The Tibetan Culture of Nurturing the Mind and Prolonging Life
Lecture at Tsinghua Science Park
(June 25, 2010 PM)
Speech from the host:
Good evening to everyone, welcome, and thank you very much for visiting Tsinghua Science Park. First of all, before the seminar starts, I would like to give a brief introduction to our speaker today—Khenpo So Dargye.
Khenpo So Dargye is head of the Chinese monks at Serthar Buddhist Institute, and has an illustrious reputation at home and abroad. He has followed His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, visiting the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Bhutan, Nepal, and other countries, spreading the Dharma, and has also been appointed as mentor for the Center of Larong Sutrayana and Vajrayana Studies in New York, USA.Khenpo has published many eminent works. He now has more than ninety titles in print.
In terms of scholarly knowledge, Khenpo has mastered the five great treatises—the Vinaya, the Abhidharmakohsa, the Middle Way, Buddhist Logic, and the Prajñaparamita. In addition, Khenpo has also promoted and fostered the Buddha Dharma via modern technology such as the Internet, and these efforts have produced a significant and broad impact.
Khenpo’s realizations of Kalachakra, the Web of Magical Illusion, Dzogchen, and so on have reached an extremely high level.
In 2007, Khenpo launched the “Starting up Caring and Loving” initiative, calling on Buddhists to care for poor people living near them, while also providing protection for animals. Additionally, Khenpo has taken the lead in establishing “Wisdom and Compassion” primary schools, nursing homes, lodgings for lay practitioners, and monastic schools to train young novice monks in the Tibetan regions, funding a large number of university students and students who had dropped out of high school, setting up scholarships in secondary schools, providing relief to many people suffering from severe illness who are not able to afford medical care, and many other charitable ventures.
Khenpo has twice been invited to attend the “International Charity Forum” held in the Great Hall of the People. On this occasion, Khenpo is visiting Beijing to attend the fourth “International Charity Forum,” while also having the opportunity to speak to us. Today’s topic is “The Tibetan Culture of Nurturing the Mind and Prolonging Life.” May I please welcome Khenpo So Dargye.
Good evening to all professors and teachers. It is my pleasure to be able to share and discuss with everyone here at Tsinghua Science Park, Beijing. As mentioned by the host, today’s topic is “The Tibetan Culture of Nurturing the Mind and Prolonging Life.” Indeed, this topic is not complicated; however, sometimes, a simple thing can change our whole life. As such, I pray from my heart that this simple talk, too, can benefit everyone in some way.
I Simple Events Can Change Your Whole Life
Sometimes, a simple event can change our whole life. In Buddhism there is a story that goes like this. Before being ordained as monks, two main disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha, Shariputra and Mahamaudgalyayana, were both proponents of Brahmanism. One day, when they were practicing meditation, there was a monk chanting a sutra nearby. One of the verses caught their attention: “Of all those things that from a cause arise, Tathagata, the cause thereof has been told; And how they cease to be, that too he tells, this is the teaching of the Great Recluse.” After hearing this subtle and profound verse of dependent origination and emptiness, both of them experienced great physical and mental transformation, and they gave up their own religion for Buddhism. Later, they attained liberation and made significant contributions to the causes of Buddhism.
In the Chinese Han region, there was a similar case. Before Master Dan Xia of the Tang dynasty was ordained as a monk, he was a Confucian scholar. One year he was going to Chang’an for an examination, and on his way he met a monk. When the monk asked him why he was going to Chang’an, he replied that he was going to attend an examination to become a government officer. The monk then said: “It is better to take an examination to become a Buddha than to take an examination to become an officer. Seeking worldly success imparts no significant value to your life. You should choose the profound Buddhist path instead.” Greatly inspired by the monk’s simple yet profound words, he was later ordained as a monk, eventually becoming one of the greatest Buddhist masters in history.
America’s “motor magnate,” Henry Ford, was able to change the course of his whole life by borrowing just one dollar from his father. With that one dollar as his starting capital, he slowly accumulated his wealth and ultimately created his world famous automobile empire.
The founder of Tzu Chi, in Taiwan, Master Cheng Yen, represents a similar case. Her philanthropy has spanned seventy-two countries, and now, every day, thousands of volunteers from Tzu Chi serve the public around the world. Yet, at the beginning, she was just an ordinary nun living in a hut. The idea to set up the charity came to her one day after encountering a pool of blood on the floor in a hospital. She found that it had come from a woman who had had difficulty during labor, but not being able to pay for medical care, had been made to leave the hospital. As a result, she made it her aspiration to build a hospital dedicated especially to caring for the poor. Later, she not only built the first Tzu Chi General Hospital, but she also managed to expand this charitable cause throughout the rest of the world. Forty-four years have passed since she began, and her philanthropic cause keeps growing every day. Those who have benefited from her kindness globally, whether the poor, the sick, or victims of disasters, are countless.
The Catholic nun, Mother Teresa, is a similar case. She originally lived in a convent, and had a peaceful, comfortable life. Then one day she encountered the helpless lepers outside the high walls of her convent, and resolutely abandoned her previous easy life to “serve the poorest of the poor.” From age twelve until age eighty-seven, she never lived for herself but for those in need, who were tormented by suffering. She built up her charitable organization in 123 countries, and many people have received her compassionate help. This goes to show that a thought can bring about huge and significant benefits to society.
Another example is Master Xuan Zang from the Tang Dynasty. While he was studying the scriptures, he found that some of them were incomplete, and there were many different interpretations of them. In order to explore and learn the truth of what the Lord Buddha had taught, he aspired to go west toward Tianzhu (India) to seek and learn the Dharma. He eventually undertook the long and arduous journey, and, after seventeen years brought back a large number of Sanskrit scriptures from India to Chang’an, which he then translated into Chinese. An immeasurable number of people have benefited greatly from his works, and he can be considered among the greatest translators in history.
The monk Jian Zhen, feeling that the Japanese Buddhist precepts were incomplete, attempted to cross the sea to Japan so that he could teach the Vinaya there. His first five attempts failed, but eventually he successfully arrived in Japan when he was sixty-six years old, established a lineage of the Vinaya, and promoted cultural exchanges between China and Japan. He was honored by the Japanese as their “Cultural Father” and the “Ancestor of the Vinaya.”
The above worldly and non-worldly examples are sufficient to prove that sometimes in our life something as small as even a word, a thought, or a trivial matter can change our faith, our beliefs, and even the fate of our whole life. I strongly believe that if you think deeply about the importance of spiritual development, even though this may seem to be just a thought or trivial matter, the result could be incredible.
II The Unhealthy State of People‘s Bodies and Minds Today
In this era, science and technology have been very well developed and the material conditions of much of the world are also in a good state. Yet it is common to see that people are not satisfied, still considering that current innovation is inadequate and economic development is not fast enough, and many more other unsatisfying thoughts. However, compared with the living standards of the 19th and 20th centuries, it is obvious that our present situation has improved significantly. Yet, strangely, even while material development has improved significantly, people’s hearts have grown pale and barren. This paradox suggests that the underlying assumption that material wellbeing alone can bring about happiness is a mistaken view. We should, therefore, seek an alternative: spiritual development. In my opinion, the inclination toward spiritual development will actually bring far more satisfaction and benefits than the satisfaction and benefits that material things can bring, for, generally speaking, it remains with you always. For example, if you give a person one hundred thousand Yuan, or even one million Yuan, should he not treasure it, the money will soon be squandered. On the other hand, if you teach him some very useful knowledge and philosophy, this can bring immense benefits to his whole life, and nobody can rob or steal it from him.
In the present age, people living in big cities tend to seek happiness through material things. Peace of mind and mental calm are often neglected. If we investigate the cause of this phenomenon, we will find that it is due to problems in education. From the moment we first go to school, many teachers only emphasize the importance of earning money, and many parents are also only concerned about our scores in exams. Furthermore, from an early age, they encourage us to cultivate the desire for fame and teach us to be selfish. With this kind of environment, what will the results be when we grow up? It should be evident to everyone. Through observing our own happiness and suffering, as well as observing the various situations of people in different occupations, we can uncover some of the truths behind these situations. It should be evident to us that material wellbeing alone fails to bring the happiness we aspire to have.
In the 21st century, compared with twenty years ago, we have made unprecedented progress toward securing our basic necessities of life. However, as we see, while material things can provide some benefits for us, they also can be a source of anxiety. Due to the effect of various stresses of keeping up with a modern lifestyle, most people are burned out. According to the 2009 “White paper on China’s urban white-collar health,” in Beijing, Shanghai, and more than ten other major cities, 76% of white-collar workers suffer from various ongoing health problems, known as “sub-health conditions,” nearly 60% of respondents were found to be burned out, and less than 3% of all of those surveyed could actually be considered “healthy.” The survey also shows that their stress originates from four primary areas: buying a house and having a mortgage, their parents’ health, their children’s education, and relationships and marriage. These are like four huge mountains pressing down on them heavily until they cannot cope, and, as a result, they are not able to enjoy any comfort, joy, or happiness.
For that reason, I feel sorry for children. As they grow up they have to endure greater stress. Not long ago, in my home town, when a group of sixth-grade primary school students graduated, they became very excited and said: “We no longer need to queue up; we can now move on to higher schools.” I smiled at them and joked gently: “The more you grow and the further you progress, the more you will feel the pressure ahead.” Indeed, as an adult, although you do not need to study books like when you were in school, and do not need to line up, the fierce competition in society means that the stress you are under is much greater than before.
In March 2010, Xiao Kang Magazine joined forces with Tsinghua University and surveyed the health of China’s civil servants and white-collar urban population groups. The outcome of the survey showed that more than 88% of people think they are in or close to a “burned out” state, suffering from depression, feeling agitated, and lacking a sense of happiness and satisfaction. This suggests that even though outwardly many people may appear to be leading entirely meaningful and comfortable lives, when they subject their lives to investigation, they actually find that they are plagued with mental and emotional suffering, are miserable and exhausted.
As we can see, at the moment, most people living in cities are mentally and physically unhealthy. The reasons for this are, first, overwork; second, strong desire; and third, an unhealthy lifestyle. With these trends, there are now more and more people suffering from mental illness. According to one figure, one out of every six people suffers from some form of mental illness, and two hundred thousand people commit suicide in China every year because of this illness. This data is really quite worrying.
III How Buddhists Maintain a Healthy Body and Mind
1. The importance of faith
Of course, medical treatment is one of the important remedies to these problems; however, as I said before, in my view, spiritual development provides long lasting effects compared to other solutions. Although one can survive without a faith or belief, it is still better to have one. In fact, to treat these psychological problems, it is important to have some kind of faith or belief. The University of Toronto Medical School has found in its research that those who have firm faith and beliefs have less stress, are able to socialise actively, have a healthy diet, and are thus psychologically and physically healthier. In contrast, those who have no faith or belief have poorer health.
The psychologist Carl Jung also noted that the increase of psychological disorders in the modern population is closely related to the decline of religious beliefs. He wrote, in Modern Man in Search of a Soul, that in this era where science is so highly developed, humans are psychologically unhealthy and so need a religion or faith. He saw that of all the religions, Buddhism has the most profound method to heal the unhealthy mind. Including meditation, prayer, chanting sutras, reciting mantras, and other practices, these are recognized as the most effective methods for healing psychological problems and so are being adopted by psychotherapy.
Therefore, for today, our discussion will focus on using Buddhism to ease and cure the present sufferings of human beings. Without this, even if you have wealth, fame, and a successful career, physical exhaustion still increases every day, and the mind keeps filling with anxieties, discontentment, and dissatisfaction. In this context, wealth has no significant value.
Some of you here have always followed and believed in Buddhism; some of you may believe in it but still have doubts about it; some of you are engaged in technological careers, and not only do you not have any faith or belief, you even refute all the views or doctrines of those that have faith and belief. Amongst the above, the last group of people must observe and analyze using their wisdom. Otherwise, if you don’t understand the effects of faith and religion, and proceed solely on the basis of the presupposition to refute other people’s views, this cannot be considered a scientific or rational way for ascertaining things.
We should know that, if we have faith and religion, even in times of great difficulties and hardship, we will still have something we can rely on and in which we can take refuge. I recall that at 10:00am on February 22nd, 2002, former U.S. President George W. Bush came to Tsinghua University. At that time, I was in Xiamen translating White Lotus: The Legend of Shakyamuni Buddha. When I switched on the TV, I happened to see the news. Although eight years have passed, I can still remember many things that he talked about. In one of his speeches, he said: “This may interest you—95 per cent of Americans say they believe in God, and I’m one of them…. Faith points to a moral law beyond man’s law, and calls us to duties higher than material gain. Freedom of religion is not something to be feared, it’s to be welcomed….” Although the religion that he talked about was Christianity, whether Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism, it is still better to have a religion than not have one. If you have faith and belief, you will live your life with discipline. Otherwise, if you don’t believe in life after death, you will not observe the law of karma and will therefore not refrain from any harmful activities. The case is just as it says in the Nirvana Sutra: “Not knowing that there will be a next life, you will create negative karma.”
2. What is correct faith?
1) Law of cause and effect
For those of you here that are in the scientific field, if you understand that “wholesome activities bring happiness, unwholesome activities bring sufferings,” “melon seeds produce melons, bean seeds produce beans,” when you are researching and developing a new scientific technique, you will have a sense of responsibility and care for the community, country, and even the whole world. Otherwise, if you always act in a selfish way, the results and effects of your work will be detrimental.
Why are there so many fake, forged, and low quality products these days? Why is there so much food that contains poisonous substances? Why are so many hospitals, schools, and other public sectors just trying to make money? All of these things are a result of people not observing the law of karma. In today’s world, many people are psychologically unhealthy. This problem is far more serious than a physical illness of the body. In order to cure this “psychological illness,” the only way is to use the truths of Buddhist philosophy, through meditation, recitation, and other methods to balance the mind. If this is not done, medical treatment will only be of little help.
Therefore, in this world, whatever your role or position, whether you are a scientist or educator, it is important to be responsible for the community. Establishing a correct view of life is a must. Of course, as we always say, “Everyone has different mental dispositions, just as no two human faces are exactly the same.” As everyone has different thoughts and feelings due to different mental dispositions, the result is that each person will have a different view of life, but, irrespective of these differences, there is one most important point here, which is to understand and realize that there are past lives and there will be future lives, and hence, observe the law of karma, and believe in positive karma bringing happiness and negative karma bringing suffering.
You may perhaps ask, “If positive actions bring happiness, and negative actions bring suffering, why does the fruit of the positive karma I have created today or in this life not appear now?” This view is actually quite limited. Your positive action is the “cause,” the happiness that you will gain is the “result”; it is necessary and clear that there will be a delay between a “cause” and the “result.” For example, the farmer sows seeds in the spring, and then harvests in the autumn. It is impossible to harvest the day after the seeds are sown. In the same way, whatever karma we have created may ripen in the next life, the life after that, or may only ripen after many lifetimes. As Buddha said in the Karma Xia Gatha, this karma will not ripen in the external material world, nor disappear without cause and conditions, but will certainly ripen in our own mental continuum. Therefore, whatever karma is created, even after many eons, it will not cease until it has ripened in the mental continuum of the person who created it.
This philosophy is not just a law of cause and effect for Buddhists only, but should be generally adopted, as the philosophy of everyone’s life. If we can all realize and observe this point, then we can transform our society into a better, more harmonious place. However, at present, it is very hard to find someone who truly believes in the law of cause and effect, and truly dedicates him or herself to the benefit of sentient beings. You may feel that I am pessimistic, but the truth is that most success today actually has much darkness hidden behind it. What causes this darkness, this shadow? The answer is that many people don’t believe in and observe the law of karma.
2) Recognizing past lives and future rebirth
To establish the correct view of the law of cause and effect, it is indispensable to ascertain the existence of past and future lives. Is there any authentic proof that we can rely on to establish this? Of course the answer is yes. Thousands of Buddhist scriptures and treatises can prove that after we die, there will be a next life. When the fire is out, it is completely gone; similarly, when water evaporates, it is also gone. But the mind will not disappear like that. The scientist Isaac Newton said: “After humans die, the soul still exists.” In addition, people such as Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and Lu Xun, while not fully mastering Buddhism’s doctrines during their research, also recognized the basic law of cause and effect.
Both macro- and micro-science are limited to the external material world. Inner consciousness and the existence of past and future lives are still a blind spot for science today, and most scientists neither confirm nor deny them.
Speaking from my personal point of view, although I am not particularly knowledgeable and well read, I have read some books written by various psychologists and physicists from both the past and present. When I was reading these books, I found that it was very clear that so-called science, from one perspective, has brought great benefits to people. It has improved living standards significantly. However, regarding consciousness, except for Carl Jung and a small number of people influenced by western philosophers or Tibetan Buddhism, few recognize the existence of the soul after death; the rest of the scientists have not yet come to very clear conclusions.
Today, in such a reputable Chinese high-tech centre, with so many learned experts here to discuss this topic, should any of you be able to point out a justifiable reason to refute the existence of past and future lives, then, as Buddhists, we will not dispute your view and demand that you follow the Buddhist view, but we will rather take a fair and objective position to support whichever view holds the truth.
The doctrines that Buddha taught can be traced back two thousand five hundred years, to India. At that time, the son of King Suddhodana demonstrated the principles of becoming a monk, following the ascetic life, and eventually becoming a Buddha in Bodhgaya, after his enlightenment. Lord Buddha then spent forty-nine years until his nirvana expounding the Dharma, leaving this nectar-like legacy for us. That the Buddha has indeed come to this world is indisputable. In Tibet, the 108 volumes of scripture that still exist today are the manifestation of Buddha’s wisdom. Because of this, we have irreversible faith and confidence in it. However, with confidence alone, it is impossible to establish our own Buddhist lineages; rather, in order to ascertain a flawless and valid view, we must apply rational wisdom to discuss, examine, and debate it.
In the quest to understand and ascertain the truth, historically, Tibetan Buddhism has an excellent and special feature: debate. During the debate, you can use your intelligence to refute your opponent’s thesis, and your opponent is forced to use logical reasoning to establish his or her thesis. This is one of the most profound ways of eliminating doubts. Today, if any of you have any questions, please feel free to raise them. I will discuss them with you directly. This is a very good opportunity for you and also a very effective way for you to clear your doubts.
3) Compassion, the universal love toward all sentient beings
Although two thousand five hundred years have passed since Lord Buddha entered into parinirvana, the ancient Buddhist doctrines are still relevant and needed in today’s society. In brief, these doctrines can be grouped into wisdom and compassion. From the point of view of compassion, Buddhists have universal love toward all sentient beings. Considering this from a wider perspective, these altruistic acts have certain differences to those of Christianity and other religions. In Buddhism, whether it is equanimity, compassion, or bodhicitta, it is necessary to expand your scope to include all sentient beings. There can be no exception, not even your enemy. You have to include them all in your practice. This is what we call “Great Compassion.” Such great compassion is not found in any other religions or the ordinary world view. You can check up on this. Can you find this great compassion in other philosophies, religions, or individual points of view? Does contemporary society need it?
Of course, the scope of universal love is not limited to human beings only; it should include all sentient beings. Everybody, from top senior officials, such as the president, down to the ordinary population, must practice it, otherwise you are inviting criticism. I remember, last year, when Barack Obama was being interviewed, he swatted and killed a fly, which led to strong feeling among animal protection organizations. This year, when he was delivering a speech at the White House, once again a fly kept crawling on his face and, at one point, even crawled on his lip. However, he had learned from the previous lesson, and he restrained himself from killing it and continued with his speech, trying not to notice the fly. Of course, the reason for him not killing the fly wasn’t compassion, but fear of public criticism. We can see that, compared to other religions, Buddhism has different features in terms of recognizing the equality and care for all sentient beings.
There may be people present here today who follow other religions. Although we should generally promote harmony among the major religions and try to integrate with each other, in the larger scope of the issue of compassion, there is some difference between us. In the United States, many people respect and worship God. Even during the President’s inaugural talks, they start by praying to God and finish with “God bless you.” This kind of faith and belief is beneficial to a country, but when compared to great compassion, there are some differences.
In accordance with the teachings of Buddhism, we should refrain from harming even small insects like flies, ants, or mosquitoes. Why? Because, like us, they feel the suffering of pain and want happiness. Think about it this way: if you belong to a disadvantaged group and someone discriminates against and tramples on you, would that person face condemnation from human rights activists? I am sure he would. Since people who are disadvantaged shouldn’t be bullied and harmed simply because they have less than those who are better off, surely those sentient beings who are not able to speak, but have similarities with us, such as an innate desire to be happy and to avoid suffering, should also be protected, too.
Perhaps when you hear this you may argue that it makes no sense, because there is a huge difference between animals and humans. However, if you apply logical reasoning to this matter, you will not find a valid reason to support the thesis that animals should be killed. Every sentient being is equal. This is a very important point, and we must always bear this in mind.4) Ascertaining things and events as emptiness
Just now, I mentioned that Buddhism has unique and special features from the perspective of wisdom and compassion. Compassion means to love and care for all sentient beings equally. Now I am going to talk about wisdom. Why is wisdom in Buddhism so special? It is because the Buddha has expounded the most profound approach to realize the wisdom of emptiness.
Unaware of the doctrines of emptiness, at present, many ordinary people think that relationships, wealth, property, status, fame, power, and so on are real entities, and then they strongly grasp onto them. They are continuously bound by the belief in real entities, and, as a result, this gives birth to various mental and emotional sufferings. Venerable Sarahapa said, “Even though a desire may be as small as a sesame seed, it can trigger immense sufferings.” Nagarjuna also said, in the Sixty Verses on Reasoning, “If one believes in real entities, Awful and vicious views arise, Which give birth to attachment and aversion; From this contentions ensue.” All sufferings are rooted in grasping, and the assumption that phenomena have a real, intrinsic nature. These days, many people are suicidal, even though they have little hardship in their lives. From the Buddhist point of view, all things and events arise due to dependent origination: when causes and conditions are present, things gather together, and when these causes and conditions are exhausted, things then disperse. Even hardship is just a common phenomenon. Feeling suicidal over hardship is unnecessary.
Not long ago, I went to Yushu to provide disaster relief after the earthquake. There, 99% of the people believe in Buddhism, and I found that the way they faced the disaster was very different to that of the victims of the Wen Chuan earthquake. At that time, many psychologists from different parts of the country went to Yushu to provide counselling, but they couldn’t find anyone who needed their help. The victims were aware of the impermanent nature of things and events, and so they understood that disasters arise due to causes and effects, and they could deal with and accept their hardship, even without any comfort from others. Those who have faith in Buddhism in everyday life already think about and consider good things as well as bad, such as death, illness, aging, bankruptcy, and so on. They are therefore able to face disaster with courage and resolution. From this, we can see that balancing the mind is very important, possibly more important than medical treatment alone, because if someone is mentally healthy he or she is able to deal with hardship, even serious physical illness.
IV The Tibetan Buddhist Way of Prolonging Life
In the Tibetan region, there are many Buddhist practitioners with not only healthy physical bodies but also very optimistic and healthy minds. The reasons for this are not because they have better material conditions than others, nor because they have a more comfortable natural environment. On the contrary, if you have been to Tibet you will know that the weather is unpredictable, it is at a very high altitude and lacks oxygen, and that these are great challenges to the inhabitants. In this kind of harsh environment, Tibetans still have minds radiating like the sun, satisfied and content with what they have, and full of a sense of happiness and joy. What is the secret recipe for this? The answer comes from the effects of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetan Buddhism is one of the three main Buddhist lineages, dating back to the eighth century, when it was brought from India to Tibet. Ninety-nine percent of Tibetans believe in Buddhism from their childhood, and this gives them a joyful and happy life. This is particularly the case with those that engage in Tibetan Vajrayana practice. They are mostly very healthy and have a long life; we can easily find examples of this. Master Sonam Dhondup of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Religious Studies, while researching forty people who had achieved the rainbow body at death, found that the majority of them lived to be over one hundred, with the youngest in the eighties and the oldest one hundred and forty years old. As we can see, Tibetan Vajrayana practice can truly promote human health and longevity significantly.
1. Balancing your mind
When someone is unhealthy, the cause is normally nothing more than being caught up with mental agitation and torn between doubt about what might happen and what the person hopes to gain. Buddhism focuses on working with the mind as the basis of all practice, because when the mind is balanced, the body will naturally be healthy, too.
In the Tibetan region, there are countless scriptures, treatises, and tantras, but the core teachings of all of these can be summarized as “work with the mind.” In addition, the Tibetan medical Four Tantras also say that all diseases and illness originate from dualistic and deluded thoughts. Atisha said in the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment:
The great ignorance of conceptuality
Makes us fall into the ocean of cyclic existence.
Resting in non-conceptual stabilization,
Space-like non-conceptuality manifests clearly.
It is inevitable that our body and mind will become unhealthy when dualistic thoughts and emotions such as desire and hatred arise in our mind. If you argue and fight with someone, then, in those few days, your mind is plagued with the fire of anger, which can even cause insomnia. If you balance your mind properly, all illness will be eliminated entirely at its root. The Han Buddhist master Zhi Zhe said, in Pithy Instructions for Practicing Calm Abiding and Meditation, that “Whoever can control their mind will avoid the four hundred and four diseases naturally.”
Therefore, the first method in Tibetan Buddhism for healthy living is to balance your mind. In your daily life, if you feel overworked or exhausted, you should relax your mind and not attach onto anything strongly. This in turn can help you to gain comfort and happiness, and then your body and mind will naturally be healthy.
2. Balancing your diet
At present, most people have an unbalanced diet. If you do not eat at the right times, you will eat too much or too little, both of which are very bad for the body. Therefore, Lord Buddha said in the Vinaya and Discourse on the Stages of Yogic Practice that we should not overeat, nor should we eat too little, nor should we eat at the wrong times. Also, food shouldn’t be too strong—too spicy, too salty, too rich—as this will upset the body. Usually, a vegetarian diet is the most suitable.
Some people may think that if you are vegetarian, your body may not last long. This argument is not valid. A while back, I met someone who said to me: “It is best for humans to consume meat, otherwise, if we only eat vegetables, we will be similar to a yak only eating grass. How can we be sure that our body is healthy if we only eat vegetables?” I jokingly replied to him: “Beef actually comes from grass. The yaks eat grass directly, and they are very healthy. Instead of indirectly eating grass, why not become a vegetarian? This will not harm your health.”
On the surface, it may look as if eating meat can benefit the body, but, in fact, many western medical experts and also humanitarian activists are promoting vegetarianism. Why? Not because of their faith or religion, but simply from the point of view of physical health. They believe that humans shouldn’t eat too much meat, as doing so places a burden on the internal organs. Therefore, by eating vegetarian food, we not only refrain from creating negative karma, but it also improves our health significantly.
However, in the Chinese Han region, certain medical experts, due to insufficient research on the effects of vegetarian food on the body’s health, and a lack of awareness of the effects of vegetarian food on the environment, do not promote a vegetarian diet. The most important point is that we have only this one earth. If we destroy the natural world, killing and harming living beings, this will only destroy the planet’s ecological balance and cause us further difficulties. However, I am very sad to say that many people don’t consider this at all, caring only about themselves and paying no heed to the planet on which we live. In Buddhism, the practice focusing on one’s own liberation is called the “small vehicles.” Although they only care about themselves, they refrain from harming others. On the contrary, for those people that cause harm to our planet, there is no liberation as such.
We must take a broad and long-term view for the sake of harmony in nature and in order to protect our beneficial resources. We should also know how to protect the environment and care about animals. We must know that animals are our friends, not our food. If we treat them the way we treat non-living things, killing them recklessly and eating them, we are behaving in such a way as to make others disagree with and criticize us. The philosopher Bertrand Russell claimed to prefer Buddhism to any of the other great religions. Why would this be? It is because the scope of Buddhist compassion extends toward all sentient beings. Therefore, being a Buddhist, it is our mandatory responsibility to love all sentient beings.
3. Getting the right amount of sleep
After a busy day of strenuous physical and mental effort, everyone needs to rest to restore their strength, and the most common means of relaxation is sleep. An adequate amount of sleep is needed. If we oversleep, we will feel drowsy, while, on the other hand, if we lack sleep, we cannot fully restore our strength. Some people who have just started studying and practicing Dharma do so very diligently, but they stay up late every night, sometimes not even getting any sleep. This is quite detrimental to your health. Some people sleep too much, spending half of their days asleep, which is even more harmful to their body. Modern medical research shows that the amount of sleep is closely related to a person’s life expectancy. David Hayward, an American heart expert, conducted a study of this topic by issuing eight hundred thousand copies of a questionnaire to men and women between the ages of forty and eighty. Two years later, through analysis and comparison, he found that oversleeping can cause sudden heart attack or stroke. Therefore, more than eight hours of sleep a day is actually not conducive to good health.
If we want to be healthy, we should have an adequate amount of sleep. In Buddhism, the early hours of the night and the early hours of the morning are generally used for practicing Dharma, and only the middle of the night is for sleeping. Most people living in cities, however, behave almost completely opposite to this: they are very active during the early and middle parts of the night, go to sleep late at night, and only wake up at nine or ten o’clock in the morning. This reversed order of sleep is especially bad for your health.
In fact, the best time to sleep is from 10 pm to 5 am. If you sleep well during this period, not only do you get enough rest, but it is also conducive for your practice. Why? Because the movement of the sun and the moon have a certain relationship with the movement of the winds in the channels (qimai). If you reverse your day- and night-lives for a long time, and are overworked, this will inevitably undermine the qimai. If you can put aside all your work and stress before the middle of the night, sleep without any worries, and try to get up early in the morning, your health will benefit tremendously. However, it is quite difficult for people in cities to achieve this nowadays.
4. Adjusting your breathing
Appropriate adjustment of your breathing can cure illnesses, strengthen your body, and prolong life. Tibetan Buddhism has many methods using the breath , for example, visualizing a word (Tibetan AH or SHE), then visualizing it, following your out breath slowly, and then inhaling again. Practicing this repeatedly is very good for your physical health. An especially good time to do this is when you wake up in the morning: exhale slowly from your nostrils, and then slowly inhale, or repeatedly say “ha ha” to exhale the stale air. Doing this frequently is very beneficial for the regulation of body and mind. In the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon it says: “When useful qi is inside our body，harmful interferences have no opportunities.” Indeed, if the mind is settled, useful qi is stored inside our body, and, with the qimai operating normally, this will then support the body’s immune system, and diseases will not have a chance to get a hold.
5. Balancing your body
Balancing your body refers to correct body posture. Either meditation or exercise can promote this. People often say “life is an exercise,” but Buddhists do not think this, because if you only have “movement” without “stillness,” you will not necessarily live longer. In fact, silent meditation, calming the mind, and concentration can also greatly promote the innate potential of the mind and body. An example of this is the old monk Xu Yun, and Master Qing Ding, who, despite having a simple life, and even spending much of it in rough and inhospitable conditions, enjoyed a long life thanks to frequently performing silent sitting meditation. Therefore, only by integrating “movement” and “silent stillness” can we be considered to have harnessed Buddhist ways of prolonging life.
Of all such exercises, prostrations are the best method. Prostrations involve both the mind and body. Not only do they have incredible virtue, but if you can perform one hundred prostrations a day, your body will gradually become fit, and aging will be slowed down too. Whether young or elderly, even if you only perform three prostrations a day, it can be very beneficial.
In addition, if you have time, it is best to do sitting meditation in the morning after you wake up. If you really do not know how to do this, then you can visualize Shakyamuni Buddha in front of you, and sit with your eyes closed for a while. Then, again visualize the Buddha, sit for a while, and proceed in this manner. However, if this is too difficult for you, you can simply let your mind settle down without any thoughts and sit calmly for a couple of minutes or even half an hour. Doing this will make the qi in your arteries and veins flow normally and thus benefit your physical and mental health greatly.
Of course, the fundamental basis of the above “Five Adjustments” is an altruistic mind and the desire to benefit others. This is the most important thing. If you act selfishly, no matter how you maintain your health, it will only bring suffering; on the other hand, if your mind is altruistic, everything you do will be done in an unpressured way. Even if you are not always successful in what you do, your mental state will be joyful, without anxiety, restlessness, or dissatisfaction.
This is a very important point for society at present. If everyone is very selfish, this creates a vicious circle. It is like if you are in a movie theater and someone in the front row stands up. The people behind also have to stand up in order to see the show, and you can imagine what will happen. We can see that in today’s world many concepts have been reversed. Life for the rich, powerful, and capable shouldn’t be limited to self promotion or self interest. What is more important is that they should be concerned about the people around them. Thus, altruism is also charity.
Two days ago, on June 16, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates from the United States hosted a banquet dinner. They invited many celebrities, including the Mayor of New York. At the dinner, the two urged these super-rich Americans, who have billions of dollars, to donate half of their fortune to charity. On the spot, a number of very rich Americans made pledges, and announced them in public.
However, in some areas of China, this concept of charity is still not widely promoted, and many people do not see the importance of helping others. When a disaster occurs, they quickly raise money to deal with the emergency, and then immediately after that withdraw again. This shows how their concept of charity is immature. We should know that there are many people around us who need help and care, such as those who cannot afford medical care, children who cannot afford education, and elderly people who have nobody to care for them. If we generate loving kindness toward them, only then can we sustain our community. Otherwise, having several luxury villas and a few luxury cars are not necessarily signs of social development. However great the material wealth a society has, if a society’s spiritual climate does not improve, it is only deceiving itself, and in the end it will destroy itself.
Therefore, as human beings, we should lean together in the direction of helping and benefiting others. Otherwise, if everyone only takes care of their own interests, making progress through activities that favor themselves and harm others, however much we talk about rapid development this will in fact result in regression. Nowadays, some entrepreneurs’ behavior is shocking. They have a lot of money, but the source of the money is not clean, and they have used dirty tricks to harm countless people to achieve what they have now. What will be the consequence of this? It is quite obvious. We can conclude that today’s society really needs Mahayana Buddhism. What is Mahayana Buddhism? To reiterate, it unconditionally benefits all human beings and even all sentient beings. This kind of supreme spirit will emit the light to dispel the darkness, regardless of our homeland or ethnicity.
I hope you can keep what I have shared and discussed today with you all in mind, if it suits you. Finally, I pray that everyone can help all sentient beings with bodhicitta. Thank you.
