Marinoff: Perhaps true good health consists in our ability to maintain serenity and manifest beneficence, even when obliged to endure afflictions of various kinds, be they medical, emotional, or social. .....perhaps true good health consists in one's ability to, in the Buddhist sense, 'make good causes' in any set of circumstances, no matter how dire.
Ikeda: ....Who is it who must do this (make good causes)? Each of us, ourselves. We need to tap the strength that is inherently ours, the inner potential that is ours, the power of life that is ours. To me, this is where....philosophy and religion come into play in a major way.
Ikeda:.... in most cases, our so-called limitations are nothing more than our own decision to limit ourselves.
Marinoff: (this) suggests that true good health must take into account not only infirmity and incapacity, injury and injustice, but also the extent to which a return to optimal functionality or vital being requires the removal of self-imposed impediments.
Marinoff: If the nature of healing is that which restores vitality, then we must allow for the existence of a vital force that uniquely animates living beings.
Ikeda: ....Nichiren Buddhism defines life's highest attributes in terms of the three meanings of myo (the mystic or wondrous): 'to open,' 'to be fully endowed,' and 'to revive'. 'To open' means unfolding the limitless possibilities of life. 'To be fully endowed' refers to the unifying and integrating function of life, harmonizing all things through wisdom and compassion. 'To revive' means restoring what has been damaged or lost and enabling those things to manifest their strengths. Releasing these energies located in the depths of our beings provides the source of power we need to lead creative lives."
above quoted from THE INNER PHILOSOPHER by Lou Marinoff and Daisaku Ikeda, p 76-80.
for me, the above leads to some questions that would be great to dialogue on, were we to find ourselves sitting around chatting on a winter night in front of a warm fire.
how does my personal philosophy enable the kind of good health or vitality that these two philosophers describe?
what limitations do I impose on myself, and why?
do I really believe it is possible to be serene and beneficent, wise and compassionate, in the midst of any and all circumstances I find myself in?
how does the community I choose to spend time with support me in my healing? and how do I support my community?
do I have all I need within, or is a source outside myself necessary to live in this intentional way of health?
let's find ways to touch on these supremely important philosophical/religious questions as we engage with people daily. it is as we open our eyes to the possibilities inherent in each situation in which we find ourselves that we can begin to "revive", to develop good health, and to heal the world in which we live. indeed, we can know the universe within and without, and shine like suns.
