Health in the Buddhist sense — Dhammapada

To delve deeper into the question of health, in the Buddhist sense of the term — that is, balance, non-suffering, and vitality of the mind — the Dhammapada offers valuable insights. In this tradition, illness is often perceived as an imbalance between elements, but "supreme health" is defined as the absence of mental disturbances and emotional perturbations.

Here are selected verses for your reflection on health, both physical and inner:

1. Health as the Supreme Good

This verse is the absolute reference in the text for defining the value of health.

Verse 204: « Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, trust the best relationship, and peace the supreme happiness. »

Reflection: The text places physical health first, immediately linking it to "contentment" (santuṭṭhī). This resonates with regenerative hydrotherapy practices: health is not just the absence of illness, but a state of fullness that begins with the mind.

1. The Body as a Fragile Instrument

These verses help to develop a right relationship with the body — taking care of it, without anxious attachment, which is essential in therapy.

Verse 147: « Behold this body, a mass of wounds, composed of many parts, sick and subject to a thousand ailments, whose thoughts are never stable nor lasting. »

Verse 150: « This city is built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood; in it reside aging and death, pride and hypocrisy. »

Reflection: These verses are not pessimistic; they are an invitation to clarity. For the therapist, this means treating the body with great compassion, while understanding its transient nature. Health consists of maintaining this "edifice" in harmony, while knowing that its true essence lies elsewhere.

1. Self-mastery as a healing process

Health is seen here as the result of a mind's "hygiene".

Verse 302: « It is difficult to do what is good, to do what is pure; but doing it brings happiness. »

Verse 116: « Hasten towards good, restrain your mind from evil; for if one is slow to do good, the mind finds pleasure in evil. »

Reflection: the act of nurturing is an act of "restraining the mind from evil" (from what corrupts the body and mind). Well-being is the fruit of right and sustained action.

1. Calmness through Temperance

The regulation of temperature and water (the regulation of temperature and water) echoes this notion of measure.

Verse 8: « As rain does not penetrate a well-covered house, so passion (agitation) does not penetrate a well-trained mind. »

Reflection: The "well-covered house" is the image of a protected body and a concentrated mind. Regenerative care methods are ways to "cover the house" so that external aggressions and internal imbalances can no longer destabilize deep vitality.

Guideline for a therapeutic practice:

Imagine a practitioner making a "prescription" based on these verses and used for patients.

Gratitude (Verse 204): Recognizing health as the foremost gift.

Clarity (Verse 147): Accepting the body's fragility to better respect it.

Vigilance (Verse 116): Actively choosing what nourishes (food, thought, water, rest).

Aliénor and Alain Delaporte-Digard

Buddhachannel — World traditions, wisdom for today