Health and Healing

We’re working on translating a series of Dharma talks about health and healing, but it’ll be a while before those come out. But this part was so good, I felt like people should be able to read it right away. 

The cells that make up this body of ours have no idea what the body as a whole is doing or where it’s going. Therefore, if you let them know that they, you and all the other cells, are actually one whole body – if you become one with their consciousness through this foundation – then one part won’t end up hurting another part. They’ll understand that, “All of this is me!”

(I want to repeat that paragraph!! If people just understood this, problems of countries would also fade away.)

So, have unconditional faith in your own foundation – whether an illness improves, or doesn’t, whether things start going the way you want, or don’t, trust that in all of this, your foundation is leading you forward. It guided you through billions of years, helping you evolve into a human being while you’ve hunted and been hunted. And now that you’ve been born as a human, this process hasn’t stopped. Now you’re being pushed to evolve your mind.

No matter what kind of hardship you encounter, take it as something to practice with. Even if the world were to end right now, even though you’re nervous, have firm trust in your foundation. If you can watch it happen and laughingly say, “What, again?” everything will turn out fine. Faith in this essence that’s been guiding you is so important. To not have trust in it is like abandoning yourself.

You have to believe in this divine essence that exists within you. Could you really not trust this? It’s what is animating you right now. What else, where else would you rely upon? Is there anyone else who can take your place when you fall ill? Is there anything else who can stand in for you when death comes? No. No matter how much your children love you, no matter how much your wife or husband cares for you, no one can even stand in for you when you need to use the toilet. No one can take your place when you need sleep, or are sick, or are dying.

“Rely upon and trust your inherent essence, and in this way grow and develop so that you can live together with all beings brightly, as one family.” This is the essence of all the Buddha’s teachings.

— Daehaeng Kun Sunim, December 20, 1992