Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Online Advice Book
Health :
Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis C
- Hep C - Liver and Thyroid Advice
Hepatitis C
| Hepatitis C Cured | |
| A student wrote to Rinpoche saying how after doing the practices Rinpoche had recommended he had been completely cured of hepatitis C. The student’s letter and Rinpoche’s response are both published below. | |
Student:
Prostrations to the feet of the Precious Holy Guru
Dear Venerable Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
I am writing to you with the extremely good and remarkable news that I have been healed of the Hepatitis C which has been in my body since the age of 19.
I first discovered that I had Hepatitis C about 10 years ago. Every time I had a blood test it would give a positive result, meaning the virus was in my blood. You will recall that I told you about this when I had a meeting with you in 1999. In that meeting you asked me to help sponsor 100,000 Mitukpa tsa-tsas, which I did.
Three years ago I had a routine test for Hepatitis C and the results showed the virus couldn’t be detected in my blood. I had another test in May this year and it confirmed the result, that I no longer have Hepatitis C.
This is completely remarkable because such a reversal usually only happens as a result of heavy treatment with drugs such as interferon. Even then it is only successful in some cases. I have only been taking Chinese herbs so it really is unexpected and clearly a result of your intervention and the blessing and energy of the merit dedicated through the Mitukpa tsa-tsa practice and your prayers. It may also be supported by a strong healing dream I had of Sai Baba during this period.
So, I want to thank you from the depths of my heart for your support, prayers, and blessing, and dedicate the merit of this renewal, so that I can continue to contribute to others through my Dharma activities.
I am now free of Hepatitis C and focusing on fully recovering my energy so I can continue my Dharma work.
I recently left my teaching position at the university because my teaching in the USA and Europe has grown. I have developed a nine-month course called “Radiant Mind,” which I am offering to people in the USA and Europe. The course offers the essence of Mahayana in a Western format using Western language. I would like to share this with you at some point. I am also hoping to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to share the work I have developed with him. I have a new book and set of CDs that will be published early next year. I pray that our paths will intersect soon and I will be able to see you in person.
Finally, can you please tell me if there is some practice, puja, or special dedication I should do in recognition and acknowledgement of this healing? Again, with deepest thanks for your visible and invisible support for me over the last 30 years.
With heartfelt devotion,
Larry
Rinpoche's Response:
My very dear Larry,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. This is really amazing news.
This gives hope to other people who have the same sickness. They don’t have to believe that they have the sickness.
Regarding your question about a practice to do in recognition of this healing—dedicate your life to sentient beings.
My experience is that making 100,000 Mitukpa tsa-tsas is extremely powerful for purification of hepatitis C, Z, O, or X. All of these come from negative karma, so when one purifies negative karma, of course, how can sickness stay? The result is it has to go away. This is the result of strong purification, otherwise it would not make sense that happiness comes from virtue and suffering from non-virtue. This would mean that karma is not infallible, or it would mean that karma is fallible. So, realizing this gives hope and confidence to others to be able to heal themselves, especially through strong Dharma practice. Also, it is good that you waited three years to make sure, and thank you for sending this news. Thank you very much for letting me know. Now you should try to benefit other sentient beings as much as possible, as well as benefit the Dharma.
I am not sure if you know about the project we have in the FPMT called Universal Education. We have had to change the name as another organization had the same name, so now it is called Heart of Education or Heart of Wisdom Education. The aim of this organization is to help young people have a good heart, be good human beings, and to have basic good qualities, such as kindness, perseverance, patience, a good heart, loving kindness, compassion, and other many good qualities, and, in this way, bring happiness to others and, through this, world peace.
The purpose of your life is to benefit other sentient beings, the purpose of your recovery is to serve sentient beings, free them from the causes of suffering, and bring them to enlightenment, as well as to serve the teachings of Buddha. I think you are always doing that. Anyway, as much as possible, serve both, and bring sentient beings to enlightenment through skillful means.
Thank you very much.
With much love and prayers...
| Hepatitis C | |
| A student and his wife, who had Hepatitis C, wrote to Rinpoche asking for advice. | |
My very dear Gina,
Thank you for your kind email. I am very sorry for the long delay in replying.
According to my observations it comes out very good for you to take:
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Four Khungna pills for two months
If you send me your postal address I can mail these to you.
Also, it comes out very good for you to do take the Black Garuda initiation and to do Black Garuda practice.
The best thing is if you and your wife can use this sickness to develop bodhicitta. Also, use your sickness to realize emptiness. Meditate on the emptiness of your sickness. Use your sickness to realize emptiness and to cut the root of samsara, which is ignorance. It is only by cutting the root of samsara that you can achieve enlightenment and then liberate all sentient beings, including all sentient beings who have the same sickness. These sicknesses are so tiny and small compared to all the incredibly heavy sufferings in samsara. So, meditate on the emptiness of your sickness. This is how you can eliminate the very root of all the sufferings – ignorance. Then your sickness becomes so meaningful. This way you are transforming poison into medicine.
Then, to develop bodhicitta, it is good if you do the practice of tong-len.
You and your wife are in my prayers daily, and also the Sangha in my house are dedicating animal liberations three times a month for you and dedicating long life tsa-tsas for you, which they make daily.
With much love and prayers...
| Hepatitis C | |
| A student with Hepatitis C wrote asking for advice on which practices she should do. | |
My very dear Joan,
I am sorry for the very long delay. I checked what practices and things you can do:
1) Take Geshe Lama Konchog Nagcho pill four times a day for one month. Practice Most Secret Hayagriva – take the initiation, and do the retreat if possible.
2) Every day recite 11 malas of Most Secret Hayagriva, with meditation (you can do this even if you haven’t taken the initiation, but you can’t visualize yourself as the deity, you visualize the deity in front).
3) It is very good if you can take the precious pill called Rinchen Yu-Nying 25. You need to take two a week for five weeks.
I am also making prayers for you, and the Sangha in my house are making dedications for you during animal liberations and when they are making long life tsa-tsas each day.
With much love and prayers...
| Advice for Practices | |
| A student with Hepatitis C wrote to Rinpoche asking for advice as to which practices to do. | |
My very dear Jamie,
I checked which practices are best for you to do for your health and they are as follows:
Naga Torma: Please do this three times. The practice has been translated into English. You need to find out which is the correct astrological day to offer torma. On the day you do it you can't eat meat or onions.
Vajra Armor: It would be good to do this practice daily or as much as you can.
Diamond Cutter Sutra: It would be very good if you can recite this 130 times.
If you are able to afford it, it would also be very good to ask the Kopan Nunnery to do an elaborate Medicine Buddha puja, dedicated to you. When they do the puja you need to make a money offering, as well as offer food and tea. The money offering can be anything from 40 to 80 rupees for each nun, if you can afford it.
The medicines that would be good for you are as follows:
Chu Len Pills:Take four each week for four weeks.
Ratna-Samphel Precious Pill: Take four a week for two weeks.
It would be very good for you to eat Erma, which is a spice from Solo Khumbu. It has a spicy herbal taste; you can put it in food, mix it with butter and put it on toast, add it to soups, etc.
When you recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra, have the most extensive motivation to benefit all sentient beings. Have the motivation of liberating countless sentient beings from the ocean of samsara and its causes, and bringing them to highest enlightenment. For that reason, one needs to achieve enlightenment oneself, especially the wisdom realizing emptiness.
Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.
With much love and prayers...
Advice for Treatment
Rinpoche gave the following advice to a student who had Hepatitis C and was unsure whether to embark on a new course of treatment.
Dear Gemma,
1. The most beneficial thing is for you to do is to take a logyuma pill every day for four months. You may be able to get it from Tushita centre in Dharamsala, please check. If not you can request them to make it at Kopan Monastery, using the best quality substances and a lot of Jing dun (blessed pills).
2. Khur Kyen medicine: Take three a day for a minimum of one month for up to three months, then see how you are doing. I will send you some.
3. Ngang Chu medicine: Take five a day for one month. I will send you some.
4. Liberate 190 animals. We are doing that here for you today but you should do this regularly in the future. Do it exactly as I say in the booklet [see Rinpoche's advice on animals for more information and a link to the booklet], this way there is benefit for you and the animals. The creatures are so kind: they help you purify yourself and you help purify them. They have been so kind to you in the past, present, and future. Your happiness has depended on them. Even hippos have been so kind to you. Purifying them purifies their karma and obstacles to enlightenment.
5 . Read the Diamond Cutter Sutra every day, a minimum of one time. It would be good if you could read it twice a day, or the best would be three times a day. It is OK if you don’t completely finish one reading. You can start the next day from where you finished.
Also:
1. Take a long life initiation.
2. Ask Geshe Jampa Gyatso and the students at Lama Tsongkhapa Institute to perform Medicine Buddha puja three times.
3. Ask the monks at Kopan Monastery to perform Medicine Buddha puja for you.
4. Perform Amitayus long life practice daily.
