The lowest level of Western medicine is health preservation, and the lowest level of health preservation is nourishing the heart. In ancient times, most people got sick due to irregular eating habits. There is one main point in health preservation: one must not fear death. Those who fear death have insufficient Yang energy, and when Yang energy is insufficient, the Grim Reaper will come for you. Liu Yu Jun's health preservation tips are as follows:
1. Forgetfulness: Sleeping is the first element of health preservation. The time for sleep should be from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM. This time corresponds to summer, and during summer, one should rest. If one does not rest during summer, there will be a lack of energy in autumn and winter, meaning one will feel lethargic the next day.
2. All medicines, whether Western or Chinese, treat symptoms rather than root causes. All diseases arise from incorrect causes. If the incorrect cause is not removed, the incorrect result will not disappear entirely. The foundation of health lies in the mind. All phenomena arise from the mind. A clean mind leads to a clean body. Therefore, when one gets sick, one should not rely on external help but instead depend on one's own self-repair system to heal oneself. Humans are like plants; plants heal themselves, and humans can too.
3. Correct thinking is more helpful to patients in eliminating diseases than expensive drugs and risky surgeries. With correct thinking, one will make correct decisions, take correct actions, and thus avoid the occurrence of many diseases.
4. All wisdom that humans possess does not come from books but arises from sincerity, tranquility (what Buddhists call Bodhicitta), and meditation.
5. Humans are the most structurally perfect organisms among all living beings, and health is something we are born with. The regulation of human health relies on the body's inherent regulatory and repair systems, not external factors. External factors only serve an auxiliary role.
6. Most disease phenomena are manifestations of the body regulating and clearing waste. These are examples of the body's self-regulation and balance. They should be regarded as normal physiological phenomena rather than causes of disease to be eliminated. Therefore, when one is sick, one must not harbor feelings of attachment or anger. One's mind should remain calm. A calm mind leads to smooth Qi flow, which ensures blood circulation. When Qi flow is obstructed and blood stagnates, all kinds of diseases arise.
7. Human health depends on two main elements: sufficient Qi and Blood, and unobstructed meridians (including blood vessels and channels for waste removal).
8. Sufficient Qi and Blood depend on: adequate food intake + bile + necessary sleep within a specific timeframe (from late evening to around 1:40 PM) + good living habits.
9. Unobstructed meridians require a pure mind. All emotions and desires disrupt tranquility, thereby affecting the normal operation of the meridians.
10. Maintaining health requires both "increasing" (boosting Qi and Blood) and "conserving" (reducing the consumption of Qi and Blood).
11. Excessive or inappropriate eating does not increase Qi and Blood but instead becomes a burden of waste in the body, which later consumes even more Qi and Blood to clear it out. The five internal organs function as a factory for producing Qi and Blood, where food is the raw material and processing capacity is limited, so the quantity of food must be controlled.
12. Appropriate exercise can assist in the circulation of Qi and Blood but also consumes them. The microcirculation in the body mainly depends on relaxation, which is essential for health.
13. The more waste there is in the body, the more Qi and Blood are needed to clear it. However, as waste increases and meridians become blocked, the amount of Qi and Blood decreases, forming a vicious cycle, which is precisely the mechanism of aging. To maintain health, one must: 1) reduce internal waste; 2) enhance the circulation of blood and Qi; 3) increase internal Qi and Blood.
14. Rather than trusting medications or test results, one should trust one's own feelings and the self-regulatory abilities one inherently possesses. This, however, requires the prerequisite of having attained wisdom to discern everything.
15. Health begins with regulating one's nature. For your health, consider learning Buddhism. The happiness gained from studying Buddhism is the highest enjoyment in life.
16. For someone with chronic illnesses, only when their Qi and Blood are replenished (either through the methods mentioned here or by practicing martial arts to regulate the flow of energy) will their condition manifest. Therefore, those who practice at a certain level may experience some "disease-like" symptoms. At this time, one should focus on conserving Qi, stay quiet, and engage in more stillness to increase one's Qi and Blood, allowing one to quickly pass through this phase.
17. Violating health preservation rules may not immediately lead to illness, but once it becomes a habit, it increases the likelihood of getting sick. It is similar to breaking traffic rules; while it may not always lead to an accident, the risks are undeniable.
18. Why must one maintain a certain degree of hunger for health preservation? This is the subtle use of "emptiness." Taoism says, emptiness is wisdom. Just as humility helps one progress and arrogance leads to regression, one must often maintain a state of "empty wisdom" to remain alert and healthy.
19. To be healthy, one must have enough "Qi" to "qi-transform" the food consumed. Only then will waste not accumulate in the body, and excessive food will not release "false fire" to harm the internal organs. This "false fire" will also consume one's "Qi." Therefore, from this perspective, most illnesses in modern people arise from irregular eating habits.
21. Common sayings go, "When the heart is moved, plans arise." If one truly understands and awakens to this "opportunity," one's insight can be considered opened. Teachers teach students, doctors cure patients, essentially pointing to this "opportunity," awakening this "opportunity." This "opportunity" is sometimes called "the key." Of course, this "opportunity" works under certain conditions, just as hydrogen gas must reach a certain concentration to ignite upon contact with water. Remember, external influences are secondary; you yourself are the true internal factor.
22. In fact, many genuine discoveries and inventions do not require systematic book knowledge. On the contrary, someone without formal education but with high insight and open-mindedness often truly understands the truth.
23. Disorder is what life most abhors. A disordered mind can create chaos externally and disturb the flow of Qi and Blood internally, leading to imbalance. Anger, fear, worry, and greed are all forms of disorder, the root causes of illness and shortened lifespan. Not only should one avoid these during illness but also in daily life.
24. Excessive anger harms the liver, excessive indulgence harms the kidneys, overeating harms the spleen and stomach. Worry harms the spleen, anger harms the liver, and excessive thought harms the spirit.
25. Physical illness often stems from a weak heart allowing external pathogens to invade. A strong heart and abundant Qi protect against such invasions. Heart troubles and mental disturbances harm the essence, making one vulnerable to various ailments. Greed for food, profit, gain, and worries all lead to illness. Since greed inevitably leads to anger, they both agitate the spirit, shock the liver, and stir the six pulses, boiling the five viscera. External pathogens simultaneously invade, becoming the root cause of disease.
26. To seek longevity, one must first eliminate illness. To eliminate illness, one must understand how to use Qi. To understand how to use Qi, one must first cultivate one's nature. The method of cultivating one's nature starts with regulating the mind.
27. Humans live by the five elements' Qi. Deficient Qi leads to illness, and abundant Qi leads to health. To treat illness, one must first treat the Qi.
28. Qi moves the blood, and blood nourishes the Qi. They are interconnected. Prolonged viewing harms the blood, prolonged sitting harms the Qi, prolonged standing harms the muscles, prolonged lying harms the bones, and prolonged walking harms the tendons. Excessive emotions and desires harm the primordial Qi and the heart and kidneys. Excessive "phase fire" depletes true Yang.
29. Treating the five visceral diseases starts with replenishing Qi, especially for the kidneys. Replenishing Qi requires not disturbing the mind, as a disturbed mind activates the liver, shaking all the pulses and consuming true water. The heart acts as a fan, drawing in wind. Moving wind ignites fire, and fiery heat dries up water, damaging the earth.
30. A calm mind focuses the spirit, dispelling confusion and strengthening faith and broadening horizons. A harmonious mind can unify and resolve all diseases, achieving miraculous effects.
31. Illness manifests in two ways: either the meridians are relatively unobstructed but deficient in Qi, causing frequent pain due to insufficient Qi to transform food into energy, resulting in "false fire" traveling along the meridians, causing pain wherever it encounters blockage. Such individuals respond quickly to medication. Or the meridians are blocked, leaving no place for Qi to reside. Externally, no apparent issues may be visible, but once discovered, it is a severe condition, and such individuals often find that medications are ineffective or barely effective.
32. The highest level of Western medicine is health preservation, and the highest level of health preservation is nourishing the heart. Thus, regarding health preservation, lower practitioners preserve the body, middle ones preserve Qi, and upper ones preserve the heart. Observing a person is similar: observing appearance is less important than observing Qi, and observing Qi is less important than observing the heart.
33. Restlessness and emotional instability are root causes of illness and death. Therefore, calming the mind is the first essential rule for health. The mind can govern everything. A calm mind leads to harmonious Qi, harmonious Qi leads to smooth blood flow, smooth blood flow leads to abundant essence and robust spirit, and abundance of essence and spirit strengthens external resistance, naturally eliminating illness. Healing should prioritize calming the mind.
... [and so on]
This text covers a wide range of traditional Chinese medical and philosophical concepts, emphasizing the importance of balance, inner peace, and holistic health practices.