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Psychospiritual Aspects of Traditional

Notes for a talk given by the British acupuncturist and herbalist at

East West Seminar

at Bore Farm, July, 1997

Francesca Diebschlag, BAc Bphil, MBAcC Mrchm

 

Ever since the 17th century, Western metaphysics has been informed by

the Cartesian

dualism, the notion that matter and mind or spirit occupy separate

realms, and that

only the material is the proper object of scientific study. As a

result, great pains are

taken in orthodox medical research to exclude subjective experience

from the picture

altogether.

If we consider that the exterior of a person consists of what can be

observed and

described without consulting that person, which is to say without

requiring his active

participation in the investigation, we have the types of data

considered valid in

'scientific' medicine: size, shape, blood tests, x-rays -- all those

factors which can be

quantified.

The interior of a person, however, is the realm of his own

experience, his feelings,

what things mean to him, what he values, his goals, his dreams, his

destiny. In order

to know about this realm, the object of investigation must become a

subject, a co-

researcher, an active participant in the investigation. You will

never find out what

things mean to a person, how he sees the world, unless you engage in

a dialogue

with him.

We are called upon to treat people at different levels of depth. Some

people just need

a remedy for a relatively minor acute illness. Some need strong and

fast-acting

treatment for life-threatening diseases. Others need long-term

treatment for chronic

or constitutional conditions.

But most of our patients need the Interior, as well as the Exterior

realm addressed.

Indeed, that is what they ask of us: that they be treated as Whole

Persons.

The Chinese never suffered from the Cartesian dualism, and never

developed the

matter-spirit dichotomy which still plagues Western science.

Traditional Chinese

metaphysics divided the world not into Mind and Matter, but rather

into yin and yang,

and further into the wu xing, the 'five phases', which describe

qualities applicable to

phenomena from the most grossly material to the most subtle.

In the human body, there are five major organs (zang), one embodying

each of the wu

xing. The Chinese model of the zang-fu is more akin to a field model

than to the

mechanical Western model, in which organs are simply bits of

specialized tissue with

a specific location and particular biochemical functions. Rather,

each of the zang

represents a spectrum from physical structure, to physiological

function, emotions,

mental and social dispositions, and spiritual qualities.

A prevailing attitude throughout Chinese medical thought, and Chinese

culture more

broadly, is that the proper disposition of the spiritual and mental

faculties is essential

to physical health, and conversely, that a sound physical basis is

required for the

maintenance and furtherance of mental and spiritual life. But even to

speak in terms

of " mental " and " physical " in this way imposes on the Chinese model a

dualism

implicit in the English language.

Most modern Chinese texts either neglect the mental and spiritual

aspects of the

zang-fu, or offer an explanation based on Western psychology which

distorts their

original meaning. The traditional Chinese model of the human person

images the

individual, the kingdom, and the entire cosmos as organized along

similar principles.

The ancient medical texts, and particularly the Su Wen, compared the

human person

to society as a whole, and assigned a 'social' role to each organ.

So let's now look at the psychospiritual aspects of each of the

zang-fu in turn.

Fire: the Heart and Small Intestine

The Heart is literally the Emperor and Sovereign of the organism. The

Su Wen chapter

8 states: " The Heart holds the office of Lord and Sovereign. The

radiance of the spirits

stems from it. "

The Heart has a double aspect, as did the Chinese sovereign. In

traditional Chinese

society, the Emperor was the embodiment of Heaven on Earth. He

brought order and

prosperity to his kingdom simply by being; it was his enlightenment,

intelligence and

personal harmony which radiated from his palace at the centre of the

Forbidden City,

which was considered to be at the centre of China, which was

considered to be at the

centre of the world.

But the Emperor was also a political leader, actively wielding power.

This double aspect is represented by two pairs of ideograms: xin jun

and xin zhu. Jun

denotes a ruler, the Heart as an entity which has authority by

nature, whose presence

alone is a guarantee of order. The command of the Heart over the

body, as the

Emperor's over the kingdom, is accomplished not by action but by a

radiation of

order from the centre. The role of the sovereign is to preside; his

virtue diffuses of its

own accord throughout the population.

The Ling Shu chapter 8 says: " That which takes responsibility for the

10,000 beings is

called the Heart " . And in the Su Wen chapter 8 it is said:

If the sovereign radiates (virtue), those under him will be at peace

from generation to

generation. And the empire will radiate with a great light.

The Heart is the residence of the shen. The shen are the messengers

of Heaven, " the

principle of life, that which transforms an assemblage of matter into

a living being "

(Larre and Rochat 1992). The shen are indestructible and immutable;

they transcend

Yin and Yang. Whereas other types of spirits are said to be three in

number, or seven

in number, the shen are innumerable, like drops of water in the ocean.

Another term reflecting the function of the Heart as the residence of

the shen is xin

zhong, the 'heart as centre'. The shen radiate from the Heart not

through an

accumulation of energy, but from a void. The void of the Heart is a

fundamental

concept in Chinese thought, referring not to an absence, but to a

space of potential

which allows the possibility of creativity, communication and

interaction. It is this

void at the centre to which Chuang Tzu refers in the chapter entitled

'The Fasting of

the Heart':

Look at this window; it is nothing but a hole in the wall,

but because of it the whole room is full of light.

So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light.

Being full of light it becomes an influence

by which others are secretly transformed...

The Tao gathers in emptiness alone.

Emptiness is the fasting of the heart.

The second aspect of the Heart is represented in the expression xin

zhu; zhu also

means sovereign, but a sovereign in action, at work, in the process

of actively

excercising his power.

Since the true sovereign himself may not leave his central position

of non-action,

there must be system of connections, a means by which the authority

of the Heart can

radiate to the rest of the organism. Xin Zhu is sometimes translated

as 'Heart

Governor' or 'Heart Master', meaning the Heart as Master, not the

Master of the Heart,

which would be a nonsense. A translation suggested by Larre is " that

through which

the heart commands " .

Another term for this aspect of the Heart is xin bao luo. Bao conveys

the idea of

enveloping something precious in order to protect and maintain it, in

the same way

that a pregnant woman carries a foetus, or a bird sits on a nest.

When combined with

the 'body part' radical it takes on a meaning of a matrix, or more

specifically, the

uterus. When combined with xin, it refers to that which protects the

heart, and is thus

often translated as 'Heart Protector' or 'Pericardium'.

When bao luo is linked to the Heart, it denotes that the void of the

Heart needs not

only protection, but also a network of relationships. The expression

xin bao luo

conveys both the enveloping of the heart in order to protect and

maintain it, and a

system through which the Heart may communicate its authority.

The xin bao luo has the function of protecting the Heart:

" The heart is the Grand Master (da zhu) of the five zang and the six

fu, the residence

of the jing shen. When this zang is solid and firm, the perversities

cannot penetrate. If

they penetrate, then the heart is injured, and if the heart is

injured the shen leave,

and if the shen leave, it is death. For this reason, when the

perversities are in the

heart, they are in the bao luo. " (Ling Shu chapter 17).

This does not mean there can be no pathology involving the Heart,

only that extrinsic

pathogens cannot intrude into the inner sanctum of the Heart itself.

It is for this

reason also, that the character xin does not contain the radical for

'body part', and is

the only zang which does not.

The shen are said to actually reside in the Blood, which roots,

embraces, and anchors

them. The Heart's function of housing the shen thus depends on

adequate

nourishment from the Blood.

The emotion of the Heart is, of course, Joy. The Virtue of the Heart

is " Propriety and

Rites " . Now why, if the shen are beyond Time and Space, is the Heart

concerned with

Propriety and Rites?

The answer lies in the role of the Heart as Emperor; the one and only

role of the

Emperor as a religious leader was to perform the appropriate rites

which would

invoke divine power. The Emperor served as a channel linking his

people with the

source of life.

On a personal level, I think this translates as Mindfulness. At a

practical level, this

may include making time and space for your spiritual practice,

whatever it is. Often

the first and hardest step in doing meditation -- whether it be

sitting meditation, tai

qi, yoga, or whatever, is Making Time.

Small Intestine

The Heart is paired with the Small Intestine. " The Small Intestine is

responsible for

receiving and making things thrive. Transformed substances stem from

it. " (Su Wen

chapter 8). The function of the Small Intestine may be summed up as

'separation of

the pure and impure'. It is the primary point of choice between what

is assimilated to

the organism and what is rejected. In this way it may be seen to

reflect the nature of

the Heart, in that it determines what extrinsic influences are

selected to constitute

and reconstitute the organism.

Clinically, Small Intestine points are useful when a person is having

trouble sorting

out relevant and irrelevant, valid and spurious data, in order to

come to a decision.

The san jiao

The xin zhu is paired with the san jiao, the 'Triple Heater', one of

the most difficult

concepts in Chinese medicine, not only because it has no equivalent

in Western

medicine, but also because even in China it has not been clearly and

consistently

defined.

The Su Wen chapter 8 says, " The san jiao is responsible for the

opening up of

passages and irrigation. The waterways (routing of water) stem from

it. "

The san jiao does not describe a physical organ; indeed, it is the

only fu whose

character does not include the 'body part' radical. Like the Heart

itself, it has " a name

but no form " (Nan Jing chapter 25). It is rather the sum of the

functions of

transformation and interpenetration of various densities and

qualities of substance

within the organism, " the way and pathways of liquids and cereals,

the beginning and

ending of Qi " (Nan Jing).

The Nei Jing also refers to the san jiao as 'the pathways for the

entry and exit of

liquids and cereals'. 'Entry and exit' refers not only to the gross

level of swallowing

and excreting, but to everything that allows an organism to receive

and introduce

something into itself that is other than itself, and which gives it

the ability to

eliminate that which cannot be assimilated and integrated into

itself. Between entry

and exit are all the transformations of qi, and all take place within

the scope of the

san jiao, which ensures their coordination and unity. The details of

digestion and

metabolism may be governed by one organ or another, but the whole

operation is

orchestrated by the san jiao, which is responsible for not only the

production of all

types of post-natal qi, but also for its free circulation, from the

deepest level to the

most superficial.

A commentary by Sun Simiao in the 8th century emphasises the pivotal

importance of

the san jiao to the maintenance of life:

The san jiao through their reunion make the unity. They govern the

tao of the shen,

which come and go in the five zang and six fu....They know how to

distribute life in

the form of qi, they are connected to the origin, they make the blood

and maintain

life through the shen.

So we have here the idea that a sound physical basis is essential to

spiritual life.

Metal: the Lung and Large Intestine

The Lung holds a privileged place in the body because it is found in

the upper (yang)

part of the body alongside the Heart. The beating of the Heart is

intimately connected

with and dependent upon respiration.

In the Su Wen chapter 8, it is said " The Lung holds the office of

Minister and

Chancellor. The regulation of the life-giving network stems from it " .

The Sovereign and his Minister form a couple, and inevitably this is

a Yin/Yang pair.

In relation to the Lung, the Heart is Yang, the leader, the more

refined and

immaterial; the Lung is Yin in relation to the Heart.

The Lung is associated with seven 'spiritual' entities, the po, which

maintain and

regulate bodily rhythms, respiration, metabolism, and homeostasis

generally. The po

are collectively responsible for maintaining the automatic rhythmic

functions of the

body, vital movements, sensations, reactions, and instinctive

impulses. At the death

of the organism, they return to the earth, following the natural

downward movement

of the Metal phase.

The Lung rules the exterior of the body, and its spiritual aspect,

the po are the most

'exterior', material or outwardly observable, of all the spiritual

aspects of the person.

The po experience things in the moment, on a reactive, unconscious

basis; they are

completely tied to Time and Space, and have no existence independent

of the body. It

is said that the po experience pain but not suffering, because pain

is in the moment

while suffering consists of one's response to it.

The emotion associated with the Lungs is sadness, and this has

something to do with

the fact that the Metal element represents a withdrawal from life.

The po are

completely dependent on the body and, like all living things, will

die. How do we

make a spiritual path out of this?

The Virtue of the Lungs is Reverence. It is the ability to experience

every moment as

unique, as special and complete in itself. We get sad because we have

embraced

something, connected with its special quality, and then lost it.

Reverence is sadness

without the loss. It is what makes people cry when they are moved by

great beauty.

If there is a lack of Reverence in your life, you won't be nourished

by ordinary

everyday things. The virtue of the Lungs is to appreciate each moment

in the Here

and Now, as the only moment there is.

The Lung is paired with the Large Intestine (da chang), which

receives the turbid (i.e.

the unusable) portion of the products of food and fluids from the

Small Intestine,

absorbs the residue of useful fluids from it, and eventually

eliminates it downward

through the anus, the po men, 'door of the po'.

Wood: the Liver and Gall Bladder

The Su Wen, in chapter 8, states:

The Liver holds the office of General of the armed forces. Assessment

of

circumstances and conception of plans springs from it.

The General is for the defence of life; the nature of the Liver is an

active springing up,

a kind of assertive power. It is the capacity to make plans and put

them into action, to

exert one's volition. This requires vision, always estimating and

evaluating the current

situation for the proper conduct of physical, emotional and social

life. If the General

acts the same in peace as in war, there will be disaster!

Thus we can see why the Liver governs the muscles and tendons in

their function of

contraction and extension. It is responsible for the voluntary

movement of the

muscles, tensing and relaxing them as appropriate. The muscular

capacity to extend

and contract does not refer to the substance of the muscles or

tendons, but to the

dynamic, functional connections between the flesh and the bones.

The Liver is also responsible for the voluntary movements of the

social being,

modulating engagement and self-restraint as appropriate to the

circumstances.

The Liver is said to store the Blood, releasing it for use in

movement, and gathering it

back to itself when the body is at rest. This is the General

deploying his forces,

adjusting and regulating the activities of the army as appropriate in

peace and at war,

in activity and at rest.

The Liver houses the hun, the spirits which bestow on a person the

quality of

individuality. The hun represent the 'giving of images': they have

everything to do

with creativity, speculation, and vision. At death, they move upward

from the body,

following the natural movement of Wood, and persist in existence for

some time.

The hun represent that aspect of the individual which is self-aware

and concerned

with boundaries between self and others, and with assessing

situations so as to make

possible harmonious and socially appropriate action..

The hun might be considered to be deputies to the shen, in the same

way that the

Lung is a deputy to the Heart. The hun are a sort of personalized

expression of the

shen in you as an individual.

The Ling Shu at chapter 8 tells us that the hun actually reside in

the blood, and this is

related both to the Liver's function of storing the blood, and to the

close relationship

between the shen and the hun.

The Liver ensures the smooth flow of qi, being responsible for the

harmonious

movement of substances within the body and of the body as a whole, by

removing

obstacles so as to allow qi to penetrate easily and spread

everywhere. Liver pathology

manifests as obstruction or stagnation in the flow of qi, which may

include uneven,

irregular emotions and awkward social behaviour.

Just as the Liver regulates qi, it regulates the emotions in a

general way. What is

important is not which emotion is experienced -- emotions are nothing

more than

expressions of qi, and there will be moments when anger, joy, fear,

or grief are

appropriate -- but rather that the emotions should be in 'free

circulation', and not

blocked or repressed. The essence of the Liver is flexibility and the

capacity to change

and adapt.

The Liver rules the eyes, and the capacity for vision, both physical

and imaginative --

another aspect of the capacity to assess situations by accurate

perception, and to

create novelty through the destruction of fixed patterns and the

imagination of

possibilities. The Ling Shu at chapter 17 tells us that when the

Liver is present " you

can correctly grasp all the aspects presented on the outside of

things " .

The emotion of the Liver is often translated as Anger, but might more

appropriately

be considered in a general way as the self-assertive, explosive

impulse connected

with beginnings, or with the defense of boundaries. If this impulse

is blocked, it can

easily turn to resentment or rage.

The Virtue of the Liver is Benevolence and Human Kindness. The

biggest obstacle to

Benevolence is Anger. It requires a higher quality of vision to be

able to see both

sides of a question and to set aside your instinct for individual

self-preservation in

favour of another person or the greater good. This quality of vision

goes beyond the

immediate moment and demands that you act from a place outside time

and space,

i.e. that you bring the shen into the picture.

You can have too much anger, or too little. An inability to get angry

and defend

yourself when it is appropriate is just as bad as wanting to have

your own way all the

time. One is a lack of kindness to self, the other a lack of kindness

to others.

So the spiritual path of the Liver is to transcend selfishness and

cultivate Benevolence

toward everything and everyone, including yourself.

Gall Bladder

As the Liver is the yin aspect of Wood, the Gall Bladder is the yang

aspect. The Su

Wen, chapter 8, tells us that " The Gall Bladder is responsible for

what is just and

exact. Determination and decision stem from it. " The phrase

translated as 'just and

exact' is zhong zheng, literally 'centre' (as in hitting the centre

of a target), 'correct',

or 'as it should be'. The nature of the Gall Bladder is to be hard

and exact, just and

decisive. The Liver analyzes, assesses circumstances, conceives

ideas, plans and

strategies; the Gall Bladder has the firmness to bring fantasy and

invention to a

clearcut decision and see it through. The Su Wen chapter 11 says " The

eleven organs

come to the Gall Bladder for decisions " , and the Zhangshi leijing

tells us that

The Gall Bladder is appended to the liver and they help one another.

Even if the Liver

qi is strong, without the Gall Bladder there is no decision. If the

Liver and Gall Bladder

mutually assist, bravery and courage are then created. (cited in Mann

[1964:96)

As a manifestation of Wood, the Gall Bladder is related to

beginnings, even more than

the Liver. It gives one the initial push along one's direction in

life, and with its power

of decisiveness maintains one in that direction. This ability not to

be deviated or put

off is said to protect one from influences such as sudden shocks; a

strong Gall

Bladder ensures a quick return to normal after physical or emotional

shocks such as

serious illness or bereavement.

Water: the Kidneys and Bladder

" The Kidneys are responsible for the creation of power. Skill and

ability stem from

them " (Su Wen chapter 8).

The Kidneys represent the origins of life in the depths of one's

being: the invisible

beginnings, the seed. They are the original and permanent basis for

life, like the

foundations of a house. They are responsible for the deep inner power

of a person:

not the power of temporary exertion, but that which allows for

duration.

This deep underpinning of life applies not only to the ongoing life

of the individual,

but to the human species as a whole. 'Skill and ability' refers not

only to the ingenious

skill of conducting one's own life, but also the knowledge of how to

create another

life: the Kidneys house the jing, which govern reproduction and

development.

The Kidneys are the only double organ, and have a double function.

They are said to

be the roots of yin and yang, of all the Fire and Water of the

organism. " The Kidneys

are the mansion of Fire and Water, the residence of yin and

yang....the channel of life

and death " . They link the past and the future.

The psychospiritual aspect of the Kidneys is the zhi. It represents

the capacity for

rootedness, for stability and endurance: the ability to initiate

action (yang) and to see

it through (yin).

The Kidneys are the door between life and death. They represent the

withdrawal of

life into the depths. The emotion of withdrawal is Fear.

The ultimate fear is the fear of extinction. Facing up to your

mortality, and looking

past it to discover and accept your destiny, is the transmutation of

that fear into

Wisdom. This is the virtue of the Kidneys.

Bladder

The yin aspect of the Kidneys is paired with the Bladder, which has a

special place

amongst the fu. The Su Wen (chapter 8) tells us that " The Bladder is

responsible for

regions and cities (zhou du). It stores the jin ye. The

transformations of qi then give

out their power. " The Bladder represents the last phase of metabolic

transformation,

the coming full circle from the original essence of the Kidneys to

the manifest,

explicate, workings of life. In a typically Chinese paradoxical twist

of thought, the

lowest of the fu has a significant influence in regulating the

vitality of the entire

organism. The power of the Bladder is reflected in its channel, which

is the longest in

the body, containing points which correspond to every significant

physical structure

and psychospiritual aspect of the organism.

Ming men and the dual nature of the Kidneys

As the only double zang in the organism, the Kidneys are a paradigm

of the

interpenetration of yin and yang.

The Nan Jing, at Difficulty 36, tells us:

" The zang are all single, the Kidneys alone are double. Why is this?

The Kidneys are

double: they are not both Kidneys. The one on the left is the Kidney;

the one on the

right is ming men, the door of individual destiny. Ming men is the

residence of shen

jing, Spirits/Essences; it is where the original Breaths, yuan qi,

are attached. There

man stores the Essences (jing, sperm) and woman attaches the

reproductive organs

(bao, uterus). Thus the Kidneys are unique. "

Ming is a term which expresses the power and virtue of Heaven in an

organism,

whether it be an individual person or the state. It implies that the

destiny decreed by

Heaven is nothing other than the unfolding of one's true nature to

its fullest

expression. Men denotes a gate or door. Ming men, then, is the 'Door

of Destiny',

from whence one's nature unfolds.

Commentaries on the Ling Shu chapters 2 and 47 say quite precisely

that the right

Kidney is paired with the san jiao and the left Kidney is paired with

the Bladder. This

is only understandable in the light of the Nan Jing Difficulty 36

where the left Kidney

is correlated with Water; Ling Shu chapter 2 associates the Kidneys

with the Bladder,

and says that the Bladder is the " fu of the jin ye " .

The right Kidney, however, is equated with ming men, which is

correlated with Fire,

and is paired with the san jiao. Chapter 47 of the Ling Shu describes

the san jiao as

being like a messenger or servant of ming men for the distribution of

yuan qi through

the body.

Earth: the Spleen and Stomach

The Earth phase of the wu xing belongs not to one direction or season

but to the

central region and the transformation of the seasons, and the Spleen

holds the same

position within the organism:

The Spleen doesn't govern a season, can you explain this to me?

Qi Bo replies:

The Spleen is the Earth, tu, it governs the central region,

and continually through the four seasons it allows the development

of the four zang.

All of the zang are paired with a corresponding fu, but the Stomach

and Spleen are

virtually one unit. In chapter 8 of the Su wen, which delineates the

functions of the

zang-fu, they are dealt with together, in the central section of the

chapter, reflecting

their central position in anatomy and physiology, and they are the

only zang-fu pair

considered in this way.

The Su wen at chapter 8 says " The Spleen and Stomach are responsible

for the

storehouses and granaries. The five tastes stem from them " .

The Spleen is not only the central pivot of the four types of Qi, it

is the pivot between

yourself and the world outside. Its function is to transform

substances that are not-

you (food and drink) into the substance of you. This function is

expressed in the word

hua, which actually has alchemical connotations. There is really

something magical

about turning rice and carrots into a human being.

The result of transformation is stability. " The Spleen corresponds to

the Earth. It

regulates the centre, that which is constant. " (Nei Jing, chapter 29).

Kidney Jing is like the hand of cards dealt to you by fate; the

Kidneys are the 'root of

pre-natal Qi " . The Spleen, on the other hand, is the way you play

that hand; it is the

" root of post-natal Qi " . The best constitution in the world will fail

you if you don't

feed it well.

Just as the Earth phase describes a central pivot, or the pivot

between each of the

four directions, the spiritual aspect of the Spleen is not an entity,

but rather a quality

of mind, a central channel of expression, yi. Yi is variously and

ambiguously

translated as purpose, intention, engagement, ideas, or thought; it

corresponds to

the Taoist notion of 'spontaneity' -- that action to which one is

spontaneously moved

by one's grasp of one's situation. Yi is said to dwell in the ying

qi, the 'nutritive' qi of

the channels; the capacity to engage with the world requires

sufficient qi to reach out

and connect. A deficiency of ying qi generally manifests on a

physical level as fatigue,

and on a psychological level as a lack of presence, interest and

engagement.

It is the Spleen which ensures the passage from one quality of qi to

another, and from

one zang to another. Its particular power is to master passages,

transmissions, and

transformations.

The ability to translate experience -- whether it be of food (the

biological level) or

data (the cognitive level) -- into something life-enhancing for

oneself belongs to the

Earth phase.

The 'emotion' associated with the Spleen is not really an emotion.

It's si, which means

thought, but in the sense of coherence -- when various perceptions

and ideas come

together in a coherent, meaningful way. In Ling Shu chapter 8 it says

" When yi

remains we speak of zhi " , that is, when purpose is held, there is

will, a continuity that

allows accomplishment.

The Virtue of the Spleen is thus Faithfulness and Reliability. It's

the holding to a

commitment or relationship, but by constantly creating and

re-creating it, rather than

just going through the motions of some past decision or habit

pattern. It's like

waking up every morning and saying " Do I still want to do this?

Yes! " .

Qi and Blood

Qi is what allows you to engage and become involved with the world.

One of the core

Qi tonic formulas is said to be indicated " When you can't tell it's a

nice day outside, or

that the food tastes good " .

This is a description of boredom, of lack of engagement. People with

Qi deficiency

tend to complain a lot because they cannot reach out and engage the

world, so it's all

happening to them.

Qi forms a yin/yang pair with Blood. The concept of Blood in TCM is

quite different

from the Western concept of Blood. In TCM, blood is the yin aspect of

Qi; it is the

aspect of Qi responsible for responsiveness and receptivity, as

contrasted with

engagement and transformation.

Whereas Qi is active and creative, Blood gives you the capacity to

embrace and be

comfortable with what has already been created.

Qi gives you the ability to be active; Blood gives you the ability to

be comfortable

about being still. People who are constantly fidgeting are lacking

this quality; they

don't feel comfortable in themselves.

People with low self-esteem tend to be deficient in Blood; they can't

acknowledge and

embrace and feel good about what they are and what they have done.

Memory

depends upon Blood; memory is being able to hold onto and reconnect

with what Qi

originally connected us with in the outside world.

The domain of Blood is your inner self; the domain of Qi is from

yourself outward into

the world.

One of the basic clinical assumptions in TCM is that women tend to

have problems

with Blood, while men have problems with Qi, or Yang. There has been

much

speculation about why this is so. Some say it is because women lose

blood every

month through menstruation, and even more through pregnancy,

childbirth and

lactation. Some modern scholars say that Chinese culture was so

sexist it created an

imbalance by making women feel worthless.

But try this one on: The movement of Qi is linear, from A to B. It's

about creating new

things, mastering new skills, conquering new territory. The movement

of Blood is

cyclic. It covers the same ground again and again, around and around

on the same

path, supporting and nourishing.

In a traditional society, the men go out and do new and challenging

things, while the

women stay home and look after the household, which requires a lot of

repetitive

work. Maybe women get Blood deficient because this excessive

repetitiveness

depletes Blood, just as excessive challenge and activity depletes Qi.

Just a thought.

The importance of the psychospiritual dimension

In Chapter 8 of the Ling Shu, we find a strong call for the stability

of the shen to be

central to every medical treatment:

Huangdi asked Qi Bo this question:

When needling, one must not miss the rooting in the spirits. Blood

and mai, ying and

qi, jing and shen, are stored by the five zang. If, following a

situation of overflowing

and complete invasion, they leave the zang, then the essences are

lost. Both hun and

po are carried away in an uncontrollable agitation, will and purpose

become confused

and disordered, know-how and reflection abandon us. Where does this

state come

from? Should one accuse heaven? Is it the fault of man? And what is

the meaning of

virtue, qi, life, jing, shen, hun, po, heart, purpose, will, thought,

know-how and

reflection?

Qi Bo replied:

Heaven in me is virtue.

Earth in me is Qi.

Virtue flows, Qi spreads out, and there is Life.

That living beings arise denotes jing.

That the jing embrace denotes the shen.

That which faithfully follows the shen in their coming and going

denotes the hun.

That which associates with the jing in their exits and entries

denotes the po.

For that which takes charge of the beings, one speaks of the Heart.

When the Heart is applied, one speaks of Purpose (yi).

When Purpose is permanent, one speaks of Will (zhi).

When Will, which is maintained, changes, one speaks of Thought (si).

When Thought spreads far and powerfully, one speak of Reflection (lu).

When Reflection is available to all beings, one speaks of Know-how

(zhi).

Thus Know-how is what maintains your life.

This text takes us from the Universals of Heaven and Earth right

through the entire

subjective structure of a human person, telling us how to maintain

life. There is no

mention of diet, exercise, or specific reference to conformance with

the seasons.

Instead, it speaks of process through the interiority of the

individual, in such a way

that life can be maintained.

Su Wen chapter 54 says " Through the purpose of the heart (xin yi) man

is in

resonance with the eight winds " . The eight winds represent all the

variations of

external influences -- from the most subtle psychosocial conditions

to the most

physical manifestations of climate -- which can touch and have an

effect upon our

internal organization. If the heart is not stable, one can be thrown

into disorder by

external circumstances.

This passage tells us also that the Heart is a centre where unity is

maintained in the

midst of the flux of qi and shen. The dual nature of the Heart

represents the meeting

of the changeless and the changing, the inevitable and the

contingent, the implicate

and the manifest. It stands for absolute autonomy and at the same

time,

responsiveness to, and resonance with, universal forces, trends, and

patterns. As

Hsun-tsu put it:

" How does man know the Way? By the heart. How does the heart know? By

being

empty, unified, and still. The heart never ceases to store, yet

something in it is to be

called empty; to be multiple, yet something in it is to be called

unified; to move, yet

something in it is to be called still. From birth man has knowledge,

and in knowledge

there is memory; 'memory' is storing, yet something in it is to be

called empty -- not

letting the already-stored interfere with the about-to-be-received is

called being

empty. From birth the heart has knowledge, and in knowledge there is

difference; of

the different it knows each at the same time, and if it knows each at

the same time is

multiple, yet something it is to be called unified -- not letting one

of them interfere

with another is called being unified. The heart when sleeping dreams,

when idling

takes it own course, when employed makes plans, so never ceases to

move, yet

something in it is to be called still -- not letting dream and play

disorder knowledge

is called being still. " (Hs 21/34-39)

Thus, if we can get the psychospiritual disposition right -- and this

is a continuous

process, not a discrete once-and-for-all event, we stand a far better

chance of

helping our clients 'maintain life', which is to say, being more

fully alive. For what

other reason do we practice?

Copyright ? Francesca Diebschlag 1997

email:diebschlag

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