Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

5. Disease
Two sorts of physical diseases may be distinguished.
a. Imbalance of the Four Elements. It is said that there
are 101 diseases connected with each element, so
altogether 404 physical diseases may arise in this way.
Thus one should be careful to take wholesome food,
pure water, breathe clean air, etc., just as modern
science and medicine recommend.
Do not think that you can cure yourself by your
meditation. The Buddha himself told his disciples to use
the correct medicines for their illnesses, so one should
not hesitate to apply modern methods if they will result
in a cure. Some meditators in China had too much faith
in the power of mantras or conceit about their own
attainment in meditation, and so refused to take tablets
or to have injections. Such an attitude is indeed foolish
unless one's accomplishment in meditation is very great.
It is sensible to use mantras, too, and practice one's
meditation, taking prescribed medicines as well. Besides
Gautama Buddha's good advice to his disciples on this
subject, we should also remember the Buddha of
Medicine who can certainly help us (the Tathagata
Bhaisajyaguru).
b. The second kind of disease is that of the specific
organs, in China classified into five types. This subject
is not essential to our present inquiry, so we will not
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