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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

29. TCM (how the Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Medicine (Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen) uses the Tao Te Ching and Yi Jing)

1. (*Chinese characters which share the same pronunciation have the same origin)
‘One’ in the Origin of Chinese characters was a dot (circle); it refers to Taiji (a state of Yin and Yang in complete harmonious relationship).
The TTC relates the origin of human – 
Tao engenders one
One engenders two
Two engenders three
Three engenders everything
This is the syncretism between heaven and man.
Before the formation of the universe, there was Tao, there was obscure but physical existence.  Tao engenders One which is Taiji, then One forms Two – Two is Qing Yang which is in the heaven, and Zhou Yin which is in the earth.
When Yang increases heaven is formed, when Yin declines earth is formed, so heaven and earth became Two, then as One engenders Two, Two engenders Three, earth Qi constantly rises while heaven Qi declines, the state of Qi with motions of heaven and earth was formed, this is Three, i.e. when all creatures on earth were produced.
What is the essence of man?  According to TCM, in the TTC, human is everything, the most perfect product of Yin and Yang.  The essence is that Yin and Yang must be balanced (core philosophy of TCM).

2. In the Chinese culture, an important idea is that man is the lord of creation – 
Man follows Earth,
Earth follows Heaven, 
Heaven follows Tao, 
Tao follows Nature – 
Why is this said?
Man has the capacity to put heaven and earth together – look at the philtrum.  When a person is in the womb, it is called the “nine obstructed orifices” – the navel is connected with the mother.  All other orifices are closed.  When the baby is born, the “nine orifices” open.  The orifice is the channel between independent life and the nature.  The channel is open.  How are the nine orifices distributed –
Above the philtrum: three even numbers
Two eyes
Two ears
Two nostrils
Below the philtrum: three odd numbers
One mouth
One external genitalia
One anus
Three even numbers = Kun trigram, which means earth
Three odd numbers = Chien trigram, which is heaven
However, originally heaven is above and earth is below, but how can man follow heaven and earth?
Earth Qi must rise and heaven Qi must decline.  At this point, man is alive.
When the nine orifices are distributed, earth Qi rises so above is even number, heaven Qi declines, so below is odd number, therefore, the philtrum is where Yin and Yang meet.
When man is born, he follows heaven and earth.  When earth Qi rises, heaven Qi declines, then man is alive.
When you faint, earth Qi no longer rises, heaven Qi no longer declines, so pinch the philtrum so that heaven and earth Qi can start to run again.

3. Tai hexagram (Tai kua) in the Yi Jing is where heaven and earth meet, this is the relationship between TCM and the Yi Jing.  Yi in Yi Jing is represented by the sun and moon pictograph.  The sun and moon are forever changing, moving all the time.  Therefore, the Yi represents motions and changes in nature, Yin and Yang.  In TCM, what regular rules Yin and Yang, have in the process of a man’s growth?

Yi Jing (also known as Zhou Yi) has three basic meanings –
1. Variation – always changing

2. Simple (jian yi), i.e. all movements in nature are inseparable like the changes of sun and moon, and the sun and moon represent Yin and Yang.  Therefore, TCM says that the essentials of all changes shall be known.  TCM states that understanding the Yin and Yang will understand all the change rules in the world.  It uses the changes of Yin and Yang in nature to understand the change rules in the world.

3. Hard (bu yi).  Between heaven and earth, Qi is moving and changing – it has fixed and regular rule but it is not like this on the first day.

In summary, the Yi Jing has three meanings – change and variation, simple yi and hard yi. 

(*yi as in yi of Yi Jing)

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28. Secret of Yang Qi

1. Yang Qi refers to life activities of human bodies such as prompt thinking, brisk movement, which are external manifestations of Yang Qi.

2. Yin Qi goes hand in hand with the production of blood, semen and other body fluids.

3. Yang Qi supports life activities, and Yin Qi forms tangible matters of the body tissues and fluids.

4. Abide by the principles of nature; according to Lao Tzu,
Man models on Earth
Earth models on Heaven
Heaven models on the Way
The Way models on Nature

Yang Qi is from heaven and the sun; Yin qi is from earth and the moon – work during the day, rest during the night.
Yang Qi is at the external body during the day, it returns to the body at night – Yang Qi is needed to maintain Yin Qi at night – both Yang and Yin Qi must be in the body to enable body to keep well – if you exercise at night, Yang Qi cannot return into the body.

5. To look after Yang Qi, women should look after the spleen, stomach and blood while men should look after the kidneys and semen.

6. Hot-natured food promotes Yang Qi, cold natured food suppresses Yang Qi, e.g. 
i. watermelon is red and sweet, is cold natured – red is related to heart which is of hot nature, i.e. red things go to the heart, thus, watermelon reduces heat in heart as one will pee after eating watermelon.

ii. lichee is hot, sweet, gentle; if weak spleen and stomach, can eat lichee because can promote Yang Qi; but not for hot-natured person, it can cause inflammation, so boil lichee peel in water and drink because peel is cold-natured.
iii. fresh ginger is gentle; yellow goes to the spleen and stomach.
iv. pepper/chilli is hot-natured and promotes Yang Qi better.
v. old duck is hot-natured; young duck is cold-natured.
vi. American ginseng replenishes Yang Qi fluids, is best eaten in summer.
vii. Nuts, peanuts, chestnuts, hazels, are seeds, so are good vegetable protein – seeds have vitality, carrier of vitality – promotes kidney Qi.
viii. “Each place has streams come in from all over the country”, i.e. follow own local practices and customs to keep well.

7. In TCM, foods of specific nature are medicines such as watermelon, ginger, pepper.

8. Medicine is less effective than food.  Extractive medicine or chemosynthetic medicine – avoid artificial/chemosynthetic medicine as a specific function of the medicine is exaggerated.

9. In spring and summer look after Yang Qi; in autumn and winter, look after Yin Qi.

10. Negative emotions affect Qi, e.g. rage causes Qi to rise; anxiety causes Qi to depress.
Overthinking/overworking affects Yang Qi, the spleen – deficient Yang Qi causes loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhoea.
Diabetes, depression also affects Yang Qi.

11. Yang Qi must transform and transmit in body; there should not be Qi stasis or this will lead to internal heat.

12. The Yin-Yang Fish in the Eight Trigrams/Baqua is reflective of the origins of the universe – according to Sun Simiao, if man does not understand the laws of the universe, he does not understand the principles of life; it’s about the relation between macro Yin-Yang and micro Yin-Yang.

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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

27.  Food in Ancient Chinese Culture

1. Bitter gourd = insulin

2. Garlic = antibiotics 

3. Peanuts with skin = red blood cells

4. Day lily = feel good feeling

5. Rice is important, rice is in Qi character; vegetable is important, it is in Jing character as field is in Shen character.

6. Based on number of teeth, i.e. 4 canines and 32 molars, it suggests that 1/8th meat in diet is enough.

7. Millet = ‘miyou’ which is better than milk

8. Sweet potato prevents obstruction in intestines, i.e. clean intestinal tract = longevity. Also, has cholesterol lowering ability, 10 times more than 130 other foods.

9. Vegetables must be fresh, green, yellow, red.  Must be bought fresh, not stored for days in fridge; green for chlorophyll and folic acid, yellow for carotene, red for lycopene.  Vegetable contain the character Shu which means grass and dredging, suggests able to open meridiens and clean obstruction.

10. Fruits cannot replace vegetables – eat less fruits but more times. 
Fruits can be classified as normal, hot or cold, e.g. banana (cold) puts one in good mood – has good adjustment effect; apple (normal) prevents dementia; persimmon (hot) must not be eaten with crab (hot).

11. Cooked with low heat.

Good to cook with slow fire, e.g. mantou is better than bread, both made from wheat but mantou is steamed.

12. Eat carbohydrates to burn fats.

13. Grain eater said to have wisdom and thinking ability; grazer to be stupid and labored; meat eater to be bold and hot tempered.  Too much meat increases abdominal heat, makes a person want to drink ice water.

14. Ice water is bad for abdominal brain, makes a person easily rejects others.

15. Abdominal brain = EQ; head brain = IQ

16. Functional food = target organ (food as medicine), e.g. walnut for brain; almond for heart; fish head soup nourishes brain.

17. Balance is health, adjustment is treatment.

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26. Chinese characters in TCM

1. Ai (in ai zheng, cancer) suggests a serious internal disease, caused by one’s emotions, thus, this disease is considered closely related to one’s emotions.  (ai used to be pronounced yan – the character is written as 3 rocks on 3 mountains)

When one cannot express emotions effectively, blood and Qi do not flow smoothly, one cannot discharge one’s metabolites, so metabolites will accumulate in the body and form bulges, which become malignant, i.e. then cancer.

2. Headache is a serious disease in TCM – the character headache has the passage character in it, which reflects a passage between two stone walls; it refers to the passage where Qi and blood of a person flow; where Qi and blood do not flow smoothly, there’s ache.  But to treat headaches, TCM doctors need to know if the headache is caused by cold, or internal injury, or deficiency of blood or Qi.

3. All characters relevant to both TCM and emotions contain the character xin (heart).  In TCM, human emotions are manifestations of internal organs.

4. According to TCM, a human has five major internal organs – liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney which are associated with five emotions, namely, joy, anger, anxiety, grief and fear:
heart is related to joy (xi)

liver to anger (nu)
spleen to anxiety(you)

lung to grief (bei)
kidney to fear (kong)

e.g. 

(i) excessive anxiety damages the spleen/stomach; many intellectuals suffer from gastric ulcer because when they eat, they think about their problems, so blood flows to the head and not the stomach, thus, leading to stomach problem, i.e. Qi stagnation caused anxiety.
(ii) Qi will disperse when one bursts into excessive joy, causing spirit dispersion, affecting the heart as spirit is stored in the heart.

5. With development in society, the five emotions evolve into seven emotions, namely joy, anger, pensiveness (si), anxiety, grief, fear, fright (jing).

6. Difference between fear and fright in TCM – fright is related to heart. Unlike fear, fright is a kind of dread in the heart. In the bone oracle script, the character fear contains the pictorial of someone hammering the ground (gong) over the heart character – fear is associated with such a sound. If one is timid, scared all the time, he is short of kidney Qi, i.e. always scared for no reason, thus fear and kidney are closely related.

7. Fright is related to the heart (emotion that is caused by an external stimulation).
Fright (jing) shows a character composed of a lower horse character, thus, jing means a frightened horse; in TCM, it refers to being unprepared when an unexpected thing happens, one’s nerves are taxed.  (If fright persists it can become fear and moves to the kidney as fear (kong) is related to kidney.)

8. In TCM, diseases caused by the cold and summer are easier to treat but caused by the heart which is related to emotions are not so easy.  A person can stay healthy if he can control his seven emotions.  In TCM, all diseases come from the heart including those caused by exogenous pathogenic factors.

9. There are many radicals (of Chinese characters) closely related to TCM.

10. In TCM there are five emotions, there are also five secretions, namely sweat, tears, saliva, nose mucus and spit.
i. Saliva is different from spit as saliva is secreted by parotid gland while spit is secreted by sublingual gland.
ii. Tears are related to liver – liver can protect eyesight.  
iii. If a person drools excessively, his spleen and stomach have problem; if a baby drools, his spleen and stomach not fully developed yet – do not kiss the forehead or he will drool more.  
iv. Nose mucus is associated with lung because nose is the entrance of the lung.  Spit is associated with kidney Qi.  If kidney is weak, an old man goes often to the toilet at night; he needs to drink often too.
v. Sweat is directly associated with the heart – sweat is vital Qi, according to the Yellow Emperor Internal Canon.  It is part of blood.  Sweat is associated with blood veins, heart is also associated with blood veins.  Sweat is secreted by the body and blood veins, are closely connected by the heart.  
We should not sweat too much.  In TCM, “Those who lose a lot of blood won’t sweat and those who sweat a lot lack blood”.  Blood becomes thick due to excessive sweat.  Thick blood that cannot be discharged accumulates in the heart so causing metabolic imbalance, and one suffers from heart disease.  If one doesn’t sweat, Qi and blood do not flow smoothly; if one sweats excessively, Yang Qi and blood fluid are hurt.

 

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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

26. Three Treasures of Mankind

Three treasures of Heaven – sun, moon and earth

Three treasures of mankind – Jing (essence), Qi (life force) and Shen (mind)

25.1. Jing

1. Refers to ‘selecting rice of the best quality’; refers to the most important part in the human body, the essence.

2. Jing is called the ultimate source of life, and includes the brain, marrow, bones, blood, body fluid, sweat.  Body fluids are sweat and saliva.  All these are manifestations of Jing.  These are tangible substances in TCM, summed up as Jing.  

3. In TCM, ‘sweat is the fluid of the heart’.  Blood and sweat are of the same origin.  When you sweat too much the blood gets thicker.  The heart Qi weakens in its drive of blood, unable to give impetus to it, thus leading to blood blockage.  It is important not to sweat excessively.  

4. Aging starts from the legs.  If you do not exercise them, stomach and spleen will not function properly.

5. The liver stores blood.  If you can’t sleep well, it is related to one’s essence and blood.  When you lie down, blood goes to the liver, Yin and Yang are in harmony, thus you can sleep.  If there is deficiency of liver blood, failure to restore positive Qi, you are deprived of sleep because Yin and Yang are not in harmony.  In TCM chronic insomnia is due to insufficient liver Qi.  Yin is a part of body fluid, a part of the essence and blood.  During 1.00am to 3.00am liver Qi is most active.  People who work night shifts are unable to care for liver, have not enough blood in liver, and may face problem of fatty liver.

6. During summer and winter solstice, Yin and Yang energy alternates.  If sleep well in summer, the body will be comfortable for the second half of the year; if sleep well in winter, the body will be comfortable for the first half of the year.

7. Consequences of insufficient Jing:  Jing is the source of everything tangible; if insufficient, the complexion, blood, bones, muscles undergo drastic changes.  

8. Why osteoporosis?  Because of kidneys where Jing is stored.  Bone marrow comes from kidney Jing.  The kidneys manage bones, produce marrow.  Deficiency in kidney Jing results in shortage of marrow, leading to bone loss, growth of spurs.

9. Why dementia in the old or intellectual impairment in children?  The brain is a sea of marrow.  In TCM to treat dementia, treat the kidneys, reinforce the Jing.

10. Therefore, important to protect kidney Jing by

i. no excessive sexual intercourse

ii. maintaining functioning of spleen and stomach because spleen and stomach are sources of Qi and blood, foundation of production of Jing.

iii. not dieting because you lose nutrition from grains, etc

iv. caring for lungs because lungs are characterized by dryness; lungs dread being heated by fire.  For example, in autumn dry air can impair Jing causing dry mouth, parched tongue.  Thus, need to sweeten and moisten lungs, relieve cough by taking water chestnuts, pears.

11. Do not drink too much water.  Water is Yin, can impair positive Jing, cause edema.

25.2. Qi

1. The character Qi in Taoist text has the character ‘wu’ (nothing) which does not refer to non-entity but to its invisibility.  The four dots below refer to a mass of tangible substance, an invisible existence.

2. In TCM ‘People live for a single breath (qi)’.  Qi is the life force, Yuan Qi (innate Qi) in TCM.  ‘Genuine Qi is endowed by Heaven’ according to Huangdi Neijing.

3. Innate Qi is made up of three parts.  The meaning of Heaven is twofold – it refers to parents as well as breath of nature.  The third is grain Qi in the grain and water we consume.

4. To preserve innate Qi, there are three things to do – breathe fresh air; consume grains and water for spleen and stomach; preserve kidney Qi from parents.

5. Spleen and stomach are like sons and the heart is mother.  The heart pertains to fire by nature, the spleen and stomach to earth.

6. To protect Qi, do not breathe in haze; avoid food too cold or too hard.

7. Overthinking and overworking are not good, leads to deficiency in spleen Qi which leads to undernourishment of the internal organs, failure of the heart and death.

8. In TCM, has stomach Qi will live, without it you perish.  Thus, spleen and stomach are most important, can cause impairment of Qi.

9. Qigong is good because it involves movement of blood and Qi versus non-movement like thinking which can be exhausting.

10. TCM does not advocate surgical removal of any body organ because all organs make up the machinery in the body – some functions are evident some hidden; all organs have a role, even tonsils.

25.2. Shen

1. Shen is the force that governs life.  Shen’s original meaning is god.  The unpredictable Yin and Yang are called Shen in I Ching.  Shen in Chinese culture refers to god.  Shen in TCM refers to the heart.

2. The heart is the most important organ, one that decides.  Shen resides in the heart.  If Shen and heart are unsettled, the result is emotional problem.  It can affect Qi and Jing.

3. Emotional tranquility is key to Shen cultivation.  Peace of mind is prerequisite to Shen cultivation.  Genuine Qi is created in tranquility and nothingness.

4. Health maintenance in TCM emphasizes frequent exercise of the brain and body, not the heart.  When the heart is unsettled, it affects the five organs, and fire arrives.

5. The most important thing to do is to maintain balance, not to be too happy, not to be too sad.

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24. Heart

* According to The Inner Canon of Huangdi on mind cultivation, the heart controls the vessels/veins and the mind.

* It is the dwelling place of mind, moods and emotions.

* The four states of mind to attain to: calm, pleasant, relaxed, wise.

* The Inner Canon of Huangdi : "When one is indifferent to fame or fortune and has void inner world, unblocked principal Qi, and sound mind, how can one fall ill?"

* Bai Juyi (Tang poet, 772-846)

"I'll go to bed when I have dim eyesight and feel like sleeping.
I'll sit in meditation when I'm too feeble on walk on feet.
My body is the doctor and my mind is medicine.
I don't bother to invite Qin He and Bian Que to visit me."

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 23. Stomach and spleen

1. Besides hair and skin, the stomach and digestive tract are exposed directly to external things.

2. To protect stomach and spleen,

- “Don’t overeat when hungry.
Don’t overdrink when thirsty.
Soup added to rice don’t play nice.
Meat creates heat.
Oil creates phlegm.
Green vegetables and tofu are the safest of them.”

3. In addition, have moderate and bland diet.  Eat depending on own individual conditions.

4. “Moderation in all three meals, eat the proper amount on time, chew carefully, swallow slowly and your stomach will be healthy.”

5. Grain, meat, fruit and vegetables should be in balance.

6. Bad for stomach:

- lemon 
– good as alkaline food but on empty stomach, sour and acidic for stomach
– bad for stomach – helicobacter pylori medicine; NSAIDS for cardiovascular ailment; anticoagulant medicine

- sweet potato 
– sweet but can stimulate acid in stomach
– do not eat on empty stomach, cause acid reflux

- garlic 
– representative of spicy food
– raw garlic is bad because stimulate stomach acid but not cooked garlic

- raw and cold food – e.g. raw blended fruit and vegetable juice

- fried food

7. Good for stomach:

- porridge 
– millet because millet is yellow, sweet and salty
– yellow is good because goes straight to spleen
– sweet is good for stomach
– salty has kidney-nourishing effect

- raw ginger 
– disperse chill and cold pathogens
– overcome vomiting
– eat in the morning, not in the evening

- Chinese yam 
– is both food and medicine
– nourish stomach and spleen
– balance and nourish San Jiao acupoints
– boost bodily fluids
– nourish lungs and kidneys
– dry up excess bodily fluids

- fish 
– seafood that swim fast has less of a cold nature, unlike crab

- dates 
– goes directly to the stomach and spleen meridians
– nourish Qi and blood
– alleviate medicinal effects
– eat dried dates, not raw because raw is of cold nature

8. Mood is intimately related to stomach because in TCM liver governs distribution and dispersion, i.e. distribution throughout the body and dispersion outside of body, i.e. of Qi.  Qi flows upstream and downstream, and to the left and right of body, and is governed by liver.  Thus, liver governs mood and will.

9. Stomach and spleen, and gall bladder are in the middle Jiao, thus, all are brothers; when one is not well, the other is not well too.

10. Brain and intestines are related.  If there is mental problem, stomach and intestines are affected, and vice versa.  

11. “Follow your gut” can also mean follow your intestines, follow your heart.  Chinese idiom: “a bellyful of bad water” refers to bad intentions.

12. Stomach and intestines have corresponding reaction on brain.  There are three aspects that have effects on brain via intestines:

i. micro-ecosystem of the intestines

- have 1.5-2kg of different types of bacteria which have effects on digestive system, also cause reactions in our central nervous system so micro-ecosystem of stomach and intestines have reverse adjustment effect on brain

ii. hormones or gastrointestinal peptides have reverse adjustment on brain

iii. directly effect nerves, thus the brain

13. “If the stomach isn’t in harmony (wei bu he), your sleep will be restless.”

14. Atrophic gastric – symptoms are acid reflux, belching, bloating.  To prevent:

iv. have routine in life

v. have bland fresh diet, easily disgestible

vi. maintain good mood

vii. have regular examination, endoscopy

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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

22. Lungs

i. The condition of the lungs is reflected in the hair and skin, e.g. aging spots, yellow spots.

ii. The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine: all organs can cause coughing and coughing need not be related to the lungs.

iii. The lungs and large intestine are related so bowel movements can also be affected if there is lung problem, e.g. leading to a few movements a day.

iv. Know how to cough so one does not hurt the trachea.

v. Pensiveness (one of the seven emotions related to the five organs) affects the lungs, can lead to coughing.

vi. Good for lungs:

- musical tones can relate to organs, e.g. certain organ likes certain tone, thus can use tone to heal organ, listen to music

- exercise, and breathing exercise

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21. Liver
* Liver controls Qi, blood and bodily fluids

* Western understanding of liver is that it processes, disperses and expels toxins whilst TCM believes that the liver controls the spirit, governs sentiments, stores blood and adjusts flow of Qi.

* Symptoms of stagnant Qi in the liver, ie, Qi is not properly dispersed or released - excessive sighing, swelling ribs, easily vexed.

* Stagnant Qi can lead to stomach and spleen problem, taste of bitterness or sourness in mouth, poor appetite, poor sleep or loose stools.

* Eat sour food for liver, sweet for stomach and spleen, and spiciness to create balance; slightly spicy food helps disperse liver Qi.

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20. Kidneys

* Congenital essence of kidneys come from parents; post-natal essence is from the water and food we consume and transformed by the spleen and stomach.

* The kidneys belong to a large family, for example:

- related to the head - it opens in the ears, with its essence reflected in the hair.  Kidneys stores essence, creates marrow through the brain; deficiencies in the kidneys could be reflected in hair whiten, hair loss, forgetfulness or hearing loss

- related to breathing - if kidneys lack Qi, one gets coughs

- related to waist - deficiency in kidneys causes pain in the waist

- related to bones, of which can cause osteoporosis or haemotopoietic disorder

* Black-coloured foods nourish the kidneys, eg, black beans, sesame seeds and mulberries.  However, do not over-supplement.

* Activities that most harm the kidneys - straining the brain, staying up late.

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17. When one uses chopsticks, one moves 30 bones, 50 muscles – can prevent Alzheimer, dementia

18. Take care of the spleen and stomach – that function to digest and distribute food, that nourish and send Qi to the heart.

19. The lungs are like a lid on a teapot.  If there is a problem with the lid, no tea/fluid will flow out through the spout which is like a lower organ in the body.  Thus, if there is a problem with a lower body organ, the source of the problem could be the lungs, e.g. prostate problem can be traced to lung problem.

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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

 

15. TCM emphasises diet and regiment.

When you wish particularly to eat something, it reflects the needs of the body, what the body needs most.

16. Ancient saying:

A man needs to cultivate
- mind like a child
- desire like a tortoise
- diet like an ant
- stride like a monkey

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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

11. For good health
i. conduct self well
ii. go along with heaven and earth; its changes – 6 extremes i.e. wind, cold, heat, dryness, dampness, extreme heat
iii. regulate six desires that arise from eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, ears; seven  emotions, i.e. joy, anger, anxiety, contemplation, grief, terror, fright
iii. balance five flavours, i.e. sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent
iv. exercise 
v. Emulate nature – nature is most accepting, e.g. the sun does not choose to shine on certain people only

12. Life and death in TCM’s perspective – different forms of existence

13. Re-analyze topic of life as one grows old ( a person’s life can be simply divided into the first 50 and the last 50)

14. Concepts in TCM - Yin and Yang, Qi

a. Possibility of Qi deficiency:
at/after 50 years old – spleen qi
at/after 60 years old – heart qi
at/after 70 years old – lung qi

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8. TCM is a combination of
i. path of proper behaviour
ii. path of health
iii. path of successful effort

9. TCM is like a tree
- roots (firm, cannot be uprooted/toppled, like proper behaviour)
- growth rings (represent health, many rings represent strong health)
- fruits (wisdom of efforts and talents)

10. Good health means a person is ‘centred’, ‘balanced’, i.e. do not under-do or over-do

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6. Pay attention to internal organs – e.g. take care of stomach, spleen – a sign of any sickness is loss of appetite

7. Interconnectedness in TCM

i. Human beings and the environment

a. Composition of man equals that of heaven and earth, e.g. 360 joints = 360 days; 4 limbs = 4 seasons

b. Man made in the likeness of heaven

ii. Live in harmony, Yin and Yang in balance

a. Eat and drink moderately

b. Daily life should have regularity

c. Labour should have purpose, i.e. do not simply expend energy

iii. Treat disease not yet contracted

iv. Mutual relationship among body organs

a. Observe promotion and restraint in the cycle of the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) - in restraint is promotion, in promotion is restraint

b. Yin-Yang interplay - maintain dynamic balance

v. Stresses self-healing abilities of body

vi. Respect differences in individuations, constitutions, i.e. do not use same treatment or apply same medication

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wisdom in traditional chinese medicine

1. Eat moderately
2. Have regularity in life
3. Labour with a purpose
4. Relate to nature
5. Regulate breathing (from irregular to regular; from coarse to fine)

Don’t be suspicious
Don’t be fearful
Don’t be pessimistic

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Living my faith

 

Living a faith is akin to taking a journey.  Enjoy the journey.  Compete with none.  Do not hurry. Celebrate however long, however short, however simple, however rough. The journey is more important than the destination.  You will reach eventually, we will all reach eventually.