Combating AIDS :
The Scientisfic and the Buddhist Ways
K.Wong
Introduction
According to AIDS statistics released by the Global AIDS Alliance, a United States AIDS organization based in Washington D.C to combat AIDS or HIV, 40 million victims are currently infected with HIV globally. Presently, over 11,000 new HIV infections assail the victims every day. In fact, the current increase in the HIV infection rate worldwide is very alarming ! That, the American Congress approved humanitarian aid of 15 billion for the HIV prevention programmes worldwide for three years since 2003, mirrors that AIDS situation evidently poses a serious threat to human health and incessant survival on earth. The Congress has pledged recently to triple the funding level to 50 billion to continue the altruistic compassionate global combat against AIDS disease. Again, it reflects the severity of the world AIDS problem. When science or medicine is placed above politics, this is genuine compassion. If the AIDS fighters of United States as well as those from the United Nations’ are not funding the global HIV prevention programmes, the future generations will be left with a legacy of catastrophe beyond future human control. The ramification may not be reversible. From Buddhist perspective, these AIDS fighters are ‘ Backyard bodhisttvas as they toil to eliminate suffering due to the disease of AIDS.
Buddhist philosophy expounds that every problem is dependently arisen from a contigent condition or generally from multiple conditions. Human unheedfulness or unethical behaviour is the primary or root condition. HIV is transmitted through three ways, namely :
- Sex
- Blood
- Mother-to-child- transmission
Unprotected and Immoral Sex
Sexual activities without protection from male or female condoms make human beings more vulnerable to the infection of HIV. Of course, Buddhism does not oppose sexual intercourse among legitimately married couples. HIV medical experts and AIDS consultants or advisers recommend that sexual abstinence and faithfulness or marital fidelity to one’s wife or husband can reduce the probability of acquiring HIV infection. Such golden advice from medical experts or HIV workers concurs with the third Buddhist moral injunction of the Buddhist Five Precepts (The 3rd item of the Buddhist Five Precepts, Pañcasīlas) – Refraining from improper sexual relations or sexual misconduct. Unwholesome or immoral sexual conduct include premarital sex relation, adultery, prostitution and rape. The utility of condoms for protection from HIV infection is acceptable for only legitimately or legally married couples. But it is unethical for those unmarried couples who ought to have the sexual debut (first experience of sexual intercourse) only on the day of marriage.
The United States of America is condemned globally for her war policies in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Middle East. But it is not everything unrosy in American foreign policies. One of the rosy foreign policies of United States is her government’s initiative through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR is profusely loved by the governments of African countries.In fact, the governments of African countries cherish fervently this PEPFAR AIDS programs for African People. This program is supported strongly both by the President and the Congress in terms of huge finiancial aids.
PEPFAR AIDS program recommends the ‘ABC’ model as the effective HIV prevention programme. The ’ABC’ model recommends three golden advice to prevent HIV infections. They are the abstinence from sex until marriage, faithfulness or fidelity towards one’s marriage partner and the utility of condoms for security. The first two recommendations concur with the Buddhist third moral injunction of the Five Precept. The third item of Five Precepts helps the Buddhist adherents restrain from committing sexual misconduct.
From the Buddhist perspective, the commercial sexual workers or prostitutes are earning wrong livelihood. If they are Buddhist prostitutes, they are considered to have derailed from the Noble Eight-fold Path. The fifth item or limb of the Noble Eight-fold Path advocates Right Livelihood. Right Livelihood is the non-transgression of the Buddhist Five Precepts.
Divine commands from messengers or apostles of God or noble precepts from the religious Masters impact the religious followers more effectively than the repeated advices from non-religious or secular advisers or even the policy makers. Of course, religious messages or commandments work well only on those genuine or faithful religious adherents or devotees who submit to the divine commands or noble precepts of spiritual Masters due to their inner intuition of wisdom. The second Buddhist moral injunction of the Five Precepts – Refraining from taking what is not given is effective to restrain the adherents from committing the crimes of rape. The commission of crimes of rape also violates the third item of the Five Precept – Moral restraint from improper sexual relations.
Self-intoxication
Today, drug abuse is rampant among the modern youth who have gone astray. One of the ways by which drugs are consumed is by injection through blood circulation.. The HIV infection can be spread through blood circulation of the drug injection users. The most effective weapon to combat HIV infection through blood circulation is the non-transgression of the fifth moral injunction of the Five Precept – Refraining from self-intoxication. Religious ignorance is the cause of such misbehaviour of self-intoxixations with grave personal and social ramifications.
From Mother to Child
Increasing number of unmarried young girls or married women are infected with HIV through pre-marital sexual activities with multiple sex partners and wrong livelihood of commercial sex workers. HIV can be transmitted from the mother to the child through birth. If a child is infected by the mother and the child dies of AIDS subsequently, it is evident that the mother has indirectly deprived the life of her own child. This is the transgression of the first Buddhist moral injunction of the Five Precepts – Refraining from the destruction of life. Destruction of life in any way constitutes the precept transgression in the life of a Buddhist. The breach of the first item of the Five Precept is a very grave offence.
Conclusion
Though religious faith of protecting the Precepts helps prevent the HIV infection, HIV/AIDS prevention programme services should be made easily available to the general public especially to those economically deprived underdeveloped nations whose citizens are deprived of formal education and proper health care or services. Secular education and religious education are both essential to educate the general public and create awareness of the potential threat of HIV infections. Governments and AIDS workers have disclosed that the phenomenon of HIV infection or AIDS disease is conditioned by unethical human behaviours. The risk can be considerably reduced by non-transgression of the Buddhist Five Precepts for the Buddhists and faithful adherence to commandments of God for the monotheists. In addition, adherence to the HIV/AIDS experts’ recommendations on effective strategy of HIV prevention programmes initiated by NGOs or government sponsored by local as well as international humanitarian organizations is equally important and urgent.
In actuality, the heros and heroins, which I call the ‘Backyard bodhisattvas’, are those medical, social, health and scientisfic savants or intelligentsia who work behind the forefront.They are unknown by the general public and the victims who have benefited from their research findings, medical and health knowledge and devices, drug invention and administration. They could be designated as ‘Backyard Bodhisattvas’ for two reasons. Firstly, they are enlightened in the wisdom of their respective spheres of specialization pertaining to HIV/AIDS. Secondly, they have toiled themselves days and nights for years in research and development and in their unpublished incessant combats against the threat of HIV/AIDS behind the scene. These ‘backyard bodhisattvas’ are the highly trained physicians, epidemiologists, public health advisers, behaviorial scientists and laboratory scientists who combat the HIV/ AIDS behind the battle grounds throughout the world especially in African countries. Without their diligent efforts, sacrifices, altruism, compassion and wisdom, the global HIV/AIDS threat could not have been contained hitherto. The uncontained HIV/AIDS outbreak could easily develop into a global catastrophe. The root of disaster is the human misbehaviours or fallibilities rooted in ignorance. Besides huge humanitarian aids, the most effective solution is still religious education and training by qualified masters who guide and help rectify human misbehaviours or fallibilities. Religious education and training are of paramount importance as religious wisdom treats the cause before the effect arises.
|
