Teachings, Disciplines and Concepts Regarding Better
Health and Living – Addiction
We come to, learn about, embrace and bring onto our
lives the teachings and disciplines of Yoga and
Buddhism for different reasons.
These may include wanting to learn something new, or
to get more focused, or to deal with some physical,
behavioral or mental condition that we have.
Such an endeavor may also be the result of some
current dissatisfaction or long - term condition that
we have with our life that makes us feel
uncomfortable.
In coming to and learning about Yoga and Buddhism, we
also begin to relate to what they have to share with
us and what they are in different ways. Are they
philosophies or a spiritual discipline? Are they
religions?
However we relate to them and for whatever reason we
come to them, they do have as their objective the
assisting of us in achieving both better health and
better living.
Through their teachings and disciplines and the
concepts that relate to them they seek to increase our
mindfulness about all aspects of our life, internally,
among and with others, and the world at large.
In teaching us about the defilements or poisons of our
mind and consciousness, we start to have a better idea
of why we have done and do things the way that we do.
In teaching us about those obstacles to practice and
progress in both life and Yoga/Buddhism, we are more
mindful about tendencies in ourselves that we never
saw before.
In making us mindful about actions such as non –
violence, honesty, right understanding, and right
effort, among others, they show and tell us that we
can live in such a way that brings about a positive
evolvement of our whole being and a positive
evolvement regarding our interactions with others.
One of the things that they awaken our mindfulness
about is the tendency that we have to addiction. This
writer reflects on this during his charity and
volunteer work in Cambodia where each morning at 6
a.m. he teaches Yoga and Buddhism to a class of about
100 men who have been drug and substance abusers and
are currently under the supervision of the provincial
police.
Though drug addiction seems to be the thing that we
usually associate addiction with, we can also be
addicted to alcohol and beer, the nicotine that we
find in cigarettes, or the caffeine that we find in
coffee and soft drinks.
Yoga and Buddhist teachings and disciplines make us
more mindful about those other addictions that we may
have.
We may be addicted to comfort in such a way that we
become lazy or unhealthy.
We may be addicted to watching television in such a
way that our mental and physical health is compromised
or made confused.
We may be addicted to mental, verbal, physical and
behavioral actions that create disharmony both within
and with others.
From this, we can see that the concept and phenomenon
of addiction is one that can manifest itself in
various ways.
Yoga and Buddhism make us mindful about addiction in
its various forms and how they can all hurt us. They
also teach us those ways that we can let go of those
addictions and in doing such a thing, free our mind
from the various things that keep it in a bondage that
is unhealthy, unwholesome and unskillful.
In doing such a thing, we evolve to a person who not
only has better health, but also has a stronger focus
and greater energy in their mind and being.