Can an Ariya suffer from mental disease?

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binocular
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Re: Can an Ariya suffer from mental disease?

Post by binocular »

lyndon taylor wrote: imagine how they must feel to hear people tell them they are the cause of their illness, and because of their bad choices and faulty thinking patterns,
That's empowering, because it suggests they can do something about their problems, as opposed to being left to the mercy of chance and other people.

they can never reach enlightenment.
Nobody said that.
Hic Rhodus, hic salta!
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lyndon taylor
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Re: Can an Ariya suffer from mental disease?

Post by lyndon taylor »

What's empowering is taking medication to correct the chemical imbalance, in my case I can't sleep AT ALL without medication, thats a chemical imbalance, without medicine theres no way to think your way out of not being able to sleep, my thoughts don't "cause" me to not be able to sleep, my defective brain chemistry causes me to not be able to sleep. The symptoms of my illness only come into play when I go without sleep, any normal sleep deprived person would get just as crazy as I do without sleep, My psychotic episodes I used to have regularly before I got sober, always involved several days with little or no sleep, a couple times I quit my medicine and went two weeks with NO sleep, with predictable consequences; psych ward.

I'm not trying to go on and on about myself, and I can't speak for all other mental illnesses, but in my case, my illness is not caused by anything I have done wrong, unless you go back to doing drugs in the 80s. It has absolutely nothing to do with how I think, its pure and simple a sleep disorder, that cannot be treated by sleeping pills, so I have to take sleep inducing anti psychotics and anti depressants. Horrible stuff, but guess what Im successful, have my own business,I am very happy, don't have a lot of problems, but I do have a problem with someone trying to tell me that my thoughts are defective and need to be corrected, that's insulting, pure and simple.
18 years ago I made one of the most important decisions of my life and entered a local Cambodian Buddhist Temple as a temple boy and, for only 3 weeks, an actual Therevada Buddhist monk. I am not a scholar, great meditator, or authority on Buddhism, but Buddhism is something I love from the Bottom of my heart. It has taught me sobriety, morality, peace, and very importantly that my suffering is optional, and doesn't have to run my life. I hope to give back what little I can to the Buddhist community, sincerely former monk John

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Zenainder
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Re: Can an Ariya suffer from mental disease?

Post by Zenainder »

In hopes to contribute a meaningful post, I will say a few more things.

To those who suffer a "mental illness", however that may be defined, my thoughts are:

1. Continue therapy and take medications as directed by a psychian.
2. A majority of mental disorders that I know of usually have periods of calm (even if 5 minutes) my encouragement is to learn mindfulness during those "stable" states.
3. Continue the mindfulness through the disorder's "episodes" (or what have you).
4. Continue with the practice and cultivate insight, especially during "episodes".
5. If you haven't noticed it's basically the same for those without a "mental illness".
6. It is, of course, worth while to visit a sangha and receive guidance and support through the journey.

My observation is that we are all addicts in some respect, some worse than others. In the end, we do not have to be slaves to physical OR mental phenonom. And the chains are broken through the dawning of the truth within.

May all beings be happy and blissed,

Zen

Edit:

A final thought:
I say this with in mind that the disorder, may or may not, continue to arise, but what matters is the conditioned and cyclic behavior that occurs after they arise can be broken. Liberation, in my relative understanding, means regardless of what may arise grasping does not happen. It is important to understand that in and of itself thoughts are only as harmful as our addiction or aversion towards them (grasping) and what follows after.

We must continue a compassion for ourselves (and others) regardless of our relative state. We cannot go on hating any part of ourselves and ignorantly expect freedom through our aversion. Food for thought.
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