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Keywords: gifts of illness, Buddhist perspective, tolerance, mindfulness, compassion
This article offers a perspective on illness that is based on direct experiences with illness and Buddhist practice. The thesis is that illness actually provides people with many opportunities to wake up patience, mindfulness, and wisdom. The author asserts that people with illness can choose to see the following gifts of illness: the gift of tolerance, the gift of mindfulness, the gift of moving toward embodiment, the gift of contemplation, the gift of transcendence, the gift of letting go, and the gift of developing compassion. These gifts of illness are often overlooked in efforts to rid oneself of illness as soon as possible. The author gained an important insight while she was simultaneously ill with inflammatory bowel disease and contemplated Buddhist teachings: The suffering from illness can be transformed into awareness, compassion, and love.
Introduction
In our society, people often perceive illness as something to get rid of as soon as possible, whether it is within themselves or in others. Illness can often seem unbearable. Indeed, it can rattle us to the core. The gifts of illness may be difficult to see or appreciate.
I share the following reflections that are based on my past experiences with inflammatory bowel disease and chronic pain. My spiritual practice is Zen Buddhism, and the reflections below echo some of the Buddhist teachings that I have been exposed to over the past decade. I believe that illness gives us opportunities to see who we really are and to develop our patience, mindfulness, and wisdom.
The Gift of Tolerance
In the Buddhist perspective, difficulties and obstacles can help individuals to develop great strengths. When we are ill, we cope with physical pain, discomfort, and other irritations that push us to develop patience and tolerance. Illness can also force us to acknowledge our desires to control our environments, our perceptions of what it is to be a person, and the circumstances in our lives. We develop patience and discipline by having to exercise restraint in not fulfilling every desire of the mind. Bedridden and without a means to continue to function within societal conventions of school, work, and socializing, people with illness often forgo ego-based desires for recognition. In so doing,...