Modern Buddhist Healing
A Spiritual Strategy for Transcending Pain, Dis-Ease, and Death
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
In 1987 Charles Atkins was struck with Hodgkin's disease and underwent the ravages of chemotherapy. Throughout his illness he used his Buddhist training and the power of the mantra Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to carry him through the cancer treatments and allay his fears of death and doubts for recovery. During his stays in the hospital, he took every possible opportunity to comfort other cancer patients. His survival inspired him to share the healing techniques he has learned with others.
In this book, Atkins introduces us to the Buddhist master Nichiren [1222-1281] and the healing teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha as laid out in theLotus Sutra. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an old mantra that has accumulated a great deal of power from centuries of countless individuals focusing their highest intents while chanting it. He explains how Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can be used to "undo" karma that has damaged our health. Methods for chanting while visualizing abound in this book. His example, along with that of many others struggling with diseases as diverse as fibromyalgia, diabetic ulcers, high blood pressure, and mental illness, provides a beacon of hope for those facing illness. Atkins's book shows that with hope, faith, and prayer nothing is impossible.
"Healing is part of every major spiritual tradition, and no tradition has carried healing to greater heights than Buddhism. Regardless of your religious or spiritual path, this book will shed light on the role of meditation, imagery, and prayer in the healing process. In today's increasingly technological medical world, we need this wisdom more than ever." --Larry Dossey, MD, author of Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words
Charles Atkins is the author of Modern Buddhist Healing. He studied and practiced magick, divination, and Eastern religions in the 60s and 70s, then began practicing Nichiren Buddhism in 1974 with the Soka Gakkai. He has been a professional freelance writer on mysticism, healing, and business since 1970.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1987, at age 36, Atkins was diagnosed with advanced Hodgkin's disease, a life-threatening, virulent cancer. This book is his manual for how prayer, particularly meditation and chant, can ameliorate physical conditions such as fibromyalgia, cancer, diabetic ulcers and even coma. It is also a compelling chronicle of Atkins's own saga and near-death vision. Atkins, though, is no health renegade. He straightaway, repeatedly and responsibly advises "get the best medical treatment available. Proper diagnosis from a qualified physician is the first and foremost step." Atkins also quickly details, however, that individuals can use healing dimensions to complement traditional Western-style medicine. For him the Buddhist Lotus Sutra's mantra "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo," advanced by 13th-century Japanese master Nichiren Daishonin, is an extraordinarily powerful tool, especially when supplemented by healing visualizations. Simply, this mantra enables immediate access to our already enlightened nature and is directly applicable to specific regions of the body. To build a proper foundation for this approach, Atkins furnishes a clear explanation of karma with a reach broader than popular, simple notions. Making powerful links to other traditions by equating the Holy Spirit, prana, chi, kundalini and life force, Atkins also notes that such chanting does not conflict with other religious practices. By no means a book just for Buddhists, at best this work can empower anyone who is ill and suffering, for it champions chanting and meditation as forms of prayer. As Atkins observes, "All may enter with a prayer; no one is denied access."
