You Can Do It Too!

You Can Do It Too!

Once upon a time there was a small peaceful village. The villagers were very well off. They had land full of crops, farms full of cattle. Their yards were full of poultry. In such a house, once a hen hatched several eggs. When the chickens came out, surprisingly a bizarre looking creature was also with them. It looked like a duckling. But, it was so ugly! How did it come here? Why was it so different from the others?

Its life started from one corner of the back yard of that house. No one used to like it. The other human kids used to pinch it if they got chance. Chickens used to chase it up all the time. Even the crows used to make this poor duckling scared. Its food was leftovers from the humans. That was even after when other chickens were finished with their eating. No one was close to it’ except its mother.

Thus the duckling was passing its life. With days passing, on it was growing bigger. One day, it realized that when it wanted to run fast, it could fly a bit! But, the duckling did not bother with that incident much.

One day for some reason all the chickens started chasing that poor duckling. The duckling got very scared and started running with all its might. It reached at the last end of its village. It had to stop as there was no way to go forwards as there was a valley in front of it. The duckling started thinking what would it do? If it had to move even one step further, it had to move in the water in the valley. However, it had never ever crossed water! And there wasn’t even any other way to go! The duckling’s mother was also coming after him.

Suddenly its attention was drawn to sum swimming ducks of that valley. It was taken by surprise to find out that those swimming ducks looked exactly like him. The duckling was so surprised that one moment it was looking at its mother, the next moment it was looking at the swimming flocks of ducks. It also saw its reflection in water. It realized that it is neither like its mother, not like other chickens. He is actually like those birds that had flown to this area from Antarctic region. Those birds used to fly to this village in search for a warm place in winter season. Incidentally one egg from any of those bird have had been dropped among the chicken eggs in that farmer’s house and thus that ugly duckling was born. It was amazed to see that how freely those birds were flying in the sky and swimming in the valley. It understood that the life it was passing was not the actual way of passing its life. he also had the ability to fly like those birds. It also understood that being chased up, eating leftovers was not life. Moreover, it was born with the ability to fly thousand miles above.

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero

The Teachings of Great Men Thoughout the Ages is the Same

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero is the Chief Priest of Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery, the Chairman of Bangladesh Bouddha Krishti Pracher Sangha, and an internationaly acclaimed Buddhist personality. This is the summary of a speech he made as the key speaker in Quantum Open Ideas on May 11, 2004.

The very suffering that motivated a man, in spite of being a prince, to leave behind all the luxuries of life and to indulge in a long period of introspection, also lead him to the means of conquering that same suffering through enlightenment.

 The Lord Buddha, on realizing the four truths regarding suffering, suggested two religious paths as remedies. The first is to follow the Middle Way; that is not to be too self-indulgent and extravagant in life and at the same time to recognize that it is not necessary to maintain strict asceticism. The second religious is the Noble Eightfold Path. These are right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

To best realize these a man must practice meditation. A sangha or group can help one to purify oneself by ridding oneself of jealousy and enriching oneself with humanitarian qualities. The main theme of all religions is the same at its core--helping others, suffering the consequences of one’s own actions and being tolerant to others’ opinions. The message of justice and brotherhood preached by the Buddha and contained in the teachings of great men throughout the ages is essentially the same.

 I heartily praise the role of the Quantum Foundation in pursuing moral regeneration and the creation of a humanitarian society. I am very hopeful that with the assistance of the Quantum Foundation, it will be possible to take forward the well-meaning movement of inter-religious dialogue that began in the early 1950s with Dhaka University Professors Dr. Kazi Motahar Hossain, Dr. Md. Shahidullah and Dr. G.C. Dev.

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero

The Teachings of Great Men Thoughout the Ages is the Same

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero is the Chief Priest of Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery, the Chairman of Bangladesh Bouddha Krishti Pracher Sangha, and an internationaly acclaimed Buddhist personality. This is the summary of a speech he made as the key speaker in Quantum Open Ideas on May 11, 2004.

The very suffering that motivated a man, in spite of being a prince, to leave behind all the luxuries of life and to indulge in a long period of introspection, also lead him to the means of conquering that same suffering through enlightenment.

 The Lord Buddha, on realizing the four truths regarding suffering, suggested two religious paths as remedies. The first is to follow the Middle Way; that is not to be too self-indulgent and extravagant in life and at the same time to recognize that it is not necessary to maintain strict asceticism. The second religious is the Noble Eightfold Path. These are right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

To best realize these a man must practice meditation. A sangha or group can help one to purify oneself by ridding oneself of jealousy and enriching oneself with humanitarian qualities. The main theme of all religions is the same at its core--helping others, suffering the consequences of one’s own actions and being tolerant to others’ opinions. The message of justice and brotherhood preached by the Buddha and contained in the teachings of great men throughout the ages is essentially the same.

 I heartily praise the role of the Quantum Foundation in pursuing moral regeneration and the creation of a humanitarian society. I am very hopeful that with the assistance of the Quantum Foundation, it will be possible to take forward the well-meaning movement of inter-religious dialogue that began in the early 1950s with Dhaka University Professors Dr. Kazi Motahar Hossain, Dr. Md. Shahidullah and Dr. G.C. Dev.

Freedom Through Peace

Dr. Nurul Islam

Freedom Through Peace

National Professor Dr. Nurul Islam is the pioneer of advanced medicine in Bangladesh. He is the founder of the University of Science and Tecnology Chittagong, the chief architect of the national drug policy which drastically cut down the import of unnecessary drugs, and the key force behind creating anti-smoking awareness in Bangladesh. This article has been compiled based on his well known book 'prescription' and the speech he made as the chief guest of the publication ceremony of the shithilaion (relaxation) tape.

Every doctor comes into contact with patients or problems that are somehow related to stress. We have seen that 40% of outpatients do not need any medicine. There are many people who are taking so many different kinds of medicine that it would take quite some time to count all the medicine on their list. It would take even longer to write the names of the medicine. And if you try to calculate the amount of money they are spending on their drugs, you too will be stressed. What is the reason for this?

The reason is what we often call disease is really a type of stress or anxiety. In other words, illness or disease is the result of lack of a sound mental state. The Bangla for illness is oshukh, or o-shukh, which means lack of happiness. So illness is the lack of happiness or contentment.

If we accept this definition of illness as lack of happiness, we will find that the treatment process cannot be limited to the doctor and patient only. If we analyze the patient's family and environment, we will find that we can help many people recover from their illnesses without having to resort to drugs.

If –right now–you start thinking about whether you have any pain in your head or body, I can assure you many of you will start having a headache. If you think, “It is risky to go out now, what if I need to go to the bathroom?” then exactly that will happen. The urge is first created in the mind.

The thing is, the mind is much more powerful than the body. I have noticed that foolish people suffer less, because they don't think so much. Think about the crazy people on the streets. They might not have an arm, but they are wandering about perfectly happy. Some are walking, some laughing, some singing. Because they don't have the ability to think a lot, they are free from worries. And because they are free from worries, they can do whatever they want.

Again, consider your thoughts or worries–which are things you cannot see or touch. Yet these intangible things can produce something that can be seen, tasted and investigated in a laboratory. That something is tears, which are a result of mental pain. Recently, we have learnt that, like thoughts, determination or conviction induces a chemical reaction in the body, which results in the creation of a substance that strengthens our immune system, and even helps us recover from illnesses. If mental suffering can generate a chemical substance in the form of tears then it is quite possible that other mental states can generate other chemicals.

The truth is many of the problems we try to solve with medicine or other treatments can be solved by boosting the patient’s confidence and helping him attain mental peace.

A few days ago, a senior officer came to see me. He had insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, and pain in his arms and legs. In the last seven or eight months he had seen 4 or 5 physicians, who had prescribed almost 50 different kinds of sleeping pills, digestives, tonics, vitamins, injections, etc. after numerous tests. But he found no relief. I asked the gentleman to write in detail about his personal history and his present circumstances, and leave this with my associate.  He did so in the next few days. When he came to see me the next week, I told him he did not any medicine. His symptoms were the result of not being able to agree with his office superior despite trying his best. Medicine wouldn't help. He needed to adapt to the situation: accept the rather unfortunate circumstances and take satisfaction in the fact that he was working with honesty and dedication.

Another time, a senior government official brought his father to see me. According to him, his father had had insomnia for two years. They had prescriptions from a dozen physicians, prescribing tonics, sleeping pills, injections on every alternate day, etc. They said everything worked in the first few weeks but then stopped. After listening to him, I found out he sleeps for an hour after lunch everyday and then sleeps from 11:00 pm to 3:30 am at night. I calculated that he was sleeping between five to five and a half hours everyday, which was enough for his age. Then why did he have complaints? When he woke up at 3:30, it was dark and everybody else was still asleep. He felt lonely. I explained to him he was getting enough sleep for his age. He accepted the fact happily. I learnt later that he had given up all his medicine and was fine.

The examples above show that in our country, countless people become the victims of senseless prescriptions and are harmed physically, mentally and financially. We must address this issue at the national policy level to relieve patients of their problems, not multiply them. We have to accept that we don't need to hand out a prescription to every patient. Neither do we need medicine for every illness.

Freedom Through Peace

Dr. Nurul Islam

Freedom Through Peace

National Professor Dr. Nurul Islam is the pioneer of advanced medicine in Bangladesh. He is the founder of the University of Science and Tecnology Chittagong, the chief architect of the national drug policy which drastically cut down the import of unnecessary drugs, and the key force behind creating anti-smoking awareness in Bangladesh. This article has been compiled based on his well known book 'prescription' and the speech he made as the chief guest of the publication ceremony of the shithilaion (relaxation) tape.

Every doctor comes into contact with patients or problems that are somehow related to stress. We have seen that 40% of outpatients do not need any medicine. There are many people who are taking so many different kinds of medicine that it would take quite some time to count all the medicine on their list. It would take even longer to write the names of the medicine. And if you try to calculate the amount of money they are spending on their drugs, you too will be stressed. What is the reason for this?

The reason is what we often call disease is really a type of stress or anxiety. In other words, illness or disease is the result of lack of a sound mental state. The Bangla for illness is oshukh, or o-shukh, which means lack of happiness. So illness is the lack of happiness or contentment.

If we accept this definition of illness as lack of happiness, we will find that the treatment process cannot be limited to the doctor and patient only. If we analyze the patient's family and environment, we will find that we can help many people recover from their illnesses without having to resort to drugs.

If –right now–you start thinking about whether you have any pain in your head or body, I can assure you many of you will start having a headache. If you think, “It is risky to go out now, what if I need to go to the bathroom?” then exactly that will happen. The urge is first created in the mind.

The thing is, the mind is much more powerful than the body. I have noticed that foolish people suffer less, because they don't think so much. Think about the crazy people on the streets. They might not have an arm, but they are wandering about perfectly happy. Some are walking, some laughing, some singing. Because they don't have the ability to think a lot, they are free from worries. And because they are free from worries, they can do whatever they want.

Again, consider your thoughts or worries–which are things you cannot see or touch. Yet these intangible things can produce something that can be seen, tasted and investigated in a laboratory. That something is tears, which are a result of mental pain. Recently, we have learnt that, like thoughts, determination or conviction induces a chemical reaction in the body, which results in the creation of a substance that strengthens our immune system, and even helps us recover from illnesses. If mental suffering can generate a chemical substance in the form of tears then it is quite possible that other mental states can generate other chemicals.

The truth is many of the problems we try to solve with medicine or other treatments can be solved by boosting the patient’s confidence and helping him attain mental peace.

A few days ago, a senior officer came to see me. He had insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, and pain in his arms and legs. In the last seven or eight months he had seen 4 or 5 physicians, who had prescribed almost 50 different kinds of sleeping pills, digestives, tonics, vitamins, injections, etc. after numerous tests. But he found no relief. I asked the gentleman to write in detail about his personal history and his present circumstances, and leave this with my associate.  He did so in the next few days. When he came to see me the next week, I told him he did not any medicine. His symptoms were the result of not being able to agree with his office superior despite trying his best. Medicine wouldn't help. He needed to adapt to the situation: accept the rather unfortunate circumstances and take satisfaction in the fact that he was working with honesty and dedication.

Another time, a senior government official brought his father to see me. According to him, his father had had insomnia for two years. They had prescriptions from a dozen physicians, prescribing tonics, sleeping pills, injections on every alternate day, etc. They said everything worked in the first few weeks but then stopped. After listening to him, I found out he sleeps for an hour after lunch everyday and then sleeps from 11:00 pm to 3:30 am at night. I calculated that he was sleeping between five to five and a half hours everyday, which was enough for his age. Then why did he have complaints? When he woke up at 3:30, it was dark and everybody else was still asleep. He felt lonely. I explained to him he was getting enough sleep for his age. He accepted the fact happily. I learnt later that he had given up all his medicine and was fine.

The examples above show that in our country, countless people become the victims of senseless prescriptions and are harmed physically, mentally and financially. We must address this issue at the national policy level to relieve patients of their problems, not multiply them. We have to accept that we don't need to hand out a prescription to every patient. Neither do we need medicine for every illness.