Is Buddhism good for your health? (part 2) |
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Here are some more extracts from the recent The New York Times magazine article on "Is Buddhism Good for your Health?", to encourage you to start meditating yourself! You can find out all about meditation and its many benefits in your own experience by coming along to our classes. Many studies over the years have shown that meditation can help both our physical and mental well-being. As Gen Kelsang Jangsem, the Resident Teacher of Vajralama Buddhist Center in Seattle and a very old Dharma friend of mine, puts it: "There is a huge amount of interest in health these days and we have come to understand the importance of eating well, exercising and taking good medicine. We understand health from the physical point of view, but our understanding of the mind's relationship with health is very limited. Only in recent years have we started to see a more holistic approach that takes into account the body's relationship with the mind. For example, more and more people are realizing that healing is enhanced through a good relationship between the patient and his or her healer. Recent scientific studies are showing that a positive attitude can help you recover faster from an illness and that depression might put you at increased risk for heart disease and cancer. All of which suggests that the mind is closely involved with our health. We can see this relationship clearly with stress. Stress is a modern epidemic and it is very dangerous. An article I read recently said that forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress, up to ninety percent of all doctor's office visits are for stress related ailments and that stress is linked to six of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. The same article said that stress can be positive, helping to keep us alert, but it becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation in between. The stress and tension build up, disturbing the body's internal balance and leading to physical symptoms such as headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain and insomnia. Stress in the body is arising from stress in the mind. Due to our hectic schedules and the many challenges we face at home and at work, our mind often becomes uptight. Sometimes it feels like it is wound so tight we are going to snap! It feels impossible to relax with our conceptual mind racing round and round. We seek relief in sleep but it is only temporary, our worries and stress soon return to haunt us. Because our mind is so uptight this is reflected in our body. You know that horrible feeling in your gut when you are worried sick about something or the feeling that your head is about to explode if you have one more anxious thought. How do we break this negative cycle? By learning to meditate! Meditation can help us to calm our mind down, to unwind our mind. Through meditation we can find a stillness inside that has enormous healing power. It gives us space and clarity. It gives us inner peace and happiness. It enables us find deep relief and relaxation between the challenges of our life, and therefore to approach these in a balanced and effective way. If your mind is relaxed, so is your body, as we all know from going on vacation. A good meditation is like an inner vacation away from the noise and worries of our everyday life. It doesn't cost anything and you can go everyday! All of these benefits we can experience by meditating on our breath." Also, you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Buddhist meditation by reading the books available from Tharpa Publications, which has a huge range of meditation books. Every time you make a purchase through our website, the Florida Centers receive 25% to help us make these precious teachings available in this area. The remaining proceeds are donated to the National Temple for World Peace in New York. |
SPECIAL EVENTS
Relationships Workshop Mahamudra -- The Practicing Contentment Je Tsongkhapa Day Concentration and International Fall For everything you ever wanted to know about Kadampa Buddhism visit the main Kadampa Tradition website  .
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