The Dharma

Medicine Buddha and the Karma of Healing

A glamorous fashion consultant was once diagnosed with cancer. This is how she attempted to alleviate her suffering:

She sent a message through a friend of hers, a student at the Vajrapani institute in California, to ask for advice about healing practices. She was advised to buy animals that were in danger of being killed and to then free them in a safe place, thus enabling them to live longer.

This charming woman saved many animals from places where they were going to be killed. She actually freed two or three thousand animals, mostly chickens, fish, and worms. She had the chickens taken care of on a farm, and she freed the fish in open water. She also bought two thousand worms because they were cheap and readily available, and released them in the garden outside her home. Liberating worms was believed to be a particularly good idea as they go straight under the ground when they are released. Since they have some protection there from predators, they have a chance to live longer. It was less certain that animals freed in forests, lakes, or the ocean would have lived longer because they have natural enemies in those places.

It is said that when she returned to the hospital for a checkup after doing these practices, the doctors could not find any trace of the cancer.

True or not, this story should not come as a surprise to those subscribing to the karmic theory. In the words of Deepak Chopra:

"No debt in the universe ever goes unpaid. There is a perfect accounting system in the universe, and everything is a constant 'to and fro' exchange."

Thus by granting those helpless animals the boon of life the lady vindicated her faith in the authenticity of the karmic law, namely that "karma is both action and the consequence of that action." The actions she took were not magical or miraculous but rather a patient planting of causes which eventually bloomed into the effects of health and happiness. Indeed if we want to create happiness in our own lives, we must learn to sow the seeds of happiness for others. As with Buddhist practices more generally, the result one receives depend on one's past karma. Indeed everything that is happening at this moment is a result of the actions we have performed in the past. This is but an illustration of the proverb 'as we sow so shall we reap.' If we have loving kindness and compassion, our prime concern will always be not to hurt others, and this itself is healing. According to Buddhist belief a compassionate person is the most powerful healer, not only of their own diseases and problems, but also those of others. Many of us will vouch that in a sickbay a doctor's friendly smile among the prevalence of disease and suffering all around can work wonders for the overall well being of the patient. Truly the use of love is to heal. When it flows without effort from the depth of the self, love creates health.

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