Thought for Sunday on Lepers Spirituality (share in Eng,Sp,Fr,Ger,It)
Tibetan Buddhism teaches a wonderful technique called tonglen that based on taking away suffering and giving blessings upon the breath. Tonglen practice actually began spreading in Tibet among hopeless lepers. Even if a wealthy person contracted leprosy, they would be thrown out into the street to live with other lepers because the disease was so infectious and dreaded. One day, they are drinking out of fine, thin china teacups, and the next day, they were cast into the street to live among the beggars. With no cure available, disfigured, shamed, and unaccustomed to living life as a beggar; life was extremely difficult. When others noticed that these beggars did not look as pathetic as usual, they wondered, ‘why aren’t the poor suffering lepers as miserable as they used to be?’ This was a secret reason; a new spiritual practice that was being passed among the lepers, which not only caused great changes in their attitude, but many lepers actually were improved in their health. It seems ...