Buddhism and Healing
A student wrote to Rinpoche regarding making a bridge between healing and Buddhism, and spreading Buddhism in his country.
My very dear one,
Thank you for your kind letter. I am sorry I did not have time to meet with you at Kopan Monastery.
Regarding your question of bridging Buddhism and healing, if you practice healing with refuge in your mind, renunciation of samsara, compassion, emptiness, and with right view, then the healing becomes Buddhism; it becomes a remedy for samsara. If you practice healing with bodhicitta, then the healing becomes a cause to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. Also, healing can be performed along with Buddhist tantric practices.
It would be very good for you to study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, also other books on the lamrim, including ones by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, philosophical books that give an overall view of Buddhism, as well as my books, The Door to Satisfaction, Transforming Problems, and Ultimate Healing.
It would be very good for you to do retreat from time to time on the lamrim and also on deities such as Chenrezig, Tara, and Medicine Buddha. Then, on top of that practice, as much as you can in your daily life, meditate on the lamrim, whenever you can, and perform all your daily activities with renunciation. Also, you can try to have right view (emptiness) and, especially, perform all your activities with bodhicitta—making your life most beneficial. In this way, you collect vast amounts of merit.
This way not only do you have intellectual understanding, and with that you can benefit others, but also through meditating and performing your daily activities with the lamrim, you can benefit others from your own experience of the lamrim. Therefore, your meditation practice is very important.
It is very good to talk about Dharma to others, especially to talk about compassion.
With much love and prayers...