This first article will serve to introduce traditional Oriental Medicine as it has grown out of a particular way of looking at life. The philosophy that forms the fabric of the medicine is essentially of Far Eastern origin (including India, but traditional Indian medicine is by itself known as Ayurveda). Although there are parallels in other cultures, it is the breadth and depth of its /continuous/ expression, for over 5000 years, that provide the solid foundation for an effective and gentle medicine.
The lens is a simple and clear one, based upon keen observation of nature, its cycles of life, and how we as humans are a smaller version of its grand dance, while at the same time being a part of it and influencing it as well. To the Chinese, there is no contradiction here: we are /both/ complete in ourselves /and/ a part of a whole. Indeed, they cannot conceive of separating the self, in any sense: from our environment, from our parents and siblings, from the ‘opposite’ sex, our ‘minds’ from our ‘bodies’, our darkness from our light, etc.
This is very different from how we have come to view things in the West, especially since Rene Descartes, in the 1600’s, helped establish as official business the dichotomy of mind and body, in harmony with the Church’s position at the time. Spiritual things were the domain of religion, and physical things were left to medicine. In both were inherent a lack of dynamic control over one’s destiny.
We can find this theme in ancient Chinese history, going back beyond 5000 years, when illness was largely perceived either as punishment by the gods (heavenly influence) or as ancestral in origin (earthly ghosts). In both were contained an element of pure chance, whether felled by a lightning bolt or stricken by a dark plague. This is similar to the way contemporary medicine views illness: we are victims of either ethereal influence (e.g., microbes, traumatic accidents, etc.) or of our inheritance (e.g., degenerative disease, cancer, hormonal imbalance, etc.).
The Chinese, however, have gradually woven into their culture the view that we actively help shape the world in which we live, indeed that we cannot exist without changing it in some way. Furthermore, the degree and way in which we do change our world and ourselves are predictable and open to cultivation.
To help navigate our way through this life, Oriental Medicine has come to embody a broad range of techniques. Two of the more commonly known are acupuncture and Chinese herbalism, yet there are many other ways to bring about change. Some of these will be mentioned in future articles.
At the core of it all, as alluded to earlier, are the meditative arts, from which grow an understanding and appreciation of life at a fundamental level. Out of this stillness comes movement, the mixing of complementary opposites (day and night, up and down, hot and cold, etc.), and the tumultuous unfolding of life. To practice these arts well, there is only to watch life unfold, again and again. A practitioner of Oriental Medicine strives to master a number of simple techniques through which he or she may transmit this ancient knowledge and wisdom, for the purpose of health.
In subsequent articles, some of these techniques, and their application to specific diseases, will be discussed.