Health Preservation: Mental Nourishment Is Most Essential
Everyone knows that health preservation involves supplementation—herbal remedies, dietary therapy, physical exercise. But there is another form: mental nourishment. It is the hardest to achieve yet absolutely indispensable.Mental NourishmentWhat is mental nourishment? It means focusing the mind without distraction and maintaining emotional stability. Easy to say, hard to do.[Case Study]: A retired official suffered from heart disease. He was naturally sensitive and prone to emotional outbursts. Knowing his condition required calmness, he refused to engage in any matters—home or outside—no matter how trivial. He wouldn’t answer phone calls, even if he could, because he feared emotional agitation. Every day, he lay on the sofa, checking his pulse and touching his left chest, monitoring his condition daily. On the surface, he avoided all disturbances, but his mind never truly calmed down. Lying still, he constantly worried—carrying immense psychological burden.The essence of mental nourishment lies in being able to let go, take hold, and release.Its characteristic is non-attachment and non-obsession.[Buddhist Health Preservation Hundred Characters]How should this be understood?Because mental nourishment requires genuine mental tranquility. Human thought is like a shattered thermometer—when quiet, the mercury droplets scatter chaotically. Thus, not deliberately pursuing stillness often brings greater peace than actively seeking it.After doing something kind for others, the deep sense of satisfaction is the best form of mental nourishment. This explains why “ancient renowned physicians were mostly long-lived.”Those who are competitive and insist on taking center stage in every situation find it difficult to attain true mental nourishment.If you care about health and health preservation, you must know what to take and what to let go.