Ultimate Healing: The Power of Compassion

Rating:
Summary: PERHAPS THE BEST HEALING BOOK IN EXISTENCE!!!
Review: ...for paranoid schizophrenia, depression, cancer, and AIDS.
The author is a famous and extremely beloved lama in Tibetan
Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is a "touchy" subject once we go
past our common agreement that the Dalai Lama is a "nice guy."
In the Dali Lama's tradition, there are lower rebirths in which
one may be in hell for millions of years. And in which a human rebirth is considered rare. The author will talk about "spirit
harm". This tradition also believes, like Hinduism and Christianity, in spirit possession. Once we try to understand
these concepts with an Einsteinian view as opposed to a
Newtonian one of seperate objects existing within and by themselves, we can then set the preliminaries to a new kind of
healing. The author provides remedies, but not certain cures,
for anything crummy that might happen to you. And since this
tradition (Gelukpa) is not supposed to lie, I would believe the
claims that he makes. This is the one book that I would want by my bedside if I were dying of AIDS. By doing a very advanced but simple practice called "tonglen", one can transmute
one's own disease into one of helping all beings everywhere.
And ironically enough, this seems to be the best cure for
seemingly fatal and hopeless diseases! The author states that
there has only been one recorded recovery from AIDS through
meditation, but I believe that this may increase as we study
Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan Medicine more closely. Perhaps you will only be able to accept these cures when you let down
our view of a "skin-encapsulated" ego and invite a vision
of an interconnected world. Otherwise, most of this beautiful and wonderful content will be dismissed as superstition. If the reader can remain logical but not judgemental, he or she could find themselves not only healed, but even healthier and happier than before. Thank you and I wish you well.

Rating:
Summary: PERHAPS THE BEST HEALING BOOK IN EXISTENCE!!!
Review: ...for paranoid schizophrenia, depression, cancer, and AIDS.
The author is a famous and extremely beloved lama in Tibetan
Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is a "touchy" subject once we go
past our common agreement that the Dalai Lama is a "nice guy."
In the Dali Lama's tradition, there are lower rebirths in which
one may be in hell for millions of years. And in which a human rebirth is considered rare. The author will talk about "spirit
harm". This tradition also believes, like Hinduism and Christianity, in spirit possession. Once we try to understand
these concepts with an Einsteinian view as opposed to a
Newtonian one of seperate objects existing within and by themselves, we can then set the preliminaries to a new kind of
healing. The author provides remedies, but not certain cures,
for anything crummy that might happen to you. And since this
tradition (Gelukpa) is not supposed to lie, I would believe the
claims that he makes. This is the one book that I would want by my bedside if I were dying of AIDS. By doing a very advanced but simple practice called "tonglen", one can transmute
one's own disease into one of helping all beings everywhere.
And ironically enough, this seems to be the best cure for
seemingly fatal and hopeless diseases! The author states that
there has only been one recorded recovery from AIDS through
meditation, but I believe that this may increase as we study
Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan Medicine more closely. Perhaps you will only be able to accept these cures when you let down
our view of a "skin-encapsulated" ego and invite a vision
of an interconnected world. Otherwise, most of this beautiful and wonderful content will be dismissed as superstition. If the reader can remain logical but not judgemental, he or she could find themselves not only healed, but even healthier and happier than before. Thank you and I wish you well.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful book of healing stories, practices and attitudes
Review: This lovely book was written by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the heart disciple of Lama Yeshe. Those who are familiar with Tibetan Buddhism will know of Lama Yeshe as a truly remarkable man, one of the first lamas to teach Buddhism to Western students, and founder of FPMT, an excellent organization for the promotion of Mahayana Buddhism to bring health and happiness to people around the world. Lama Yeshe's books are full of love, compassion and wisdom, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche follows in his teacher's footsteps with this remarkable volume.

The books title is "Ultimate Healing", and I suppose this title is very suitable, because while the book concentrates on healing of the body, and includes remarkable cases of individuals being healed from cancer, AIDS, and other illnesses and maladies, Lama Zopa Rinpoche places this all within the broader context of healing the spirit/mind. As even Western science is proving now to be true, the mind is incredibly powerful in bringing about healing. Yet we must understand by the word "mind" something much larger than is usually meant in English -- in Buddhism the "mind" is "that which experiences". In other words, our entire subjectivity. Since everything we experience is done so through this mind/subjectivity, learning to control it effectively means learning to control our whole experience. That would mean being able to effect a state of lasting happiness, with a complete cessation of suffering. Now, that's real ultimate healing!!

Along with inspiring stories, Lama Zopa Rinpoche presents the effective methods that enable one to bring about this ultimate healing. Specifically, there is a long chapter on the Medicine Buddha practice -- a lovely practice for healing and well-being that can be used for oneself or others. It involves some visualization and mantra recitation. Again, such techniques may seem strange to those unfamiliar with Eastern religions, but they have been proved effective in medical contexts. Even if the illness is not totally removed (and it may be), a person's degree of suffering can certainly be lessened. There are additional chapters on blessing water, the benefits of creating good karma by acts of kindness (such as freeing animals who are about to be killed), how to deal with depression, etc.

Even among the many great books on healing and Buddhism out there, this one is truly a gem, and I am sure it will bring great benefit to many people who read it. Advanced students of Buddhism and those who know nothing about Buddhism or the healing arts -- all can gain and be inspired by this treasure trove.

May you be healthy, and bring all those you love to a state of perfect health and happiness as well!