Dharma Jewel

For Pacifying Depression Immediately

by Doug Remington

[Samyutta Nikaya, Part II, Chapter IX,12 The Jackal (2)]

While dwelling at Savatthy, the Buddha said, “Bhikkhus, (monks) did you hear an old jackal howling at the flush of dawn?”

“Yes, venerable sir.”

“There may be some gratitude and thankfulness in that old jackal, but there is no gratitude and thankfulness in a certain person here claiming to be a follower of the Sakyan scion (my disciple).” &366 25

“Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will be grateful and thankful, and we will not overlook even the least favor done to us.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”

This casual and seemingly insignificant Sutra actually become the foundation for a Dharma Jewel that will pacify the emotional pain of depression immediately.

Depression is Wrong View, (part of Right Wisdom) which is the most important or at least, one of the most important aspects of the Eight-Fold path leading to the permanent extinction of all pain.

And although the end of the path is not close at hand, its' by practicing Buddha's teaching, it's still possible to immediately pacify all emotional pain whenever it arises. Do I have any emotional pain?

If the answer is yes, it's because I'm not practicing Right View which is a 24-hour a day practice – 7 days a week.

Why is Depression Wrong View?

It's because Depression is really composed of two elements: that is, a Depressed Self and pity. Pity for Self, or Self-pity, is the cause of depression. Pure and simple, thoughts of Self-pity cause depression.

Why is Self-pity Wrong?

That's because Buddha taught that our thoughts become their own self-fulfilling prophesy. Simply, we become what we think about.

So not only is depression painful in the present, but the more we wallow in Self-pity, the more we draw physical events into our life for which we can pity our-selves. For example, the more we pity ourselves for not having a job, the longer we stay without one.

But what about all the studies that show Depression is physical? That is, scientists have done brain-scans to prove, Depression is caused my physical factors in the brain – not mental factors!

Yes, there are such studies. But did you know there are conflicting studies done by Cognitive Therapists that prove by bran-scan that the brain changes physical structure by simply changing the thinking.

Moreover, a person who is treated for depression with Cognitive Therapy recovers without the aid of psychiatric medications. And those people who are on medications have a much higher rate of relapse once he or she goes off their medication.

These and other studies can be researched on the internet. A really good place to start is with the Beck Institute.

Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a non-profit organization founded in 1994 as an outgrowth of Dr. Aaron T. Beck’s original Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. Beck was head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He introduced Cognitive Therapy into the Western world in the 1050's..

Most of the studies on Depression showing it's a physical and not mental illness, I believe are done by drug companies who stand to gain a profit from the sale of drugs. And as such, these studies are, “Not independent.” They're biased.

Basically, all depression is mental. When I was asleep I was never once depressed. If depression were physical, why wouldn't I have been depressed during sleep?

And if I was hypnotized, by an Erickson Therapist, my depression faded into the background for about 2 weeks. Then I had to go for therapy again. Only trouble, this was horribly expensive. And I had to drive from L.A. to Orange county – about 180 miles round trip. At the end I couldn't afford it.

So how does one practice Dharma and stop thinking about Self-pity?

Using will power on depression is like trying to use will power on diarrhea. Good luck. But Buddhist Psychology says, although people do not have direct control of their mind with will power, they are more in control of what he or she chooses to think about.

For this reason the Buddha taught, change Wrong View into to Right View.

Right View from the above Scripture is to be Grateful or Thankful. Unfortunately, when I was depressed, there was nothing for which to be grateful – nothing!

So trying to find something to be grateful in the midst of a suicidal depression is the trick. So with my trusty nine millimeter pistol in hand, I decided to give it one last try.

After about 4 hours I finally came up with a single thing to be grateful. And yes, it totally and immediately pacified my depression.

A voice went off in my head, “You should be darn grateful you weren't born as a chicken!”

Then I remembered reading an article about Kentucky Fried Chicken. They throw the live chicken in one end of the machine. There's a dull, grinding noise for about ten seconds and presto: out of the other end of the machine comes the butchered chicken parts – all antiseptically packaged in cellophane.

Suddenly I was grateful for everything. I was grateful for being born in USA, my mother, my father, even for my stupid girl friend who kept saying like a broken record, “Buddha says you got to be grateful; Buddha says you got to be grateful!”

It even sounded like a clucking chicken, “Buddha says you got to be grateful.”

I was depressed because I wrote 6 novels, 5 screenplays and 6 episodes for a TV series and didn't sell anything – nothing! But now I was grateful for NOT selling anything.

Most people ask how I could possibly believe I might have been born as a chicken?

That was easy, but first I had to fully comprehend and totally understand the total impossibility of ever being born as a human. After I realized that, it was easy to believe I could have been born as a chicken or an ant - or anything!

We learn from good times, but I think I learned far more from bad times. And if I hadn't been such a failure, I would never have been forced to learn the Dharma Jewel of gratitude: that is, how to pacify depression with Gratitude – changing my mind to Right View.

I wouldn't trade $5-Billion for the Dharma Jewel. Today I try to come up with at least 5 new things every day for which to be grateful. As the Buddha says, “‘We will be grateful and thankful, and we will not overlook even the least favor done to us.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”

Just this simple practice improves happiness in life dramatically. Money can't buy the happiness the practice of gratitude as Right View adds to life.

Then looking back in life, I realized that unless we are grateful, even if we go though good times, we still won't be happy. Because we aren't grateful, we go through good times and don't even recognize the good.

Even when I was successful as a mid-management executive of the largest retailer in the world at the time, I was actually depressed most of the time.

I finally quit because they wouldn't pay me enough money. I got a job with a smaller company, working for a newspaper. but I got passed over for promotion to publisher and quit there too.

But actually I was depressed the whole time I was there simply because I wasn't grateful.

And finally I realized by learning to be grateful for the little things in life, we can be happy – even during bad times! Therefore, practicing gratitude is a win, win situation.

Anyway this is Conventional Buddhist Practice from the standpoint of Conventional Bodhichitta.

There is actually a better method of killing depression from the standpoint of emptiness: that is, from the standpoint of Ultimate Dharma – Ultimate Bodhichitta.

The practice of emptiness kills depression better even than cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – even better than gratitude.

Please see Ultimate Dharma Jewel for ending Depression.

Very best

doug