How much can our awareness really contribute to our well being? Is it true that we create our reality? According to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, consciousness can contribute to longevity.
He has said, "There is no doubt that our consciousness and all our experiences are contingent upon our body, so the human mind and the human body are in some sense inextricable. Yet at the same time, I feel that research seems to point to the possibility that the human mind also has a power of its own which can be enhanced through reflection and meditation, or training of the mind.
Furthermore, it is well known that there is a growing recognition within modern medicine of the power of the will in the healing process. A person's willpower affects his physiology. How is willpower developed? It can be through thinking something through and discovering the reasonable grounds for one's understanding. It can also be through meditation. In whichever way it is developed, it is now acknowledged that the will can effect physical change."
This teaching of the Embodiment of Compassion, if applied on a mass scale, might change the world. If the will can effect physical change in one person, then 10,000 sincere prayers for peace ought to produce a tremendous result. And maybe this is why the world has not blown itself entirely to bits by now.
Knowing the nature of consciousness helps us to strengthen our resolve, helps us to bring about transformation in our lives.
His Holiness noted, “The letter sent to me said this: 'You left Tibet for India and now you do service for the Buddha dharma all over the world. We are your followers in Tibet, we are constantly waiting for you to come back to Tibet, we cannot control the tears rolling down our faces. So we are anticipating the day when you will be once again enthroned in the very throne upheld by the snow lions in the Potala Palace”.
In response to this heartfelt plea, His Holiness said, "This letter evoked such emotion in me that I am determined to live a long life for the welfare of those people who have placed so much trust in me. When I reflect on the first part of my life, I feel that I have done something, relatively, for the benefit of other beings. Now my job is almost over. But in Tibet people have placed such trust in me that if I die now it would be totally inappropriate. I should live longer. So please make prayers that I will do so."
Prayers affect consciousness and consciousness in turn is transformed. Longevity, for the benefit of others, is worth wishing for.
