|
Ancient Cultivation Story: Factors Affecting Health by Jingyan
(Clearwisdom.net) Zixia and Zengzi were both students of Confucius. One
day, they met each other on the street. Zengzi carefully looked Zixia over from
head to toe, and then asked, "In the past you had many illnesses and were
always thin and weak. You seem to have gained weight and look energetic
too." Zixia happily said, "I have recently won a battle, so I feel
very happy and have gained weight as a result." Not understanding him Zengshi asked, "What do you mean?" Zixiao
replied, "One day I was reading in my study books about Yao (2353 - 2234
BC) , Yu (21st century BC) and Tang (15th century BC). After reading their
viewpoints on morality, friendship and loyalty, I found I appreciated their
views and wanted to be a good person. However, when I walked down the street and
saw so many tantalizing things and observed other people living in luxury, my
desire for material things was stimulated and I wanted to make more money. These
two opposing thoughts constantly fought inside my mind and I could not find any
peace. I was not able to eat or rest well, lost weight and incurred many
illnesses. "Who won the battle?" Zengshi inquired. Zixiao quickly answered,
"Yao, Yu and Tang's views on morality, friendship and loyalty won. As you
can now see, I have gained weight." Actually, from ancient times to today, there were many sages of virtue who
realized that human beings' selfish desires are a form of material substance, a
substance that is impure. This impure substance is a contributing cause to human
illness. When human beings pursue personal gain, impurities continually
accumulate in the body and cause illness. If a person can overcome selfishness
and other bad thoughts, look lightly on money and material things, resist human
temptation, and do things naturally instead of for personal gain, one will
assimilate to the characteristics of the universe. One's realm and mind will
elevate and the material of the body will elevate as well. One will be able
reach a state free of illness or with few illnesses. Posting date: 1/5/2007 |