Quotes – August, 2015

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There is an old joke that goes something like this: 

A patient visits the doctor because he or she is experiencing pain and the Doctor asks, ” What is the matter?” The patient responds “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” The Doctor says, “Well, stop doing that.” Healing begins with what can be perceived as the very simple or infinitely complex advice to “know yourself”.

Once we understand what is causing vexations, blockages and imbalances, we are able to understand what is causing sickness, and so begin the process of  “untying the knots” so we may begin healing.

The Chan Institute’s mission is to expand the understanding and application of holistic healing systems from China, Tibet and India in the Western Hemisphere.  How do we do that? Through  Medicine for the mind, or spirit. We research, promote, and connect people and ideas that stem from traditional healing practices. Meditation, and movement in the forms of kung fu, qi gong, yoga, dance, mudras, mantras, music (sound, vibrations) are medicine. Buddha’s teachings are medicine.  Of course acupuncture, herbs, and massage are medicine.  We can apply these practices to daily life to become healthier, balanced, and more aware human beings. 

The institute derives its name from , a special type of Buddhism from the school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that focuses on liberating oneself through daily meditative practices,  and the Medicine Buddha, a Buddha indigenous to Tibet that spread throughout the Buddhist world. He is the Buddha of healing and medicine,  and is known by many names. In Sanskrit he is called Bhaiṣajyaguru (भैषज्यगुरु), formally Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja (भैषज्यगुरुवैडूर्यप्रभाराज meaning “Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light” . In Chinese he is called Yaoshi fo 藥師佛 Bhaisajyaguru. He is also known as the Supreme Healer or Sangye Menla in  .  In Mahāyāna Buddhism, he is also referred to as the “Medicine Buddha” or “The King of Medicine” and is described as a doctor who cures all sentient beings of all types of mental, physical and spiritual sickness and suffering through the medicine of his teachings.  The Medicine Buddha is called the doctor of the world because he grants wishes for perfecthealth, and guides the practitioner to the path of light that leads to self-realization and enlightenment.

“Recognizing and identifying our suffering is like the work of a doctor diagnosing an illness. He or she says, ‘If I press here, does it hurt?’ and we say, ‘Yes, this is my suffering. This has come to be.’ The wounds in our heart become the object of our meditation. We show them to the doctor, and we show them to the Buddha, which means we show them to ourselves.”

 一切一心識  All things are mind, or mental.

(Quote from From The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching -Thích Nhất Hạnh (page 28 Parallax Press, 1998)