2025.04.21 - True Nutrition Comes from Food's Nourishment of Body and Mind
Ping Xia
Title: 2025.04.21 – True Nutrition Comes from How Food Nurtures Body and Mind
Reading Selections:
A mind free of self‑imposed restraints is its own discipline; a mind free of delusion is its own wisdom; a mind free of agitation is its own concentration. Neither increased nor decreased, it is like a vajra; the body departs and returns, the original samādhi remains. — Sutra of the Altar
Family Matters Are Also Practice Time https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7G_Gpe6XBD8MY92lxm1kPA
Practice takes place in the world; it does not separate from worldly awareness. Home is, in fact, a great training ground—a place where ordinary life unfolds, whether it’s the passage of years or the daily hustle and bustle. Let’s see how our friend Xiao Zhu practices within the ordinary “family affairs.”
True Nutrition Comes from How Food Nurtures Body and Mind https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/beD3VvG5idfGfFMX4Cc_QQ
For years we’ve been tightly bound to the word “nutrition,” assuming staple foods are just carbs, lacking nutrition, that we could skip the rice but must load up on vegetables and meat. The core of “nutrition” isn’t what we eat, but whether the food we ingest truly nourishes our body and mind. Looking back at our elders’ lives—no lavish feasts, no so‑called premium protein—they survived on simple, modest meals and stayed remarkably healthy. I sincerely hope we return to our body’s innate instincts and the wisdom passed down by our ancestors; that is the real way to live well.
Classic Micro‑Fiction: “The Medicine Relay Race” https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nxEqpM84ox50mBkZEhAZhw
An Israeli writer’s short story that lingers in the mind; its profound allegory captures modern humanity’s dilemma with illness. The fable reveals not only medical predicaments but the broader crisis of modernity: cleaning up one pollutant may spawn new toxins; curbing inflation can trigger waves of unemployment; technological breakthroughs that boost efficiency may create ethical quagmires. Every solution becomes a breeding ground for fresh problems. When civilization’s antidotes turn into poisons or leave lasting side effects, perhaps what we need isn’t more precise medicine but a renewed reverence and humility toward life as a whole.
What Traditional Chinese Medicine Says About the True Meaning of Life https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KFF4ZWvzCV2FE-XwtP8dIg
To put it bluntly: the meaning of life lies in the awakening and maturation of the spirit. When we ask about life’s purpose, we often drift into philosophical or spiritual speculation. Have you ever considered that life’s meaning might also have a concrete, tangible material‑energy basis? Or, more precisely, that the two are inseparable—mutually coordinating and reflecting each other.
Seated Meditation: Merging with Space https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1Ryx4gFdo65BeVWa_D4VxQ
In TCM, “zhong” (中) refers to achieving a balanced state wherever you are, which can only be felt when you become still. Imagine a clear lake: when the wind blows, ripples disturb the surface, preventing the sky and trees from being reflected. When the water is perfectly calm, it acts like a mirror, showing the blue sky, white clouds, and trees. Our mind works the same way—when it is sufficiently quiet, everything in the world becomes clear and evident.
Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.