In Section 5 of Sutra, The Buddha said, “If a person has many offenses and does not repent of them, but cuts off all thought of repentance, the offenses will engulf him just as water returning to the sea will gradually become deeper and wider. If a person has offenses and, realizing they are wrong, reforms and does good, the offenses will dissolve by themselves, just as a sick person who begins to perspire will gradually be cured.” The modern world is crying for spirituality. The extreme materialism had made the Earth more and more like a living hell. In addition to the normal suffers of sickness, old ages, humanity are now constantly under the threat of nuclear wars, regional conflicts, pandemic, mental disorders, nature disasters of all kinds are all the manifestation of human psyches. Our insatiable desire had caused many kills not only in wars, but also in fishing, animals kills, nature resources exploitation. Lacking awareness of the importance of spiritual practices, Humanity had created so much collective karma that turn back to hunt us. To add salt to the wound, we suffer so much and do not understand why. 佛言：人有众过，而不自悔，顿息其心；罪来赴身，如水归海，渐成深广。若人有过，自解知非，改恶行善；罪自消灭，如病得汗，渐有痊损耳。
While I talked a lot about Buddhism, I have to admit that I am only at the stage of intellectual study, I have not practice enough to personally testify the state of mind described in the sutra or attained by many achievers. But I have strong convictions in the teaching, partly because I have been exposed to these teachings directly or indirectly since a kid in my life, partly is because the last couple of years I get to know many highly respectful Buddhist masters well known in my hometown. I also have to be honest with you, I have difficulty convinced some of my family members. But looking back, I felt much blessed for the mental struggles I went through in the last 10 year plus to experienced the growth and expansion of my consciousness, I came out the tunnel and became a better and happier person after studying Buddhism. And I am grateful for my family and the many friends that gave me the support along the way. So i wish to share what I learned to the many people who are still suffering.
And when I pieced together many instances, small things happened over my life, Buddhist teachings make even more sense to me. Studying the history of Buddhism development in China, you will find so many legendary masters and their stories deeply ingrained into ancient Chinese traditions. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were deep in the blood of Chinese psyche, although people many not conscious of it. Those teachings were reflected in medicine, literature, architecture, social customs, tribal rituals, historical education method, government laws and officer selections, etc etc throughout the history. Those teachings provided the ancient Chinese a stable mind in handling many challenging and stressful period in the last two thousand years. But ever since Xinghai Revolution in 1911, the classical education methods stopped, then the Western science, Marxism and Culture Revolution one by one took over the modern people’s mentality. The mental disorder had sharply increased and nowadays had become one of the serious issues threaten the stability of modern Chinese society.
According to news source in 2019 from Freedom Asia Radiostation, mental disorder in China is now 17% of the population. 中国精神障碍患病率高达17%. This number was confirmed by borgenproject.org, which reported that between 2001 and 2005, the prevalence of mental illness among the Chinese population was 17.5%. While the prevalence alone is striking, the lack of individuals seeking treatment provides a more accurate picture of mental health stigma in China. Of individuals with a diagnosis of a mental disorder, 91.8% never seek professional help. Besides stigma, there is the issue of access. Mental health most heavily affects the most disadvantaged in regard to socioeconomic status. China has a highly regulated and centralized healthcare system, but mental health services make up only 2.35% of the total health budget. 2013年9月21日，第五届中欧国际工商学院卫生政策上海圆桌会议召开。本次会议的主题是：精神健康，谁来负责？
A very recent published book sold at Amazon called 被精神病：中国精神病乱象调查报告: Being Mentally … Misdiagnosis of Mental Illness in China by Chinese Human Right workers Mr. Gao revealed the many occurrences of people being forced into mental disorder. 人权工作者高健先生不避艰险，殚精竭虑，历时数年，花费了大量心血，编写了一本关于中国”被精神病”现象的调研访谈文集。作者通过对大量相关案件当事人的采访和调查、解析，对中国各地普遍存在的”被精神病”现象进行了深入地揭示，并对这一严重侵犯人权和人的尊严的社会政治现象的成因、表现形式、演变特征提出了清晰的见解，为世人提供了一份珍贵的一手记录，是中国人权领域的一个很有价值的调研成果和资料。
Mental health is the foundation for the well-being and effective functioning of individuals. It is more than the absence of a mental disorder; it is the ability to think, learn, and understand one’s emotions and the reactions of others. Mental health is a state of balance, both within and with the environment. Physical, psychological, social, cultural, spiritual and other interrelated factors participate in producing this balance. There are inseparable links between mental and physical health. Depression and anxiety are the two most prevalent mental health disorders in China. WHO estimate 54 million Chinese suffer from depression, and 41 million Chinese suffer from anxiety disorder. And worldwide, one forth of the population suffers from some kind of mental disorder. 世界卫生组织的统计全球范围内终生患病率是四分之一.
In United State, the situation is no better. According to the report publishing data sets gathered in 2018-19, which means the data trends do not reflect experiences and trends from the Coronavirus pandemic.
- 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
- 1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
- 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
Buddhism is one of the gateway to guide people out of all these suffering and ignorance. We should open our mind to let in the infinite wisdom light of compassionate Amitabha Buddha, there is a way of Pure land through The Great King of Dharma for our future if we are awakened and determined to seek for self salvation. Please read the article The Door of Mindfulness of the Buddha.
Master Husan Hua also remind us that The Buddhadharma Is in Practice, Not in Talking.