dzoki wrote:Sometimes it is better to let illness to manifest fully, because if you treat it, first you deprive yourself of opportunity to practice in unpleasant circumstances, which can enhance your practice and realisation and secondly you do not let that karma to purify fully.
Sometimes, being the keyword here. Oftentimes, it would from what I understand be better to do a practice—combined with Ayurveda or Tibetan Medicine—that is specifically for sending back provocations; as it is said that many illness are due to provocations, and not only to one's own negative karma alone.
Also, wouldn't you say that purification can come more-so from Mantras and from the practice itself, rather than purification always having to manifest as sickness? For example in Longchenpa's
Precious Treasury of Philosophical Systems, he wrote that Vajrayana really is the Path that has few difficulties and hardships. Of course each one's karma is different; so as they say, one's mileage may vary.
dzoki wrote:I meant this low hygiene thing for people who want to do a retreat whether in formal setting of a retreat center or on their own in some suitable place. City is not very conducive to retreat.
True. Although better to do it in the city than not at all, if necessary; which I'm quite sure you could agree with.
dzoki wrote:I think that the difficulties is what prevents people from taking up a life of a kusali. Our culture in general supports the idea that life must be only pleasant. Sickness is something totaly unwelcome and so is physical weakness, pain, old age etc. But all of these things come whether we want or not. And in retreat they do come a plenty. You get sick, you get also physicaly exhausted, you have pains, but this is actually good, it is a purification. A kusali type of practitioner should equally welcome all situations, bad or good. I think this is what we all should work on. I know several people who started a life of a retreatant but then left, when asked why, all of them say: "It was difficult." Of course it is difficult, everything is difficult in samsara, yet we go such legths to obtain living standards that any sickness or discomfort in retreat looks ridiculous in comparison to all those years of work that any regular person spends their life in.
Very true. Nonetheless, if someone is so sick or tired that they can't even sit up or stay awake despite their best efforts, then measures should be taken to at least be able to sit up and/or stay awake (Medicines, Teas, Sorig, Chulen, Dhutse, etc.).
Anyhow, your post is inspirational, and I agree with the essence of it. Thank you Dzoki, you wrote many things that helped to motivate me.