Lotus in the fire: the healing power of Zen. Jim Bedard, Boston, Shambhala Publications, Boston,...
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PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY Psycho -Oncology 8: 459–462 (1999) BOOK REVIEWS BOOK REVIEWS Lotus in the Fire: The Healing Power of Zen.JIM BEDARD, Boston, Shambhala Publications, Boston, 1999. Jim Bedard has been a dear friend of mine for 15 years. The night before he went into hospital, where he was eventually diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), he and I and two other friends were star- watching on the deck of our cabin in the Ontario wilderness. Over the subsequent months I joined the cadre of family and friends who tried to support Jim through his excruciating treatments. It was a remark- able time, and he dealt with things in a remarkable way. Later, I had the chance to read this book about his experiences. Of course I am biased. But I guarantee that anyone who reads Lotus in the Fire will see that it is not just our personal connection that accounts for my enthusiasm about Jim’s writing. I approached Jim about doing this review because I thought it important for people working in psycho- oncology to know about his book. In all my years of working with cancer survivors, I have rarely read any story as compelling. Lotus in the Fire stands out as special among the many excellent personal accounts of illness published in recent years. Like other classics in the genre (e.g. At the Will of the Body (Frank, 1991) and Grace and Grit (Wilbur, 1993)), this story reveals how it is possible for an individual to live a deep and rich life in the face of crushing life circumstances. There are many story lines within Jim’s overall story. For one, there is a harrowing medical adventure that takes the reader through his diagnosis of and treatment for AML. We follow him into the complex worlds of intensive care units, hospital oncology wards, and spe- cialized bone marrow transplant programs. He almost dies a number of times—from the illness, from the treatments, and from errors made and almost made by health professionals. By the end of his story Jim is still alive and very grateful for it. In the process of telling his story, replete with astute observations, both the strengths and limitations of modern medicine are revealed. Another story line in this book has to do with the power of interpersonal support for healing. Recent research studies have suggested that social support can influence medical outcomes. In his writing, Jim shows how this might be so at the individual level. Sur- rounded by family and friends, his well-being was clearly affected on a daily basis by love. Over the months, Jim increased his capacity to both seek and accept the help he needed, adjusting his usually inde- pendent style to meet challenging new circumstances. He does not miss any opportunity in the book to express his gratitude for this help. But the heart of Jim’s book has to do with spiritual practice. Indeed, it is this story that runs through and connects all of the other stories. As an experienced practitioner of Zen Buddhism, he came to illness with advantages gained through years of investigating the workings of his mind and through deliberate attention to the impermanence of life. But despite this earlier experience, Jim was shocked and thrown by his sudden encounter with the reality of seemingly imminent death. And he had many profound struggles throughout the prolonged course of treatment and recovery. He makes no attempts to hide any of this, but rather offers us his innermost dreads, terrors, and losses of heart. It is this honesty that allows the reader to fully appreciate his spiritual practice. For with every crisis or loss of heart, Jim describes how his Zen practice sees him through. There are no groundless platitudes in this writing. Just the hard work of making a spiritual path vital. As Jim’s Zen teacher once told him, ‘If it is true gold, test it in fire’. He takes us through each step of the testing process, and by the end it would be hard for any reader not to be convinced that, at least for him, Zen practice is gold. At the end of each new crisis, Jim always, eventually, finds his way back to serenity and to grati- tude. The ending of one chapter, describing his time in isolation after the transplant, exemplifies this spirit. ‘I went to bed that night after bowing to the altar in my room . . . I drifted off to sleep wondering what I had ever done to be so fortunate to have had so much spiritual help. My last thought of the day was, ‘‘How will I ever repay this enormous debt of gratitude?’’ ’ As the reader follows Jim’s narrative, s/he learns much about Buddhist principles and practices, espe- cially those relevant to the Zen tradition. This is helpful information for clinical practitioners who may encoun- ter Buddhists in their work. Especially illuminating are Jim’s reflections on the ‘why’ of his illness. The law of karma (causation) is carefully described, and distin- guished from the simple-minded self- (and other) blame CCC 1057–9249/99/050459 – 04$17.50 Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Transcript of Lotus in the fire: the healing power of Zen. Jim Bedard, Boston, Shambhala Publications, Boston,...
PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY
Psycho-Oncology 8: 459–462 (1999)
BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS
Lotus in the Fire: The Healing Power of Zen. JIM
BEDARD, Boston, Shambhala Publications, Boston,1999.
Jim Bedard has been a dear friend of mine for 15 years.The night before he went into hospital, where he waseventually diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia(AML), he and I and two other friends were star-watching on the deck of our cabin in the Ontariowilderness. Over the subsequent months I joined thecadre of family and friends who tried to support Jimthrough his excruciating treatments. It was a remark-able time, and he dealt with things in a remarkableway. Later, I had the chance to read this book abouthis experiences. Of course I am biased. But I guaranteethat anyone who reads Lotus in the Fire will see that itis not just our personal connection that accounts formy enthusiasm about Jim’s writing.
I approached Jim about doing this review because Ithought it important for people working in psycho-oncology to know about his book. In all my years ofworking with cancer survivors, I have rarely read anystory as compelling.
Lotus in the Fire stands out as special among themany excellent personal accounts of illness published inrecent years. Like other classics in the genre (e.g. At theWill of the Body (Frank, 1991) and Grace and Grit(Wilbur, 1993)), this story reveals how it is possible foran individual to live a deep and rich life in the face ofcrushing life circumstances.
There are many story lines within Jim’s overall story.For one, there is a harrowing medical adventure thattakes the reader through his diagnosis of and treatmentfor AML. We follow him into the complex worlds ofintensive care units, hospital oncology wards, and spe-cialized bone marrow transplant programs. He almostdies a number of times—from the illness, from thetreatments, and from errors made and almost made byhealth professionals. By the end of his story Jim is stillalive and very grateful for it. In the process of tellinghis story, replete with astute observations, both thestrengths and limitations of modern medicine arerevealed.
Another story line in this book has to do with thepower of interpersonal support for healing. Recentresearch studies have suggested that social support caninfluence medical outcomes. In his writing, Jim shows
how this might be so at the individual level. Sur-rounded by family and friends, his well-being wasclearly affected on a daily basis by love. Over themonths, Jim increased his capacity to both seek andaccept the help he needed, adjusting his usually inde-pendent style to meet challenging new circumstances.He does not miss any opportunity in the book toexpress his gratitude for this help.
But the heart of Jim’s book has to do with spiritualpractice. Indeed, it is this story that runs through andconnects all of the other stories. As an experiencedpractitioner of Zen Buddhism, he came to illness withadvantages gained through years of investigating theworkings of his mind and through deliberate attentionto the impermanence of life. But despite this earlierexperience, Jim was shocked and thrown by his suddenencounter with the reality of seemingly imminent death.And he had many profound struggles throughout theprolonged course of treatment and recovery. He makesno attempts to hide any of this, but rather offers us hisinnermost dreads, terrors, and losses of heart. It is thishonesty that allows the reader to fully appreciate hisspiritual practice. For with every crisis or loss of heart,Jim describes how his Zen practice sees him through.There are no groundless platitudes in this writing. Justthe hard work of making a spiritual path vital. As Jim’sZen teacher once told him, ‘If it is true gold, test it infire’. He takes us through each step of the testingprocess, and by the end it would be hard for any readernot to be convinced that, at least for him, Zen practiceis gold. At the end of each new crisis, Jim always,eventually, finds his way back to serenity and to grati-tude. The ending of one chapter, describing his time inisolation after the transplant, exemplifies this spirit. ‘Iwent to bed that night after bowing to the altar in myroom . . . I drifted off to sleep wondering what I hadever done to be so fortunate to have had so muchspiritual help. My last thought of the day was, ‘‘Howwill I ever repay this enormous debt of gratitude?’’ ’
As the reader follows Jim’s narrative, s/he learnsmuch about Buddhist principles and practices, espe-cially those relevant to the Zen tradition. This is helpfulinformation for clinical practitioners who may encoun-ter Buddhists in their work. Especially illuminating areJim’s reflections on the ‘why’ of his illness. The law ofkarma (causation) is carefully described, and distin-guished from the simple-minded self- (and other) blame
CCC 1057–9249/99/050459–04$17.50Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
BOOK REVIEWS460
that is so widely promulgated among ‘new age’ people.Among other information about Buddhism, we find outwhy chanting is so important, why figures/statues usu-ally play a central role in the tradition, and whyintensive meditation retreats are seen as so valuable bypractitioners.
Lotus in the Fire is a remarkable book, not to bepassed up by anyone fascinated by the connectionsbetween spirituality and illness. The author has muchof value to share. I vouch for him.
REFERENCES
Frank, A. (1991) At the Will of the Body. HoughtonMifflin Co., Boston.
Wilbur, K. (1993) Grace and Grit. Shambhala Publica-tions, Boston.
ROSS GRAY
Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, Toronto,Ont., Canada M4N 3M5
The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Re-search, Practice. KENNETH I. PARGAMENT. GuilfordPress, New York, 1997. Price: $50.00. No. of pages: 548(paper)
Clinical research into spirituality and religion is one ofthe frontiers commanding attention these days, butresearchers are finding that the menu is certainly morevaried and complicated than they first thought whenthey entered this particular restaurant. The range ofcurrent efforts extends from intervention studies likeRandolph Byrd’s investigation of the impact of non-local intercessory prayer on a coronary intensive careunit population to descriptive studies of patients’ de-nominations and church attendance.
Regardless of design and topic of interest, however,all of these projects raise further basic questions aboutexactly what it is that is being studied. As we re-examine definitions and instruments that were generallyaccepted in the past, we are beginning to discover someof the nuances of the reality that we are attempting tomeasure. For instance, what is the distinction betweenreligious practice and social support? Is there a differ-ence between religious affiliation and spirituality? Whenwe look at church attendance as a factor in survival orcompliance with protocols, are we measuring the im-pact of spirituality or of social support? Moreover,religious terminology itself carries a multitude of mean-ings. These are reflected in typical patient statementssuch as ‘I’m not religious; I haven’t been in church inyears’, ‘I pray to God by myself’, ‘Cancer has taught
me to appreciate the little things in life more’, and ‘Ihave faith that I will be healed’.
Historically, however, this is not a place that psychi-atrists and psychologists have been comfortable visit-ing, except when religion is interpreted as pathological.Generally speaking, mental health professionals havebeen puzzled at best, antagonistic at worst, towards therole of religion in the lives of their patients. Psychother-apists may be hypersensitive to potentially maladaptiveaspects of religious involvement when their clients men-tion healing or ‘prayer circles’, or perhaps merely theword ‘God’. Psycho-oncologists, dealing as they dowith a population confronting ultimate concerns, maybe ‘blessed’ in that their patients’ religious values andsupport systems are more often acknowledged as partof their normal coping resources.
In this climate, then, Kenneth Pargament’s book ThePsychology of Religion and Coping is an indispensablebasic resource for any discussion of this topic. Early on,the author defines the scope of the book simply andbroadly: ‘This book is about the roles of religion whenpeople are put to the test’ (p. 3). He defines religion inthe broad sense as including both institutional andpersonal religious feelings, convictions and expressionsas well as ‘a process, the search for significance in waysrelated to the sacred’ (p. 32).
Pargament is Professor of Psychology and Directorof the Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Program at BowlingGreen State University, current President of the Psy-chology of Religion Division of the American Psycho-logical Association, and a recipient of the WilliamJames Award for his research on religion, stress andcoping. He claims up-front his Conservative Jewishfaith and his own personal quest for answers, but thebook is by no means confessional. Pargament’s ownconsiderable body of research has dealt with the rela-tionship between stressors including natural disasters,racism, denominational discord, war, employment inemergency medicine, death of a loved one, and canceron one hand, and post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), intrinsic religiosity, church attendance, andmental and emotional status on the other.
In this book, Pargament begins by acknowledgingthe tension between psychology and religion, aligningAmerican psychology with the twin values on personalcontrol and religion as helping people to deal with whatthey cannot control. But, he says, ‘Human capacitiesand human limitations complement rather than contra-dict each other. In times of crisis and coping both thepossible and impossible become visible . . . The psy-chology of religion and coping can weave a respect forthe possible together with an appreciation for the futile’(p. 9).
This book is tailormade for the busy professional.Pargament’s engaging style makes for interesting andabsorbing reading; he cites numerous intriguing casestudies from both the literature and the media. One caneasily locate sections on a particular issue or definition
Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Psycho-Oncology 8: 459–462 (1999)
