What Are The Three Types of Sickness (Part 3)
This type of sickness is the worst among the three. Medication is useless because the reason of this sickness does not come from either physical sickness or karmic creditors. In this case, where does this sickness come from? It comes from our karma. The Buddha told us to repent our karma sincerely from our hearts and never commit the same mistake again. This is true repentance. If we show our repentance truthfully, our karma will be eradicated and eventually, our health situation will improve. We have to do it, and no one can help us. We are responsible for our own karma.
Now, I would like to tell you a story of two persons – Devadatta and the King Asoka. Devadatta was one of the Buddha’s disciples who fancied taking the Buddha’s place. Each time he plotted to assassinate the Buddha; his conspiracy turned out to be a failure. The King Asoka, who seized the throne from his father, put his father in prison and starved him to death. The King Asoka also invited in the plots of assassinating the Buddha.
One night, Davadatta passed away in pain and due to his grave sins, he fell into the Hell. King Asoka’s body was riddled with sores that made him suffered. One of his ministers by the name Jiva advised the King Asoka to seek help from the Buddha. The King Asoka accepted the advice half-heartedly because he reproached himself for starving his father to death and trying to kill the Buddha. At this moment, he heard the voice of his father transmitted through the air and said, “You should go before the Buddha to repent in utmost sincerity, otherwise, you will fall into the hell with no hope of coming out at all.” When he saw the Buddha before him, the King Asoka sobbed in pain and knelt in repentance for his sins. The true repentance saved the King Asoka from his sickness and also, save him from falling into the hell.
Let bygone be bygone and we had to start afresh. Whatever mistakes we have created, we must turn over a new leaf and do not allow ourselves to create the same mistake again in the future. This is how we repent our karma.
