Under the section which talks about Means Chih-I advises that you should skillfully employ healing methods as appropriate. I take this to include the use of doctors and medicines which may be prescribed to you for your treatment and care. Here I am going to reveal my prejudice to the use of Western medicine.
What informs my preference towards Western medicine would be a fair question to ask. Mainly it boils down to the simple matter of standards and accreditation. I’ve witnessed instances of practitioners who have no verifiable, no traceable, no standard methods of learning. I’m not saying that all medicine that doesn’t come from a MD is bad, I am saying though it may be highly unregulated and the standards for their training may be irregular and potentially incomplete. I am not saying there is no room for improvement in Western medicine and that all MDs are perfect, however I am saying that at least there is a standard that has a reasonable chance of ensuring you get competent care.
The hospitals I worked with when I was in Charlotte all used what we termed Complementary Care that included such things as energy healing techniques, massage therapy, aroma therapy, music therapy, and pet therapy to name a few. In each of these cases there were licenses and training standards that had to be met and certified before anyone could engage in the provision of such care, even the dogs had to have standard training and certifications.
Some people have asked me about energy healing which I am trained to do up to Level II in Healing Touch. They have asked me about Reiki and my response mirrors that of the hospital which is Reiki is not generally subject to a standard training curriculum. You don’t know who trained your provider and your providers training and hence their training may not be the same as every other Reiki provider. That may not be a bad thing, but there is no reasonable certainty it is a good thing.
Healing Touch, the program I took has a standard international training program. Every student undergoes the same training and the trainers are all certified by the same agency to teach the same curriculum. It’s the standards and supervision that is critical to me
Now that is my view, you may have your own. Understand though, when you seek care from non certified and non standard sources you are ultimately responsible for the care you receive due to the choices you made. Choose carefully and choose wisely if you decide that Western medicine is not your path.
Now using the resources available to you choosing which resource to use is yours to make. Choose wisely and skillfully. This applies even to Western medical practices. And remember you are responsible for your decisions and it is then up to you to follow the advice given. And not all health care prescriptions are cross compatible, this goes back to Constancy.
From you Buddhist practice you can supplement your medical care with practices which you find you are able to engage in. Breath meditation is advised when you are able to do this. Not everyone would be advised to engage in this especially if you have respiratory issues, in which case you may need to modify your practice to your body.
The same goes for chanting. Perhaps you are able to physically sit and chant, perhaps not. Sitting may be uncomfortable, even laying and chanting may be painful. Recently I was asked by a practitioner what they could do when chanting is so painful that the pain overrides their ability to immerse themselves in the Odaimoku.
What is important to remember in situations such as this is that your life is also your Odaimoku. The Odaimoku you hold in your mind, even if it is only one every day is not to be taken lightly. Also, your accumulated practice of your lifetime, even if it is only one day before you became incapacitated, even if it only one minute before you were unable to chant, is a profound practice and full of merit. Cultivating a profound sense of gratitude for even one syllable of the Odaimoku is full of limitless benefit and assures you of enlightenment. If there is one consistent message in the Lotus Sutra it is gratitude and faith.
Chant when you are able, enjoy that Odaimoku, whether it is said outlaid or only in your mind hold it savor it and cherish it. Think of it as the finest food you have ever eaten. Would you rush through even a single bite of a rare delicacy? Most likely you would take your time savoring every morsel until it is all gone and then you would cherish the memory of the taste. If you rushed through the eating you would miss the taste and have a shallow memory left over.
One Odaimoku is all it takes if done with joy, gratitude, sincerely, and faith. That’s the formula for one Odaimoku. Sometimes when we focus on chanting a lot of Odaimoku it is as if we are insecure that perhaps one isn’t enough and so we focus on quantity rather than quality. It is better to chant quality Odaimoku than an abundance of half quality Odiamoku.
Some may come from Nichiren denominations that have stressed accumulating hours or specific numbers of Odaimoku chanted. While that may not be terrible I think a more healthy and liberating approach is to know how to chant Odaimoku that fills you up, learn to chant so that your life fills with quality Odaimoku.
Subscribe to my blog post newsletter
There is a story about a famous Jewish mystic who went from Jewish temple to temple in search of those who pray. At one temple he opened the door and the left. The usher at the door went after him and asked why he did not come in. His response was the temple was overflowing with prayer falling off people’s prayer falling off their lips and falling on the floor. There was no room for him to enter. Let us not chant Odaimoku that simply falls off our lips and falls on the floor. Let us chant Odaimoku that ascends to Mt. Sumeru and on to Mount Sacred Eagle.
Now for the comparison to musical instruments that Chih-I employs. Think of any stringed instrument, Chih-I uses a harp. Picture the strings on the instrument of your choice. I play guitar so that is the image I am holding. When you tune a stringed instrument and for that matter when you play most any musical instrument there are special techniques that will yield the most pleasing sound.
First and foremost is the tuning. The instrument needs to be properly tuned. For string instruments this means either tightening or loosening the strings. I also play flute and this means slight adjustments to the tuning knob near the mouth hole. Tighten too much and you may be sharp and too loose and you may be flat. The same with strings.
But it isn’t only about the instrument outside yourself. It isn’t only about the device to make music from. The musician also has to consider his or her self as an instrument of either mechanical action of strings or pick, or providing wind or air. If it is a wind instrument either with a reed or not, even the brass instruments there are the muscles in the lips. The physical instrument is only one aspect to the complete instrument of player and object being played.
The same with our body and illness. There are many factors which our body as the instrument can be influenced by or played by. If we force too much wind then the sound becomes too harsh, or airy. If we pluck the strings too harshly the sound is distorted. If we don’t follow the regimen prescribed it is as if a musician didn’t practice and so will not be able to attain proficiency. If treat out healthcare poorly it is as if we tossed our instrument into the corner and didn’t clean it or protect it. There are many things to making good music and there are many things that go into living in and through illness.
Subscribe to my blog post newsletter
[amazon_link asins=’1979530815,B00HTOFM44,1975689763,147834198X,0692257470,1979814023,1511592907,1726325520,1508534780,1492886041′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’ryusho0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5b00ab74-b021-11e8-94bb-8388b7973e5c’]
