Meditation: Healing the Healers
Myanmar is going through a tremendously difficult period these days, and it is difficult to imagine how other societies could ever manage the daily horrors that so many Burmese have had to become accustomed to. As so many now in this struggle come from a background of Buddhist meditation or monasticism, it is quite relevant to try to understand how these practices are informing their work and health. However as conventional media reporting on these events often don’t have a deeper understanding of the history of meditative traditions found in Myanmar, this angle is often missed. This is partly what made the following part of the conversation with Dr. Troy so very meaningful. As a doctor who has seen many terrible things this past year, and had to hide undercover for his own survival, I wondered about what he was doing for self-care. In answering, we ended up exploring his history of meditation practice, and how that was coming to support him in this most difficult time. I also encourage you to take a listen to the full interview with Dr. Troy.
“Meditation promotes thinking, because we have to make critical decisions in a short time, especially in emergency cases. Every second is valuable.”
Host: You talked about how you've been motivated by your oath, by the unity of the people, and by the hope for democracy. So these are things that motivate you, but what I wonder is how do you take care of yourself when you're facing these terrible circumstances, day after day, and you're looking after the well-being of others? What have you been doing to look after your own well-being?
Dr. Troy: Yeah, I think that's the peer-to-peer support by the medical community. The medical community in Myanmar is very united, so we feel that if someone from our medical community was insulted, it is insulting to every one of us. We feel like we are one. It gives psychological support.
Host: Well, that's great, that's great to know that that's taking place in some form. Are there any things that you do personally, that look after your own self-care? Like I've spoken to others who pursue some type of meditation or some quiet time or some aroma therapy or various things they do in their own home, that just give themself that little bit of peace? Is there anything that you've pursued?
Dr. Troy: I couldn't focus on mindfulness because there are many things inside my mind going on, and many thoughts about what's happening, or about all the tragic incidents that happened recently. So it's really difficult to focus on mindfulness at this time. For me personally, I try to speak with some colleagues who share similar interests in the pursuit of this mission. And I think that's the only thing that can psychologically support me, this kind of talk.
Host: So you had a history or a background and mindfulness before the coup, but you're not really able to follow that practice now. Is that right?
Dr. Troy: Yeah. Meditation can make you peaceful and not have negative thoughts. And you can have great insights. I used to go to many meditation centers, and also gave volunteer medical service at those centers every year. I liked to go to those centers and meditate myself. That’s what I did every new year in Myanmar. Due to the coup, it didn't happen, and I didn't have a chance to go to that. Now, I cannot even focus myself at home.
Host: And what kind of meditation tradition or lineage or teachings did you follow?
Dr. Troy: Meditation is simple. You just try to focus on breathing in and breathing out, and nothing else. The mind is such a very interesting structure of the body because it can have millions of thoughts in a second, but I try to focus on the breath, which makes me more insightful than focusing on my everyday life. But in reality, it's not that easy. It sounds very simple and straightforward. But in reality, it's not that easy. It takes a lot of mental power to focus to keep you focused in this short time.
Host: What type of method did you follow?
Dr. Troy: Personally, I practice Mogok. You don't have to focus only on the breathing. One teacher said if you feel the nervousness of your legs during your meditation, you can refocus on the legs. You don't have to force yourself to just focus on the breath, you can also focus on the numbness of the legs, and if the numbness goes away, then you can refocus it into the breath again. So that's what I like about Mogok, because others try to force the participants to just focus only on the breath. But it's really difficult to do so.
Host: This is Mogok, the paticcasamuppada, where part of your practice is studying and trying to understand the law of cause and effect as well.
Dr. Troy: Well, I’m a doctor, and so critical thinking and logical thought is really important to me. Meditation promotes that thinking, because we have to make critical decisions in a short time, especially in emergency cases, we don't have much time to think and decide. Every second is valuable. So we have to make the most appropriate decision in a short time and the meditation can help in doing so.
Host: You mentioned how during the coup, you're not really able to follow any meditation practice because your mind just simply doesn't have stability. But before the coup, you had a background in going to a number of Mogok retreats and committing yourself to the method, so even though you're not able to practice now, do you find that your background of practice before the coup has come to help your work now?
Dr. Troy: Yes, I think that made me calm. And continuing to focus on my thoughts in pursuit of this mission, even after facing those agonizing tragedies, I can continue this journey with full attention and focus. And I think that's because of those mental trainings and those habits from the meditation that I did in the past.
Host: That's really beautiful. Can you give any example of some situation that you faced after the coup that was particularly, I don't know, dangerous, or difficult or challenging or complicated? And you felt that you were able to handle that situation because of your background in meditation? Is there any specific example that comes to mind that illustrates that?
Dr. Troy: Yes, totally. One incident is when my colleague was abducted at the charter clinic, and I was in shock. I didn't know what to do at that time, I was literally frozen. My whole body was frozen, quite literally. My mind was blank. I couldn't make any decision at the time. But I tried to remind myself to refocus, knowing that if I'm standing like that, I will also get abducted together with my colleague. But if I can refocus myself, and continue those humanitarian aids that was loved by my colleague, I can help him from the outside. So I tried to make some logical thinking, even in that shocking period. And that's thanks to all the training methods from the meditation.