Diabetes management and the buddhist philosophy: Toward holistic care

Abstract

Buddhist philosophy is a way of life that transcends the borders of religion and focuses on the alleviation of suffering. The core teaching of Buddha was the Four Noble Truths: there is suffering, suffering is caused by clinging and ignorance, there is a way out of suffering and that way is the Noble Eightfold Path. The medical analogy in diabetes care would include identification of diabetes, understanding its etiopathogenesis, and how prognosis can be improved with appropriate care and management of this chronic disorder. Gaining awareness about the cause of illness and conducting our lives in a manner that nourishes and maintains long-term good health leads to improved outcomes for individuals living with diabetes and improve their overall well-being. The Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhism constitutes of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. These elements of the Eightfold Path can be taken as guiding principles in diabetes care. Buddhist meditation techniques, including mindfulness meditation-based strategies, have been used for stress reduction and management of chronic disorders such as chronic pain, depression, anxiety, hypertension, and diabetes. In this article, we focus on how Buddhist philosophy offers several suggestions, precepts, and practices that guide a diabetic individual toward holistic health.

The Effects of Health Behavior Changing Program for Systolic Blood Pressure Reduction Among Thai Buddhist Monks, Thailand

“…The results showed that the most influencing control of the health behavior-changing program is systolic blood pressure and follows by risk score, fasting blood sugar (FBS), smoking score, and body mass index (BMI). This result was similar to the previous study which reported that the health promotion program can reduce blood sugar and body mass index [4]. However, the most reduction of this program is the systolic blood pressure, consequently, this program is appropriate to apply for reducing the risk of Hypertension among Thai monks.…”

Relationship Between Buddhist Belief and Suicide Risk in Chinese Persons Undergoing Methadone Maintenance Therapy for Heroin Dependence

“…The first code of ethics from the five precepts within Buddhism doctrine is the abstinence from killing living beings, including intentionally ending one's own life by one's own hand, which is strictly prohibited by Buddhism (30,50). In the Buddhism teaching, suicidal behaviors are regarded as an "unskilled action", which would cause "dukkha" (unsatisfactoriness or suffering) to persons after the self-destructive behaviors (51).…”

Perbedaan Pengaruh Glukosa Darah Acak Dan Dressing Terhadap Luka Diabetes Di Malang

“…Penyakit Diabetes Mellitus adalah penyakit metabolik kronis bersifat menahun dan ditandai oleh tingginya kadar glukosa didalam darah (Arif, 2018;Chang, Peng, Chang, & Chen, 2013). Analogi perawatan penyakit diabetes mellitus akan mencakup identifikasi diabetes, memahami etiopatogenesisnya, dan bagaimana prognosis dapat ditingkatkan dengan perawatan yang tepat dan pengelolaan gangguan kronis ini (Kalra et al, 2018).…”