FROM OUR USUAL point of view, health is considered being free of sickness. But we can look at health as something more than that. In the Buddhist tradition, there are three aspects of health: (1) innate, or intrinsic, health; (2) acquired, or conditioned, health; and (3) healing. Medicine Buddha practices are related to all three.
INTRINSIC HEALTH
Innate or intrinsic health—being healthy—is a state of wholesomeness. It is when we are in the original state of perfect balance, with body and mind synchronized. This state of being is fundamentally good in itself and is indestructible. It is also the source of ultimate healing. All other kinds of healing are simply temporary forms that may address only the symptoms and not the root cause of an illness or other health condition.
To bring forth the full effect and the full benefit of innate health, our minds need to have some degree of confidence or trust in this reality. It’s the same with anything we do. When we take a Tylenol, we begin by thinking, “This is going to work, this is going to help me.” We need to have some trust in that little tablet.
This kind of trust is not like a strong religious conviction or faith. It is a simple recognition of our own true being. At minimum, we need to have some willingness to explore this intrinsic health as a possibility. We don’t need to believe in anything, we just need a sense of inquisitiveness.
We can develop confidence in the reality of our innate health on the basis of our own experience. To bring about that experience, we use different methods of meditation and contemplation. You can also use techniques involving movement, such as yoga or running, as long as you’re not listening to
