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Four Nutriments for the Mind
The four kinds of “food” in Buddhism are:
- Edible food (food taken into the body) and sense impression food (what we receive through our senses). Without mindfulness, these can give rise to toxins: stagnation in the intestines, combined with heat and bacteria, creates toxic gases that seep into the blood, causing fatigue and pain; the liver and kidneys filter less efficiently due to lack of water and movement. At such times, it is necessary to stop eating, drink about three to four liters of water each day, practice massage, exercise, and deep breathing to detoxify.
When we come into contact without mindfulness, the six sense doors (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) become pathways for toxins to enter the mind, causing mental suffering, nightmares, and even madness. Mindfulness of sense impression food preserves the “skin” that protects the mind, helping the senses to receive only what is fresh and wholesome.
The third kind is volitional food—the energy of will or volition—which can be wholesome (Bodhicitta) or unwholesome (greed, anger, ignorance, pride). Bodhicitta needs to be “fed” every day through two very concrete actions:
- In the morning, bring joy to one person, an expression of loving-kindness;
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In the evening, help relieve the suffering of one person, an expression of compassion;
and always maintain joy (mudita) and equanimity (upekkha, letting go).
The fourth kind is consciousness food—the mental formations that make up the stream of consciousness. Among the 51 mental formations are contact, intention, craving, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt… which are like “spears” that pierce us 300 times a day if we do not practice. Meditation, silence, the Sangha, and mindfulness are wholesome sources of food that nourish peace and well-being in body and mind.