The big "C"

Last nite, I had a Japanese dinner with my wife and family members at a restaurant in Pulau Tikus which owned by a friend, who is also the chef.  I have not been to that restaurant for the past 6 months due to my busy schedule and also my choice  for other type of food. I love Japanese food but it has to be fresh and well prepared.

After the dinner, my friend came out of the kitchen for a chat and he told me that his eldest son was diagnosed wth nose cancer and it has  been a shock to his family and his wife is very sad as his son is still young and at his prime of his life. He also told me that another friend's wife, who frequent his restaurant is also down with breast cancer.  Both of them is under treatment and IT pray for their recovery and long life.

These news linger in my head and bring me to think about my BiL J in Bangkok. The latest news is that he is not doing well and have stop his chemo and now is relying  onto  a herbal supplement.  With a heavy heart, I turn to my spiritual teacher , Ajahn Brahm for  some positive advise and in his taped dharma, he talked about positivity.  Most of us focus our attention on our mistakes or mistakes of others while the our goodness is taken for granted.  When other people praise us, we avoid the praise and appreciation while when we make a mistake, we apologise and take the blame for it.  With this type of culture, it only breeds negativity as we kept focusing on the negative side of things.

The cancer is the bad part of the body but there is also the good part of the body which we have neglected.  If our thoughts is always focus on the bad part of the body, this will breed the negative force and give power to the bad part of the body.  However, if we focus on the good side of the body and pay more attention to it and ensure it is healthy and strong, the good part of the body could win over the bad part and gives the body a fighting chance. 

In a simple analogy, if weeds grow in our garden and if we keep watering the weeds , it will take over from the good grass and flowers in the garden . If we water the grass and the flowers , the grass and flowers will gain control of the garden.  This is a  very logical  analogy and in such situation, the condition of the mind is very important.  The body maybe sick but the mind is not sick . These are two separate part of the body  and we should not be confused to link these different part of the body. However, it is very natural for us to link them together as we always think that healthy body leads to  healthy mind . This is only one direction . On the reverse, a positve and healthy mind leads to a healthy body. This understanding is also correct.  We have heard of case of  mind over body  and keeping a positive mind can influence the behaviour and changes in one's body. If the condition is not under our control, what is the use of worrying and causing the mind to be sick as well.

The above advise by Ajahn do not mean that a positive mind can cure cancer but it will definitely help to re-energize the weaken body and ease the pain arising from the disease. Learning to let go and reverting to religion would provide the necessary support to overcome this difficult period in one's life.

Namaste.