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The Enlightened One, the Buddha, in his discourses told the disciples that taking care of the sick is akin to taking care of the Buddha
The GMOA called for a four-hour strike on 31 May except in the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kegalle which are affected by floods and earth slips. The reason was the way transfers of doctors are done and the right of GMOA to be involved in such transfers. This article is not about the morality of such transfers, but about the medical profession and the duty of Government doctors as a whole to the nation.
The Enlightened One, the Buddha, in his discourses told the disciplesthat taking care of the sick is akin to taking care of the Buddha. This essentially is twofold in its meaning, one a very optical worldly (Lokiya) meaning and the other a more super mundane meaning (Lokauttara).
Caring for the sick is one fact the Enlightened One stressed upon both in words and in deeds. There are many examples that one can provide about the Enlightened One taking physical care of sick Bhikkus such as in the case of Putigaththa Tissa Bhikkku.With regard to lay people, the best example would be taking care of his father when he was terminally sick. The Enlightened One went to the palace with ArahathsSaripuththa, Moggallana and stream-enterer Ananda and the sick king through the efforts of the Enlightened One became an arahath and attained nibbana.Even the taking care of sick by lay people is an act of great merit and the doer gets bestowed with the good merits for his/her actions.
The other, the super mundane aspect, deals with the cleansing of the defilements that are deeply embedded in our mind/consciousness which needs to be eradicated for one’s liberation. Our consciousness is illustrated with trillions of form-perceptions. If one were to reach the ultimate goal of nirvana these must be totally eradicated. In the old days the Brahmins in attaining various Jhanas thought that to be released of form one must strive for formless Jhana but did not realise that the form-perception is still there. In the traversing of this inglorious Samsara we all at various times and in various lives have accumulated many kilesas which must be cleansed if one were to attain the fruit of Enlightenment (Nirvana).
In treating sick people the one who takes care of the sick will develop the four Brahma Vihara of Metta, Karuna, Muditha and Upekka. These developments enable one to cleanse the mind of the defilements of greed, hatred and delusion gradually. In short taking care of sick is a win/win situation where the sick is cured while the one who takes care of the sick eliminate defilements that illustrate ones consciousness. The defilements that illustrate our consciousness are akin to germs that infiltrate our body.By taking care of this sick mind one is enabled to achieve the super mundane fruit of nirvana. Those who achieve this goal are of the same sublime level as with the Enlightened One, that of Nirvana.In the super mundane aspect this achievement is synonymous with that of caring for Buddha.
The greater majority of medical doctors in our country have reached the goal of being a doctor thanks to the taxpayer who has financed free education. We are a nation that applies both direct and indirect taxes. Whether a pauper or a rich person were to buy any goods or services with attached taxes, they would be paying indirect tax to the State. This money that accrues to the State coffers does not belong to the President, Prime Minister, Cabinet of Ministers or other members of the Parliament but to the masses of this nation. The State machinery will be only the caretaker of these funds on behalf of the masses and will utilise the same for the national benefit. The indirect tax payers could be beggars, manual workers, farmers, road sweepers, white collar workers as well as the rich people.
It is from these funds that money is allocated by the Government for education including medical education. Thus a doctor, just as much as any other who gets educated at the expense of society at large, has a great responsibility to the people of all levels.
A good doctor would also be endowed with the four Brahma Viharana, that of Loving Kindness, Compassion, Altruistic Joy and Equanimity.
Loving Kindness (Metta)
Metta is the first of these four great virtues. Those with Metta are of loving and caring disposition. They will never be ungrateful and will always look to help others. They would thus be seen as most ungrateful in an action such as strike, because it puts the sick and elderly people to great risk, and the possibility of losing their lives due to lack of medical care. The people who are made to suffer would be those who funded the education of doctors.In any strike action it is the poor and the needy that are put at great risk.
Compassion (Karuna)
Here the person with compassion has a heart that is always concerned about others wellbeing. He or she will seek to help others in distress. To fall sick is to be in distress and if the doctors resort to strike action, the poor and the needy would be the most affected.
Altruistic Joy (Muditha)
By giving utmost care and affection and treatment and when a patient is cured, the happiness that accrues to a doctor is one of altruistic joy. This joy is far greater than that gainedfrom any worldly thing. The reason being that it becomes an asset that stays with him/her life after life and will always be there just as the ones shadow without being a burden while the mundane benefits will only be for this life. But if due to the strike action patients’ lives are put to risk and causing unhappiness due lack of medical care then that burden will come after that person just as the wheel of the cart following the ox hoof. (The first and second stanzasinthe Dhammapada.)
Equanimity (Upekka)
Here despite all the good that the doctor does, he/she will not yearn for any gains but only of happiness. Happiness is the greatest wealth, so said the Enlightened One. The doctor will not react affectionately just because the patient praises no will he/she will react negatively to any blame either. To take strike action is to act volitionally for self-gain at the expense of the happiness of the greater population. Such persons would deem to be devoid of equanimity.
Acting in this manner of taking strike action to inconvenience othersforsaking the greater benefit of the masses is demonstration of ingratitude. To put the masses under stress through strike action is to cause mental agony to those people. Causing such mental agony will only result in creation of kilesas in the mind of the doctors.Burdened with such kilesas one can only expect to be born in the hell, animal kingdom, PetaLoka and AsuraLoka where the person will live in great agony for many millions of years, birth after birth. It is therefore most important to not accumulate defilements here and now but to accumulate merits.
In the PattakammaSutta the Enlightened One extolled the following virtues from the lay people: “Puna cha paramgahapathiariyasavakouttanaviriyadhigathethibhogehibahabalaparicithehisedavakkiththehidhammikehidhammaladdehipanchabalikattahoti.Nathibalim, athithibalim, pubbapetabalim, devathabalim, rajabalim.” Then again the householder the virtuous disciple through self-effort, with the strength of his limbs, sweating it out in a virtuous ways making rightful gains will treat one’s relatives, one’s visitors, offer alms in memory of departed, offer merits to deities and pay state taxes and dues in time.
1.Nathibalim – treating one’s relatives
2.Athithibalim – treating one’s visitors
3.PubbaPethabalim – offering alms in memory of departed
4.Devatabalim – offering merits to deities
5.Rajabalim – payment of state taxes and dues in time
Of the above, the second and the last refer to treating one’s visitors and paying taxes and dues to the State. Patients who come to doctors for treatment are visitors. If the doctors go on strike, then these visitors who in their life paid often the indirect taxes to State which funded services such as free medical facilities and free education would not be treated. Those who do not conform to these five principles would not only be guilty form a mundane perspective, but would also accrue defilements. Just as we must pay our taxes, must also look after those who come for help.
Sick patients come to see doctors seeking their help. By taking strike action, doctors would only be loading the consciousness with more of defilements. While one may not see the danger now, these will erupt when one is close to death. These defilements which are dormant will begin to surface just like a pot of water approaching boiling point (YanchaCethethi, YanchaPakkappethi, YanchaAnusayethi, could be a thought, contemplation or an inert defilement). At that moment one would be so weak that the defilements will create conditions for birth in a bad realm after death.
Also one who only thinks of taking action of a nature that inconveniences people, especially the sick and weak, will end up being under the power of the ten armies of Mara (DasaBimbara Mara Sena).These actions also indicate collapse of the moral values of our society. In my personal opinion, there are five areas that influence our moral strength, namely:
1.Parents
2.Religion
3.Teachers
4.Doctors
5.Politicians
Parents
The Enlightened One referred to parents as “pubbachariya,” the early or first teachers. Are parents today behaving as early teachers guiding the children in the right path? With the pressure that is being applied on young kids to perform better than others in the 5thGrade scholarship, many grandparents say that children no longer love their parents. The young brain needs space to develop well and in the righteous way. However today kids have no such space because even from a very young age must go for tuition classes and have hardly any time for playing or relaxing. That is why in later years kids will leave their old parents on the road, confine them to kennels, toilets, etc.
Religion
I need not delve into this aspect as all know that it is religion that provides proper guidance for a person.
Teachers
When I was working in Singapore in 1992, the TV channels ran an advertisement that read ‘Do something good with your life, Teach’. In the days when we were kids, our teachers did after school classes and often provided meals for those who could not afford. However today it is a different story with children being told to attend teacher’s private tuition classes. Indeed today teaching is no longer an honourable service but an industry.
Doctors
I need not delve into this anymore because much has been stated in foregoing paragraphs.
Politicians
It is their responsibility to make the country a better place not just through rules and regulations but also through practice of what is right, and thus giving leadership to others. The daily papers today are replete with stories about corruption, mismanagement, of action being taken against politicians as well as others for various misdeeds.
The Mossack Fonseca papers that surfaced recently have revealed how world leaders and politicians in the world have benefited in various ways from off shore accounts and shell companies in tax heavens.
More than 2,600 years ago in India during the time of Buddha the Litchavi kings adopted democracy in their kingdom, to congregate in unity, to discuss in unity and to disperse in unity. Yet despite the passage of time and of tens of thousands of universities dispensing thousands of types of Degrees, the degree of morality and wisdom has receded in an exponential way, a cause of great concern.
In the BaddhaekaraththaSutta, the Enlightened One said:
Let us look to the present and see what is wrong and ensure that such wrong does not happen but only that which is righteous so that we all will have a better tomorrow. We are digressing far too much into past while efforts for future prosperity is not given due place. Let the whole country move forward as one for a better tomorrow. That can only happen if we can relegate our self-conceit and work on altruistic joy for all.
By oneself is evil done and by oneself is one sullied. By oneself is evil not done and by oneself is one purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself. No one purifies another. (Dhammapada)
May I fervently appeal to all GMOA doctors who have decided to take strike actionto please think again in your interest as well as others:
1.Refrain from taking strike action because the defilements created through such an action will ingrain your consciousness with very negative results for you. A consciousness illustrated with such defiling nama/rupa will never take one to heavenly or human abodes but to lowly abodes.
2.Allow us to refer to you as in the 1950, 1960 era as DostharaMahaththayaand Dosthara Nona Mahaththayafrom deep inside our hearts with love, compassions, equanimity and altruistic joy.
May happiness and peace be with all our citizens!
(The writer can be reached via [email protected].)
