(Half bell)
(Bell)
Dear Thay,
two months ago, I recognized a lump on my breast.
It's a benign tumor,
so it is not life threatening,
and I am really relieved from it.
But, at the beginning,
I was really shocked,
because it was there from one moment to the other.
Now, my question is:
How can Buddhism help with severe physical illnesses?
(Sister) How Buddhism can help with severe physical illnesses?
Can you repeat the whole question?
Dear Thay, our friend said that
two months ago, she found a lump in her breast.
And fortunately, it turned out to be benign.
So it is not life threatening.
But it caused her some concerns.
And thus, she comes to the question:
how Buddhism can help with serious illnesses?
Is that right?
(Nods)
The practice of mindful breathing,
especially when you practice
breathing deeper,
can help strengthen your lungs,
make them stronger.
And, when your lungs are stronger,
they can resist infections and
things like that.
And, not only the practice of mindful breathing
can help your lungs,
but it can help your whole body,
every cell of your body.
When Vietnam, my country, was divided into North and South,
my mother passed away,
and I had a depression.
And, doctors could not help,
but with the practice of mindful breathing,
I got out of the situation.
The practice of mindful breathing is wonderful.
It can heal many diseases.
During the time I had that depression,
I practiced mindful breathing and mindful walking.
In the hospital also, I found the way
to do walking meditation every day.
Any time that was available for the practice,
I would take in order to do walking and breathing.
Especially when the air is pure, of good quality,
then the practice of breathing can help the body very much.
And, when you have some trouble in your body,
and you have not seen what you should do,
and the doctor has not told you what to do
in order to relieve that problem in your body,
then you know that mindful breathing is what you can do right away.
Take up the practice and breathe.
Every breath can be healing.
That is my conviction, my practice.
Every breath can be nourishing.
Every breath can be healing.
Every breath can help not only your lungs,
but also your kidneys,
your liver, all the cells in your body.
This is very clear.
Walking meditation, breathing meditation
you practice in such a way that
the in-breath is pleasant,
the step you make is pleasant.
And, you know that every step,
every breath can help with the illness.
This is something very certain for Thay.
And, then, the other thing is that
you should not allow the energy of worry to take over.
This is very important.
The lump is benign, but if you imagine too much,
you think "I am going to die very soon!"
and it makes the situation much worse.
So, to worry is not good.
And there are ways in order
to deal with worries.
The Buddha talked about the "second arrow",
which is a very good teaching.
He said that someone is struck by an arrow,
and the pain, the suffering is there.
But, if a second arrow comes and strikes exactly in the same spot,
then, the pain will not only double,
but it can be 10 times or more intense.
So, don't let the second arrow come.
And, that second arrow is worry.
If we let the anger and the worry to take hold of us,
we suffer 100 times more.
And, that is why we practice,
in order not to let your anger,
your protest,
your despair and your fear
to take over.
That is the second arrow.
It is very harmful, the second arrow.
So, with mindful breathing, mindful walking,
you look deeply and
you recognize the thing as it is.
Do not exaggerate.
And, if needed, we can consult a physician,
a Dharma teacher, a psychotherapist,
and never imagine too much, and exaggerate too much.
That is the second arrow!
These are two things that every one of us can take up and practice,
to deal with what is not going well in our body and in our mind.
And, the third thing is the meditation on birth and death.
Even if you are in terminal illness,
you can practice,
so that joy can still be possible.
Our true nature is the nature of no birth and no death.
When we look into a cloud,
we see that a cloud can never die.
The cloud can become a rain or snow, or ice,
or river, or teeth,
but a cloud can never become nothing.
It is so beautiful to be in the form of a cloud,
but it is equally beautiful to be in the form of the rain, or a river.
So, to die is not something possible.
You can change the form of manifestation,
but you cannot die.
And, when a person is in the phase of a terminal illness,
and she or he is instructed by a teacher
to meditate like that,
she or he will not be afraid of dying.
Because they will be manifesting again, in another form.
So, in Buddhism we learn many things
in order to deal with the problem of illness.
And, remember, first of all,
mindful breathing, mindful walking,
with joy and serenity
can help prevent illness,
and bring relief,
and allow the healing to take place more quickly.
The second teaching is not to allow the second arrow to strike us.
(Helf bell)
(Bell)
Subtitles by the Amara.org community