All too often people come to meditation in the hope of extraordinary results, like visions, lights, or some supernatural miracle. When no such thing occurs, they feel extremely disappointed. But the real miracle of meditation is more ordinary and much more useful. It is a subtle transformation, and this transformation happens not only in your mind and your emotions, but also actually in your body.
Your body has begun to transform. When people come here to study Buddhism, many of them initially look stiff, tense, or even distressed — wearing a “bitter melon face”, which shows they are unhappy. However, after some time, they become more relaxed and even start smiling, with peaceful and joyous gaze and brighter skin. Indeed, many practitioners’ skin becomes brighter. This is certainly true and especially noticeable among female practitioners — they look fairer and younger. These are the effects on the body. The effects on the mind are even more. You will become joyful, optimistic, broad-minded, open-minded, forgiving, wise, compassionate, and more. Such changes will definitely happen to you and will quickly manifest in your body: if you have an illness, it will surely alleviate or even completely disappear; if you are healthy, you will become even healthier and look even better. It is very healing. Dharma is very healing. Buddha said that meditation can heal more than 400 types of illnesses. Scientists and doctors have discovered that when you are in a good humor, then even the cells in your body are more joyful; and when your mind is in a more negative state, then your cells can become malignant. The whole state of your health has a lot to do with your state of mind and your way of being. This was discovered by scientists and doctors. It is quite normal. Therefore, when some people fall ill, I directly tell them, “You must have been prone to keep anger inside or scold others, or create negative verbal karma.” Some people are impatient, bad-tempered, or tend to keep anger inside — they either express it outwardly or suppress it inwardly, but are more or less the same — they are all prone to anger. People who become ill often have a narrow mind and get angry on even the slightest matter. They tend to be egocentric, unwilling to forgive others, and harsh on others. Thus, they are prone to anger. If someone says something unpleasant and you get angry, it is because you are harsh on them and don’t tolerate them speaking like that. You are being narrow-minded. Meditation is healing. If you have faith in the Dharma, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, then meditation, prostration, sutra chanting, and mantra chanting are all healing. There are many such cases. To live a long and healthy life, the key is to be content with fewer desires. Diet is secondary. The fundamental is be content with fewer desires, which leads to health and longevity. Those who are kind and content with fewer desires tend to have a longer lifespan. This is called “Rén zhě shòu” in Chinese; “Rén” means kindness. A kind person is unwilling to and will not harm others; even when harmed, they are not prone to get angry but are more inclined to forgive. This is a simple life principle that everyone knows.