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Chapter II

Curing Mental Anxiety through Zen Medicine

The biggest reason for my success in fighting against cancer is that I experienced true happiness. In those days, though tortured by the disease, I was extremely happy when I cultivated myself, basking in the brightness and warmth of the sun. Each night, when the moon shed its soothing light on my hut, I felt very happy as well, because the Goddess of the Moon was pacifying my mind. Every time I felt I could no longer continue, I was encouraged by Bodhidharma, who had once meditated in that cave for nine years. When I was recovering, I tilled the land to grow crops, cooked, exercised, and meditated, and the disease left my body.

I know another cancer patient who was cured spontaneously. He had a job, but he stopped working after falling ill. Refusing to stay idle, he came up with an idea to keep himself busy—he swept the grounds of the whole residential area every day. At first, his family did not want him to do this, but after reconsidering, they decided to leave him to himself. Unexpectedly, this work led the old man to become increasingly vigorous, and his cancer was finally cured.

Therefore, just as smiling is recognized universally, happiness is the panacea to all diseases. It’s true everybody is busy today, but when you have free moments, you might as well recall those happy times in your life. This simple activity will cure many underlying health problems that trouble you, including insomnia, anxiety, depression, and even some more serious diseases.

1. Managing Your Life with Industry and Frugality

Many people ask why, after living a frugal life, they can’t accumulate any wealth. In fact, being frugal and being industrious are both complementary and indispensable. We are bound to be poor if we practice frugality alone, and we will have nothing to our names if we focus solely on industry.

Let me begin with a story.

In the old days, people preferred to hang a tablet above their gates, on which were written two words in parallel, industry and frugality. Once when an old man was on his deathbed, he hoped his sons would remember the virtue of industry and frugality, and so divided the tablet in two, giving industry to his older son and frugality to his younger son.

Later, it turned out that the older son worked diligently, but knew no frugality, while the younger son was frugal, but not hardworking. Consequently, both became poor. Finally, the brothers decided to put the two words together, and in that way, becoming both industrious and thrifty, they grew wealthy.

In real life, there are many who uphold only one of the two words. Such people generally do not live well. Some become wealthy doing business, but instead of buying things good for use, they buy anything that is expensive. Eventually, they use up their money and return to poverty. To them, their past riches and honor are nothing more than a fond dream.

Others are exactly the opposite. Although they are frugal, they are simply too lazy, living solely on the money left by their parents. Being frugal alone does not help, and in time, the entire fortune is depleted.

A Buddhist proverb says, “Industry and kindness generate wealth and happiness, while laziness and evil result in poverty and bitterness.” Being industrious and frugal is an indispensable virtue. Before we practice this principle, we need to understand it thoroughly.

2. A Calm Mood Brings Good Luck

To conduct ourselves in society, we should be aware of ways to cultivate our hearts and temperament. Nothing we do will fail if done calmly. If a general in the front can remain composed at crucial moments, he then make clear-headed decisions. If a businessman can have a peaceful mind in dealing with matters of vital interest, he is certain to be on the winning side. If a student can stay cool during his examinations, he will score high marks. Therefore, maintaining calm mood at critical moments is particularly commendable. It is also the secret of preserving health. According to traditional Chinese medicine, anger impairs the liver, which will in turn impair the heart. Therefore, we should try to remain calm and undisturbed in dealing with all things, because getting angry means we are punishing ourselves with the mistakes of others.

To clearly judge a person’s moral standards, scholarship, and competence is very difficult, but a calm mood is an essential quality we should cultivate.

Let me illustrate with a story. Zeng Guofan (1811–1872) and Li Hongzhang (1823–1901) were among the four greatest ministers in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Once, the latter recommended Liu Mingchuan (1836–1896) and two other scholars to the Zeng, who invited them to his residence for an interview. Instead of showing up at the appointed time, he kept them waiting in the living room and observed them in secret. The two scholars grew impatient and kept complaining, but Liu remained composed, appreciating the calligraphic works and paintings hanging on the wall. It goes without saying that Liu was the one who was recruited.

To conclude, the ability to keep composed is essential to our success. Getting angry easily will eventually impair our health, without which everything else is but a dream. Moreover, if we conduct ourselves in a calm, undisturbed manner, others will consider us trustworthy and steadfast, and the road ahead will become smoother. Otherwise, we will alienate ourselves from others and become unapproachable.

3. Breaking Away from Constraints

Some elderly people tell me that they are not free at home, or that they often quarrel with their daughters-in-law. Some younger people say that the companies they work for limit their personal development. In fact, the root of all these troubles is the heart. Only when the heart is free can the body be free.

When the Bodhidharma arrived in the eastern land, he saw a cage hanging from the beam of a house, inside which was a beautiful bird. The bird chirped continually as soon as it caught sight of the Bodhidharma, who understood that it was asking him how it could get out of the cage. He said, “You must lie down with your legs stretched out and your eyes closed.”

After a while, when the owner of the bird came in, the bird did what the Bodhidharma said, stretching its legs out, closing its eyes, and pretending to be dead. Surprised at the sudden death of his favorite bird, the owner immediately opened the cage to see what had happened to it. Seizing the opportunity, the bird flew out and gained its freedom.

There are people who feel frustrated at work. They keep complaining like the bird in the cage. But the Buddha teaches us to change our fate by actively changing the environment we are in. Therefore, if we change our state of mind and work hard, we can earn a good reputation in our work environment. In time, some better companies will come for us and we can then break away from the confinements of our former environment.

4. Forgiving Others

Once when he was taking a walk at night in the temple courtyard, an old monk saw a chair at the edge of the wall. He immediately knew that a monk had climbed over the wall, which was against the rules of the temple. The old monk moved the chair away and squatted against the wall. After a short while, a young monk climbed onto the wall. Stepping on the back of the old monk, he jumped into the courtyard.

Instead of scolding him in a sharp voice, the old monk quietly told him to go and put on more clothes, since it was the middle of the night and getting chilly. He chose to forgive his disciple, because he knew that forgiveness is a form of silent education. From then on, the young monk kept the temple rules. His master forgave him just one mistake, but what the master got in turn was his respect for himself and for the Buddha.