Date: 28 October 2011 Time: 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm Venue: Reclining Buddha Shrine Hall Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple Singapore
Na hi verena verāni, Sammantīdha kudācanaṃ, Averena ca sammanti, Esa dhammo sanantano. Enmity is never ceased by enmity at any time. Through non-enmity alone, it ceases. This is the eternal law. Dhammapada Verse 5
Synopsis
A young man named Subha questioned the Buddha, “Master Gotama, amongst human beings, Some enjoy good health, While others constantly suffer from diseases. What is the cause of it?” Buddha said: “Diseases are karmically genetic, So is good health. As one sows, he also reaps.” Monk Tissa had blisters all over his body.
They grew bigger and burst out with pus and blood. He suffered and died. Buddha revealed that his disease was karmically genetic. Edgar Cayce, an American Psychic, in one of his ‘life reading session’ pointed to a lame girl and said she became lame because of her previous kamma. She had laughed at a girl whose side was ripped open by the claws of a lion. Are there karmically genetic diseases? Can karmically genetic diseases be cured? Are all diseases caused by kamma? How can we prevent karmically genetic diseases? What should one practise if he wishes to be healthy?
Uṭṭhānavato satimato, Sucikammassa nisammakārino, Saññatassa ca dhammajīvino, Appamattassa yaso'bhivaḍḍhati. If a person is energetic and mindful, if his conduct is blameless, if he is discriminative in action, self-restrained and righteous, his fame and glory increase Dhammapada Verse 24
Are there karmically genetic diseases? Before we ask this question, we must first understand the relationship between karma and disease. Buddha said there are five things no one can escape from in life.
What are these five things? 1. Those who are born to the world are not free from old age, 2. Those who are born to the world are not free from illness, 3. Those who are born to the world are not free from death, 4. Those who are born to the world are not free from rebirth, 5. Those who are born to the world are not free from kammic consequences.
Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death and Karma are inevitable to all human beings. Here, you will see very clearly the relationship between karma and disease. In the theory of Dependent Origination (Paticca Samupada), Buddha pointed out the Conditions Genesis of interdependent cause arising. Buddha very clearly said saṇkhāra-paccayā viññanaṃ 20 – The rise of consciousness is dependent on kammic formation. We are moving from one life to another because of craving (Tanha). It is karma that plays a greater role in all aspects of our life including deciding the quality or form of life.
Buddha said, “Kammassakā mānava sattā Kammadāyāda Kammayoni Kammabandhu kammapatisaranā21” - Living beings have karma as their inheritance. Living beings arise from karma and have karma as their refuge and support. Therefore we cannot talk about disease without talking about karma as they are inter-related.
There is a sutta in Majjhima Nikāya Cula-kammavibhanga Sutta22 that mentioned the classification and analysis of kammic theory. In it is a dialogue between Buddha and a young man called Subha (son of famous miser Brahmin Todeyya). One day, Subha approached the Buddha with a question. “Master Gotama, some people enjoy good health, while others suffer from chronic diseases. What is the cause behind this difference?”
Buddha replied, “Karma is the cause and root of this difference. Why do some people enjoy good health, while others suffer? Those who kill or engage in harming or torturing other living beings will suffer from various kinds of chronic diseases in their following birth as a human being. They undergo so much pain and suffering in life having committed evil and immoral actions of killing, torturing and harming other living beings. The dark energy they produced in turn causes disease. On the other hand, there are some noble human beings who are compassionate and have loving kindness towards all living beings. They radiate boundless love and compassion, support and encourage living beings, and uphold the righteous principle of non-violence. When these human beings re-appear in the human realm, they have long lives and enjoy good health. This is the cause, root and reason why some people suffer from various diseases, whereas some people enjoy good health.”
So are all diseases caused by karma?
This is important because although Buddhism recognizes the importance of karma and emphasizes the link between karma and disease, Buddha has never said that all diseases arise because of karma. There is another important discourse that can be found in the Samyutta Nikāya – Sivaka Sutta23 . In it, a wandering ascetic, Moliya Sivaka approached the Buddha and asked, “Venerable Sir, there are various religious teachers who proclaim that disease arises because of past karma. They proclaimed that the reason human beings suffer from various chronic diseases is solely caused by their past karma. Does the Venerable uphold the same view?”
The Buddha replied that while it is true that there are diseases caused by past karma, it is not the only cause. There are many other causes for disease. Buddha further explained how diseases can arise because of disorders of the bile, wind and phlegm, or an imbalance of all these factors. In this sutta, Buddha classified many causes and conditions of diseases coming into existence. Karma is only one of them and a powerful factor. Buddha never claimed that all diseases arise because of karma. So we should not misinterpret Buddha’s teachings.
In 6th century China, a great Buddhist scholar named Master Chi studied these Buddhist suttas and defined the six causes for disease: 1. Imbalance of the four elements which make up the human body; 2. Indulging in food and drinks - we should eat and drink in moderation; 3. Irregular lifestyle and indulging in strange habits - not having a healthy lifestyle can cause diseases; 4. Bacteria and viruses; 5. Defilements in the mind - greed, hatred and delusion and many other defilements; and 6. Karma
He did not create these 6 causes, but were extracted from the sutta, summarized and analysed. These are the 6 causes of diseases, and karma is only one of them. There is another important discourse from Anguttara Nikāya that is known as Girimananda Sutta24.
In this sutta, Buddha gave a long list and causes of various diseases – “iti imasmiṃ kāye vividhā ābādhā uppajjanti, seyyathīdaṃ: cakkhurogo sotarogo ghānarogo jivhārogo kāyarogo sīsarogo kaṇṇarogo mukharogo, dantarogo, kāso, sāso, piṇāso, ḍaho, jaro, kucchirogo, mucchā, pakkhandikā, sūlā, visūcikā, kuṭṭhaṃ, gaṇḍo, kilāso, soso, apamāro, daddu, kaṇḍu, kacchu, rakhasā, vitacchikā, lohitappittam, madhumeho, aṃsā, piḷakā, bhagandaḷā, pittasamuṭṭhānā ābādhā semhasamuṭṭhānā ābādhā, vātasamuṭṭhānā ābādhā sannipātikā ābādhā utupariṇāmajā ābādhā visamaparihārajā ābādhā opakkamikā ābādhā kammavipākajā ābādhā” – Many are sufferings, many are the disadvanatges (dangers) of this body since diverse diseases are engendered in this body such as the following: eyediseases, ear- diseases, nose- diseases, tongue- diseases, bodydiseases, headache, mumps, mouth- diseases, toothache, cough, asthma, catarrh, heart-burn, fever, stomach ailment, fainting, dysentery, swelling, gripes, leprosy, boils, scrofula, consumption, epilepsy, ringworm, itch, eruption, tetter, pustule, plethora, diabetes, piles, cancer, fistula and diseases originating from bile, phlegm, wind, conflict of the humours, change of weather, adverse conditions (faulty departments), devices (practiced by others), kamma-vipaka (results of karma)
Diseases arise because of the wind, bile and “kammavipākajā ābādhā” – karmically genetic disease, which is our topic for today
What is a karmically genetic disease?
The Buddhist terminology “kammavipākajā ābādhā” is commonly used for diseases that primarily arise out of dark kammic energy. While it is impossible for an ordinary human to trace the cause of disease, supreme enlightened Buddhas have developed special abilities and psychic powers such as “Pubbenivāsanussati Ñāna” - the Reminiscence of Past Births, which is the ability to penetrate past lives and “Cutupapāta Ñāna” - the Perception of the Disappearing and Reappearing of Beings which is the ability to connect the action and reaction that leads to seeing how one life leads to another life. Living beings wander from life to life based on their kammic energy. Only the supreme enlightened Buddha can tell whether a disease is karmically genetic. Or one who has achieved this special power in a favourable and capable condition can see it. But other than that, ordinary human beings are unable to distinguish the root cause of diseases.
In Buddha’s time, Buddha pointed out cases relating to karmically genetic disease. It will be very interesting for you if you can further your reading on those suttas where Buddha talked about karmically genetic disease. I will relate two such incidents. In the first incident, there lived a monk, named Tissa, who suddenly developed blisters all over his body. His blisters grew and eventually burst, soaking his robe in smelly blood and pus. Confined to a small room in the monastery by himself, all the monks avoided him. No one came to give food or drinks and take care of him. He was suffering a lot. That area was very smelly and no one wanted to go there.
This monk was nicknamed “Pūtigatta-Tissa” – Monk Tissa who has a stinking and rotten body. When the Buddha came to know of it, He decided to attend to Tissa personally out of great compassion and loving kindness. All the other monks learnt that Buddha had visited the monastery. After gathering wood to boil water, Buddha went to the sick monk and tried to carry him. Seeing this, the monks came and together they carried the sick monk to be cleaned with warm water and medicine. His soiled robes were washed and cleaned.
During this time, Buddha taught Tissa the Dhamma, instructing him to cultivate one-pointedness of his mind and contemplate on the nature of this body. Tissa developed the concentration and contemplated the nature of this existence of the body and in a sudden moment, Tissa attained Perfect Enlightenment. However, he passed away immediately thereafter. Later at the assembly of monks, Buddha revealed that Tissa’s disease was karmically genetic.
The monks asked, “Venerable, what is the cause and reason for Venerable Tissa to suffer in such a way?” Buddha said, “A long time ago, he was a bird hunter who slaughtered domestic and wild birds. Using bird traps, he would break the wings and legs of the bird to prevent them from escaping. He continued living in this way then. In this time, he was born as a human being and his own dark karma led him to suffer in such a way. This is a karmically genetic disease.”
So, friends, there are many such incidents where Buddha pointed out karmically genetic diseases. Married couples of good health sometimes have trouble conceiving. This is not a new problem. What is the reason? This second incident being recorded in the Bodhirājakumara Sutta in Majjhima Nikāya, Prince Bodhi invited the Buddha and hundreds of monks to his palace named Kokanada for a lunch dāna. On that day, he prepared a lavish spread and decorated the palace, laying a white piece of cloth (pāvada) that lined the floor all the way from the palace’s entrance, up the stairs to the second floor. As he laid this cloth, he made a wish, “If I am to be blessed with a child, may the Blessed One walk upon this piece of cloth.”
Upon arriving at the palace, Buddha stood in front of the white cloth at the entrance. Prince Bodhi knelt down and said “Blessed One, please step onto this white piece of cloth and walk along.” Buddha did not move and was silent. For the second time, Prince Bodhi repeated, “Blessed One, step on this white piece of cloth that will lead to the second floor.” Buddha did not move. For the third time, Prince Bodhi repeated his request but Buddha did not move and say a word.
Buddha then looked at Ānanda . Venerable Ānanda said, “Prince Bodhi, Buddha will not move until you remove the white cloth.” Prince Bodhi removed the white cloth and Buddha proceeded to the second floor to have lunch. After the meal, Prince Bodhi approached the Buddha and asked, “Venerable Sir, I would like to know why the Blessed One did not step onto the white cloth?” Buddha replied, “Did you not wish to be blessed with a child and for the Blessed One to walk on this white cloth?” The Prince replied in the affirmative.
Buddha said, “You will not be blessed with a child in this life because it is karmically genetic. You are infertile because of your own dark kammic energy which you created.” A long time ago the Prince was a businessman who travelled widely by ship. One day this ship was caught in a storm and he was the only survivor, shipwrecked on an island. Although there was sufficient food and fruit for him to survive on the island, the man greedily started to eat the indigenous birds and their eggs without any remorse. Because of this, the Prince is infertile in this life. This is beyond ordinary understanding. What we cannot see is often mysterious to us.
What about the non-Buddhists? Do they believe in karma? Well, whether they believe or not, there are some incidents coming from non-Buddhist backgrounds. Have you heard of Edgar Cayce? He was an American psychic in the 20th century who had extra sensory abilities. He had the ability to enter into a trance to penetrate into the past lives of many people. Hundreds of people came from all over America to get their past life read. There are many interesting incidents relating to Edgar Cayce and I will relate one.
There was a lady who collapsed and became paralyzed at the age of 35. When this lady was brought to Edgar Cayce, he revealed that in ancient times, she lived in Rome when Emperor Nero persecuted the Christians. This lady belonged to the aristocracy when they tortured and killed Christians. While the Christians were mercilessly tortured and mutilated, she relished and enjoyed the spectacle. This is why she became paralysed in this life. There are many incidents related to karma and he also used the term ‘karma’.
What about past life regression? Past life regression is very popular in the western world. They believe that certain diseases arise because of mental factors, past memories and incidents that happened in past lives. You can read up on these incidents. It is revealed through this process of karmically genetic diseases. One of the Upanishads masters wrote about past life regression thousands of years ago. Even in modern societies, there are others from non Buddhist backgrounds believing in or are investigating the link between karma and disease.
Can karmically genetic diseases be cured?
It is important for us to know. From the Buddhist point of view, karmically genetic diseases cannot be cured. It will resolve itself when the dark kammic energy, being the cause of the disease, is exhausted and destroyed. Whether a disease is generated by dark karma or some other reasons, Buddhism always encourages you to seek treatment. Buddha always encouraged seeking treatment and taking medicine, whether the disease is karmically genetic or not.
This is clearly shown in the story where the Buddha attended to monk Tissa whose sickness was karmically generated. Although karmically generated diseases cannot be cured, temporary relief can be achieved through medicinal means. With medication, you will be relieved of the pain for the moment, like taking painkillers. You can endure the pain better but the pain will be back again, as this is a prolonged incurable chronic disease. Hence Buddhism encourages the taking of medication. While taking of medication is encouraged, Buddhism also encourages something else.
Buddha said “By upholding righteous principles, living a pure, religious and spiritual life and cultivating wholesome and virtuous actions, you can weaken and reduce the power of your dark energy”. In this way, you can hasten to reduce or eradicate the cause of the karmically genetic diseases. So friends, even though karmically genetic diseases cannot be cured at once, adopting such practices will hasten the eradication of dark energies, thereby increasing the chance of minimising karmically genetic diseases.
It is also important for us to know how to prevent karmically genetic diseases. Our past is gone, so we do not know the type of dark karma that we have created or the dark energy awaiting us. But it is important for us to know and take preventive measures against karmically genetic diseases.
Three important factors make up the Noble Eightfold Path: - Sammā Diṭṭhi (Right understanding), - Sammā Sati (Right mindfulness), and - Sammā Vāyāma (Right effort).
In Sammā Diṭṭhi (Right Understanding), we need to have a right understanding of the kammic theory. What is karma? Buddha said “Cetanāham bhikkhave kammam vadāmi” – Volition is karma. In Buddhism, well-planned volitional action is what we call the karma, which produces kammic energy, and can give kammic results. There are three doors through which we produce karma and energy - thoughts, words and physical actions. There are three roots of dark actions – greed, hatred and delusion. There are three ways to recognise dark actions – motive, intention and consequence.
When you analyse the motive behind the action and find that it is evil, wicked, immoral and motivated by greed, hatred and delusion, that is dark energy. Intention of bringing harm and danger to yourself and others is also dark energy. The consequence of the action that produces suffering for yourself and others is also considered as dark energy. This is very important if you want to prevent karmically genetic diseases. This is known as Right Understanding.
Right Understanding should go hand-in-hand with Right Mindfulness (Sammā Sati). You have to be mindful of your thoughts, words and actions. “Watch your thoughts for they become your words. Watch your words for they become your actions. Watch your actions for they become your habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. Watch your character for they become your destiny”
Be mindful of your thoughts and physical action. Be watchful, mindful and contemplate before you act through thoughts, words and deeds. Ask yourself whether this action is dark or bright. Have right understanding and be mindful of every action. Another important factor is Right Effort - Sammā Vāyāma. You have to make the effort, try your best and work diligently to weaken and reduce your current dark, evil, wicked and immoral habits. Strive diligently and make the effort to avoid performing these dark actions in the future.
Right understanding, right mindfulness and right effort work handin-hand as they are interrelated, and together they prevent karmically genetic diseases. This talk may be incomplete if we do not talk about the Buddhist’s perspective of health. Buddhism is all about health. Buddha talked about the health of the physical body and mind. To achieve good mental and physical health, Buddhism recognizes the concept of Nama-Rupa. Nama is Mind and Rupa is Body. This physical body and mind are inter-dependent and inter-related.
Mental disease can lead to physical disease and vice-versa. When you harbour anger, hatred, ill-will and jealousy, you bring in mental diseases of depression, stress, tension, worry and sadness. Prolonged mental diseases can produce physical diseases. On the other hand, physical diseases can also cause mental diseases. Buddhism recognizes the nature of inter-dependence of the body and mind. For this reason, Buddhism promotes both physical and mental health. Let us examine how Buddha encourages us to be physically and mentally healthy.
One who follows the path of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha is known as a Buddhist. A Buddhist takes refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. You will come across the analogy in many Suttas that refers to Buddha as a doctor, Dhamma as medicine and Sangha as community of nurses. They are ready and waiting for patients. In many discourses, there were many occasions when the Buddha gave instructions to monks on how to prevent various diseases. The Bhesajja-Khandhaka is a section in the Tipitaka on Buddha’s knowledge on medicine for the physical body. One who takes the three refuges is known as a Buddhist and those who follow the Path will be perfectly healthy.
Just as the World Health Organisation defines health, Buddhism recognizes health as not only being free from diseases. Buddhism’s definition of health includes both physical and mental overall well-being, the happiness of the individual, and their social and environmental settings. These three interconnecting relationships are the defining heart of health in Buddhism. If the individual is unhealthy, the society can become unhealthy, which in turn makes the environment unhealthy. With this understanding, Buddha taught the Noble Eightfold Path as a means to achieve perfect health. The Noble Eightfold Path is divided into three focus areas; - morality, - mental cultivation and - wisdom I will spend a bit of time but not go into details to explain all these factors.
The Noble Eightfold Path encourages both physical and mental health, as well as individual, social and environmental health. The first step to a good health is morality. What is morality? Morality is upholding righteous principles and precepts. In morality, you are supposed to observe the five precepts as a lay person. Take these precepts and analyse them. The fifth precept for example – refraining from taking drugs and alcohol. When you take drugs and alcohol, what will happen to your body? You will fall sick physically and mentally. When you are sick physically and mentally and lose your mindfulness, you could engage in quarrels with others. When this happens, it could lead to people harming and killing each other, creating sickness in society. This is called social sickness. One who takes drugs and alcohol will not only potentially destroy a society, he or she could also destroy the environment.
In this way, when you take the precepts of refraining from taking drugs and alcohol, you are taking actions to protect your physical and mental health at an individual, social and environmental level. Let us take the third precept – refraining from sexual misconduct. Today, there are many types of sexually transmitted diseases. Buddhism recognizes sexual activities as confining to one individual, which is between husband and wife. When you break this precept, there is a risk of getting infected with these diseases and consequently affecting your physical and mental health. Then you become the cause of spreading the diseases in society. Take the first precept – refrain from killing. When you kill, you have a lot of evil and immoral thoughts of hatred. When you kill another living being or human being, you are causing a lot of damage to yourself, society and environment. Remember, when Buddha gave the fifth precept, he does not mean that if you take alcohol, you will be born in hell.
But you will create the hell here and now. There is no need to wait for the next life. So, friends, precepts are there to encourage good health, both physical and mental, as well as on an individual, social and environmental level. We move to the second step now of concentration which is mental culture. Buddhism recognizes that this physical body, even though we try our best to maintain it, is still subject to change, decay and death. Buddhism recognizes that even though we cannot acquire 100% health related to this body, we can acquire 100% health in our mind. So, Buddha goes further in mental cultivation, while encouraging physical health.
What is supposed to be done in mental cultivation? You are supposed to practise meditation, When you practise meditation, you weaken and reduce defilements of greed, hatred and delusion in your mind. In the second step of mental cultivation – Samadhi, you will reduce greed, hatred and delusion from your mind and produce the positive emotions which are the sublime thoughts of Mettā, Karuṇā, Muditā and Upekkhā. Mettā is love, Karuṇā is compassion, Muditā is appreciative joy and Upekkhā is equanimity. These are the four types of meditations. When you cultivate these noble thoughts, you will reduce the defilements and become a healthier person mentally.
When one is in good health physically and mentally, one’s physical defilements will also be reduced. Now for the final step. As long as greed, hatred and delusion reside within the human mind, perfect health of the human mind is impossible. Your mind will fall sick. Buddha said, eradicate greed, hatred and delusion which are the roots of mental diseases. Eradication of greed, hatred and delusion is nothing but Nibbāna. What then is Nibbāna? It is the perfect health of the human mind. So, you can see friends, Buddha has a proper program, system and methodology to achieve perfect physical and mental health in all the possible ways. He understands that this physical body is subject to change. He goes further to encourage all to achieve perfect mental health which is possible for each and every human being
Selected Dhamma Talks in 2011 by Venerable K. Rathanasara Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple 30C, St. Michael Road Singapore 328002