January 1995)
REFERENCES
Levine,
Steven Healing Into Life and Death, Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York, 1987
Geshe
Rabten and Geshe Dhargyey Advice From a Spiritual Friend, Wisdom Publications,
Boston, 1986
Sogyal Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Rider, London,
1992
Lama Zopa Rinpoche Transforming Problems Into Happiness, Wisdom Publications,
Boston 1993
Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche The Door to Satisfaction, Wisdom Publications,
Boston, 1994
********************
Here, from Sogyal Rinpoche's Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, we learn of Tonglen: a pathway to Ascension that enables us to bypass the bardos and awaken after death in the Pure Lands of the Amitabha Buddha.
In this article, we simply wish to give you an idea of what the practice of Tonglen entails. All quotes are from the book.
Awakening
Compassion
Sogyal Rinpoche tells us that the practice of Tonglen depends upon
our ability to awaken within ourselves the reality of compassion. Just as we cannot
perform the Unity Breath until we can feel Love, we cannot practice Tonglen until
we truly can feel compassion.
Compassion is not the same as pity. With compassion, while we are aware of what another is going through, we also honor that other and their path. We are there not to rescue, but rather to understand and to love. Instead of joining the other in his or her pain, we absorb the pain into ourselves and return peace, joy, and love.
And so compassion, Sogyal Rinpoche warns, is much more difficult to achieve than we might think. But he suggests several ways of overcoming this difficulty.
Unsealing the spring of loving kindness
This method consists of imagining one person who we know loved us. If it is not our mother, than it could be a grandmother, grandfather, or anyone else who ever gave us the feeling of being deeply loved.
''Go back in your mind,'' Sogyal Rinpoche advises, ''and recreate, almost visualize'' this love that you felt. And as you feel it come into your heart, feel gratitude, and let this love return to that person who helped you to feel that you were worthy of being loved.
Then, extend this love to all other beings, beginning with family and loved ones, then friends, acquaintances, and neighbors, then strangers, and even to people you dislike or who represent problems in your life - ''even those whom you might consider as your 'enemies.' '' Then, extend this love to the entire universe.
Sogyal Rinpoche says that this practice ''unseals a spring of love,'' and thus inspires the birth of compassion.
Considering that we are the same as others
''A powerful way to evoke compassion,'' says Sogyal Rinpoche, ''is to think of others as exactly the same as you.''
If, for example, you are having difficulties with someone, this process involves imagining that you are them - that you are the same, they are ''another you.'' This, Sogyal Rinpoche says, ''will open your heart to him or her and give you more insight into how to help.''
This practice may be used not only to improve relationships, but also to prefigure ''peace on earth'' - by imagining that societies and nations could also begin to see each other as though they were the same.
A variation on this is to put yourself in another's place when you seek to help them. For example if another person is in pain, you would imagine that you were that other person, going through the same pain. Ask yourself, Sogyal Rinpoche says, '''How would I feel? How would I want my friends to treat me? What would I most want from them?.'
''When you exchange yourself for others in this way, you are directly transferring your cherishing from its usual object, yourself, to other beings. [This] ... is a very powerful way of loosening the hold on you of the self-cherishing and the self-grasping of ego, and so of releasing the heart of your compassion.''
Use a friend to help yourself access compassion
Another technique Sogyal Rinpoche suggests is that we put a friend or loved one in the place of someone who is suffering. For example, if you lacked compassion for a child, you might imagine that it was your own. This, he says, will open your heart ''and compassion will awaken in you.''
Meditating on Compassion
To begin with, Sogyal Rinpoche advises us, when we are met with sights that make us aware of the world's suffering, instead of avoiding our feelings we should allow ourselves to participate in them fully. ''Switch on a television,'' he writes, ''and there on the news perhaps is a mother in Beirut kneeling above the body of her murdered son; or an old grandmother in Moscow pointing to the soup that is her food for today, not knowing if she'll have even that tomorrow...''
''Don't waste the love and grief it arouses,'' he tells us. ''In the moment you feel compassion welling up in you, don't brush it aside, don't shrug it off and try quickly to return to 'normal,' don't be afraid of your feeling or embarrassed by it, or allow yourself to be distracted from it or let it run aground in apathy. Be vulnerable; use that quick, bright uprush of compassion; focus on it, go deep in your heart and meditate on it, develop it, enhance, and deepen it. By doing this you will realize how blind you have been to suffering, how the pain that you are experiencing or seeing now is only a tiny fraction of the pain of the world.
''All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out to them all in spontaneous and immeasurable compassion, and direct that compassion, along with the blessing of all the Buddhas, to the alleviation of suffering everywhere.''
Directing Our Compassion
When we are open to compassion, we then will want to do something about the suffering we see. There are two pathways, Sogyal Rinpoche tells us, from which to choose in directing our compassion.
One is to pray to the buddhas and other enlightened beings that in thought, word, and deed, we will bring benefit and happiness to the world - that we will be useful.
The second way is to dedicate ourselves to attaining our own personal enlightenment. For, he says, ''the only way for you to be of complete help to other beings is for you to gain enlightenment.'' When we feel true compassion, then we know that we must attain enlightenment not for ourselves but for the benefit of all mankind.
Once we have awakened our compassion, we are now ready for the practice of Tonglen.
Here
is just a taste of how how we might begin this practice.
Beginning Tonglen
''The
best way to do this practice, and any practice of Tonglen,'' according to Sogyal
Rinpoche, ''is to begin by evoking and resting in the nature of mind,'' imagining
that the world around you is '''empty,' illusory, and dream-like.''
We are to allow our mind to ''settle,'' allowing our thoughts to come and go, not following them. Then, when we are feeling ''calm and centered,'' we bring our consciousness up slightly from it's dreamlike state and begin.
1. Environmental Tonglen
This consists of sitting and feeling the ''mood and atmosphere'' of our mind. Let's say that the mood we are feeling is unease, and the atmosphere seems dark. We would breathe in this unease and darkness, absorbing it into ourselves. Then, we would breathe out peace and joy, thereby clearing and cleaning the atmosphere and environment of our mind.
2. Self Esteem
The self-esteem exercise begins by imagining ourselves as two people. One is ''whole, compassionate, warm, and loving, like a true friend, really willing to be there for you, responsive and open to you, without ever judging you, whatever your faults or shortcomings.'' The second is the aspect of ourselves that has negative emotions and ideas, the ''victim.'' This is the part that says ''Nobody understands me,'' or feels wronged by people or society.
Again,
breathe in, but in this process you are the first person, the whole, compassionate
one, breathing in and absorbing all of the other's pain and negativity. And as
you breathe out, let the compassionate self send ''healing love, warmth, trust,
comfort, confidence, happiness, and joy'' to the other part.
Sogyal Rinpoche's
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying has been translated into 26 languages is 36 countries.
It has sold one and one-half million copies, and is considered a ''groundbreaking''
work. He seeks to make Tibetan Buddhism accessible to as many people as possible,
and to provide assistance to those who are drawn to it.
If the practice of Tonglen attracts you, you may wish to visit Sogyal Rinpoche's website at rigpa.org. Rigpa, the name of his organization, is a Tibetan word that means ''the innermost nature of the mind.''