Healing Course (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Melbourne, Australia, 1991 (Archive #874)

The first part of a series of teachings given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Tara Institute in Melbourne, Australia in August 1991. This series formed the basis for the book Ultimate Healing, published by Wisdom Publications.

The second part of the series can be accessed here.

Cause of Disease

The real happiness in the life, the real peace of mind, the best peace of mind, the best way to find satisfaction in the life, the best way to find peace in the mind or the best way to enjoy the life, the way to obtain, achieve happiness in the life that is, then, that is by dedicating one's own life for other sentient beings, making one's own life beneficial for other sentient beings.

So, even one has problems but make it beneficial for other sentient beings. Even one doesn't have problems but again, still need to make the life beneficial for other sentient beings. One need to give meaning, even one doesn't have problems such as disease and so forth, relationship problems so forth, but still one need to give meaning to the life. One need to make the life beneficial, worthwhile.

However, even one has problems, make it beneficial for all sentient beings, need to use it, in other words to make it beneficial for other sentient beings. What it is saying is that making, use the problem, use one's own problem as a path to the happiness. Using one's own, utilizing one's own problem as a path to obtain happiness for others, using one's own problem to cause happiness for other sentient beings. So that is what it means. The way to do that is then you using the problem in order to, using the problem to develop our, to heal our own mind and body. Using the problem to, to develop the, to heal the mind, the most important one, because without healing the mind, even with medicine heals the, even the external things, medicines, heals the disease but they come back, but because, since nothing is done to the mind, since the mind is not fixed up, mind is not healed, so therefore there's always danger that the mind creates the same problem, then does the same thing, same action again, and that causes the physical unhealthy. So even though there is medicine that which can cure, which can give cureness, however that is not, that still is not the best thing. Still not the best thing because it is dependent to the, because the cause of the problem is not outside, it's inside the mind, it's on the mind, is inside the mind.

So outside there's condition but there's no cause of sicknesses, relationship problems, any problem that we have, the cause is not outside, is not outside it's in the, it's the mind, or is in the mind. Is the mind or is in the mind. So therefore, if there is a cause, if there is the mind that which brings this, which produces this problems, and then when there's a cause then there's a conditions outside also. This, the inner cause creates the outside condition, that which bring this problems. But if there's no inner cause, if there's no cause that which is the mind or that which is in the mind, then even there are outside, those phenomena there, but they cannot become condition. They cannot become condition for problems.

So, for example, [pause] one place where there is epidemic disease, even though the majority of the people they get sick, colds or something, whatever, majority of the people even they get sick, but there are some people there do not get sick. Living in the same place with those other people, but there's some people, who don't get sick. So that is common, this is common experience, like India, many places, common experience we have seen many times. Everyone gets, most of the people gets colds, cough, but there are people living in the same place, associated with these people but they don't get.

So there are many examples like this. That, also, nowadays mentioned in the TV, the laying down in the sun at the beach, so that makes skin cancer. If the sun, being under the sun, if that is the main cause of the cancer then everyone should, everybody who lay down in the sun should have skin cancer. Everyone should get.

Also, another reason, also another thing is that, there has only been a certain number of years ago since the cancer was found, discovered, the cancer didn't happen from the beginning, the cancer did not happen from very beginning of the, from very beginning when human beings started on this earth, since this earth evolved and human beings started, cancer has not been from the very beginning there, since human beings started, human beings staying under the sun, started from when the human being happened, but human being happened, from that time since when human being happened, they started to be under the sun. So therefore in the beginning there's no house, in early times there was no house, house happened much later, building houses. However, so, building shelter happened much later, however, so if the sun is the main cause of the cancer, then the cancer should happen from that time. So why it didn't happen that time? That's the question. If that's the main cause.

So that is one thing, then second thing is, even nowadays it doesn't mean everybody get skin cancer from that. So it proves that is not the main cause. It's not the main cause, that's not the main cause. Main cause is inside, it's not outside. So it's a way of thinking, so cause is the mind. Mind is one, is a particular thought, way of thinking. The disturbing thought, some of those thoughts, there are thoughts, there are certain way of thinking that which become healing. There are certain way of thinking that which brings peace, which becomes healing. There are certain way of thinking that which is opposite to that.

So, the attitude. So therefore the reason why some, the reason yeah, it is possible that, therefore some people being under the sun becomes condition for skin cancer. So this happens for those who has the cause in the mind. And then those who have cause in the mind. Then those who don't have the cause in the mind, then even though conditions, being under the sun, even that phenomena is there, the outside phenomena being under the sun, body being under the sun is there, but it doesn't become condition to get the skin cancer, because there's no cause inside.

So the main thing what makes definite to experience the problem such as skin cancer, this is just one tiny example, just one, like one atom. But all the problems, any life problem, if there's a cause in the mind then you don't do anything, you don't purify, you don't do anything to that then from that problem comes. The problem get manifested, that one get manifested, that one actualizes or manifests, so that one get projected in the appearances. That one get projected into the appearances, into the view of the mind. So that's what it is. An appearance of mind, a view of, a particular view of mind. Particular creation of mind.

So as long as the mind is, nothing done mentally, nothing done, then definite to bring the problem. But if something is done, like when there's a physical sickness, that one taking the external medicine and heals that, same like that, mental, to transform this, to purify this, to transform this, the cause of the problems as I mentioned yesterday the action, the imprint that's left there. To purify these things, to completely cease these things, that depends on the inner medicine. Inner medicine, not external chemical or substances. That healing has to be done by the inner medicine, the inner medicine which is your own mind, one's own positive attitude.

So inner medicine is what? That's the meditation. Inner medicine is the meditation. So that is, all these, inner cause is the mind or this imprint what is left on the mind so therefore the way to heal that or ceasing all these things, cause of problems, has to be done by only the mind. Has to be done, to be directly healed, all these cause of problems to be directly ceased has to be done by the mind, by the mind itself and that mind is one's own mind. Meditation is making your own mind medicine. The inner medicine to heal one's own mind, the cause of the, to purify, to cease the cause of all the problems. So, like that. So, actually the healing comes from you, the healing, here I'm just talking words blah, blah, blah, blah, but healing actually comes from each individual person, from one's own mind, through one's own meditation, positive way of thinking. The wisdom and compassion basically. [pause]

So yeah, so the motivation is to benefit for everyone, everybody. For that reason, I'm going to do the healing course.

What's the time?

Okay, then.

So we stop, so stop here, okay? Can you hear my language? Is it clear or ...?

The other thing is that, actually I meant to said, to be expressed yesterday but it didn't happen. So, anyway. All of us are the same. There is no something gap or, the same, all of us are the same. It's like this, everybody goes, everybody have experience of hunger, when there's no food in stomach, when the food in the stomach has gone out, then when everything has gone out, one's stomach is empty then hunger starts. So then you eat food. So everyone, until we're free from the cause of the hunger and thirst, hot and cold, until we become, until all of us become free from the cause of these problems, completely eliminate, completely liberated from the cause of all these problems, until that, until we reach that level, we are all the same. Have to go through these problems. So it's just the time, one, this hour, there's this hour one is not hungry but the other person is hungry. Another hour that person is not hungry but you're hungry. So like that, same. This disease is nothing new experience. This there's nothing new. We all have gone, there's nothing new, nothing new thing, this is not new phenomena. It's old experience, that even people who go, even I believe I don't have this and that, if I believe by...

...something, something, blood checking or something but that's just, I, my believing this is just, as I mentioned the person who is not hungry, this hour same like this. Like that it's a question, just this time but it doesn't mean that I never had those experiences, it doesn't mean that I never gone through those the diseases what other people are experiencing. What the doctors recommended to you. Recommended the doctor, the doctors what they introduced or explained to you. It doesn't mean that I haven't gone through, it doesn't mean that. That I have gone through the, I had those all those problems. Whatever disease there is, that is on this earth, whatever there is, whatever types, different what they are, I have gone through all this. There is nothing new. I have gone through this numberless times. Got recovered, got back, got recovered - maybe sometimes recover, maybe sometimes not. Just live the life with that. Then, however, because when you leave the body then mind continues, the mind doesn't have disease. Mind doesn't have those physical disease, so when you leave the body, disease, you don't go, you don't reincarnate with the disease. So, it's like that. So, when this body's left, then the disease, then that physical disease is left. One doesn't experience, the mind doesn't carry that. Because it need a body to have.

So however, so all this is nothing new. I myself going through this numberless times in the past. Even though it's regarded, even though in the world, from Western point of view, even though it is regarded new, in the Western point of view, or according to Western philosophy, new disease. But from point of view of meditation, from point of view of Dharma, from the point of view of Buddhist explanation of the mind, explanation of the world, the samsara, according to the experience of the whole entire, according to whole entire experience of the samsara, this is nothing new. This is not the first time, this is not the first time. So for example myself I've gone through this numberless times, and also if I don't do something with my mind now, then also again I will be going through this again. So it's nothing, so therefore it's nothing new.

So I just, it's a part of nature, that you plant a seed and the stem comes. Plant seed in the ground, stem comes. It's like that, part of nature. So we have numberless times all these experiences, that myself have numberless times. So like that.

So now here, now this time, because of this, the problems, it can be problem, it cannot be problem. There's two ways. With one concept it's a problem, with one concept it's not a problem. But this I will speak later. However, by having, because of these problems and specially because we have this precious human body and first of all having the mind that which has all the potentials to achieve any happiness what one wishes to achieve, especially ultimate happiness, everlasting happiness up to the peerless the full enlightenment. This has the potential to do to do all the good things, every good things. So therefore the recognition of the, having these problems, it, because having the human body, the precious human body that gives us opportunity to listen and to understand meaning and to actualize in the mind, to realize in the mind, because of the precious human body. So this gives all these opportunities. So therefore, this thing that which we call problem actually makes, this obliges us to meditate, to practice meditation, to develop the mind. That means that this problem, the sicknesses, it is giving chance to oneself to achieve the ultimate liberation, to bring yourself to the end of the whole entire suffering. Whole entire problem.

To bring oneself to the end of the whole entire problem and causes. The ultimate liberation, the everlasting happiness. So through meditation, through the development of the mind.

So, therefore, it is in the reality when we use this, when we practice meditation, because of this we practice meditation, we develop our mind. The inner quality, the most precious one. So this life situation, the sickness actually it is, in this way by practicing meditation this sickness is actually helping you. The sickness is actually bringing you to the end, the complete end of disease, the complete end of disease. And not just only that and every single other whole entire problems and causes.

So that is one, this is one important point to recognize, to realize, to recognize the benefit of the problem, the benefit of the sicknesses. When, we get this benefit if we, we get this benefit, this ultimate benefit from the sicknesses if we practice meditation. So it is like that. Making the poison as nectar. It is poison but if you make it, but with one's own capacity, skills if you make it, you transform that into nectar. So like that, instead of harm, help.

So I stop here.

Due to all the three time positive actions, imprint that we left on the mind, then, doing this listening and explaining, meditation, may the source of all the happiness, the altruism, this renouncing oneself, cherishing other sentient beings, this altruism may it be generated within one's mind and in the mind of all others; those who have, may it be developed. So, we dedicate.

And, due to these actions, all these positive actions that I did in my life towards others, stop giving harm and helping others, benefiting others, all these positive actions, positive imprints, then, due to all these may I achieve the peerless happiness, the full enlightenment and lead everyone in this state.

Thank you, thank you very much.

 

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