In Buddhism, illness and suffering is simply the maturation of negative karma (actions) done and accumulated in the past. All actions leave an imprint on our mental continuum—the mind that transmigrates from life to life. These imprints are like seeds; as time passes and with the proper conditions the seeds sprout and produce fruits. Positive actions plant seeds for happiness, pleasure, and good fortune and negative actions plant seeds for suffering, pain, and disease.

The law of cause and effect is very difficult to perceive directly, yet is essential for understanding the nature of disease. Karmic imprints do not always ripen in the same life. Actually, it is extremely difficult to experience the result of an action in the same lifetime. Most results are felt in the next life or in distant future lives. This explains why people who have been kind to others all their lives experience tragedy; they are experiencing the ripening of negative karma from a past life, and why people who have done nothing but harm others experience good fortune; it is due to their positive actions generated in the past.

From this we can begin to understand what healing is and the various levels that healing takes place. The grossest level of healing is treating the symptoms of disease. This is the most common and orthodox approach. For example, we take aspirin for a headache or treat cancer with chemotherapy. The effects of this type of healing are short lived; soon enough another type of suffering or disease will be experienced.

The next level of healing is the purification of the karmic imprints. This is done by transforming negative situations—the ripening results— into positive ones—causes for future happiness. Take the example of an oak tree. If we plant an acorn and provide the proper conditions for it to grow we will eventually have a giant oak tree. In this second level of healing we overcome suffering and disease by working with the results in a positive way. We need to accept the situation we are in and not blame others. It does not help to get angry at, hate, or be jealous of the oak tree. By reacting positively to every situation we prevent the oak tree from producing new acorns and stop the cycle of suffering. And at the same time we plant new seeds for happiness.

The ultimate healing is to completely remove all the causes of suffering by realizing our true nature which is pure, luminous and knowing. This is like completely uprooting the giant oak tree altogether. The source of all suffering and affliction is the grasping at an inherently existent "I", an "I" that exists in and of itself, not dependent on its parts or label. From this fundamental wrong view comes the sense of "me" and "mine" and the self-cherishing mind. The "I", "me", and "mine" becomes the most important thing in the world, and whenever it feels threatened in the slightest way, the afflictions arise, such as; anger/hatred, attachment/desire, pride, jealousy and ignorance. When we can remove this fundamental wrong view, we can remove all the causes of suffering, and attain the ultimate healing which coincide with enlightenment.

This is the essence of healing from a Buddhism perspective and the essence of Psycho-Spiritual Healing TherapyTM as practiced in the Healing Buddha Foundation's Psycho-Spiritual Healing Clinics. The Clinic is a place where people can find relief from the present physical and mental suffering and be inspired to look deeper at the root of suffering. In the Clinic we strive to provide others with the conditions to see their own true goodness and aspire towards the ultimate healing of enlightenment.

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