The Medicine Buddha and the philosophy of healing!

The Medicine Buddha and the enlightened way to health.

The Buddhist philosophy is that the body is a home or temple for the spirit and should be treated with great respect. Buddhist basic beliefs are that if people are spiritually focused and follow a faithful path of meditation, diet and exercise of body and breath, people would rarely become sick.

When illness does occur the medicine Buddha believes 70% of the time it can be cured with the mind, 20% of the time with herbs, food and nutrition and 10% of the time with modern medicine.

It is a common belief of the medicine Buddha that if you expose the body to harsh natural elements it will strengthen the immune system. This age old belief is now finding the light in modern medicine, as cases of asthma has greatly increased in the children of affluent families.

When medical scientist have studied this phenomenon, they discovered that those raised in cleaner more sterile conditions had a great increase in the cases of asthma and allergies. But children who lived in less affluent families and consequently were exposed to less perfect conditions had fewer incidents of asthma and allergy conditions.

The medicine Buddha believes sickness often comes from laziness in faith or lifestyle. This is not seen, (as in some other religions), as a punishment of God, but rather a natural consequence of breaking away from the natural "Way" of life.

It is simply that the medicine Buddha believes that the health of all aspects of life are achieved in the daily actions of discipline. Meditation and prayer, good hygiene, healthy eating, stretching and exercise along with deep breathing are all seen as the path to a healthy and enlightened body, mind and spirit.

Any break in any area, (to what ever degree), leaves one susceptible to illness. But the medicine Buddha does not view illness as all bad. On the contrary, Buddhist see suffering and ecstasy as equally valuable. Ecstasy allows you to enjoy and value life; suffering gives you the opportunity to grow and become stronger.

Buddhist do accept modern medicine as being valuable in severe or emergency situations, but view it as only a temporary solution to stabilize a severe condition. Once stabilized, the medicine Buddha feels natural substances which include herbs, foods, plants, meditation, prayer, urine therapy , stones, magnets, gems, exercise and stretching should be used to bring a state of health.

Buddhist avoid alcohol and other stimulants because they are seen as interfering with the clarity of mind. Many strict Buddhist follow a vegetarian lifestyle as on of their fundamental beliefs is that all life is valuable and they should never intentionally kill any living being.

As a side note....because of this most basic of Buddhist beliefs, it is the only major world religion which has "Never" had an act of war enacted or initiated in its name or because of any of its teachings. Many followers of Buddhism are less strict and therefore do eat fish and eggs and some even eat poultry and other fowl.

Another key element to health in the traditions of the medical Buddha is abstinence of sex before marriage. In Buddhism sex is only condoned with-in marriage. This is not necessarily because of the moral issues often supported by other religions. However, Buddhist see this behavior as not only physically dangerous because of the physical health risk such as S.T.D.`s, but just as importantly, because of the health risk to emotional and spiritual damage.

A good and healthy sex life with-iin marriage is seen as greatly aiding in the health of all aspects of body, mind and spirit. Outside of marriage a sexual relationship is seen as dangerous and distracting.

Modern science has now shown that this age old belief in Buddhism and so many other world religions and spiritual faiths is absolutely true. A Yale University medical study of hundreds of participants over several years found the following: An intimate, sexually satisfying relationship with-in marriage reduces the risk of heart disease, depression, migraine, pre-menstrual syndrome (P.M.S.), and arthritis. It also boosts the immune system which aids the fight against age and other related illness`s.

The study found that a central goal in healing was not orgasm, but connection with your spouse. It was found that even those in long term relationships, but outside of marriage greatly decreased the deep connection necessary to achieve healing benefits and those in uncommitted sexual relationships actually had increases in illness`s and there severity.

The Yale study went on to find that the healing sex with-in marriage brings a marked decline in bloodstream levels of adrenaline and cortisol. These stress hormones provoke anxiety and reduce immune function. In the study, women who were happily married had higher levels of natural killer cells and helper "T" cells than those in unmarried couples.... even those in "committed", long term relationships, but still outside marriage.

There seems to be clear evidence that there is some component to the life time commitment of marriage that is lacking in other kinds of relationships... even those that are long term, but outside marriage. The healing result long recognized by the medicine Buddha now has scientific data supporting that marital sex is also a potent antidote for social isolation, which has been linked to serious illness and premature death. The Yale study findings concluded that those without a loving spouse at home were twice as likely to die prematurely as those with a spouse.

The following are the fundamental beliefs taught by the medicine Buddha:

• Respect all life including yourself.


• Practice daily the discipline of meditation and prayer


• Your primary diet should consist of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds and those that choose can eat eggs, fish and fowl. Many medicine Buddha practitioners also recommend up to a quart or liter a day of urine therapy.


• If you do choose a vegan lifestyle, make sure to get the necessary nutrition, including vitamins B6 and B12 and protein which are often lacking in that diet.


• Good hygiene including a therapeutic bath everyday. Bathing should be therapeutic and therefore aroma therapy and essential oils should be used along with candles and pictures that aid in meditation and contemplation.


• Breath. Daily deep breathing exercises are essential in all aspects of health according to the medicine Buddha traditions. Shallow breathing makes the body believe it is in a state of emergency causing the production of certain hormones. While these are helpful in an emergency, if regularly produced they bring a large range of stress related illness.

When illness or other hardships, disappointments or adversity comes your way in life, practice staying calm. Medicine Buddha looks at any adversity as an opportunity to become stronger rather than as something thought to be negative or to be avoided.


• Abstain from sexual relationships outside of marriage is an important discipline taught by medicine Buddha traditions. With-in a marriage, work on obtaining "connection" rather than just physical pleasure from your sexual relationship.


• A key and fundamental belief with Buddha traditions is the idea of , "the compassionate acts for others", or "living for the sake of others".


• The most fundamental belief of medicine Buddha traditions for ultimate health is to Seek God as to know God is to Know Truth.

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