Healing in a temple stay

In an article published in the British Medical Journal May 20021(1), Dr Raguram writes of his research findings of psychiatric patients taking part in a temple stay in a healing temple in India. His research findings showed that a brief stay at one of the healing temples in South India improved objective measures of clinical psychopathology. Dr Raguram concludes that this is because of the supportive and non-threatening environment and this was in the absence of any healing rituals.

I find this study to be of some interest as there is anecdotal evidence to support Dr Raguram’s research coming from other temple stays in other parts of Asia particularly Thailand and China. It is a very common comment from people involved in staying at a Chinese Buddhist temple at which I am retreat facilitator that their stay was – and I quote from the evaluation sheets issued at the end of their stay – “refreshing”, “a sense of deep peace and rest”, “inspiring”, “healing” and one reported that for him it was “life changing.” I have always been naturally pleased at such comments but it has not been until I read of Dr Raguram’s research that I began to wonder at what deeper benefits there may be from a temple stay. Likewise in the temple at which I am facilitator, there are no specific healing rituals, although participants often voluntarily attend the chanting of either the morning or evening liturgy.

Of particular interest was the comparison of scores on brief psychiatric rating scale subscales on arrival and departure from the temple. Disturbance in thinking- Arrival:12.45(3.21), Departure- 9.81(4.42), tValue 3.701, Pvalue: 0.001. Anxious Depression – Arrival: 7.32 (5.09), Departure: 6.58 (4.74), tValue : 2.101, Pvalue:0.044

There were no comparison groups or rigorous double blind research methods however the findings suggest that the temple has a role to play in mental health recovery and mental healing. Of course, any quiet and supportive environment may have yielded similar results – perhaps. Nonetheless the comments of participants at our temple stay here in China would suggest that other quiet places did not have the same effect for the worried well. I guess I leave it to the readers to come to their own conclusions or to put it to the test and try a temple stay for themselves. Then, tell me the results. Nonetheless it would seem that a Buddhist temple nestled in a bamboo valley or atop a mountain might have more healing qualities than meets the eye.

1. BMJ 2002;325:38–40,Traditional community resources for mental health: a report of temple healing from India
R Raguram, A Venkateswaran, Jayashree Ramakrishna, Mitchell G Weiss

Mindfulness and Anxiety - Stop Running from the Wind

Once upon a time in old China a Buddhist Master caught sight of a man running down the road with all his might. He looked exhausted and frantic. “What are you running from?” inquired the Master. “I am running from the wind”, exclaimed the man. “Oh, there is nothing to fear then. Just sit still and it will pass you by”, returned the master. This is a simple enough parable but speaks deeply of Mindfulness and anxiety.

We often spend a huge amount of time and energy running from things. In fact it is a huge problem for society and is in endemic proportion. In our attempts to out run our fear, painful thoughts and feelings, loneliness and unhappiness our methods only end up creating far more suffering. Addictions provide an obvious example. In the attempt to avoid boredom, pain, loneliness, anger and sadness the addict only gets himself into more despair in the long term. As a result of his behaviour he creates guilt, isolation which creates even more loneliness, financial loss which creates even more despair. It is a vicious cycle. We don’t need to be the stereotypic addict to be in this cycle.

Anxiety disorder is another example. It is not the anxiety which creates anxiety disorder. After all, anxiety is a normal emotion which we all experience. At the core of anxiety is avoidance – a life of trying to avoid or get rid of anxiety which in turn creates even more anxiety. This is at the core of a panic attack.

In Mindfulness Training we learn to accept and even give space to unpleasant or painful emotions or thoughts. Mindfulness Training teaches us to accept them for what they are – just thoughts. This is not the same as avoiding or even tolerating unpleasant thoughts. Even tolerating can create a struggle. Many therapies aim at symptom reduction or eradication. The problem here is that we will always be “checking” to see is the symptom is going or gone thus creating what we are trying to get rid of – the anxiety!

At the heart of Mindfulness Training is giving space for the anxiety to be. We are able to stand back out of the struggle as if we are the spectators of a boxing match. We watch the fight but we are not part of it being punched up by the thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is about breathing into the anxiety and giving it space, naming it, watching it like some creature from out of space but never giving in to it.

If we try to run form our anxiety we will exhaust ourselves like the man running from the wind. The old Master was right. Sit still, breathe, observe and it will pass you by.