Cultivating Goodness for Health Preservation
Cultivating Goodness for Health Preservation
In *Qianjin Yaofang*, Tang Dynasty physician Sun Simiao stated: “To nurture one’s nature is to habituate oneself to goodness; goodness becomes one’s nature. Once nature is inherently good, all internal and external diseases will not arise, and disasters and chaos will not occur—this is the great principle of health preservation.” Nurturing nature is the foundation of health preservation. “Nurturing nature” means cultivating goodness. Commonly understood as “good heart” or “kindness,” it essentially means having a kind heart and upright intentions. Being morally good, honest, and upright prevents wrongdoing, ensures integrity, and brings peace of mind—free from guilt—making it the ultimate method of health preservation.
Whether one achieves this “goodness” depends largely on establishing correct moral standards. In essence, cultivating goodness is fundamentally about moral cultivation. Ancient scholars proposed the theory of “benevolent people live long.” Confucius, the great educator of the Spring and Autumn Period, taught in *Zhong Yong*: “Cultivate oneself through the Way, cultivate the Way through benevolence,” and “Great virtue inevitably brings long life.” Those with noble moral character naturally enjoy long life. Ming Dynasty physician Wang Wenlu explicitly declared in *Yisheng*: “Cultivating virtue and preserving health are one and the same method,” emphasizing that virtue and health are inseparable and mutually reinforcing.
One’s moral awareness profoundly affects psychological state. Performing acts of kindness brings immense spiritual joy, which beneficially regulates bodily functions, promoting their normal operation. As ancient wisdom says: “Virtue bears fortune”—doing good is itself happiness. The reason lies in two aspects: first, doing good brings psychological satisfaction; second, this mental joy produces the fruit of longevity and well-being.
It should be noted that the moral concepts discussed in traditional health preservation refer to behavioral norms—rules for conduct. This concept is commonly used in daily life and social interactions as a standard for evaluating others’ and one’s own actions. People need morality because all human activities occur within society. Morality, as a standard of evaluation, exists in people’s consciousness. Examples include “integrity and public service,” “honesty with all, young and old,” “unwearied teaching,” “saving lives and healing injuries,” “wealth cannot corrupt, power cannot subdue,” and “poverty does not diminish ambition.” These ethical qualities are products of long-standing traditional moral development—shared beliefs among humanity.