The poor monk was supposed to be a healthy baby in the novel, but his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, mind and body seemed to suffer from frequent serious and minor illnesses. All in all, I have been friends with illness throughout my life.

In life, health is very important, but illness is also difficult to avoid. The so-called heroes are only afraid of illness. No matter how rich you are and how many relatives you have, when illness comes to you, you will not Way to refuse. Rich people can receive medical treatment or even go abroad for medical treatment; some diseases require physical therapy, and even some troublesome diseases require psychological treatment. Because some people are not strong-willed enough and panic when they have even the slightest illness; if they can fight against the disease, through strong willpower and psychological construction, the disease will be reduced.

The poor monk is confident about his health. However, if a person has a body that combines the four major and five aggregates and eats whole grains, how can he not get sick? It can be said that the problems that the poor monk has had are all related to the above methods, but no matter how big or small the illness is, it can be said that time is used to treat it. Because I didn’t have the money and resources to find a doctor, and there was no health insurance at that time, I had to spend time on treatment, and forced myself and the disease to respect each other, so that we could find some peace with each other, so we called it being friends with the disease.

I no longer remember the illnesses I suffered in childhood. I only remember that before I was ten years old, every July birthday, I would feel in a trance, either with a headache or dizziness, as if the plague had come to me. I always feel like this day has gone by without any feeling. However, as long as I sleep on it for half a day, everything will be fine. Therefore, I didn’t like celebrating birthdays very much. To put it more superstitiously, on every birthday, the descendants of the past are probably worshiping. Otherwise, how could they suddenly recover after being sick for only one day?

In my memory, before I became a monk, my eyes would be red, swollen and painful once or twice a year. Adults did not say that I had to go to a doctor for treatment. At a young age, I did not understand that it was okay to be sick. To heal. The terms doctor and treatment are very unfamiliar to the poor monk. But it is also strange that every year's eye disease will be cured naturally in just one week, almost no more than one day, and no less than one day. Looking back now, isn't this just like getting together with friends? Of course, if we get together and part ways easily, there will be no serious consequences.

The poor monk was not fond of snacks in his childhood, and he did not have any money to buy snacks. He did not suffer from toothaches like other children who like to eat sweets. But before and after becoming a monk, the most common problem is toothache. Either this tooth is inflamed or that tooth is decayed. The initial toothache only lasted a few days, not even a week, but when I was fifteen or sixteen, my teeth had holes due to tooth decay. Every time I ate, rice grains got stuck in the holes, compressing the nerves, and the pain became unbearable.

Because the life of a monk is very strict and I dare not tell others, I always feel that teeth are very hard things. How can there be holes? This is really a shameful thing. I didn't dare to chew every time I ate, so I had to swallow it whole to avoid pain. If you add in the tattered tongue, which lasts for many years, it can be said that what can you do if you don't become a friend of the disease?

When I was seventeen years old, I also knew how to write and write. I described the tooth pain in my diary. When a teacher who loved me saw it, he blamed the poor monk, why didn’t you How about explaining it earlier? He told the poor monk Master Zhikai that Master Zhikai knew about it, and then the poor monk Master told the poor monk that you can go to Nanjing for treatment. The poor monk became a monk in Qixia Mountain, which is still dozens of kilometers away from Nanjing. I have never been there, so Master took me by train from Qixia Mountain to Nanjing and found a dentist to treat me.

This was the first time that the poor monk heard that dental disease could be treated. It was also the first time that the poor monk came into contact with a doctor in his life. Of course, the dentist filled the cavity with plaster, and everything went away. In the following years, there will inevitably be tooth loss and nerve pain. Now that I am nearly 90 years old, there are still a few teeth in my mouth that can help chew food. A poor monk is not a friend of dental disease. How can I still have this function now? Woolen cloth?

As for some people who say that food that is not chewed is not easy to digest and is not good for the stomach. During the life of the poor monk, other diseases continued, but the stomach and intestines have never been in trouble with the poor monk, and they respect each other. What mistakes have you made? However, in the poor monk's memory, when he was still in mainland China, the more serious disease was malaria.

Whenever malaria strikes, no matter how hot the summer is, when it gets cold, even if you cover yourself with a few quilts, you can't resist it. Sometimes it's cold and sometimes it's hot, it's really miserable. The poor monk at that time didn't know how to deal with it. He could only let it come when it came and let it go when it went. It took about ten days, half a month, or twenty days to heal on its own.

Before the poor monk left Qixia Mountain, probably when he was seventeen years old, the malaria attack was most serious and lasted for one or two months. Of course, the poor monk didn't understand and didn't dare to complain. At that time, it seemed that no one else had this disease. The poor monk had no medical knowledge and didn't know the cause of the disease, so he had to let it develop naturally. At a certain time every day, the combination of cold and heat is really overwhelming, as if death is coming.

One day, when he was dying and unconscious, there was a novice who was about the same age as the poor monk. He was probably the waiter of the poor monk’s master. He brought half a bowl of pickles and said to the poor monk’s bedside. , this is what your master asked the poor monk to bring to you.

In those days, where was the good food? Especially for people who are seriously ill, that half bowl of pickles is really more valuable than any delicacy. The poor monk shed tears while eating, and made a wish in his heart: Master, how did you know that the poor monk was sick? Why do you give such delicious pickles to this poor monk? The poor monk vows to become a monk in the future, spread the Dharma and benefit living beings, and repay your compassionate kindness.

Strangely enough, the severe malaria did not take away the life of the poor monk, and he later recovered without medication. In fact, in the following decades, I never had malaria again. Especially after arriving in Taiwan, *** in order to prevent malaria, if someone suffers from this serious disease, not only will they provide you with medical treatment, but you can also receive a reward. The poor monk really didn't expect that the country and society still have such a good way to treat patients kindly.

The poor monk also has a profound memory. When he was about to leave Jiaoshan at the age of twenty, he had a severe case of smallpox, which festered all over his body except his head. At that time, few people saw a doctor in the temple. Even if he died of illness, he would use wooden boards to nail a box the size of a square table, put it in a box, send it to the back mountain, and cremate it.

That time, the disease was due to scabies on the skin. Every time I took off my clothes, my skin and clothes would stick together, which was really painful. Later, I don’t remember which classmate gave the poor monk two pills to kill the dragon, and he recovered after taking them. It is said that during the Sino-Japanese War, many dead bodies were soaked in the river, which polluted the water source. Many people drank the poisonous water and became sick and died.

One day, when all the classmates had gone to eat, the poor monk couldn't walk because his body was full of ulcers and pus and blood, so he sat in the college and guarded the door. A young couple, probably tourists, saw me and asked: How old are you? The poor monk suddenly remembered that it was the poor monk's birthday, so he replied: "The poor monk is twenty years old today." Indeed, that day happened to be the poor monk’s birthday in July, but he probably thought I meant that the poor monk was twenty years old this year. At that moment, the poor monk also thought that during the life spent in the ancient temple jungle, the poor monk had already lived to the age of twenty.

Before leaving Jiaoshan, Master Pulian taught us biology. In class, he mentioned various diseases, one of which was called hypochondriasis. He said that many diseases, which are not normal at first, are caused by his own suspicion. For example, he said that it is really difficult to treat people who do not have lung disease because they suspect that they have lung disease.

After the poor monk returned to his ancestral home, he felt that his diet was not nutritious and he felt that he had lung disease. From then on, this thought continued for many years, and I thought about it every day: the poor monk has lung disease, the poor monk has lung disease. Even when I arrived in Taiwan at the age of twenty-three, I still thought about it: The poor monk had lung disease. The poor monk also comforted himself, and no one was infected. The poor monk did not vomit blood, and his lungs did not hurt. How could there be lung disease? But the strange thing is that the poor monk cannot get rid of the idea that he has lung disease. He even thinks that this idea will hasten his death.

In the midst of helplessness, I suddenly heard someone say that tomatoes can cure lung diseases. When the poor monk heard this, he felt that he was saved. It is not a very expensive fruit, and it is in peak season, so the poor monk bought a drawer of tomatoes. He ate it in the morning, at noon, and at night. The poor monk was thinking that after eating so many tomatoes, his lung disease would be cured. There was no way of knowing whether the poor monk had lung disease, but since then, the idea that the poor monk had lung disease disappeared.

What the poor monk means by saying this is to tell everyone that our physical problems certainly require medical treatment. If we don’t have that condition, as long as we have confidence, the concept of resisting diseases, and the courage to overcome Confidence, endurance, bravery, fearlessness, and optimism can also have medical functions in overcoming diseases.

When he was twenty-eight or nine years old, that is, around 1955, the poor monk took on the task of promoting and photocopying the Tripitaka around the island for the Chinese Buddhist Cultural Center, and prepared a 20-kilogram machine of his own. recorder. We went all the way from Yilan, via Hualien-Suhua Highway, Taitung, to Pingtung. There were bumpy gravel roads along the way. The poor monk was afraid of damaging the valuable tape recorder, so in order to protect it, he put it on the poor monk's legs.

Half a month later, we arrived at Dongshan Temple in Pingtung. According to Buddhist rules, when you arrive at a temple, you must first pray in the Buddhist hall. Suddenly, when I was kneeling down to worship the Buddha, my two feet were in unbearable pain and I could hardly stand up. However, he had developed a stoic character and didn't take it seriously. After forty days, he reluctantly returned to Yilan and was paralyzed in bed unable to move. As long as I move even a little bit, my knees will feel like needles and needles.

After hearing the news, the believers kindly asked a doctor from the provincial hospital to examine the poor monk. After the doctor made a diagnosis, he roughly explained: This is acute rheumatoid arthritis, which will infect the whole body, and there is a risk of death. It is best to amputate both legs to save life and prevent the disease from expanding. After hearing this, the poor monk was not afraid at all. Instead, he thought that it would be a good idea to cut off his legs, so that he would not have to run and walk outside. From now on, he could live in the temple and concentrate on reading and writing. That would also be a happy thing in life.

Before amputating his legs, some preparations had to be made in advance. After procrastinating for about a month, I felt that the pain in his legs seemed to have reduced, and I felt that there was no need to amputate him. Later, I heard from believers that people with rheumatism need to keep warm and not be exposed to the cold. From that time until now, no matter how hot the summer heat is, the poor monk has always worn thick sanitary trousers and never left his body.

That time, there was no medical treatment, no injections or medicine. Later, the legs were still normal for the poor monk to use. The poor monk protected his two knees, and his knees did not cause trouble to the poor monk. Isn’t this called making friends with the sick? It turns out that when a disease comes, you don't have to be too afraid of it. You can treat it as a friend, respect each other, consider each other, and take care of each other, and the disease and the body will coexist and prosper.

After the founding of Fo Guang Shan, there was a period of time when I had to urinate from time to time. I often felt hungry and thirsty. One night I fell ill and fell into a complete coma. The disciples felt that the situation was serious and sent the poor monk to the temple. Kaohsiung Ruan Surgery Hospital. Thanks to Dr. Ruan Chaoying, the dean of the hospital, he examined the poor monk. After careful examination, he said that the poor monk suffered from diabetes. The poor monk had no knowledge about diabetes, but later he learned that it is called polydipsia, polyuria, and polyhungry. It is also called diabetes mellitus. He then said to the poor monk: Your stomach looks different from others. It should be said that among five million people, it is difficult for them to have a stomach as special as yours. After hearing this, the poor monk didn't think anything was wrong. He thought to himself that it was probably his good intention to comfort the patient!

For several years after he was diagnosed with diabetes, the poor monk had been feeling weak and weak. After being introduced by a believer, he became connected with Dr. Cai Shize from the Department of Metabolism of Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Director Cai told the poor monk that he could take medicine first, and if his blood sugar was still elevated, he would then give him insulin treatment. In this way, the poor monk took injections and took medicine every day according to the doctor's instructions. From then on, diabetes accompanied the poor monk throughout his life. Relying on the knowledge that Dr. Cai gave the poor monk about diabetes, the poor monk did not take too much precaution against it, nor did it threaten the poor monk too much. They treated each other with kindness like friends. Thinking about it, this should be the longest-lasting friend.

Of course, due to diabetes, some daily routines are also affected. The doctor told his disciples to take good care of the poor monk's health, and also warned me to pay attention to his diet and what he could and could not eat. This made the poor monk very troubled. Because it is generally said that people with diabetes should not eat too much rice and noodles to avoid starchy sugar foods that increase the blood sugar index; but if they do not eat rice and noodles, they will not be full and their lives will be really difficult. Later, the poor monk did not have too much taboos and lived as usual every day. He had food to eat and noodles to eat, and lived as he pleased. Until now, the blood sugar index of this poor monk is approximately between one and two hundred.

Later doctors saw these data and said: Now that you are older, this does not matter. The poor monk was thinking, in the past, when I was young, the values ??were mostly between one and two hundred. Why didn't you tell the poor monk earlier? The poor monk thinks that diabetes is not a problem, but it requires labor, work, and exercise. Because daily exercise digests sugar and will not cause high blood sugar, it should not be a serious matter.

Of course, in old age, due to diabetes, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body are also affected by it. It means that if friends have been together for a long time, they will inevitably have each other's opinions. If you be patient, you can get over it. But that’s another story.