The Call of Love and Mission, the Cure of Illness, and the Liberation of the Spirit

A powerful sense of calling has healing power; this is beyond doubt.

Zhou Youguang became ill with depression, but after throwing himself into his work and finding love, he recovered without treatment. Zhang Yunhe became ill with depression and endured the loss of her daughter, but after falling in love with Zhou Youguang, she recovered without treatment. Feynman fell ill with depression, but through his love of quantum mechanics and his love for his wife, he recovered without treatment. Russell fell ill with depression, but one day suddenly discovered the beauty of mathematics, immersed himself in mathematical logic, and recovered without treatment. Former US President Jimmy Carter, in the terminal stage of cancer, after treatment burned with passion and threw himself into the work of building houses for the poor — and the cancer disappeared. If one carefully studies the upbringing and thinking of Sakyamuni before he left home, one can see that he too was depressed, but later he immersed himself in contemplation and preaching and was liberated from his depressive mood.

I do not deny the findings of present-day medicine and psychology, but relative to the complexity of the human body, current medicine is still underdeveloped, and psychology even more so. The treatments developed by medical and psychological research have an adjunctive role, but compared with the evolutionary forces of nature, they are insignificant. Love and devotion to a cause can generate a powerful calling, capable of sweeping away decay and giving birth to a new life. Yet these are only part of the evolutionary forces, which are everywhere.

The forces of evolution are boundless. We humans always struggle tenaciously in harsh living environments, evolving new abilities to overcome difficulties and disease. So when we seek recovery, we must think boldly and broadly; only in this way can we break through the deep sense of powerlessness within. I have seen many people with furrowed brows and heavy worries, but if they wipe away their tears, stand up, and throw themselves into a love affair or a cause they love, their worries may well dissolve.

The human heart must accumulate energy; we must believe in the power of love and natural evolution. Disease often prompts a person to be reborn. Whether in body or brain, there is hope of new life. In our struggle with mental suffering, the brain develops; Buddhism often says that affliction itself is bodhi, which accords with the biological laws of brain development. In our struggle with physical suffering, the body develops again. As biological organisms, humans are inherently equipped to adjust themselves in harsh environments. The evolutionary history of life on Earth is precisely a process of constant self-adjustment in the face of environmental challenges; the old self departs and the new self arises. Rebirth is real and earnest; whether or not you perceive it, it is happening every moment.

I know a cancer patient with brain metastases; I have mentioned her case several times. Her online name is Koala; she is a Beijinger and one of the well-known members of the Sina Cancer Circle. Once, at a circle anniversary gathering organized by the Sina Cancer Circle in Xinxiang, Henan, I rescued her when she suddenly lapsed into a coma. Five years later, when we met again at another circle anniversary gathering in Tianjin, she specifically thanked me for saving her life and told me she had received no treatment during the past five years, yet her condition was controlled and her health stable. At the time I write this, this patient is still alive, and it has been ten years since I rescued her.

I once found her experience inconceivable, but after learning about brain science, I understand that she had been reborn. She is a devout Buddhist, reciting sutras and worshipping the Buddha; this devout faith genuinely brought her peace. When we met again five years later, her face was far more serene than it had been; this dramatic change cannot be ignored. Her brain produced neurotransmitters it had previously lacked, triggering a series of changes in her neurons, and ultimately even changes in her genetic code. Her methylated genome underwent reversal and successful demethylation; tumor suppressor genes were activated, and thus the cancer foci were controlled. This change is precisely the biological phenomenon known as epigenetics.

I have now gradually come to understand the biological mechanism behind the miraculous recovery of some children with neuroblastoma after hospitals give up treatment. They too may have undergone changes in brain neurotransmitters, which ultimately triggered neuronal regeneration. When neurons regenerate, these tumors of the nervous system can no longer exert their evil power as the king of childhood tumors to destroy these small lives. These self-healing cases tell us that malignant transformation of cells may be reversible; cancer is not a one-way road. Likewise, other lesions may be reversible; believing them irreversible may simply be a lack of imagination on our part.

Professor Zhuang Kongshao mentions in Introduction to Anthropology that certain ethnic minorities in Yunnan use their traditional religion to help members addicted to drugs achieve detoxification; the results are no worse than those of compulsory detoxification centers, with fewer side effects. The reason is that ancient religions contain powerful spiritual forces sufficient to allow the damaged brain to be reborn and restored to health. Other religions (such as Christianity and Taoism) may have the same effect, but I have not studied or practiced them in depth, so I will not speculate.

If you have also read these books and experienced these events, your own mind will have new understandings of these phenomena. Such understanding will help you break through the prejudices most people hold and come closer to the truth of things. After all, there is still so much unknown in the life sciences; what humanity has understood is only the tip of the iceberg. Our rich imagination can help us explore many new directions — though, of course, these require more rigorous verification.

Modern medicine advocates the biopsychosocial model, yet few doctors can truly apply this model to treat patients holistically in body, mind, and spirit, because each doctor's knowledge is so limited. I read about 50–100 books a year and write 400,000–800,000 characters; since leaving university I have spent twenty years reading at the National Library, so much so that without my noticing, one of the deputy curators of the National Library has become a reader of mine. At my rate of learning, I believe I may, around age 55, initially achieve the goal of acting on the patient's body, mind, and spirit simultaneously; as for mastering this integrated approach to perfection, I will not achieve it in my lifetime. Of course, the more crucial point is that patients themselves must consciously seek healing through this medical model; no doctor's efforts can replace the patient's own.

So every morning when you wake, remember to smile and say to yourself: How beautiful everything around me is. The sun is shining, spring is in the air, most people are kind, there are many friends worth making, many books worth reading and many sights that refresh the heart. Be grateful to our parents for giving us life, so that we may appreciate all this beauty; thinking in this way, a quiet happiness will flow through our hearts. After this positive psychological force has accumulated for a time, it will produce effects that seem miraculous — of course, the so-called miraculous is only so because our knowledge is still deficient and our imagination insufficient; when we lack neither knowledge nor imagination, those once-miraculous events will receive reasonable explanations.

Brain science research tells us that even if we are only pretending to smile, when we make the facial movement of smiling, the neurotransmitters in our brain can change; the neurotransmitters responsible for happiness are secreted, driving away our inner troubles and sorrow.

Serenity can cure anxiety; joy can cure sorrow. When an anxious or sorrowful thought arises in our heart, try to calm ourselves for three seconds, silently counting one-two-three in our heart while taking a deep breath. In those three seconds, consider whether there might be another perspective on the same matter that brings us peace and joy. If we cannot think of one, we can ask a friend for advice, or set the matter aside for now and return to it later. At a different time, we will have a different view of the same matter. The Diamond Sutra says: the mind of the past cannot be grasped, the mind of the present cannot be grasped, the mind of the future cannot be grasped. Human thoughts and feelings change from moment to moment; nothing is unchangeable.

When Zhou Youguang was over a hundred he could no longer travel far, but sitting at home, looking through his balcony at a great tree outside the window where hundreds of birds sang together, he would wonder where the birds had come from and where they were going, and what they saw along their flight. This kind of association filled him with interest and immense delight. Happiness is so simple; bliss surrounds his heart at every moment.

With each new day, may you be in good spirits and appreciate the beauty of life. When you walk along the street and see couples holding hands, silently bless them and give thanks — rather than feeling disgusted by their behavior. Because we ourselves wish for happy love, we naturally wish the same for others. Seeing others happy, we rejoice for them. At the same time, this reminds us of our own beautiful love: we were once so carried away by love, once walked hand in hand with our own beloved, and hoped it would always be so. So we should understand and bless other lovers, and thank them for stirring in our hearts tender love for our own beloved.

Love is happy and warm; it brings inner joy and peace. If we too have a beloved and wish to love them devotedly until old age, then we have no need to envy or resent others, because we are content. If not, bravely go find someone. If we have lost a beloved who was worth cherishing, continue to be with them in our mind. If that lost beloved brought us pain, reflect on whether we ourselves had faults in the relationship — whether we demanded too much of the other, failed to respect them, or failed to accept them as they were. If it can be mended, change yourself and win the lover back. If it cannot, bravely begin a new romance and let love heal the wounds.

If a great sense of mission is calling you, congratulations — for you have already risen from a small self preoccupied with your own loves and sorrows to a humanitarian who cares for all beings. Like former US President Carter and the Buddha, you have developed a spirit of sacrifice and are willing to strive for the welfare of all beings. Without a doubt, this humanitarian spirit will heal your mental and physical suffering. Because when you devote your time to helping others, your brain has no leisure to worry about your own small troubles. Moreover, in devoting yourself to the public, your inner strength becomes so great that no difficulty can overcome you.

I am not a sage or a psychotherapist and cannot offer you much enlightenment or companionship; I am not a miracle-working doctor who can cure your disease at a touch. But I believe that within your own heart there is already sufficient wisdom and strength; they are merely sleeping. Once you awaken this wisdom and strength, you can heal yourself. All healing is accomplished by the self; the Buddha called this self-liberation (zidu).