Sun Simiao's Health Preservation - Enriching the Spirit to nourish the nature

First of all, the method of conserving the spirit is also the art of cultivating one's nature. The so-called cultivation of one's nature means to develop healthy living habits. "The cultivation of one's nature is to make what one has learned become one's nature, and one's nature will naturally be good." If one's nature is good, all kinds of internal and external diseases will not arise, and disasters will have no cause. The "goodness of nature" mentioned by Sun is actually a matter of good moral cultivation. He noticed a common flaw among the people of his time: "They are constantly striving for fame and fortune, using all kinds of tricks to seek false praise." Even when one's hair turns white and teeth are gone, they still lack enlightenment, being insatiable and indulging themselves to the point of death. This is an important cause of premature aging and death in people. Therefore, he specifically proposed that those who wish to maintain good health must achieve the state of "being either alive or dead in the face of fame and fortune, and also being either alive or dead in the face of neither fame nor fortune." Living in a chaotic and contentious world, one regards fame and fortune as dirt and does nothing, indulges in the ability of tranquility, and adheres to the state of nothingness. As the saying goes, "When one is tranquil and nothingness, the true energy follows, and the spirit is internally guarded. How could illness come?" In this way, virtue will be complete and the spirit will be concentrated. The spirit will not be consumed by external dispersion and can be used for a long time. Sun Simiao's life was one of non-action governance. He was content and indifferent to fame and fortune, and had no desire for a career in politics. He lived in seclusion in the mountains for a long time, regarding fame and fortune as nothing. During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yang Jian, who was assisting in governance, intended to invite Sun to come out of seclusion and confer upon him the title of Doctor of the State, a position of high rank and great fame. However, Sun Simiao, claiming to be ill, did not take the position. When Emperor Taizong Li Shimin ascended the throne at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the country was at great peace. He widely summoned virtuous men and invited Sun Simiao to Chang 'an, intending to confer a title upon him. However, Sun Simiao firmly declined. Later, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi summoned him again and paid homage to the censor. Sun Simiao strongly declined. It was then granted the residence of Princess Liangma and Princess Duyang. Not long after, Sun Simiao insisted on returning to the mountains and continued his secluded life. First, they do not hold official positions; second, they do not seek fame; third, they do not seek profit. Regarding fame and fortune, they seem to exist but not exist. Compared with the common people of The Times, they are diligent and eager, only focusing on fame and fortune. One is of high virtue and complete spirit, which is why they can live for over a hundred years without losing their vitality; the other is of low virtue and scattered spirit, declining and dying before reaching fifty. The difference between them is self-evident. The key to conserving one's spirit also lies in restraining one's emotions and harmonizing the seven feelings to nourish the spirit. The divine is governed by the heart and is manifested in spiritual, emotional, and mental activities. The seven emotions are joy, anger, worry, pensiveness, sorrow, fear and shock. It belongs to the five internal organs. Excessive use can harm the five internal organs. The heart governs joy; excessive joy brings heartache. The liver governs anger; excessive anger can harm the liver. The spleen governs thinking. Prolonged thinking without resolution harms the spleen. Sorrow and worry belong to the lungs; sorrow and worry harm the lungs. The kidney governs fear. Extreme shock followed by sudden fear can harm the kidney. Although the seven emotions belong to the five internal organs, they are all the application of the heart spirit. "The heart is the sovereign organ, from which the spirit and the mind arise." The relationship between mental, emotional, and thinking activities and the heart is the closest. Therefore, the Inner Classic states: "When one is sad or worried, the heart is moved; when the heart is moved, all the five internal organs and six viscera are connected." Those who wish to maintain good health must not restrain their emotional activities to nourish their minds and spirits. The true man earnestly admonished, "Do not worry, do not be furious, do not be sad, do not be afraid, do not stumble, do not talk too much, do not laugh too much, do not be eager for what you want, do not 悁悁 hold grudges." If one does not abide by this precept, one will surely harm God and lose one's life. Only those who do not violate it can achieve immortality. The intention of the true man is to advise people to pay attention to regulating their emotions and not to overindulge them. If they overindulge, it is beneficial to health preservation; if they overindulge, it will instead endanger their lives. This is a health preservation concept that deeply adheres to the Confucian doctrine of the mean. Treating people and things with the Confucian doctrine of the mean is also an important aspect of cultivating one's nature and conserving one's spirit. The true person pointed out that those who are good at maintaining their health should follow the principle that "when the heart has something to love, there is no need to love deeply; when the heart has something to hate, there is no need to hate deeply." If the intention is too profound, it can damage one's nature and harm one's spirit. By the same token, when it comes to people or things that deserve praise, "there is no need to praise them too much." Excessive praise is no different from hypocrisy. For what should be criticized, "there is no need to deeply destroy it." Criticism should be appropriate and not excessive. When dealing with people and matters, one must be equal and sincere, without any bias. Once any bias is found, one should correct it with one's own heart. One should also have the right attitude towards oneself. One should be content with what one has. If one's family is poor, one should not be self-abased because of poverty. If one's family is rich, one should not be proud of not being rich. Whether rich or poor, one needs to have noble moral cultivation and should not change one's will and temperament because of the circumstances of wealth or poverty. Only in this way can one handle relationships with others well. With a sincere heart, full respect and courtesy, and kindness to others, these are the principles by which Sun Simiao conducts himself. When it comes to oneself, one should "not let the heart be lacking". Once one discovers that they have a sense of deficiency, they must "restrain themselves and not let it arise." No matter when or where, one should never have too many desires or demands. "Excessive demands lead to mental exhaustion and mental distress." If one falls into the state of constantly chasing after external things, it will surely deplete one's spirit and harm one's life. Therefore, it is always necessary to "introspect the body and mind", so as to "have a calm mind with few desires, a peaceful heart without fear, and a tired body without weariness", in order to complete the spirit and achieve longevity. Sun Simiao summarized his experience in health preservation and spiritual restraint into the "Twelve Less", which he said: "Those who are good at health preservation often think less, have fewer thoughts, have fewer desires, do fewer things, speak less, laugh less, worry less, be less happy, be less joyful, be less angry, be less kind, and do less evil." These twelve young ones are the essence of cultivating one's nature." Conversely, it is more than twelve. If there is more, there is a risk of hurting others. "Excessive thinking leads to mental exhaustion; excessive yearning leads to mental distraction; excessive desire leads to mental confusion; excessive doing leads to physical fatigue; excessive talking leads to lack of energy; excessive laughing leads to internal injuries; excessive worry leads to mental concentration; excessive joy leads to mental overflow; excessive happiness leads to forgetfulness and confusion; excessive anger leads to unstable meridians; excessive kindness leads to concentration and neglect; excessive evil leads to exhaustion and lack of power." If the twelve excesses are not eliminated, they can all harm the spirit and disrupt the will, cause the imbalance of the ying and Wei qi, and lead to the abnormal flow of qi and blood, endangering life and giving rise to various diseases. Therefore, it is a major taboo in health preservation. True people call it "the root of death", and one must not be careless about it. The above-mentioned twelve "more" and twelve "less" stipulate the behavioral norms for health preservation practitioners. The core essence is merely to stand alone and guard the spirit, free from external interference. The true man's life is called "the outer edge of the screen". When the true man first entered Taibai Mountain to cultivate the Tao, he started from the twelve young masters. He said, "Not the outer edge is the method for the true man to first learn the Tao." If one can do so, one can live in the warm epidemic without any worries or doubts. If one can cast aside all external distractions, stand independently of mundane habits, and truly achieve "serenity and emptiness, true qi follows, and the spirit is internally guarded", then diseases will have no cause to arise, and longevity will be within reach. The method of frugality, in a nutshell, is to "protect the external circumstances".