Ear, Nose and Throat
Hearing Loss
A student wrote to ask Rinpoche for advice about his brother’s loss of hearing, which had become worse. His brother was hearing impaired, with almost no hearing in his right ear and about 60 percent hearing in his left ear, which he augmented using a hearing aid. He had experienced a dramatic drop in hearing in his good ear, which effectively made him deaf, so he had difficulty performing his job and talking on the phone. He also had earache and a ringing that only stopped when he slept. The doctor gave him a two-week course of Western medicine, after which they would recheck his hearing to see if it was a permanent loss. He became quite depressed and scared, and this worried the rest of the family. The student asked Rinpoche to check if anything could be done to help improve his situation.
Dear Jim,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am terribly sorry that it has taken such a long time to answer, due to my always traveling, not being very long in any place, and doing this for a long time.
I am sorry to hear of your brother’s condition of ringing in the ears. You should boil ginger in hot water, not cold but hot, then holding the ginger in both hands (as hot as can be tolerated), press it on his back at waist level. If he can do this again and again, this will stop the ringing in his ears.
At the __ center, Geshe-la can be requested to do Chab Trul puja for purification. This could be beneficial. Also, he can be requested to do one small puja, Giving Lu (body), using tsampa to make the dough in the shape of the body and giving it to the spirits, for them to not harm.
Also, you can chant Most Secret Hayagriva mantra. Find the picture for your brother and he can look at it while reciting the mantra. Visualize and make requests to purify disease, spirit harms, negative karma and obscurations. Visualize white light for purification, then chant the mantra with that visualization, half for purifying and half for generating the qualities of omniscience, compassion and power. Do this for half an hour, half for each visualization, or for one hour, or one mala each for purifying and generating qualities, if not, do half a mala for each, but try at least to do one mala.
I will also do a short puja for him.
With much love and prayers...
Problems with Nose
A student had problems with her nose that started nine years ago at the beginning of a long retreat. She acccepted that it was her karma and did purification practices. A doctor advised that the nose bone was twisted and he recommended surgery, but another doctor advised against it. The student wrote to Rinpoche asking for his advice.
My dear one,
I have checked and this is my advice.
- Wear the protection Liberating from the Bondage of Body, Speech, and Mind. I have blessed it and I am mailing it to you, to wear around your neck.
- Recite the practice Liberating from the Bondage of Body, Speech, and Mind a few times each day.
- If you are going to Hong Kong soon, then Pemba needs to do ga-gön for you. If you are not going to be in Hong Kong soon, then request Geshe Ngawang Dakpa at the center in San Francisco to do it. You need to be there when the puja is done.
- Recite the Guru Rinpoche mantra as much as you can, every day.
- Recite the Guru Rinpoche prayer Accomplishing All Wishes.
- The Kopan nuns need to do Medicine Buddha puja for you four times.
- You need to do Medicine Buddha Puja four times, or do the short practice at least (the best would be for you to do the actual puja).
- Eight Drugchuma pujas—these will be done by the Kopan Lama Gyupas.
After these practices are done, it comes out well to have the operation.
Meniere’s Disease
Rinpoche sent the following note to a student suffering from Meniere’s Disease, which affects the inner ear.
My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I’m sorry for the long delay in replying. I checked what you can do for your health and this is what came out:
- Two Drugchuma pujas. Ask the geshe at the Dharma center to do these for you.
- Gyab shi Puja. Ask the geshe to also do this for you.
- Request the geshe at the center to chant Hayagriva mantra and blow in your ear.
- You should also practice Medicine Buddha and animal liberations. Often at the center they organize them, so you can participate in them there.
I am also making prayers for you and I have asked the Sangha at my house to dedicate long-life tsa tsas for you and to dedicate the merit to you when they perform animal liberations.
Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.
With much love and prayers...