Happy Buddha: The Health Benefits to Living a Buddhist Lifestyle

Buddhist teachings say one can achieve happiness through physical and mental well-being. Through simple methods such as dietary choices, meditation,exercising, and just maintaining a healthy living environment, achieving happiness as a Buddhist is not outside the realm of possibility.

In this article by Pacific Prime, we will be going through tips and tricks to help you maintain a healthy, peaceful Buddhist lifestyle.

Dietary Choices

Monks follow strict dietary restrictions, which follow the belief that a regular and proper diet should cure hunger, relieve thirst, and prevent illnesses while avoiding unnecessary consumption such as snacking.

Meanwhile, less strict monks cook in their monasteries and aim for high-quality, wholesome, flavorful, yet healthy cuisine as opposed to processed or chemically-preserved ingredients.

You can follow the formal monastery’s “three bowls” dietary system, consisting of grain-based dishes such as rice or porridge, followed by stew or soup, and accompanied by vegetables or salad. This three-bowl system heavily emphasizes slow carbs, protein, and fibers.

For vegans, you can follow Buddhist monks’ diet consisting of soy or wheat gluten-based meat substitutes such as Seitan.

Mental Health Matters: Meditation and Yoga

Meditation and yoga are both strongly recommended for promoting a state of balance, as breathing helps the mind focus. Meditation helps increase energy, improve blood circulation, and improve the endocrine system.

On the other hand, yoga helps improve flexibility in addition to strength and balance, contributes to a healthier heart, allows for better sleep, and helps relieve back pain.

Experienced Buddhists who meditate regularly are less likely to feel shocked, surprised, or enraged, and their brain regions linked with positive emotions are more active overall. This also makes them less prone to anxiety, paranoia, and fear.

You can start by doing yoga for around 15 minutes to half an hour, and follow with 5-10 minutes of meditation afterwards, and you can increase the time of your meditation to 20-30 minutes or slightly more if you wish to do so. This will help your body relax after tensing up from working out.

Avoid Addictive Substances

Since you’re already meditating and doing some yoga, why stop there? Another way to stay healthy for Buddhists is to refrain from intoxicants. The practice of refraining from intoxicants comes from part of Buddha’s “Five Precepts,” one of which is discouraging addictive substance consumption.

Addictive substances include alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and contraband drugs. Alcohol, in particular, is seen as a hindrance to enlightenment and is considered harmful as it causes erratic behavior. However, if one chooses to drink alcohol, they are encouraged to drink moderately and sensibly.

While tea contains addictive caffeine, the mild stimulant from drinking tea helps aid concentration.

Take it Easy: Harmonious Living Environment

Today’s urban setting, with noise pollution from traffic and construction along with potential air pollution from the air we breathe, can be a disturbance from meditation and can cause health problems, both physically and spiritually.

The teachings of Dharma say the ideal landscape could be anything ranging from bright green forests to refreshing bodies of water. You can take breaks every once in a while, by escaping the hustle and bustle of the city in favor of peacefulness in the mountains, forests, or the beach.

Conclusion

From maintaining a healthy diet to avoiding addictive substances, along with escaping the bustling streets and prioritizing your mental health just as much as your physical health, achieving peace and happiness as a Buddhist is something anybody can do.

Whether you’re a local Buddhist in China or from anywhere else, we hope these methods were helpful to you in making healthy lifestyle choices.

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