Tibetan Story of Healing ~ Downwind from Flowers

December 26, 2008

Several years ago in Seattle, Washington, there lived a 52-year old

Tibetan refugee, " Tenzin, " as I will call him, who was diagnosed with

one of the more curable forms of lymphoma. He was admitted to the

hospital and received his first dose of chemotherapy. But during the

treatment, this usually gentle man became extremely angry and upset.

He pulled the IV out of his arm and refused to cooperate. He shouted

at the nurses and became argumentative with everyone who came near

him. The doctors and nurses were baffled.

Then Tenzin's wife spoke to the hospital staff. She told them Tenzin

had been held as a political prisoner by the Chinese for 17 years.

They killed his first wife and repeatedly tortured and brutalized him

throughout his imprisonment. She told them that the hospital rules and

regulations, coupled with the chemotherapy treatments, gave Tenzin

horrible flashbacks of what had suffered at the hands of the Chinese.

" I know you mean to help him, " she said, " but he feels tortured by

your treatments. They are causing him to feel hatred inside—just like

he felt toward the Chinese. He would rather die than have to live with

the hatred he is now feeling. And, according to our belief, it is very

bad to have hatred in your heart at the time of death. He needs to be

able to pray and cleanse his heart. "

So the doctors discharged Tenzin and asked the hospice team to visit

him in his home. I was the hospice nurse assigned to his care. I

called a local representative from " Amnesty International " for advice.

He told me that the only way to heal the damage from torture is to

" talk it through. " " This person has lost his trust in humanity and

feels hope is impossible, " the man said. " If you are to help him, you

must find a way to give him hope. " But when I encouraged Tenzin to

talk about his experiences, he held up his hand and stopped me. He

said, " I must learn to love again if I am to heal my soul. Your job is

not to ask me questions. Your job is to teach me to love again. "

I took a deep breath. I asked him, " So, how can I help you love

again? " Tenzin immediately replied, " Sit down, drink my tea and eat my

cookies. " Tibetan tea is strong black tea laced with yak butter and

salt. It isn't easy to drink! But that is what I did. For several

weeks, Tenzin, his wife, and I sat together, drinking tea. We also

worked with his doctors to find ways to treat his physical pain. But

it was his spiritual pain that seemed to be lessening. Each time I

arrived, Tenzin was sitting cross-legged on his bed, reciting prayers

from his books. As time went on, he and his wife hung more and more

colorful " thankas, " Tibetan Buddhist banners, on the walls. The room

was fast becoming a beautiful, religious shrine.

When the spring came, I asked Tenzin what Tibetans do when they are

ill in the spring. He smiled brightly and said, " We sit downwind from

flowers. " I thought he must be speaking poetically. But Tenzin's words

were quite literal. He told me Tibetans sit downwind so they can be

dusted with the new blossoms' pollen that floats on the spring breeze.

They feel this new pollen is strong medicine. At first, finding enough

blossoms seemed a bit daunting. Then, one of my friends suggested that

Tenzin visit some of the local flower nurseries. I called the manager

of one of the nurseries and explained the situation. The manager's

initial response was: " You want to do what? " But when I explained the

request, the manager agreed.

So, the next weekend, I picked up Tenzin and his wife with their

provisions for the afternoon: black tea, butter, salt, cups, cookies,

prayer beads and prayer books. I dropped them off at the nursery and

assured them I would return at 5:00.

The following weekend, Tenzin and his wife visited another nursery.

The third weekend, they went to yet another nursery.

The fourth week, I began to get calls from the nurseries inviting

Tenzin and his wife to come again. One of the managers said, " We've

got a new shipment of nicotiana coming in and some wonderful fuchsias

and oh, yes! Some great daphne. I know they would love the scent of

that daphne! And I almost forgot! We have some new lawn furniture that

Tenzin and his wife might enjoy. "

Later that day, I got a call from the second nursery saying that they

had colorful wind socks that would help Tenzin predict where the wind

was blowing. Pretty soon, the nurseries were competing for Tenzin's

visits. People began to know and care about the Tibetan couple. The

nursery employees started setting out the lawn furniture in the

direction of the wind. Others would bring out fresh hot water for

their tea. Some of the regular customers would leave their wagons of

flowers near the two of them. At the end of the summer, Tenzin

returned to his doctor for another CT scan to determine the extent of

the spread of the cancer. But the doctor could find no evidence of

cancer at all. He was dumbfounded. He told Tenzin that he just

couldn't explain it.

Tenzin lifted his finger and said, " I know why the cancer has gone

away. It could no longer live in a body that is filled with love. When

I began to feel all the compassion from the hospice people, from the

nursery employees, and all those people who wanted to know about me, I

started to change inside. Now, I feel fortunate to have had the

opportunity to heal in this way. Doctor, please don't think that your

medicine is the only cure. Sometimes compassion can cure cancer, as

well. " ~ by Lee Paton 05/11/01

December 27, 2008

Namaste

Amarnath. . .thanks for sharing this one. . .truly beautiful. . .and so

powerful. .

Aum Amriteswaryai Namaha

marci

On Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 1:03 PM, amarnath <anatol_zinc wrote:

>

> Several years ago in Seattle, Washington, there lived a 52-year old

> Tibetan refugee, " Tenzin, " as I will call him, who was diagnosed with

> one of the more curable forms of lymphoma. He was admitted to the

> hospital and received his first dose of chemotherapy. But during the

> treatment, this usually gentle man became extremely angry and upset.

> He pulled the IV out of his arm and refused to cooperate. He shouted

> at the nurses and became argumentative with everyone who came near

> him. The doctors and nurses were baffled.

>

> Then Tenzin's wife spoke to the hospital staff. She told them Tenzin

> had been held as a political prisoner by the Chinese for 17 years.

> They killed his first wife and repeatedly tortured and brutalized him

> throughout his imprisonment. She told them that the hospital rules and

> regulations, coupled with the chemotherapy treatments, gave Tenzin

> horrible flashbacks of what had suffered at the hands of the Chinese.

>

> " I know you mean to help him, " she said, " but he feels tortured by

> your treatments. They are causing him to feel hatred inside—just like

> he felt toward the Chinese. He would rather die than have to live with

> the hatred he is now feeling. And, according to our belief, it is very

> bad to have hatred in your heart at the time of death. He needs to be

> able to pray and cleanse his heart. "

>

> So the doctors discharged Tenzin and asked the hospice team to visit

> him in his home. I was the hospice nurse assigned to his care. I

> called a local representative from " Amnesty International " for advice.

> He told me that the only way to heal the damage from torture is to

> " talk it through. " " This person has lost his trust in humanity and

> feels hope is impossible, " the man said. " If you are to help him, you

> must find a way to give him hope. " But when I encouraged Tenzin to

> talk about his experiences, he held up his hand and stopped me. He

> said, " I must learn to love again if I am to heal my soul. Your job is

> not to ask me questions. Your job is to teach me to love again. "

> I took a deep breath. I asked him, " So, how can I help you love

> again? " Tenzin immediately replied, " Sit down, drink my tea and eat my

> cookies. " Tibetan tea is strong black tea laced with yak butter and

> salt. It isn't easy to drink! But that is what I did. For several

> weeks, Tenzin, his wife, and I sat together, drinking tea. We also

> worked with his doctors to find ways to treat his physical pain. But

> it was his spiritual pain that seemed to be lessening. Each time I

> arrived, Tenzin was sitting cross-legged on his bed, reciting prayers

> from his books. As time went on, he and his wife hung more and more

> colorful " thankas, " Tibetan Buddhist banners, on the walls. The room

> was fast becoming a beautiful, religious shrine.

>

> When the spring came, I asked Tenzin what Tibetans do when they are

> ill in the spring. He smiled brightly and said, " We sit downwind from

> flowers. " I thought he must be speaking poetically. But Tenzin's words

> were quite literal. He told me Tibetans sit downwind so they can be

> dusted with the new blossoms' pollen that floats on the spring breeze.

> They feel this new pollen is strong medicine. At first, finding enough

> blossoms seemed a bit daunting. Then, one of my friends suggested that

> Tenzin visit some of the local flower nurseries. I called the manager

> of one of the nurseries and explained the situation. The manager's

> initial response was: " You want to do what? " But when I explained the

> request, the manager agreed.

> So, the next weekend, I picked up Tenzin and his wife with their

> provisions for the afternoon: black tea, butter, salt, cups, cookies,

> prayer beads and prayer books. I dropped them off at the nursery and

> assured them I would return at 5:00.

>

> The following weekend, Tenzin and his wife visited another nursery.

> The third weekend, they went to yet another nursery.

> The fourth week, I began to get calls from the nurseries inviting

> Tenzin and his wife to come again. One of the managers said, " We've

> got a new shipment of nicotiana coming in and some wonderful fuchsias

> and oh, yes! Some great daphne. I know they would love the scent of

> that daphne! And I almost forgot! We have some new lawn furniture that

> Tenzin and his wife might enjoy. "

>

> Later that day, I got a call from the second nursery saying that they

> had colorful wind socks that would help Tenzin predict where the wind

> was blowing. Pretty soon, the nurseries were competing for Tenzin's

> visits. People began to know and care about the Tibetan couple. The

> nursery employees started setting out the lawn furniture in the

> direction of the wind. Others would bring out fresh hot water for

> their tea. Some of the regular customers would leave their wagons of

> flowers near the two of them. At the end of the summer, Tenzin

> returned to his doctor for another CT scan to determine the extent of

> the spread of the cancer. But the doctor could find no evidence of

> cancer at all. He was dumbfounded. He told Tenzin that he just

> couldn't explain it.

>

> Tenzin lifted his finger and said, " I know why the cancer has gone

> away. It could no longer live in a body that is filled with love. When

> I began to feel all the compassion from the hospice people, from the

> nursery employees, and all those people who wanted to know about me, I

> started to change inside. Now, I feel fortunate to have had the

> opportunity to heal in this way. Doctor, please don't think that your

> medicine is the only cure. Sometimes compassion can cure cancer, as

> well. " ~ by Lee Paton 05/11/01

>

December 27, 2008

Aum Amriteswaryayi Namaha

Namah Shivaya Amarnath

Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing.

Santhosh

Ammachi , " amarnath " <anatol_zinc wrote: