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发帖数: 1822 | 1 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/20/c_131258
Buddhism plays role in China's battle against AIDS
by Xinhua writers Wang Ruoyao and Li Meng
KUNMING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- "Chen Fen," a 43-year-old woman who has been
fighting HIV for 16 years, projects an image of energy and vitality, despite
being weakened by her affliction. The source of her strength isn't a new
pill or medication, but an ancient religious belief.
"I simply practice what the Buddhist monks suggest: to keep a peaceful
mentality and never make futile efforts to worry about the future," she says.
Chen lives in the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in southwest China
's Yunnan province. The province registered 83,925 HIV carriers and AIDS
patients as of the end of last year, the most of any Chinese province or
region.
In Xishuangbanna, more than 300,000 residents, most of whom belong to the
Dai and Blang ethnic groups, believe in Theravada, a prevalent school of
Buddhism. The prefecture has a total of 1,784 HIV/AIDS patients, and the
number is expected to rise in coming years.
Chen and other HIV/AIDS patients in the region have benefited from a local
program in which Buddhist monks have been mobilized to provide care for
patients and promote knowledge of the disease in order to curb new
infections.
The "Home of Buddha Glory" program was launched in 2003 with funding from
the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and the
assistance of the prefecture's Buddhist association.
Through the program, hundreds of HIV/AIDS patients, including both Buddhist
believers and non-believers, regularly gather to listen to the preaching of
monks and chat with each other at Zongfo Monastery, located in Xishuangbanna.
"The place really feels like a home," Chen says, adding that although she is
not a believer, she has learned how to live a positive life from the monks.
GUIDANCE FOR SUFFERERS
Du Hanting, the deputy abbot of Zongfo Monastery and a senior participant in
the program, first heard about AIDS when he was studying in Thailand 20
years ago.
At that time, he noticed that his counterparts in Thailand often volunteered
to provide funeral services to a group of "special" deceased.
"I was shocked when I was told they all died of an incurable disease called
AIDS. Because of it, many elders had to watch their children die," he said.
Later, he learned that the epidemic can cause societal burdens, leaving many
families impoverished and robbing children of their parents' care. Du
joined Home of Buddha Glory in 2003 after returning to Xishuangbanna.
"Monks serve as people's spiritual leaders and should guide them through
hardship," Du said in response to doubts over monks' involvement in secular
affairs.
A key part of the monks' job is to reduce stress and anxiety for HIV/AIDS
patients. People with the disease often deal with significant amounts of
stress and mental anguish. In extreme cases, some patients even intend to
seek revenge by passing on the virus to others or harming those who
transmitted the disease, according to Du.
"I told them that if you do harm to others, you have no way of escaping the
consequences," he said.
The monks also help families to treat their HIV-positive members with an
open mind and reduce their fear of being infected. A lack of HIV/AIDS
knowledge has led to some patients being chastised by their families or even
driven out of their homes.
"We often talk and have dinner with patients in front of their family
members to show that the virus won't be transmitted through daily behavior,"
he says.
To reduce the families' economic burden, program employees have been trying
to link patients up with existing social welfare programs and offer them job
opportunities.
ANTI-AIDS EDUCATION
In addition to offering mental care to patients, the monks are also engaged
in anti-AIDS education and awareness-raising programs in rural areas in
Xishuangbanna, where 70 percent of HIV patients became infected through
sexual contact.
Since talking about sex is taboo for Buddhist monks, they are only expected
to give a general admonition and leave secular employees of the program to
discuss preventive measures against HIV/AIDS.
The monks try to convince people to stay away from risky sexual behavior by
citing Buddhist disciplines.
"We educate people with two of the five basic disciplines of Buddhism -- not
to be lustful and not to drink," Du says.
The work of educating the populace about HIV/AIDS is tireless, according to
Ai Hanen, the head of Home of Buddha Glory's operations.
"Many Dai (ethnic minority) people who live in remote villages are so poorly
educated that they can read neither Chinese words nor Dai words," Ai said.
Employees of the program are working on a compact disc that will include
educational songs and lectures recorded in plain language. They believe the
practice will be well-received by the Dai people, who generally have trouble
understanding intricate medical terminology.
The role of religion in anti-AIDS efforts can also be seen in northwest
China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, which is home to the country's
largest Muslim community.
Imams from mosques in Ningxia preach about the dangers of risky behavior,
such as contact with commercial sex workers and drug abuse, by defining them
as violations of Islamic doctrine. ' "The imams once traveled all the way
to our monastery to see what they could learn," Ai said. | y*****g
发帖数: 1822 | 2 http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=538148
The ‘Mai Tam’ House of Hope in Ho Chi Minh City is a centre for HIV
positive mothers and children providing vital support and care for those who
are considered outcasts by Vietnamese society. Stigma for people living
with AIDS is still pervasive and many survivors cannot find work, so the
centre also runs income generating projects including a flower shop, a
sewing workshop and a nurses training programme. The children receive
education and medical support, while the centre has an additional site for
the care of terminally ill patients.
Fr Bob Vitillo, Caritas Internationalis special advisor on HIV-AIDS, has
just returned from a visit to Vietnam where he saw first hand the dramatic
difference that this House of Hope is making to the lives of hundreds of
women and children in need. |
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