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From
time to time people with mental health issues join the AtR group. So
I'll share some of my thoughts on this matter. First of all, these
people should not practice alone without guidance. They should not try
to do the inquiry and meditations on AtR blog especially without direct
guidance of a qualified teacher. This is because these meditations or
inquiries can be destabilizing on an already unstable mind if done
incorrectly. Depending on conditions, light shamatha or mindfulness
practice may be more beneficial than inquiry heavy forms of practices.
But is spirituality of no value to these persons? No, in fact it can be
quite important, especially guidance and help from a qualified master.
Unfortunately I will not be able to offer any help on these matters.
Afflicted persons should find an experienced master in their vicinity.
I
hold the same view as Yin Ling's (who is a Western medical doctor) and
Acarya Malcolm Smith's (besides being a Dzogchen teacher, is also a
trained and qualified Tibetan medicine practitioner) views, mental
health issues like schizophrenia are often, or can be, spirit induced
disorders. They are not just 'hallucinations' of the brain, these
people may be accessing spirits of other realms. By all means,
psychiatric help or medications are still necessary. But working with a
qualified and experienced dharma teacher is also important.
This reddit reply by VulcanVisions advices well:
https://www.reddit.com/.../could_people_with_mental.../
This reddit reply by VulcanVisions advices well:
https://www.reddit.com/.../could_people_with_mental.../
1 day agor/Buddhism•Posted byu/curemydepression
Could people with mental health issues become enlightened?

Hi,
I was wondering whether people with mental health issues such as
sociopathy and psychopathy could become enlightened. I think it isnt
possible, since to become enlightened the person must experience
feelings and suffering to overcome this in the first place. Would like
to know your opinions.
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Tibetan BuddhistVulcanVisions· 1 day ago
I am Tibetan and Buddhist, I also work in mental health in the West, I will give you my thoughts on this:
We
are born into physical, mortal bodies, which are mechanical in a sense
and as a result of samsaric existence, anything can go wrong with
these bodies
From
a neurochemical perspective, psychopathy is just one more thing that
can go wrong with these bodies. It represents another suffering of
samsara, another obstacle on the path to liberation, making awakening
more difficult.
Such
things are determined by our karma, carried over from our endless
rebirths - whilst beyond our comprehension, there is a reason we are
where we are in this moment.
Having
psychopathy or schizophrenia makes the path more difficult, as does
any illness such as cancer or diabetes, but it does not make it
impossible.
Several
of the clients I work with have various forms of schizophrenia, and
several of them are practicing Buddhist - there is nothing to stop them
practicing.
Now,
as a religious Buddhist of the Nyingma school, I must say that I do
not agree with the Western notions of mental illness. Whereas Western
medicine holds that "patients" are ill and that doctors are "above"
them in a sense in terms of being "healthy", I do not agree.
Western
philosophy as a whole has an air of superiority, and anything that
does not pass its tests - such as firm atheism, scientism, and
rationality - are immediately rejected as primitive or stupid.
Whilst
my clients hallucinating emaciated ghosts is interpreted in the
medical model as a neurochemical brain imbalance, I personally believe
that the client may be experiencing an attack by a preta, which in the
Buddhist world can harass and feed from human emotions.
Either way, the treatment is the same - we accept our situation, learn about dukkha, and practice the dharma.
I
myself had what in the West was called "hallucinations" of spirits,
and Western medicine and therapy did nothing to treat this - when I
reconnected with my Rinpoche and fully committed to the dharma, daily
meditation practice made the "hallucinations" go away. I believe because
I began to purify my bad karma.
Apologies if this was a bit long, but hopefully made sense to you 

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Yin
Ling shared before her encounters in her medical practices with
schizophrenia people without Buddhist religious background but described
classic Buddhist description of pretas behavior in their visions, such
as "a small head and big stomach, and likes to inhale smell from her
food", and many other various interesting and resembling descriptions.
Also
related reading, something I shared before, although this is not the
Buddhist way of dealing with these issues but it's still an interesting
read: https://uplift.love/the-shamanic-view-of-mental-illness/
The Shamanic View of Mental Illness | UPLIFT
The Shamanic View of Mental Illness | UPLIFTUPLIFT.LOVEThe Shamanic View of Mental Illness | UPLIFT
Labels: Mental Illness, Schizophrenia | 

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