Pay equal attention to your body and mind.
"Take the word' light' as the medicine for the heart and the word' myrrh' as the medicine for the body." Zeng Guofan has such a classic summary on the issue of health preservation. He tried his best to treat both body and mind, and to prevent both mouth and body. The main idea is to give priority to health preservation and heart treatment, and the word "myrrh" should prevail. He once pointed out the specific methods of treating body and mind in his Letter from Home. "The way to cure the heart, go to its poison first. The evil of yang is hate, and the evil of yin is lewdness. The way to cure the body is to stop its pain. The evil of justice means violence, and the evil of softness means slowness. The way to treat your mouth is to warn, speak carefully and eat carefully. What is the medical dimension of this number? " The word "myrrh" runs through his life. The key to treating the heart is to get rid of anger and desire, the key to treating the body is to get rid of violence and slow down, and the way to treat the mouth is to eat carefully and diet.
Zeng Guofan suffered from psoriasis, tinnitus, insomnia, eye diseases and other common chronic diseases, but he would not take medicine unless he had to. His two sons and Zeng were sickly. However, he still warned them not to take medicine casually. Also on April 10th, five years, Zeng Guofan wrote to his two sons, "Although you are sick, you should only rest and not attack Yibin. Zhuang Yun Sheng:' If the world hears about it, it cannot rule the world.' Dongpo regards this second language as a way to keep fit. If you are familiar with primary school and taste the exegesis of the word "Zaiyu", you will know that both Zhuang and Su have the meaning of letting nature take its course. "He said," to stay healthy is to rule the world. If you take more medicine every day, take supplements for no reason all the year round, attack lightly and keep lightly, and sweat lightly, just like Qin and Song, it is natural. "
The so-called "in mistakes" refers to freedom and tolerance. This is Zhuangzi's thought of governing by doing nothing, which Zeng Guofan used to educate children to keep healthy and nourish their hearts, and to nourish their hearts through relaxation and tolerance, which is what he called "forgiveness". On the contrary, taking medicine at will is against the laws of nature, and it is "wanton attack and felling", which interferes with the body from the outside. He further clarified the reason with Su Dongpo's poem: "Dongpo's poem about Luo Fu said,' Midnight ambition, sitting in the Huangting'." The following word "save" coincides with Zhuangzi's word "have again". The Su brothers and father both talk about health preservation, stealing the old and stealing the young, so they call their sons ambitious. With your wisdom, can't you see through this purport? Rain is falling all is studying hard from sleeping to eating. It seems superficial, but it is natural. Don't take it lightly in the future, and you will be strong naturally. "
Su Dongpo experienced twists and turns in his life. However, he can laugh all this off, so he must stay healthy. Zeng Guofan also hoped that children would follow Su Dongpo's example and not take medicine easily. As long as you are comfortable, you will naturally be healthy.
Similarly, he used the word "myrrh" to advise his brothers. On July 20th of the same year, Zeng Guofan was deeply worried about Ji Di Zeng Guobao's illness tendency, but he liked to take medicine at will. He said: "I stayed abroad for a long time and studied for a long time. Every time I persuade people, it is the best policy not to take medicine. " He also said: "My remaining worry is not my illness, but taking it."
As the saying goes, medicine cures the disease. However, Zeng Guofan always believed that good medicine could not cure the damn disease. Many times, the disease is in the heart, and no matter how good the medicine is, it will not help. Insomnia is a disease that has long plagued Zeng Guofan. He believes that insomnia is mainly due to the imbalance of heart and qi, which is very serious and should be paid enough attention to. But the performance of attention is treated by conditioning the heart.
Second, keeping healthy is closely related to learning.
Zeng Guofan's second way to preserve one's health and treat one's heart is to preserve one's health for oneself and learn for oneself. On December 5th, ten years of governing the country, Zeng Guofan formally put forward "six things for keeping in good health". He said, "I saw the younger generation in my family. They are weak and have not made great progress in their studies. I used six things to encourage children to stay healthy: first, take a thousand steps after meals; Second, sleep and wash your feet; Third, there is no irritation to the chest; Fourth, sit still and shoot regularly; Fifth, eat a bowl of white rice at dawn; Sixth, don't order. I have heard of all the old people and those who work hard without any abuse. Now I hope all my nephews will try it. " He also said, "Keeping in good health and studying together will make you strong but not weak, or it is the image of rejuvenation at home."