Through the diligent gathering of knowledge from numerous sources — applied to the best of his ability in caring for his own health and that of the community, with prevention as the foremost principle — I’ve arrived at the following conclusion: that unless an illness arises from karmic causes carried over from previous lives, the majority of diseases stem from habits of negligence and self-indulgence in the use of the Four Requisites.
Such habits include, for example: indulging the palate and yielding to the appetite without restraint; wearing clothing unsuitable for the season; neglecting to attend to the ventilation of one’s sleeping quarters; as well as carelessness in one’s various bodily postures and movements. These are the true and insidious undermining forces of our health.
Therefore, for those who wish to preserve good health throughout their lives — and particularly for those who discover that their ailments have arisen from some form of self-indulgent negligence — in order to bring such illness to a decisive halt, one must endeavour to break and abandon one’s unwholesome habits as swiftly and completely as possible.
“The Health of a Merit-Maker” (Sukhaphap Nak Sang Barami), Page 17.
