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.