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Feeding the Healer Within: Nourishment, Insight, Liberation
Nourishment and healing inter-are: coming to a practice center provides both. Even without obvious suffering, mindful retreats nourish body and consciousness so you can resist daily negative invasions. When suffering is intense, you learn methods to calm down and reduce pain, knowing that therapy (healing) must go hand in hand with proper nourishment—what you eat, how you rest, and the supportive Sangha atmosphere.
Most of our suffering is self-made, rooted in our mishandling of fear, anger, craving, envy, despair, and wrong perceptions. Blaming others or situations only deepens the prison of ignorance (avidyā). True transformation comes from recognizing the Buddha and the healer within, and from engaging the practice of prajñāpāramitā—insight born of mindfulness, concentration, and compassionate understanding.
Practice:
- “Dear Buddha, I suffer” – express your suffering to the Buddha inside and out.
- “Show me your suffering” – identify and write down what you suffer and why.
- “What does not go wrong?” – list the elements of well-being around and within you.
By telling the Buddha your suffering and its causes, you uncover and remove wrong perceptions, awaken compassion and understanding, and experience immediate relief. This silent inner revolution destroys the Bastille of ignorance, liberates true happiness, and can be practiced over ten days, with your insights shared back to Thay.