The Dhamma and the Doctor.

The Dhamma and the Doctor.

The teachings of the Buddha, the Dhamma has inspired mankind for 2600 years. How has the Dhamma helped and touched medical practitioners? How can these teachings inspire a doctor to be a better person and in the process see the realities of life? 

The great medical educator Sir William Osler made it eminently clear that all medical practitioners must have “A love for Mankind”. 

Otherwise, the doctor would find his daily dealings with endless human suffering a near impossible task. In this he is echoing the Buddha. 

The Buddha taught that the common denominator of all life is Dukkha; in the First Noble Truth, He taught us that Aging, Sickness, Decay and Death is our common lot no matter what our station in life. It is this same reality that doctors see everyday. 

While the Buddha taught a permanent solution out of Dukkha, doctors are trained to relieve suffering and decay on a temporary basis. In order not to be “hardened” by the constant and ceaseless exposure to physical pain, doctors must have a high respect for all lives irrespective of station, status, religion, power and belief. While Osler proposed a “Love for Mankind”, the Buddha demanded Unconditional Love, METTA towards all. 

It is Metta which makes Life in a ceaselessly changing world tolerable. It differentiates us from lower forms. In all interactions, the Buddha advocated the 4 modes of Unconditional Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. (DN13) For the doctor, all 4 modes are essential tools; Unconditional Love in facing the sick with heartfelt Compassion, Joy with every success big or small and Equanimity when one had tried his best and a poor outcome still resulted. 

Again Osler echoed the Buddha when he said that a doctor must develop “aequinimitas” -Equanimity! In his life far away from the Dhamma, he had discovered the Buddha’s methods. 

The Dhamma is however not just a means for the doctor to improve his medical skills, it is also a supreme way whereby a doctor armed with it can see with Insight the realities of life and the Truth of the Buddha’s teachings. 

The Mind of BOTH the patient and the doctor is equally important and the Dhamma has much to offer for both parties. The WHO belatedly recognised what the Buddha advocated 2600 years ago that Health means more than Physical Well being; Mental well being is far more important. 

The Buddha in the Nakulapita sutta SN22.1 taught that while the physical body will inevitably fall sick, the Mind need not be sick. 

Physical suffering and decay is inevitable but Mental pain is optional! Doctors will do well not to worsen a patient’s physical suffering by being callous or rude or simply “too busy” to bother. The Buddha urged all disciples to “abandon Dishonest Livelihood”; there is nothing wrong with earning a living by the sweat of our brows and the strength of our arms, but one must NOT be dishonest. The Art of Medicine similarly must NOT become the Business of Medicine driven only by greed for profits. 

With Right Speech, one is inspired to speak truthfully, respectfully and handle issues of confidentiality confidently. With Right Action, one is held safe from any Killing, Stealing or Sexual Misconduct with patients. For the Buddhist doctor, the Dhamma is the GPS of his life, guiding him in all moral and ethical decisions. 

In the canon, the Buddha is recorded as having personally nursed sick venerables, and he had encouraged us to attend to the sick. He had even provided Health providers with a Code of Conduct; our very own equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath! 

Associate Professor Wong Yin Onn Monash University, Malaysia 

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