With the changing trends in the way of life and the environment, establishing effective health system becomes imperative. Humans depend on the surroundings and are after good health. Buddhist lifestyle dictates for predetermined ways of living that respect human life and the environment.
The mind of an individual is attributed with the control every aspect and action of the body. Modern doctors are faced with the challenge of dealing with mind-related ailments. Recent developments suggest that the mind can be the cause of sickness, as well as, be an inevitable source of treatment.
Learning how to meditate can be very helpful in body development and health care. It is now apparent that treating diseases that are considered dangerous depend on the modern technology and science. Countries like Thailand have developed an unconventional way of treating diseases like cancer.
In this context, the holistic method of treatment is common practice in Thailand. The holistic method of treatment is based on nature’s relation with man. Therefore, the treatment promotes the use meditation skills and related benefits (Hathirat 1983).
The principal behind this type of treatment is the Buddhist teachings. Buddhists argue that just like iron and rust, the human mind can generate things that are harmful to the body (Paonil & Sringernyuang 2002). In this regard, having bad thoughts will eventually lead to the same negative results.
From this perspective, a cancer patient is required to relax and contemplate on positive thoughts (Paonil & Sringernyuang 2002). The patient should not think negatively since such may cause death.
Buddhist teachings are clear about how to live one’s life. In most cases, the Buddhism advises on what type of food to eat in order to remain healthy (Paonil & Sringernyuang 2002).
Over the years, so many environmental problems that have been associated with the same are caused by human activities. Religion led by Buddhism advocate for the protection of the environment. Buddhism has various concerns about the methods of environmental preservation.
Buddhism emphasizes on the interconnection concept among the believers. From the concept, people develop everlasting peace between self, divinity and nature. The doctrine stipulates that every human action must be based on the premise of interconnection.
The interconnection doctrine gives ground for the generation of modest, compassionate and balance among the believers. Consequently, this translates into a mitigation of against harm done to the environment. Buddhism teachings dictate that destroying the environment has negative implications on human life (Ratanakul 2004).
Human compassion is another factor that Buddhism uses to protect the environment. Through Buddhism, humans realize that the harm against life is an abomination to divinity. In any case, Buddhism is all about peace with humanity, God and nature.
Buddhism acknowledges that human suffering can be alleviated by living in moderation and peace with other forms of life. In essence, there must be a balance between self-sacrifice and pleasure (Ratanakul 2004). There are benefits of using Buddhism teachings in operating economies that heavily depend on the environment.
Buddhism is aware that environment sustainability solely depends on how humans benefit from the same (Ratanakul 2004). A classical example of how industrialization has destroyed the environment poses great danger for the future generations.
Today, developed economies are seeking help from developing countries that are yet to damage the environment. The magnitude of current environmental destruction explains why global warming is termed as danger to human existence.
References
Hathirat, S. 1983, ‘Buddhist monks as community health workers in Thailand’, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 17, no. 19, pp. 1485-1487.
Paonil, W & Sringernyuang, L 2002, ‘Buddhist perspectives on health and healing’, The Chulalongkorn Journal of Buddhist Studies, vol 1, no. 2, pp. 93-105.
Ratanakul, P 2004, ‘Buddhism, health and disease’, Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics, vol 15, pp. 162-164.