mysticism

[Guest guest]

I think chinese medicine describes the workings of the body in a very

pragmatic way and despite references in texts to spirit, it seems as

distinctly secular as western science, yet constructed from a logic that

is quite different from western logic. I think taoist texts reflect the

desire for transcendence and immortality of some sort. They use

concepts like qi, jing and shen in a way one never sees in medical

texts. As more and more seminal classic texts are translated into

english from many different eras, what is starkly apparent is the

decided lack of any discussion of metaphysics or mysticism in these

books. TCM may have been codified in the same era that taoism was born,

but having experienced both acupuncture many times and qi gong regularly

over a 15 year period, I do not think these two practices are impacting

the body in the same way (and herbs also do it differently as well). I

think they just use a similar language.

 

If one is already familiar with qi gong practice of visualizing qi flows

along channels as I am, then one's experience of acupuncture is colored

from the get go. I have met many patients who claim to feel some moving

sensation when needled, but I have rarely met one who has really

accurately traced more than a few inches of a channel. Much less an

entire channel or the entire channel system, unless they had already

studied qi gong and the channel system. So while I find qi a meaningful

clinical term, I do not find anything inherently transcendant or

mystical about it. On the other hand, one can certainly make us of qi

gong visualization with one's patients to get the type of benefits that

have been proven for several forms of meditation and yoga. I may do

this with receptive patients at times. And if one is inclined towards

facilitating their patients spiritual development, then one can

certainly use the acupuncture needles in this way. I just do not think

these practices are part and parcel of TCM and never have been. There

has no doubt been overlap between those who practiced more than one of

these arts, but to think of these things as essential components of the

chinese medical system is not correct, IMO. In fact, most herbalists

didn't even practice acupuncture. I also do not think spiritual

development necessarily leads to the same goal as healthcare. In fact,

many of the spiritual teachers I have read about had to sacrifice their

health for their spiritual pursuits and those under their care

 

None of what I said diminishes the value of such practices for any

individual or private clinic or spa. But I do question the wisdom of

giving what are essentially personal religious beliefs too central a

place in our professional presentation of the medicine to the public and

at the educational level. Clearly there are quite differing opinions

about this topic throughout all of chinese history and such is the

nature of religious discussions. Issues such as this cannot be resolved

and as long as members of the field hold diverse religious and

philosophical views, I think the best face to present is our shared

secular face, especially given the religious beliefs of much of our

market. We all hold to the methodology of pattern diagnosis. that is

what is most important. If chinese history suggested to me that their

mainstream medicine had been anything but secular, I would not feel on

such firm ground with this position. If I felt I was denying something

that had always been the core of TCM practice, I would understand that

TCM could not work without its spiritual aspect. But when I read zhu

dan xi and li dong yuan and fu qing zhu and liu yi ren and qin bo wei

and jiao shu de and zhang zhong jing, etc., etc., etc., that is not

what I see. I see page after page of pragmatic medical advice. I want

to help as many people with TCM as I can and I do not want religious

ideas to interfere with this unless those ideas I perceive as religious

can be shown to me to be essential to the medicine.

 

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