Handling Illness

It is better to ask for beneficial practices to perform than cures for sickness, unless, of course, the person’s attitude is to serve others. In that case, if the person has some sickness, if you heal him or her it has meaning, because it is in order to help others. If the person is practicing Dharma, to eliminate delusions and become qualified to liberate others and bring them to enlightenment, to get better in order to do this work, then this person needs to receive advice. Otherwise, the cure is just aimed at achieving happiness in this life, and with this motivation action can be non-virtuous. That means all the expense, effort, and years of treatment are non-virtue, leading to suffering, not just pain and sickness, but more suffering in the future. The normal practice is to purify your negative karma and delusions in order to help others, seeking this long-term benefit.

Keep thinking, “This heavy sickness purifies many years, many lifetimes, many eons of heavy negative karma that causes the suffering of the lower realms—hell, hungry ghost, and animal realms—for an inconceivable length of time. That is why this sickness has to be heavy.”

For example, to buy a good quality car or diamond, you need to pay a lot of money. To buy a big house or property, you need to pay a very large amount of money. So, if you want to purify an enormous amount of negative karma, there is also a big price to pay: serious illness in this life. This is the idea that you should have in the back of your mind.

The second most important method is to experience this heavy sickness as a way of developing bodhicitta, the ultimate good heart—cherishing and benefiting others—by thinking, “I have received all sentient beings’ suffering of this type, and all the rest of their problems—so many sufferings of all the sentient beings of the six realms—even the subtle obscurations of the arhats and bodhisattvas. I experience all this suffering for sentient beings.” This means that you liberate them from all suffering and let them have all happiness, from temporary happiness up to enlightenment. Try as much as possible to think in this way.

Since you dream of Buddha quite often, you should not need to worry, even at the time of death. You should think that those dreams mean that Buddha is very happy with you and will take care of you when you die. You should take refuge every day, think of Buddha and rely on Buddha, and recite the Mitukpa mantra as much as you can.

The two meditations I have described, on how to think, are very important ones.

I have recently performed 100,000 tsog pujas and mentioned your name in the dedication. Also, 300 stupas were ordered in Taiwan for your long life. Each time they put the special mantra in each stupa, they will mention your name and pray for your long and meaningful life.