Buddhist Way of Health Preservation

Author: Ren Xiujin, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Buddha says, "Human life is rare," hence, caring for life becomes one of the essential qualities for Buddhist practitioners. This is not only reflected in caring for all sentient beings but also in the ultimate goal of Buddhism, which is to liberate all sentient beings, enabling them to awaken wisdom, realize their true nature, and attain Buddhahood. The purpose of health cultivation should include both physical and mental well-being, and the practices of Buddhist cultivation precisely encompass both aspects. Based on this, we have selected from the vast Buddhist scriptures simple yet effective methods for self-cultivation and health preservation that do not lead to adverse consequences, hoping to provide some help and inspiration for modern people living in intense competition in their health cultivation.
Buddhist health cultivation emphasizes meditation. For beginners, the most essential text on meditation is An Inquiry into the Nature of Mind (Yinshi Zi Jingzuo Fa) written by Mr. Jiang Weiqiao during the Republican era. It not only contains detailed techniques for self-cultivation and mental training but also provides thorough methods for entering meditation, along with the author's personal experiences. One can truly enter the hall of Buddhist health cultivation by thoroughly studying An Inquiry into the Nature of Mind. However, there is still more to be covered! Buddhist health cultivation is divided into three parts: cultivating the mind, cultivating the body, and health preservation through living and eating. The cultivation of the mind focuses on compassion and universal love; the cultivation of the body emphasizes meditation, which is further divided into internal and external cultivation. Internal cultivation involves sitting meditation and physical stability, while external cultivation focuses on exercises for the muscles, bones, and joints. Health preservation through living and eating covers the methods of maintaining a long and healthy life through daily routines. These three parts are interconnected as a whole. Therefore, this book progresses systematically, starting from the beginner's guide An Inquiry into the Nature of Mind to the external cultivation technique Damo's Easy Muscle Strengthening Exercise (Damo Yijin Jing) and then to the internal cultivation classic The Art of Cleansing the Marrow. It gradually explains the theory and methods of Buddhist health cultivation, allowing beginners to practice step by step.
The Six Subtle Methods and The Little Samatha and Vipassana are indispensable classics in Buddhist health cultivation, and this book includes them as well. The book is divided into chapters such as an overview of Tibetan Buddhist health cultivation, methods for healing diseases through Tibetan esoteric practices, methods for health preservation through Tibetan esoteric vocalization, methods for health cultivation through Tibetan meditation, and health cultivation through the Great Vajra Hevajra Fist. These chapters introduce the principles of health cultivation in Tibetan Buddhism.