Three emotions are poisoning our health. How to control them?

There are many universities in the world that have Buddhist science as a separate field of research. This science states that human problems and imbalances have three roots. Those roots are the main emotions that penetrate our lives: lust, hatred, and ignorance. The three bases are the foundation of Tibetan medicine’s view on our ailments and imbalances. Which health conditions are created by these three emotional poisons? What should be the easiest and practical measures or remedies to neutralize them?

ATTACHMENT

According to traditional Tibetan medicine, attachment is linked to the wind energy that circulates in our body. Attachment varies in attachment, clinging to people, things, memories, etc. It is also connected to uncontrollable daydreaming. A very important object for attachment is our own body: we tune and coddle it in the disposition of attachment and illusions.

Too much wind energy results in excessive thinking, concentration problems, poor sleep quality, anxiety, certain types of depression, headaches, heart arrhythmia, skin problems, etc.

The easiest way to control the wind and emotions created by it is to hold breath as many times and as long as possible. While doing it, follow your thoughts. At inhaling, the thoughts jumped uncontrollably from one subject to another or dealt with endless aspects of a certain problem, then in some 20-30 seconds, the flow of thoughts has ceased. Repeating the exercise several times will relax the emerging emotions and thoughts linked to them– even when you return to your daily activities and normal breath.

ANGER

According to the wisdom of the Tibetans, anger is linked to fire – an energy that has a crucial role in our bodies. Without fire, our body temperature can’t persist, there is no digestion and no cell growth. But as a result of hatred and rage, excess pride and arrogance, the fire element might get out of control on the level of emotions.

Too much fire energy might result in inflammations, headaches, liver problems, diarrhea, constipation, tumors, etc.

To reduce the wind energy on the emotional level it is effective to practice daily an exercise called “tong-len” (give and take) that generates love and compassion. For this, visualize a person, whose health and wellbeing are important to you. Breath in visualizing that you inhale all his/her suffering and worries. Breath out sending him/her joy, success, and health. When the exercise is kept up and skillfulness arises you can also visualize people you have problems with, and finally countless sentient beings with their worries, diseases, fear of death, and other types of suffering.

IGNORANCE

In Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan medicine, ignorance is linked to earth and water elements of our body. Without those elements, we wouldn’t have bones, blood, bodily fluids etc. On an emotional level, the excess of earth and water element is a result of laziness, slackness, dullness, indifference and spiritual ignorance.

Dominating earth and water elements result in edema, weakened digestion, overweight, cysts and other tumors, etc.

For expelling ignorance and foolishness on the emotional level we have to combine spiritual practices with physical activities. Here active meditations are helpful.

One of the easiest ways is to have a walk, being aware of each step you take and dedicating all the steps to people who have a similar health problem as you do, or to sentient beings who have died because of you (such as insects we have run over or animals whose meat we have eaten). By doing this we melt the dullness on our mental level, we melt our indifference about the results of our activities, of other beings, and of environmental issues. This results in a more aware and compassionate mind and also in a more active body.