Medicine and Compassion

A Tibetan Lama's Guidance for Caregivers

Chokyi Nyima, David R Shlim, Erik Pema Kunsang

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780861715121
• eBook ISBN: 9780861717033
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Caregiving

Sure to be welcomed by caregivers of all types, the groundbreaking new Medicine and Compassion can help anyone reconnect with the true spirit of their caregiving task. It is estimated that some 54 million people in the U.S. act as informal caregivers for ill or disabled loved ones. We can add to these countless workers in the fields of health and human service, and yet there is still not enough help to go around: as many as three fourths of our informal caregivers report "going it alone." It's no wonder that "caregiver burnout" and depression afflict so many. Sure to be welcomed by caregivers of all types, the groundbreaking new Medicine and Compassion can help anyone reconnect with the true spirit of their caregiving task. In a clear and very modern voice, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Dr. David R. Shlim use the teachings of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to present practical tools for revitalizing the caring spirit. Readers, in turn, will find their patience, kindness, and effectiveness re-energized. Offering practical advice on dealing with people who are angry at their medical conditions or their care providers, people who are dying, or the families of those who are critically ill, Medicine and Compassion will strike resonant chords with medical professionals, hospice workers, teachers, and parents of children with special needs, and those caring for aging and infirm loved ones.

Index

A

anger:

alleviation of, 83–84, 170, 174

and attachment. See clinging to duality

caregivers as the target of, 143–45

and dualistic thinking, 46

and fear, 44

and hopelessness, 144–45

“hungry anger”, 144

patients as the target of, 107, 143–44

apologizing:

hopelessly/insincerely, 83, 144, 158

sincerely, 83–84, 159

appearances, 36, 63

attachment/clinging:

and dualistic thinking, 41–42, 44, 46

during the process of dying, 121–22, 155–56, 161

and hope, 44, 73

negative emotions caused by, 46

unconditioned nature of the mind beyond, 172–73

attitudes. See compassion—cultivation; compassionate/benevolent states of mind; frames of mind; relaxed state of mind; state(s) of mind

aversion:

and clinging to duality, 41–42, 44

and fear, 44

and unpleasant sensual experience, 39

B

basic nature:

as a teacher, 122, 125

and bodhichitta, 105, 109. See also bodhisattvas; buddha nature

death with dignity derived from knowing of, 165, 166

and emptiness, 8, 41, 55–57, 89

intelligence and compassion as the two basic aspects of, 6, 41. See also compassionate emptiness

likened to water, 6, 49, 127, 133

obscured by clinging to duality, 37, 41–42, 129, 164

recognized with the help of a teacher, 97

and spiritual practice, 50, 115. See also nonconceptual compassion; thought-free wakefulness

being at ease. See relaxed state of mind

being unfulfilled. See discontentment

bile disorder. See gall disorder

birth:

and the cycle of existence. See cycle of existence; rebirth

waking up in the morning likened to, 66

blaming and fault finding:

compassion as an alternative to, 31

and disturbing emotions, 15, 28–29, 31

self-criticism by doctors/healers, 149–50, 151

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Medicine and Compassion
• Overview
• Training
• Practical Advice
• Index
• About Medicine and Compassion
• About the Authors
• About Wisdom Publications
• Also Available from Wisdom Publications
• Copyright