A Donor Who Gives Medicine Gives Beauty, Peacefulness, and Strength

Brāhmin, there are these ten advantages from conjey (rice porridge that is very nutritious that serves the purpose of medicine).

What ten?

In giving conjey one gives life, one gives beauty, one gives ease, one gives strength, one give intelligence; conjey when it is drunk checks hunger, keeps off thirst, regulates wind, cleanses the bladder, digests raw remnants of food.

These, Brāhmin, are the ten advantages of conjey.

To the discerning who gives conjey duly

At the right time to one who lives on others’ food,

It confers ten things on him:

Life and beauty, ease and strength;

For him intelligence arises from it,

It dispels hunger, thirst and wind,

It cleanses the bladder, it digests food;

This medicine is praised by the well-farer.

Therefore conjey should be given constantly

By a man interested for ease,

By those aspiring to become heavenly beings - like joys

Or acquiring human prosperity.

(Reference: Pi Tv Kd 6)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the benefits of giving medicine as an offering and gift.

“Regulates wind” refers to the wind in the body.

During the lifetime of The Buddha and now in traditional medicine, the body is described through The Four Elements. The body is categorized into four (4) different elements such as: earth, water, fire, and wind. Each of these is used to describe the characteristics of the body.

Earth is the solids of the body. For example, hair, teeth, bones, finger and toe nails, etc.

Water is the liquids of the body. For example, tears, saliva, pus, urine, blood, etc.

Fire is the temperature of the body. For example, the heat that is generated to sustain the body. This element is also connected with the process of digestion.

Wind is the movement within the body. For example, the movement of food and feces through the intestines of the body.

Space is the lack of any other of The Four Elements. For example, the voids or empty spaces in the body like the nasal cavity or other locations where there is nothing that exists.

The Four Elements are used in traditional medicine to understand symptoms of illness and provide remedies to the patient. Space is not considered an element because it lacks the qualities of any of the other elements. There are no elemental qualities as it is described as the lack of or absence of, all the other qualities. Some people consider “space” to be a fifth element, but The Buddha described only The Four Elements.

Not only can the human body be described through The Four Elements, but we can also describe any physical object through The Four Elements as all material objects have a combination of The Four Elements.