Dear friends, hello everyone!Welcome to this episode of the podcast, brought to you by the Australia Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated.
Today, I’d like to explore the concept from the Buddhist scriptures that describes the human body as a “nest of worms.”
The scriptures state that the moment we are most likely to create negative karma is when anger arises. When anger fills our hearts, our actions often harm others for our own benefit, even injuring others to satisfy ourselves. The negative karma generated by anger leads to the manifestation of “worms” in our body—various harmful bacteria and viruses—that begin to destroy our physical health, causing pain, discomfort, and even illness. How do these harmful “worms” affect us?
•One type of worm gnaws at our eyebrows, beard, and scalp hair, not on the surface but at the roots, leading to hair loss or baldness. This is akin to how we receive care and nourishment from our parents, yet often create negative karma by harboring anger or dissatisfaction toward them, naturally attracting these consequences.
•Another type of worm, a bacteria living in the blood, crawls and feeds on it, causing illness and suffering. These worms are particularly troublesome as they release substances akin to anesthetics, rendering the body unresponsive and potentially causing heart paralysis. When these substances accumulate beyond the heart’s capacity, it begins to fail.
•Another type resides in the mouth and nose, living off these areas. Due to negative karma, they produce a foul odor, leading to bad breath or nasal odor.
•Another type causes sores or ulcers in the throat.
•Another type leads to visible bodily ailments, such as the skin turning green, black, or yellow, caused by harmful bacteria or viruses.
• Another type results in severe conditions like sores, rashes, fevers, jaundice, scabies, or cracked skin, severely damaging the skin’s condition.
• Another type, born from the karma of anger, occupies the throat, mouth, and excretory passages (urethra and anus), causing frequent inflammation, sores, and persistent issues.
• Another type causes constant fatigue, loss of appetite, and even aversion to food and drink, ultimately leading to physical decline.
• Another type releases acidic substances. Most of our organs, like the liver, heart, and lungs, require an alkaline environment to function properly and feel comfortable. While the stomach and small intestine can tolerate acidity, the large intestine and other organs cannot. Excessive acidity in the body leads to various diseases, as the body cannot cope.
Conversely, if we are free from anger and practice wholesome deeds without greed, anger, or ignorance, we attract a completely different kind of life form. Even the bacteria and viruses we refer to become the most beneficial entities:
•Beneficial bacteria/probiotics: Modern science acknowledges the existence of beneficial bacteria, which greatly benefit the body by optimizing digestion, reducing the burden on the stomach and intestines, and producing essential nutrients, including vitamins that we cannot obtain from food. They convert indigestible food into substances the body needs.
•Beneficial viruses: There are also viruses that play a vital protective role, maintaining bodily functions. For example, they can neutralize external toxins or even break down alcohol, allowing someone to drink daily yet live a long, healthy life, as these beneficial bacteria and viruses swiftly process harmful substances.
Thus, when we are free from anger and fully practice the ten wholesome deeds, even harmful substances entering the body are quickly neutralized by these beneficial life forms. This is the opposite of the effects of negative karma. The bacteria, viruses, and “worms” attracted by wholesome karma not only cause no pain but bring comfort and even pleasant fragrances.
Through the divine eye attained in meditation, practitioners can observe which worms cause disease and which bring well-being. What is the human body, truly? You will realize that the Buddha’s teaching—that the body is a “nest of worms”—is absolutely true. As long as the body exists, these worms are present, meaning the body is “shared.” If you create negative karma, the worms within will work against you.
The ultimate goal is to use meditation and spiritual insight to observe the true state of the body, thereby dispelling the fundamental delusion that “the body is me.” This breaks the attachment to self and the notion of “I,” leading to the realization of no-self.Thank you, everyone.
