The Central Importance Of Mind in Healing
The more you look into it, the more the entire teaching and practice of Buddhism reveals itself to be a way of healing. From the Buddhist point of view, health or wholeness or holiness is when we come closest to our true nature, ‘dis-ease’ is when we stray furthest from it.
The Four Tantras, the authoritative sources for the ancient science of Tibetan Medicine, state:
Here is an explanation of the general cause of all illness. There is but one single cause and this is said to be ignorance due to not understanding the meaning of our true nature.
Yet the teachings tell us that each and every one of us possesses ‘buddha nature’, the potential to realize our true nature and to become enlightened. What this means is we are all fundamentally healable, as our true nature, the nature of our mind, can never be damaged or contaminated by delusion. What is more, these stains and delusions are only temporary, meaning that it’s possible for us to remove them—by transforming our minds.
In this introductory collection of teachings, you will find:
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an article from Sogyal Rinpoche entitled ‘The Spiritual Heart of Tibetan Medicine: Its Contribution to the Modern World’ which was published in ‘The Future of Buddhism’, and
- a collection of live teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche on the central importance of mind in the process of healing.
Other compilations available in the ‘Healing’ section are:
More releases are planned for the future.
Written Materials
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Format
pdf
The Spiritual Heart of Tibetan Medicine:
Its Contribution to the Modern World
This document contains Sogyal Rinpoche’s opening speech on the first International Congress for Tibetan Medicine held in Washington DC. in November 1998.
Rinpoche explores the spiritual and mental dimensions of healing within the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, speaking from his own experience of what he knows to be effective in the West. The whole of Buddhist practice is to transform our mind and its emotions, and thereby healing our entire being: body, speech, mind, and heart. Healing practices generally fall into three different approaches: prevention; applying antidotes; or transformation. In this talk, Rinpoche touches on ‘prevention’ through the practice of meditation and on ‘applying antidotes’ through training the mind in loving kindness and compassion.
Video Teachings
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Format
Downloadable Audio & Video
The ancient science of Tibetan medicine is rooted in the teachings of Buddha, and the essence of Buddha’s teaching is the central importance of the mind. The mind is both the source of happiness and the root of suffering; at the same time as it possesses an extraordinary capacity for healing, it also plays its part in making us ill. “Mind is the main factor”, Buddha said, “and the forerunner of all actions”.
