ABSTRACT
Along with vitality, longevity and beauty, health is often cited in both early and later Buddhist teachings as a general outcome of good karma and, in its ultimate expression, as a specific outcome of correct and sustained practice and awakening. This suggests seeing health as a relational achievement correlated-either positively or negatively-with sustained patterns of values-intentions-actions. Because such abiding patterns of value-intention-action reflect both personal and communal sensibilities and sensitivities, such a conception of health would seem particularly suited to the task of evaluating and revising healthcare policy and its contributions to realizing public good.
