by Bob Flaws

Today is the second day of the fourth lunar month, the month in which Tibetan Buddhists believe Lord Buddha was born, reached enlightenment, and died. So it's a special month for practice and doing the Dharma. Therefore, I'd like to share some words by H.E. Ayang Rinpoche on the role of compassion in medicine -- all types of medicine. As my Facebook friends know, Honora and I went to Bodhgaya this January to study with Ayang Rinpoche. The following is taken from a transcript of one of Ayang Rinpoche's teachings given in Germany in June 2003. Since it is a verbatim transcript, the English is somewhat creative, but I think you will get the idea.

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Ayang Rinpoche:

See, if you don't check your motivation [i.e., compassion for all sentient beings], sometimes you did many sacrifice for the practice, for the positive deed, and then if your motivation is wrong, then all your energy is waste, no meaning at all. If we do pure motivation, pure motivation it will be very powerful -- strong power. With pure motivation, if we try to do helping other beings, by this motivation power it will be your activity very successful. For example, they have sometimes those medical doctors, some medicine doctors great qualified. They have all different kind disease medicine, everything, but not so helpful when they giving medicine, not that much helpful. And some doctors, they are not that much qualified and they don't have all kind medicine also, just a few general medicines. Ya, that doctor is, through pure motivation, is giving these few general medicines. He is giving for everyone. Ya, this is great helpful. Because his medicine not so qualified but by his motivation power, then his medicine is great helpful for the people. Other doctor, even they have all kind medicine, great knowledge, but still, if his motivation is impure, then they can't help. Ya, those doctors must have pure motivation, strong loving kindness and compassion, must have with the patients. And then same, not only the doctors, those masters, or teachers, or healers, or psychotherapists, and reikis, everything. Mainly we must have pure motivation. If we have pure motivation, definite it will be helpful for other beings.