4 Ways to Living Life

It is very interesting how the four nutriments that Buddha discusses can have a positive/negative impact on your life.  The way he breaks down each nutrient and explains how you can apply it to your life is just fascinating to me.  The first nutriment is edible food.  Although we need food to keep us alive it is also the food choices that we make to help us live longer. 

He explains that we “have to learn ways to eat that preserve the health and well-being of our body and our spirit” (Hanh, 1998).   Smoking, drinking, or the consumption of toxins should not enter our body.   By us doing these things we are not only hurting ourselves we are also hurting our children.  I think that sometimes people do not realize that they are the reflection of their children.  One, if we do not make healthy choice food wise we are not healthy and strong to care for our children, two, sometimes our children tend to follow in our footsteps.  I try to stay on track of being healthy not only for myself but for my son.  If I am not doing the things to make me healthy and strong, than neither is he.  I use to buy snack and other junk foods that were not good for especially sodas.  But I have realized that whatever is in the house to eat he will eat it, so now I buy bottle and flavored water and more fruits and vegetables. 

The second nutriment is impressions (six senses), which is our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.  Looking at the bigger picture our senses is the food for our consciousness.  Buddha explains that “movies are food for our eyes, ears, and minds”, the TV waters the negative seeds of craving, fear, anger, and violence especially in children (Hanh, 1998).  In todays age the TV is what mostly occupies a child’s mind, along with video games as well. 

You don’t see many children outside playing or in the library reading educational books as when I was little.  Partly that is the parent’s fault.  But if we are mindful, we would be able to tell if we are consuming fear, hatred, and violence, instead we should be consuming foods that encourage understanding, compassion, and the determination to help other not hurt others.  Having an 11 year old boy in the house this day in age everything is TV, video games, or the internet.  I limit his TV, video game, and internet intake.   Once he comes home from school he is to finish his school work.  After that is complete then he is able to watch TV or play his video game.

The third nutriment is volition (the power to make your own choice or decision), intention, or will.  According to Buddha volition is the ground of all our actions.  You just have to know if it the right choice or decision.  If you are mindful for sometime you will have the ability to enjoy life in the present moment, without the impulses such as causing harm to someone.  Consciousness is the fourth nutriment, which is composed by our past actions and the past actions of our family. 

Whatever our  We can feed out conscious with love, compassion, joy, or equanimity or we can feed our conscious with hatred, greed, or ignorance (Hanh, 1998). But Buddha states that you have to be careful of which one you have to ingest.  I tend to make my own choices or decisions but I don’t ask other for their opinion on certain situations.  My conscious I try to do things for other that I know will be a good deed, by doing that I can always look back at a situation and feel good about it.

conscious consume becomes a part of our life.

            After reading this chapter in the book I do know that there are things that I can work on, but I am glad that I have a head start on certain things. 

Bibliography

Hanh, T. N. (1998). The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching.