In
Thich Naht Hanh’s Heart of Buddha’s
Suffering, the four kinds of nutriments that can lead to happiness or
suffering are discussed. The nutriments
include edible food, sense impressions, intention, and consciousness. Buddha explained, “When we look deeply, we
will discover the kinds of nutriments that have helped [something] come to be
and that continue to feed it” (Hanh
31). Discovering these nutriments
is the key to achieving and continuing happiness instead of suffering. The ability to feed the right nutriments is
the ability to accomplish a happy life.
Edible
food is the first of the four nutriments.
The main idea behind achieving happiness with regards to this nutriment
is to understand what is healthful versus what is harmful. Making healthful decisions about what we
consume not only affects our own bodies, but many others lives as well. For example, if we treat our bodies poorly,
these negative effects can harm our children.
Some of our choices affect an even wider range of people, hurting the
environment or a number of animals.
Reading about this nutriment made me realize how little thought I put
into what I eat and where it comes from.
Occasionally while eating something like a burger, I’ll get sad if I
think too much about where it came from, but it never seems to stop me. This past summer, I did, however, choose to
eat more healthily. I bought a lot of
organic products and cut out the junk.
Feeling more active and healthier showed me that this was a right
nutriment and to continue to feed it, but I can still do a lot more to think
about the environment and others each time I eat. I have been able to master eating right for
my own mind and body but I still need to “look deeply to see how we grow our
food, so [I] can eat in ways that preserve the collective well-being, minimize
the suffering of other species, and allow the earth to continue to be a source
of life for all of us” (32).
 |
| Some of the many sources that provide sense impressions. |
The
second nutriment is sense impressions.
We use our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind to interpret
everything around us in our everyday lives.
Buddha emphasizes that we must use mindfulness to understand these sense
impressions and limit the negative ones.
“If we are mindful, we will know whether we are ‘ingesting’ the toxins
of fear, hatred, and violence, or eating foods that encourage understanding,
compassion, and the determination to help others” explains Hanh (33). Media plays a huge role in sense impressions
for us today, whether it may be the television or a billboard ad. While reading about sense impressions, I
thought about videos and articles that commonly pop up in my Facebook
feed. Many are negative, such as the ads
that instill a desire for possessions, while others encourage positivity, such
as stories of children reaching out to classmates who have been bullied. With so much unavoidable media around us, it
is impossible to completely ignore it without becoming a recluse. Utilizing mindfulness to know what is helpful
and what is harmful, though, is the key to being able to positively use this
nutriment. For me, another escape from
the toxins of our world is escaping into nature. Being immersed fully in nature leaves only
natural sense impressions which can always benefit the body and mind.
Intention
or volition is the third kind of nutriment that can either lead to happiness or
suffering. Volition is the desire within
each of us to acquire what it is that we want.
It is constantly in our minds and determines our actions. A common goal for many people around the
world is to be happy. For different
people, though, this means different things; happiness could mean wealth,
power, love, or freedom. Buddha teaches
that many of these desires are in actuality obstacles to happiness. Hanh says, “We need to cultivate the wish to
be free of these things so we can enjoy the wonders of life that are always
available – the blue sky, the trees, our beautiful children” (35). I do have goals in my life, but none of them
are specifically based on a material possession or past experiences. I do, however, sometimes find myself focusing
too much on short term goals and struggling to get through the day. Instead I need to enjoy life as it is while I
live it and appreciate the things that are always available. “The Buddha advised us to look deeply into the
nature of our volition to see whether it is pushing us in the direction of
liberation, peace, and compassion, or in the direction of suffering and
unhappiness” explained Hanh (36). As a
student, my eventual goal is to become a physician’s assistant, in order to
support myself and to help others. I
believe the Buddha would understand this goal and appreciate the compassionate
side of it. By meditating and connecting
more with people and nature around me, though, I think I could do better with
my short term goal issue.
Consciousness
is the final of the four kinds of nutriments.
This extends to all experiences past and present and even the thoughts
of the future. “Every day our thoughts,
words, and actions flow into the sea of our consciousness and create our body,
mind, and world,” Hanh stated (36). Our
consciousness is constantly working and building our life with each
experience. Looking back on how we live
our lives can help to identify the causes of our suffering. Picking out which thoughts, conversations,
and actions cause the most suffering can lead us to eliminate them and live a
better life. Of the four nutriments, I
think consciousness is the one I should focus on the most to improve my
life. I need to first off eliminate a
lot of the negative ideas that pass through my mind and sometimes, think more
before I speak and act. For example,
sometimes I get in stupid, avoidable arguments with my mother that I should
learn from and avoid in the future. All
the arguments do is cause suffering for both of us and I realize that. I should use this information to avoid any
more suffering in the future.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print.
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