|
Eastern Philosophy
What does philosophy have to do with health? The root of the word philosophy is translated as “Love of Wisdom”. Development of wisdom is development of health. A healthy life is a balance of mind and body. One method of developing the mind is the study of philosophy. The study of philosophy is the practice of questions. Philosophies seek the deeper meaning and ask questions to understand. This is wisdom. There is an English spelling of a Korean philosophical practice called “Hwa Dool”. The Korean to English translation of this phrase is “Chasing the Word”. It is the search for meaning through questions. Focus on a topic and start to ask questions. These questions will lead to answers. These questions will lead to additional questions. This process will continue until an answer is reached. If there is no definitive answer, then there is at minimum a much greater understanding of the topic. The key principle of this practice is to ask questions. That is what philosophy is.
Discipline and control are pillars of good health. Cultivate true happiness and peace. If the mind is controlled, then the way to improvement, wisdom and virtue will naturally develop. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. Cultivate purity and a peaceful mind. Act with goodness. Do good deeds and maintain a peaceful mind when surroundings are not satisfactory as this is true goodness. Understand that philosophical teachings and training of the mind and body can truly develop good, modest, and peaceful people. From philosophy, one learns that the pure and peaceful mind has a miraculous power to purify and tranquilize. These benefits translate to a good healthy condition. Philosophical history is rooted in many countries. There are many philosophical schools of thought. Eastern philosophy is not the only method to develop a peaceful mind. Remember that the fundamental principle of philosophy is to ask questions in order to develop understanding. Therefore any philosophical school of thought may lead to development of balance and harmony.
Sometimes the lessons of eastern philosophy are difficult to learn strictly from a translation because the translation may result in only confusion. Many philosophies are translated and sometimes the integrity of the original message is lost. The result is an incorrect translation and an incorrect message. Some philosophical descriptions and general philosophies are popular and easy to understand. All the philosophical lessons that we study and learn are one way or another related to the ancient philosophies. The search for balance and harmony are based on the ancient philosophies and it is beneficial to understand the history of philosophy. All of the philosophical thoughts before the time of Confucius were not written. However the history of philosophy developed thousands of years ago. It is no surprise that translators have a difficult time finding the right words to correlate with the intended meaning of the ancient philosophy.
|
|
|
|
|
