Some Thoughts on Depression
Neuro chemical imbalance arises from the body. The type of body arises from karma. What body and all the problems with it and inherited diseases and imbalances are all from karma not illusionary thinking. What body we are going to take birth in is 100% due to karmic imprints/instincts/residuals. How can some phenomena arise from karma and some don’t. The trigger factor is your mind entering that body in which your karma has led you to it. There is no spiritual indictment for listing the reason why depression arises on an ultimate level. So if your depression comes from: 1. neuro chemical imbalance-get treatment 2. From childhood abuse, get counseling. 3. From anger and expectations- talk about it-stop your expectations of others-accept the situation and move on. 4. From being hurt/cheated/used-talk and counseling-letting go 5. And many combinations of the above and more. Whether your depression arises from 1-5, is the temporary environmental point at this time, but if you do not have the karma to experience depression, then no matter what the environment is, you will not. Of course there is treatment for it, whether the treatment will be effective or not, will depend on how strong the karma is. Hence doing certain practices combined with treatment will be of tremendous help as I have seen in my students in the last 20 years.
Before doing practices, a teacher must mention the ultimate causes then offer the practices by tradition. Mentioning the causes of depression IS NOT AN INDICTMENT so do not assume it to be due to your projections. But simply a open and kind illustration of the real cause to help people start to see it another way and to take responsibility for those who have not. To not be a victim. So when I take the time to explain, I give the cause and the result, not so much all the in betweens because the in betweens are different and have thousands of combinations.
Example, from deep ignorance arises attachments. From attachments arise the grasping. From grasping you crave objects. From objects, you acquire, you want and demand a sense of permanence. When not permanent, you wish to ‘force’ it to be permanent-then all the actions to force something to be permanent makes all the karmas arise. The arisal of the karmas are stored. From this storage, a trigger point is necessary from the environments we take birth in. When triggered, the latent karma opens. When opened we experience. The experience can lead to stronger reactions and even more and more accumulation of karma like a snowball effect down a snow mountain…by the time the snow ball reaches the bottom of the mountain, it can be an avalanche.
The dharma is not easy to listen to…because some people take it as criticism. But Dharma should not be just feel good only for the moment but for deeper contemplations. When we learn more and understand deeper, it is not always pleasant, but our ignorance, attachments are not one with us…it can be removed…before removal we must recognize it-pleasant or unpleasant-once we recognize it, we can learn the methods to remove it..once removed eventually, all afflictions of mind and body will be removed. This is no indictment or condemnation, just a dharma talk. None of my dharma talk whether pleasant to hear for the moment or not, should not be taken as offense, but for deeper contemplations and knowledge. It is meant to benefit and that is why I spend my time here hoping to benefit those I will never meet and far away.
Tsem Rinpoche
Thank you so much for this blog writing. Very useful for me as I have experienced several episodes of depressions. I think the causes are my own unreasonable projections and expectations. In addition to the habbit of reliving unpleasant experiences over and over again.
I found that purging my projections, expectations, and the habbit of reliving projection over and over again is so painful like purging bad blood. But once removed, I think the effort is really worth it
.
Much love
Valentina
Thank you so much for this blog. When I read your blog , it is giving me so much about how to contemplate deeper my difficulties and let go of it.
I am forever grateful for your precious guidance on depression.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you so much for providing a beautiful teaching on depression and how it is not permanent in it is nature as well as providing the antidote and getting it solved. It is very clear…I will share this to as much people as possible as i know there are many people out there who suffer from depression.
Once again, Thank you so much as this is a really powerful and useful antidote for my own depression as well as many others…
I use to hate the idea of thinking that my depression or my problems were due to karma. I found so much comfort in playing other, since it takes the responsibility away from me. Now, I’ve realized that when I accept my depression or any state as due to my karma I can face it better since it is in my power to better myself. No one can fix my problems but me. Thank you for your guidance Rinpoche.
Rinpoche,
Thank you for your time talking about Dharma and depression. I have also written about depression from the perspective of a student who has suffered with depression and also watched others suffer from it:
http://walkingthepath.info/?p=834
If writing it benefits only one other than myself then I am happy.
Thank you for this beautiful teaching.
Depression… It’s been something ongoing here in my life for many years.
Some days it feels like I am living in an insane asylum, all the crazy, nutty “people” (just thoughts, really) living in my head. I guess it might just be echoes. From where? Must be cause and effect. Cause and effect means emptiness. Sometimes it helps me, to examine the depression voices/thoughts/feelings like that. Also to question, do they have a shape? A colour? Where do they go to? It is just a series of mind moments with no owner. Etc.
It’s very interesting and helpful, Buddhist Logic and Psychology.
I wish I knew more of this kind of practical information in order to practise better. Buddhism provides many practical tools for working with our states of mind, from focus and insight meditation techniques to logical refutation of the lies our minds tell us to beautiful practices that put us in touch with Enlightened Beings who can help and inspire us with their amazing wisdom qualities and immense compassionate will and power to help us develop the same qualities.
These are a few of the things I have discovered and have appreciated in the last few months since I became interested once more in Dharma after a break of quite some years. It’s been tremendously practical in dealing with all the craziness, the self blame, the depression, the self hate, the fear, the anger … etc., etc. It’s ongoing. I’m a work in progress, as they say.
It’s very hard living with depression and other afflictions. Realistically speaking, I can’t expect massive changes in a matter of months after roughly 18 years or so of living with depression and other afflictions in this lifetime, but I can do my best according to my capacity every day or as much as I am able, to make a new, better future by creating the causes for happiness, by planting the seeds that will ripen as happiness in future. Depression is not intrinsic to our minds and it IS possible to become a happy, realised, loving, useful person who can help others. Being a beginner, I don’t know much yet but am trying to learn all the basics and gradually learning how to practise.
Depression is tricky because one can take failures on the Path as a stick to beat oneself and make one feel bad and even more depressed if one is not careful. “I’m Bad” is one of the worst enemies on my Path, in my opinion, because he is a big fat liar and thief of time to develop my virtues and decrease my afflictions! lol In fact, he is utterly useless! There’s absolutely nothing he can do to improve a situation, that I am aware of. And he hampers things as soon as he arises and I react. So, best to keep moving forward and not cling or react to him at all; it’s a two way street in the sense it also takes me to hang on to him when he calls whereas if he just passes through it’s like a whispy cloud in the sky blowing past overhead and no rain. That seems to be the best way I know how to manage him and his companions for the time being. I hope to learn more.
Many humble thanks to all my Teachers for helping to deal with this crazy mind. I wish You all Long, Long, Long Life, GREAT HEALTH, and Perfect and Quick manifestation of all your wishes, Forever. May we never be separate in all my lives and may I, too, accomplish the Path and remain until Samsara is totally free of suffering and its causes, and all beings established in the state of Unexcelled Perfect Enlightenment.
~Some thoughts from a beginner who experiences depression, offered in the hope that they might be helpful to others who also suffer. Please forgive any mistakes due to my own ignorance/lack of knowledge and experience.
“Depression is impermanent and not my true self.” : )
Shelly Tai on 23may2011
Firstly I have to said thanks to Rinpoche for giving us so much dharma teaching, because of the teaching it has help me to overcome m problems. Now I be able to deal with any problems more easily and contemplate it and come out with the solution by using dharma.At last I wish I will have the merit to continue m dharma journey by benefiting myself and others. Once again I would like to said thank you Rinpoche.
Thanks Tulku Rinpoche…..i learn something from here in regards to depression….
thanks…