Happiness and Confidence Through The Four Nutriments

"When something has come to be, we have to acknowledge its presence and look deeply into its nature. When we look deeply, we will discover the kinds of nutriments that have helped it come to be and continue to feed it" (31).  The four nutriments include edible food, sense impressions, intention and consciousness. Upon determining happiness, these four nutriments can be a great foundation to build off of. However, they may also lead to suffering and affect a life in a negative way. Just like watering wholesome seeds, the four nutriments are selective in which you choose to help prosper.

The first nutriment is edible food. What we eat or what we drink can bring about mental or physical suffering. Edible food may be harmful or helpful and it is up to the consumer to distinguish between the two. Suffering comes from not eating  mindfully. By consuming toxins, drinking and smoking, it is compared to eating our own liver, lungs and heart (31). If that doesn't scream suffering to the body,

then I don't know what will. When it comes Friday around 7:00 p.m. "suffering" is the "popular" thing to do when you're in college. The night life starts once you get out of class on Friday and continues until Sunday morning. As a current college student, I am exposed to the college night life and when I now look back at the scene, almost every single person at a party is causing their body to stuffer by consuming toxins and smoking. No one thinks of it in the moment, but these unhealthy edible foods have great side effects in the long run.“We need to practice Right View when we shop, cook, and eat” (31). College students are always complaining about their food their campus provides. It is tough to find a well balanced meal- well at least for me that is. Personally, it is hard going from home cooked, trusted meat to meat made in the cafeteria. I do my best to find alternatives, but it can be difficult. I imagine many other students struggle with finding a well balanced meal on campus. The meal plans can change with housing and therefore, when living in a residence hall with your own kitchen it is easier to feed your body with healthier foods since you can make them on your own. Feeding the body and mind healthy foods and a well-balanced meal can lead to a productive and happy student.  In discussing mental and physical health, it is not only the health of the consumer but also the offspring of the consumer (32). Having my mother as a role model and my younger sister looking up to me, it is my health that is inspired by one and influences another. My mother has taught me healthy ways of living both mentally and physically. I hope to continue to do so for my younger sister, Emily.

Mom, Emily and I in Mexico-December 2012

The second nutriment is sense impressions which require using our six organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. These six organs are constantly in contact, known as sparsha, with sense objects and this then becomes food for our consciousness (32). Mainly anything in your surroundings can be food for our consciousness. Any image you look at, movie you watch, conversation you over hear or take part in, or even reading the latest news in your daily morning newspaper. If any of these forms of media or interactions make you feel uneasy or have a negative reaction, it fed toxins to your body (33). Along with the edible foods, sense impressions can effect not only adults but, children as well. "Children who spend five hours a day watching television are ingesting images that water the negative seeds of craving, fear, anger, and violence in them." With the availability to many different forms of technology today, children are more exposed to these images that water negative seeds. It isn't just through watching television but now also through iPads and cellphones. Although teenagers and adults are also exposed to these advances in technology, it can have a much more influential effect on children because they don't really know how to navigate these forms of technology as safely as adults do. Children may be exploring websites, watching programs or playing apps that have advertisements which produce toxins to the consciousness and they don't even know it; this is why I believe that parental control on such items is a beneficial idea. "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" (33).  With the practice of mindfulness and learning from experiences, it will be easier to understand what to avoid when coming in contact with it (33). Day-to-day, hour-by-hour and minute-to-minute, we are exposed to many different objects that are food for our consciousness. "If you see that it is toxic, refuse to look at it. Ingest only what you are certain is safe" (34). Through experiences it will be easier to recognize a toxin and avoid it. This varies person to person. Everyone has been through different situations and it is only fair to come together as individuals, families, cities and a nation to discuss strategies of self-protection and survival (34). To enhance my nutriment of my sense impressions, I will use the strategies of Right Mindfulness where I will stay focused on myself and the task at hand. With a very busy schedule, it would be foolish of me to ingest a toxin and let it effect me a negative way. If ingested, it is up to me to make a positive out of that negative and progress in the right direction.

The third nutriment is volition, intention or will, also known as the desire in us to obtain whatever it is that we want. Volition is the foundation of all our actions (34). "Everyone want to be happy, and there is a strong energy in pushing us toward what we think will make us happy. But we may suffer a lot because of this" (35). We become so focused on only one goal or outcome, that we may experience a struggle along the path of trying to get there. Through this experience, we don't appreciate the simple things around us that we should take in and enjoy these wonders of life such as the blue skies, the trees and children (35). Without these basic foundations, life would not be what it is today. Although an outcome may be very desirable, it shouldn't be the only thing you focus on. There is more to the one life you live than just one outcome. If everyone learned to appreciate the little things, I believe the nation would be more peaceful and easy going. I seem to forget all the little things around me that make up what I have today. I get very caught up in my schoolwork and focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel that I find myself not thinking about my life outside of the books. School is a big commitment and takes a lot of dedication, but without a solid foundation of support, like family and friends, it would not be as easy to make it through the tough days. There are far worse things than a tough day or week in school. After ingesting my surroundings on a walk back to my dorm from class, I can take those five minutes to just recognize the foundation of love I have to get me through tough times. If I have a desired outcome and things do not go that way, then I have to believe that there is something better out there for me and it will make me just as happy, if not happier, than my original goal.

Me- Young, Confident and Happy

The fourth and final nutriment is consciousness. "Our consciousness is composed of all the seeds sown by our past actions and the past actions of our family and society" (36). Our consciousness is eating all day and night. Feeding your consciousness healthy nutriments will produce a healthy mindset. This can lead to practicing the noble truths for example, the First and Second Noble Truths. First realizing that suffering is suffering, and second by looking deeply into what we have been feeding our consciousness and recognizing what we have done to ourselves to produce this consciousness. It is not until we focus deeply on the Second Noble Truth that we tend to blame others for our unhappiness (37).  "Looking deeply takes courage" (37). Looking deeply to figure out what has been fed to your consciousness over the past few years to lead you where you are today may be challenging by means of accepting what you have done. However, the past is now history and you can turn it into an experience by learning from it and growing from it. There have been many experiences in my life that I am thankful for because of the struggle it put me through and the courage it gave me to come out on top. By staying focused and true to myself with Right Mindfulness, I have believed in myself and become a more confident and happy young lady. With this confidence I am able to provide good nutriments to my consciousness and stay as positive as possible. "Mindfulness is the energy that can help us stop. We investigate the kinds of nutriments we now ingest and decide which ones to continue to eat and which to resist" (38).

Through analyzing the four nutriments,I have opened my eyes to a more insightful way to live my life. I am able to improve upon my happiness and reduce suffering in my life. The principles of The Four Noble Truths with integration of The Eightfold Path, will continue to lead me to enhance my lifestyle.


References:

Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print.