In Chih-I’s time, and in fact for most of the time humans have been around until more recent times, the idea of living with long term illness didn’t exist much. You either recovered or you died in most cases. With the advances of modern medicine people are living longer, dying at later ages, and living with illnesses that would previously meant death.
This is a wonderful benefit of modern medical science. We have much to be thankful for. We also have much to think about which often goes unthought of. Living with illness, living with diseases is complicated and medical treatments making it possible to live in such conditions do not often take in to account the challenges these present us, families, care-givers, institutions, insurance and so on.
For the remainder of this book I am going to change slightly the wording that comes from Chih-I and not use ‘cure’, rather I’ll use words like manage, or live with. I’d like it only to be manage, and maybe my very good editors John and Mary Hughes will assist me in continuity and conformity.
My reason is as stated above. Death or cure is frequently not the only options in illness. The other option is life with the illness however that may be. We are very eager to have life, most of the time. At least until the life given to us becomes unmanageable and yet we can’t die because medicine and medical treatments are keeping us alive. I won’t veer into the assisted suicide debate, that would be out of place here. Yet medical care in long term illness situations is a real and serious issue. What happens to the elderly parent who can live with some fairly serious physical ailments yet has no one to care for them and so end up in a care facility, and then the care they get isn’t always the best care they need? These are serious medical issues people face every day.
We have a third medical outcome that didn’t exist so much in Chih-I’s time, which is why I think rather than speaking of cure it would be better to use manage. Also since I am not a doctor I don’t want people to misuse what I offer in this book and think what is written can be considered cures for anything other than the sufferings of illness and not the illness itself. I don’t think I can say this enough given the tendencies of people to try to administer their own self-discovered self-medical curatives.
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I firmly stand behind the practice that Nichiren followed. When he was sick he sought out the most skilled medical expert that he knew in his time. Time after time when Nichiren became ill his faithful disciple and skilled medical provider Shijo Kingo provided prescriptions and advice for the treatment of Nichiren’s illnesses. Nichiren certainly had available to him the writing of Chih-I and could have read the instructions contained within, yet he knew that true wisdom lay in going to the professionals who have trained in such things. Nichiren’s practice of seeking medical help was also his guidance to his followers who became ill. He didn’t try to practice medicine, his practice was Buddhism.
So please, if you are sick take it seriously and seek professional help. Whether the illness is of the body or of the mind seek out professionals. Consider what you may find in this book as perhaps supplemental information from a Buddhist practice standpoint to assist in your faith as you live through your illness.
Please hear me, always seek professional help.
