Keep up the great work Richard.

And as fr as the “first treat the Shen” bit, I could have sworn I saw it in the LS but can’t find it either. I’ll keep looking.

Your point is well taken, however. I would agree that it is not just a matter of an unsuitable vessel. This is why I mentioned the inner emotional state. I would still venture to say that this refers to a leaving, though I could be off. The last two characters 自失 could also be referring to the Shen naturally or of themselves being lost once this dread or panic is present. The title of Chapter 8 is 本神, after all.

I say this because I have never read anything about the Shen being subject to 虛實, for example. I have also never read anything about how to treat them, only to root them. They will not be rooted if there is “evil qi” in their place, nor if they have been damaged by emotions.

I’m simply exploring possibilities here, and the ones you bring up are quite valid. At any rate, I love having discussions on this level :)

If there are people who believe that giving people relief is inferior, this is a total misreading of the Ling Shu. This happened in ancient times, too, as there are many commentaries that try to correct this. If we believe the interpretations of the Nan Jing and Jin Gui Yao Lue, this is about how the imbalance is to be treated. It is not about whether or not we treat the person. I think it is sad that people would put ideology over treating people’s conditions, and I certainly hope this is not the case!

What I get from this is that the inferior physician attacks the disease directly. In the Nan Jing interpretation, the superior physician looks ahead, sees where this is all going, and stops it in its tracks. In the Jin Gui Yao Lue explanation, we are told that this works because of the five phase relationships. No one says “tell the patients they should have come before they suffered.”

Thanks for your comment!

The post wasn’t really aimed at any specific group, as each group brings their own interesting perspective. I also believe that perspectives are limited, including my own. I try to look at Chinese medicine from every possible angle. The way I’m doing this now is by intensively studying classical texts. I’m also trying to bring out some of what the classics say in the hope that no one attaches to any one view point, which is all I can offer in such short blog posts. Thanks for reading!

If I am not mistaken, it is also said that the superior physician treats the Shen. Heiner Fruehauf says all diseases come from the Heart.
Five Elements is a wonderful way to treat people, and I feel it is the best way to be a superior physician who reaches those deep levels ( I don’t like these words in this context- superior and inferior).

But in modern times, in the west, we sometimes need to be “inferior” meaning, that if someone was hurt by a car and suffered a whiplash, you need to treat the pain in the neck. There’s nothing inferior about helping that person by easing his pain (I know that you’re not saying that, I’m just thinking out loud about what you took from the classics).

I feel that the trick is in both- use the superficial treatments when needed, and use the deeper treatments- reach the Shen and it’s parts when needed, even if you can do it without needles. That’s a wholistic point of view (as opposed to holistic, why drop the ‘w’ when that letter makes all the difference?).
That’s the beauty of the art called Chinese Medicine.
At least for me. :)

Thanks for the interesting post,
Yael

….that back in the day (ancient China, that is) the local physicians were paid to keep the population healthy. And when the people got sick? They stopped paying the physician, because he wasn’t doing his job.

Wouldn’t that be an interesting idea to pass to the current healthcare debate in the US?

I trained at the Swedish Inst. with Jeffrey Yuen (the story comes from him), and our education and training were certainly steeped in the Classics, as opposed to TCM. I am sure your posts and such are intended towards those who have not the same in depth exposure to the Classics, but I imagine if you engage any grad of Swedish Institute’s acupuncture program in a discussion of the Classics you will get a lively conversation.

Thank you for the service you are doing to our field (the English-speaking Chinese medical practitioners, that is) and good luck with your endeavors!