Specialists
look at smaller and smalle r fragments, gaining more and more
positive information in the form of descriptive data but losing a
sense of the integrity of the system as a whole. How did this medical
model gain exclusive ascendance in America? NARROWING THE  INSTITUTION OF  MEDICINE
In the beginning of the century a survey of medical schools was
subsidized by the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations. Its purpose
was to nd out which schools would be most interested in
promoting “scientic medic ine,” therefore promoting the newly
developing drug- and hospital-based technology industries. The
Flexner Report, issued in 1910 by the American Medical Association
following this survey, recommended that nancial support from the
foundations be awarded only to medical schools committed to
scientic research based on models developed in the nineteenth
century. All therapies not based on the Cartesian model were
considered unscientic and would therefore be disenfranchised. Only 20 percent of the existi ng medical schools survived. The other
80 percent adhered to the “vitalist doctrine,” which asserted that
“man assists, but nature heals.” Naturopathy, homeopathy, and
herbology were forced out of the mainstream and relegated to thestatus of folk medicine. They were ultimately driven under by lack
of funds and political harassment. Formerly the majority of physicians were helpers, allies, and
comforters to people struggli ng with maladies in their daily life. The
new doctor became the exclusive source of specialized knowledge
and the heroic slayer of disease. Increasingly a delegation of
authority and power went to the doctor. Patients were educated to
believe that doctors alone knew what made them sick and that only
their technology or drugs could make them well. As the depth and breadth of scientic information about the body
grew, both doctors and people lost faith in the capacity of the
human organism to heal itself. How could anyon e but an
enlightened and sophisticated engineer run such an awesomely
complex and vulnerable machine? This faith was withdrawn from
the body’s self-healing abilities and put into the hands of the
“experts”—the physicians. OUTCOMES OF  THIS MEDICAL  MODEL
Medicine was not set up to advise people on how to stay or become
well. The doctor could only x what had broken down. He could
miraculously remove evil (tumors, infections, stones) with drugs and
surgery. He could manipulate  function (thyroid hormones , diuretics,
steroids) and replace worn parts (plastic hips and hearts). As a
heroic soldier he could wage a valiant short-term battle. He could
remove the “evil,” but there was no mechanism built into the system
to discern or promote the “good.” Medicine’s strengths  were the
source of its weakness. The research and clinical institutions of
medicine are still dened by the existing conceptual model and
more oriented toward intervention than prevention. Furthermore, as doctors became the experts, they acquired a type
of power over their patients. Mastery of medicine became a
technically sophisticated and exclusive high priesthood. The
common person could not possibly gain access to and interpret the
data necessary to administer medical care. Even the medicalprofession itself diversied into more highly specialized elds: the
general practitioner who cared for a whole person was replaced by
the cardiologi st, who cared for the heart; the orthopedist, who
ministered to the bones; the neurologist for the nerves; the
oncologist for the cancer; the psychiatrist for the mind; and so on. When power was taken from the person by the general
practitioner, and from the general practitioner by the specialist,
there was no longer one doctor who cared for the whole person and
knew her in the context of her total environment. The once intimate
relationship between helper and helped shifted to an impersonal one
between strang ers. Doctors lost knowledge of their patients as real
people. This shift in the organization of medicine taught people to feel
that science knew more about them than they could ever know or
understand about themselves. People as patients began giving away
the responsibility to care for their own health. The phrase health-
care delivery system  sugges ts the doctor is like a mail carrier who can
deliver health at the doorstep. This situation is reminiscent of
Plato’s image of a “househo ld” in which the “master,” the mind,
knows but does not act and the “slave,” the body, acts but does not
know. Doctors  function as the master (mind) and patients as the
slave (body). Now divided, the body loses its intelligen ce and the
mind loses its power to actualize: not only is self-understanding
undermined, but possibilities  for action are limited as well. People
mistakenly feel that the power to cure comes from outside
themselves, administered by an alien intelligence. This distortion of power often instigates an antagonistic
relationship between doctor s and patients. When doctors cannot
perform the heroic role and x the broken machine, they sometimes
blame the victim, judging patients guilty of not getting better. Isolated, abandoned, underm ined, and invalidated, patients then
feel condemned to a circle of pain with no escape. Along  with their
physical pain, they are frustrated and angered by their feelings of
powerlessness. They then become quick to blame the doctor for
their problems, jumping into malpractice litigation. Suing for
malpractice becomes an act of revenge, an attempt on the part ofthe patient to gain power over the doctor, not a reclamation of true
self-power. The doctor is either a hero or villain—heralded for
recovery or blamed for poor outcomes. OTHER PARADOXES
Power, no matter who has it, does not confer wisdom. Doctors
sometimes equate their authority with sagacity. Some interventions
produce disastrous long-term eects on health. Iatrog enesis, or
doctor-induced illness, can result from drugs, surgery, radiation, and
chemotherapy. Iatrogenesis is one of the leading causes of fatal
disease. Appro ximately one out of every ve people admitted to a
research hospital acquires an iatrogenic illness. Nobel prize-wi nning microbio logist René Dubos describes the new
threats to health arising out of technological innovation. He says it
is a painful and richly documented paradox that every drug of
proven worth can itself become a cause of disease. Some of the toxic eects are extremely indirect and delayed. They result from disturba nces in the physiologica l and
ecological equilibrium of the organism. Their mechanism  does
not reside in chemical or physiological reactions involving
direct cause-eect relationships, but rather in complex
interrelated responses made by the whole integrated organism,
including its indigenous microbiota. 8
Another consequence of focusing more attention on the disease
than the patien t is that the doctor can eradicate the tumor but has
no means of promoting the health of the patient. This enables one to
say, “The treatment was a success, but the patient died.” For
example, chemotherapy claims success at treating the disease and
yet cannot necessarily impro ve the longevity of the patient. John
Cairns of the Harvard School of Public Health states:Each year about 3,000 patients under age 30 are being cured by
chemotherapy who would otherwise have died. Only two
percent of the patients who die of cancer are under 30,
however. For the vast majori ty of cancers, which arise in older
patients, the results of chemotherapy are much more
controversial.…  Apart from the success with Hodgkin’s disease,
childhood leukemia and a few other cancers, it is not possible
to detect any sudden change in death rates for any of the major
cancers that could be credited to chemotherapy. 9
The other major paradox of the Western medical model is that it
separates the indivisible. Western medicine has so successfully
dissected the human body that it suers from “overseparation,”
where the whole is no longer perceived as a meaningful entity. What was one indivisible circle, an unbroken continuum, became a
straight line of successive causality in which events became random,
losing their intrinsic relation ship to each other. The mind has been
separated from the body; the disease from the person who has it; the
specic pathogen from the disease process as a whole; the parts
from each other; the sympto ms from the source of the ailment; and
the patients from their self-responsibility and self-power. This overseparation occurred at the dawn of modern Western
civilization when matter was severed from the immaterial, human
from nature, and process was frozen in xed and absolute laws. Dualism shatte red unity. This division has made us susceptible to an
inversion of process whereby the means (technological, industrial,
and scientic innovation) governs our ends (human values) and
people become the “objects” rather than the “subjects” of their own
activity. This has distorted our image of what the world is and who
we are within it. The world man has made is impressive but lacks
integrity—it no longer ts together, and neither do we know our
place within it. When people are like machines, modern medicine
becomes oblige d to keep the machine running. Its purpose is dened
as avoiding death rather than enriching life. Bodies must be kept
alive at all costs because to die is considered intrinsically evil—death is the enemy to be conquered. Life and death are no longer
part of a continuous cycle. In ancie nt culture nothing was intrinsically good or evil, it was
simply a matter of how one stood in relation to it. For an old person,
it could be a gift to die with grace and ceremony just as it had been
a gift to live— to preserve the tissue without the spirit would have
been an oense, an insult worse than death. The center of Western civilization has been commerce, industry,
and information—the proliferation of economic transactions,
manufactured products, and data. As Westerners we have been able
to produce the world we live in, to control it by achieving power
over nature. But the Wester n model is exclusive. It excludes the
mysterious and intangible from its reality because the immaterial
cannot be tamed, contained,  and controlled. In an eort to achieve
mastery over the world, connectedness with nature and humanity
often perish. Physicist Roger Jones comments upon the legacy of Descartes:
“His genius, which has cleanly cut through the dense web of
primitive mystery, has also severed our felt connection to the
universe.” This is where the Chinese model, still based on ancient
principles, can help the Cartesian separation become whole again. Science historian Joseph Needham tells us that “the mechanical
view of the world simply did not develop in Chinese thought, and
the organicist view in which every phenomenon was connected with
every other  … was universal among Chinese thinkers.” Rather, he
continues, “The harmonious co-operation of all beings arose, not
from the orders of a superio r authority external to themselves, but
from the fact that they were all parts in a hierarchy of wholes
forming a cosmic and organ ic pattern and what they obeyed were
the internal dictates of their own natures.”
OceanofPDF.comPhilosophy in the East: The Doctor As GardenerCHAPTER THREE
PHILOSOPHY IN THE  EAST: THE DOCTOR  AS
GARDENER
Everything observable by the senses is subject to change and
therefore in motion  … there are interlocking cycles of
change  … one cannot bid the winds and waves to cease, but
one can learn to navigate treacherous currents by conducting
ourselves in harmony with the prevailing process es of
transformation—and thus weather the storms of life. John Blofeld  
I Ching          
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY IS BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT ALL LIFE OCCURS  within
the circle of nature. 1 Things within this matrix are connected and
mutually dependent upon each other. Nature is one unied system,
the Tac with polar and complementary aspects: Yin and Yang. Nature is in constant motion, following cyclic patterns that describe
the process of transformatio n. When the elements of nature are in
balance, life is harmonic and ourishes. When the balance of polar
forces is upset, disaster looms. Within the Eastern worldview , the human being is a microcosm of
Nature, a smaller universe. Human beings represent the juncture
between Heave n and Earth, the ospring of their union, a fusion of
cosmic and terrestrial forces. The Chinese ideogram for human
being pictures a gure rooted like a tree in the Earth with hands
outstretched like branches toward the heavens, receiving power
from above and below. Sustained by the power of Earth and
transformed by the power of Heaven, humanity cannot be separated
from Nature—we are Nature, manifest as people. As a cosmos inminiature, we are propelled by the same forces. Good and bad are
relative, not absolute. Life and death balance each other. Seen and
unseen, soma and psyche, * are aspects of one continuous process, by
denition everchanging and in ux. 2
Since everything is connected by the circle, health is understood
broadly, den ing the whole being within the social and natural
order. What is good for nature is good for humanity, what is good
for one is good for all, what is good for the mind is good for the
body, and so on. To harm a part is to harm the whole. What is bad
for the heart is bad for the body, what damages one person damages
all people, what injures the earth injures me. Conversely, to restore
and preserve the good health of one body and mind is to foster the
well-being of the whole, the earth and all life upon it. The center of most ancient cultures, from China in the second
century B.C. to twentieth-century native America, was the earth. Human welfare was attached to the rains upon the soil, the wind of
the heavens, and pliable trees embedded in an abundant forest. Chief Seattle, in 1854, summed up this ancient view of how
humanity stands in relation to the world: “This we know—the earth
does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are
connected like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls
the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weav e the web
of life; he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he
does to himself.”
Most ancient cultures, engaged in tilling, sowing, cultivating, and
harvesting the soil, depended on the fruits of the land for survival. Agrarian cultures experienced power through nature and aspired to
be in harmony with the seasons, rhythms, and patterns that
connected all things with each other. Within this reality, the world
was like a garden. The garden was nature—the living earth, the
human person, the biosphere, the circle of all life. When people are like gardens, then doctors are like gardeners. The role of the Chinese doctor is to cultivate life.THE MOTIVE FORCE: QI
That which animates life is called Qi (“chee”). The concept of Qi is
absolutely at the heart of Chinese medicine. Life is dened by Qi
even though it is impossible to grasp, measure, quantify, see, or
isolate. Immate rial yet essential, the material world is formed by it. An invisible force known only by its eects, Qi is recognized
indirectly by what it fosters, generates, and protects. Matter is Qi taking shape. Mountains forming, forests growing,
rivers streaming, and creatures proliferating are all manifestations of
Qi. In the human being, all functions of the body and mind are
manifestations of Qi: sensin g, cogitating, feeling,  digesting, stirring,
and propagating. Qi begets movement and heat. It is the
fundamental mystery and miracle. Life cannot be separated from the way it manifests. When the
heart beats and the breath is warm, it is understood that life exists
within the body. When the heart stops beating and the body
becomes cold, the life force, or Qi, is no longer present. Life force
and Qi are one. Like fresh air, healthy Qi moves freely; like stale air,
stagnant Qi is heavy, oppressive, constrictive, and congestive. Like air, Qi has its own movement and also activates the
movement of things other than itself. Just as the wind moves the
trees, grasses, and water, so Qi moves the chest, causing inhalation
and exhalation. People do not inhale Qi. Rather, Qi is the motive
force that establishes respiration. In this way, Qi is the cause and
also the eect. The essence of food is also a form of Qi. This highly rened
essence is the source from which the material form of the body is
constructed. When the Qi of food and the Qi of air enter the body,
they become one entity known as “pure” or “righteous” Qi. Air Qi
represents the immaterial motivating aspect of Qi and Food Qi the
material or constructing aspect. Qi is both the foundation of
structure and the catalyst of transformation and movement. Scholar Nathan Sivin relates that by the year 350 in Chinese
writings about nature, the word Qi meant “basic stu.” Hecomments that in Chinese thought there was a tendency
to think of stu and its transformations in a unitary way.… [Qi
is] simultaneously “what makes things happen in stu and
(depending on context) “stu that makes things happen” or
“stu in which  things happen.”  … Qi is often the material basis
of activity, but the activity  itself is often also describ ed as
Qi.…  This is not an easy idea for moderns, with their clear
distinction between substance and function, to grasp . The
ambiguity is impossible to overlook, but discourse was adapted
to it, and the readers for whom it was intended did not
complain that it is confusing . By the time a medical literature
developed, its authors tended to use Qi predominantly in the
functional sense. 3
Medical under standing was generated from ideas about  nature. According to the ancient Chinese art of practical ecology, known as
Feng Shui (“Wind Water”), the earth has veins of energy that cours e
through it, hold it together, and act as a grid from which all life
derives its power. The movement of wind and water reects the
activity of Qi. The forces of Qi can work to our advantage or disadvantage. By
closely observi ng the formation of mountains, growth of trees, ow
of water, move ment of wind, and patterns of light and shadow, the
practitioner of Feng Shui places us in a favorable relationship to
these forces, to derive maximum benet from the environment. The
object is to align human dwellings, objects, and activities with the
current of Qi. The point of focus is the relationship between the
person and the patterns of Qi. This protects and enhances our power
and good fortune. The doctor as gardener practices Feng Shui in
that he seeks to place human beings in a benecial relationship to
Qi. THE MOTIVE  FORCE:  QIQi (pronounced “chee”) can be understood as the creative or
formative principle associated with life and all processes that
characterize living entities. All animate forms in nature are
manifestations of Qi. Qi is an invisible substance, as well as an
immaterial force that has palpable and observable
manifestations. Qi has its own movement and also activates the movement of
things other than itself. Qi begets motion and heat. Within the
context of the human person, Qi is that which enlivens the body
and is dierentiated according to specic functional systems. All physical and mental activities are manifestations of Qi:
sensing, cogitating, feeling, digesting, stirring, propagating. One Chinese ideogram for Qi is comp osed of an upper radical
representing “rising vapor” and a lower radical denoting
“grain.” The steam that spirals from a pot of cookin g rice
symbolizes distilled essence, hence Qi can be transla ted as the
vapor of the nest matter. The highly rened essence of food
(Food Qi ) and air (Air Qi ) in the body become one entity known
as “pure” or “righteous” Qi. Defensive Qi (wei) is the activity of
adapting to inuences such as weather or mobilizing resistance
to pathogenic microorganism s and noxious substances in the
environment. Qi refers to resources the human organism
consumes, transforms, and transmits. HEALTH IN THE  GARDEN
A garden is a dynamic self-regulating system that transforms
sunlight (Yang) and water (Yin) into the living tissue of vegetation. Within the cycle of seasons, there is a time for sprouting, maturing,
ripening, harvesting, and composting. Through this process of
transformation the garden continuously sustains and re-creates
itself. This interplay of Yin and Yang is what enables life to
mushroom.Maximum growth in the garden derives from the proper balance
between the heat and light of the sun with the cool moisture of
water. The garden is healthy when rich growing conditions prevail
and when plants are resilient enough to tolerate adversity. An
occasional period of drought, a spring storm, an infestation of
insects, or the moldy fungus  that grows during periods of extended
humidity can be overcome by a vigorous ecosystem, adaptable
enough to recover once the hardship has passed. The gardener does not make the garden grow. Nature does. The
gardener is an ally who prepares the soil, sows the seeds, waters,
and removes the weeds, placing plants in the proper relation to each
other and the sun. If the gardener did not tend the garden, it would
lose its unique  identity and grow wild, merging completely with its
surroundings to blend with the larger environment. The gardener
protects the integrity of the garden by promoting growth in some
areas, restrictin g it in others, adding compost to keep the soil fertile. He observes and nurtures the interaction between the garden and
environment. HEALTH IN THE  MICROCOSM OF A  HUMAN BEING
Both the garde n and the human body are microcosms of nature. The
processes, cycles, and conditions that exist in a garden can also be
observed in the life of a human being. Like the earth, the human body is enveloped and permeated by
streams of Qi that link and enliven all its activities. The human body
is subject to similar rhythms and cycles as the garden. A person both
embodies and interacts with cycles—daily, monthly, seasonal, and
lifelong. Over millennia doctors observed cycles in nature and
conceptualized the body in these terms. They saw a human being as
a complete system unto itself with constellations of subsystems
within it. The body is not conceived of as cells, tissues, and other
structural components. Rather it is understood in terms of the
relationships among the constituents of form and process that
generate, regulate, and accumulate Blood, Moisture , and Qi.Just as earth is comprised of land, ocean, and atmospher e, so the
body is organized as Blood, Moisture , and Qi. The Blood  governs
tissue, the material form of the body. The Moisture  governs the
internal environment, the body’s inner ocean. The Qi governs the
shape and activity of the body and its process of forming and
organizing itself. Qi also means the totality of Blood ,
 
 
QI, MOISTURE , BLOOD
Just as earth is comprised of land, ocean, and atmosphere, so
the body is organized as Blood , Moisture , and Qi. Blood  governs
tissue, the material form of the body. Moisture  governs the
internal enviro nment, the body’s inner ocean. Qi governs the
shape and activity of the body and its process of forming and
organizing itself. Qi also implies the totality of Blood, Moisture ,
and Qi, the total summation of the life of the organism. Blood  is a material substance as well as the process of
generating, distributing, and storing nutrients. Moisture  is an
amorphous substance as well as the process of generating,distributing, and storing uid. Qi is an invisible substance, as
well as an immaterial force that manifests as movemen t and
activity through which it is palpable and observable. Moisture
cannot be separated from the function of moisturizing, Blood
from nourishin g, nor Qi from moving . They are part of a
continuum of tangible forms and immanent functions. Within the body, every phenomenon is a product of the
interaction of Blood, Moisture , and Qi. Without proper Moisture ,
the Qi becomes hot and agitated and the Blood  dries up and
congeals. Without Blood, Moisture  is dispersed and Qi is
scattered. Without Qi, Moisture  and Blood  stagnate, coagulate,
and cease circulating. Each constituent exists as an individual
entity and yet depends comp letely upon the larger system, the
body. All functions and processes are interdependent,
cogenerating, and mutually regulating. Moisture , and Qi, earth, sea, and air, the total summation of the life
of the organism, body, or world. Within the body, every phenomenon is a product of the
interaction of Blood, Moisture , and Qi. Without proper Moisture , the
Qi becomes hot and agitated and the Blood  dries up and congeals. Without Blood, Moisture  is dispersed and Qi is scattered. Without Qi,
Moisture  and Blood  stagnate, coagulate, and cease circulating. Each
constituent exists as an individual entity and yet depends
completely upon the larger system, the body. All functions and
processes are interdependent, cogenerating, and mutually
regulating. Together, Blood, Moisture , and Qi represent the visible and
invisible, gross and rened, substance and process of the soma and
psyche. Blood  is a material substance as well as the process of
generating, distributing, and storing nutrients. Moisture  is an
amorphous substance as well as the process of generating,
distributing, and storing uid. Qi is an invisible substance, as well as
an immaterial force that manifests as movement and activitythrough which it is palpable and observable. Moisture  cannot be
separated from the function of moisturizing, Blood  from nourishing,
nor Qi from moving. They are part of a continuum of tangible forms
and immanent functions. Just as ice, water, and steam are three
manifestations of the same molecular entity, Blood, Moisture , and Qi
are three manifestations of the same “life force.” In death, a
disorganization of the continuum occurs: tissue and spirit become
separated from form and process. PATTERNS OF  HARMONY IN THE  HUMAN GARDEN
Nature, like a symphony, is composed of complex interweaving
patterns of form and movement. These patterns are recapitulated in
every smaller system. The body is to nature as a violin is to an
orchestra. The strings are to a violin as the organs are to the body. The musical vibrations of each string are like the functio ns of each
organ. For the orchestra to play a symphony in harmo ny, all the
instruments must be tuned to each other—all the strings of each
instrument and all the notes of each string must be played  in tune. If
a single instrument is out of tune, the whole sound is dissonant
rather than harmonious. This illustrates an aspect of Chinese philosophy known  as the
theory of correspondence. Simply, this theory states that in order for
a larger  system  to be in balance as a whole, each smaller system
within it must itself be balanced. This principle of harmony is the
same at each level of complexity. Patterns of harmony in one system
both reect and generate patterns of harmony in other systems, as
well as at greater and lesser orders of complexity. Correspondence thinking postulates that events occur in
association with each other, linked by a mutual force regardless of
their location in time and space. Qi is the medium that links all
events with each other, transcending time and space because
patterns are formed that persist beyond their moment  of origin. Causal thinking, which dominates Western philosophy, postulates
that events occur in a series,  like a line of falling dominoes, one acttriggering another in spatio-temporal sequence. As we have seen,
Western medicine emphasizes the single cause that triggers a
particular pathologic or physiologic process. The linear continuum
of time and space links events, and an occurrence in the past only
inuences a current condition indirectly through the causal chain. Chinese medi cine, on the other hand, presumes that if you
reorganize the existing pattern of disharmony into a harmonic
pattern of relationships, the original cause will disappear because
the conditions  in which it was rooted cease to exist. Chinese
medicine treats conditions, whereas Western medicine treats causes. For the doctor  of Chinese medicine the issue is the same as for the
conductor of a symphony: it is not how the instrument makes sound,
but rather the pattern of sound that the instrument emits. LOSS OF  ADAPTIVE  ABILITY:  DISEASE
In Chinese medicine, health is the ability of an organism to respond
appropriately to a wide variety of challenges in a way that insures
maintaining equilibrium and integrity. Disease represents a failure
to adapt to challenge, a disruption of the overall equilibrium, and a
rent in the fabric of the organism. The source of disease is any challenge to the body with which it is
unable to cope, whether it is a harmful substance or a bad feeling. Disease is a manifestation of an unstable process, a pattern of
disharmonious relationships. When defenses are weakened and
resources exhausted, a multiplicity of factors conspire to permit
illness. The adage “The man is not sick because he has an illness,
but has an illness because he is sick” aptly expresses this view. Lack of sunlight, depletion of the soil, overgrowth of weeds, all
restrict the bounty of the garden. Similarly, deciency or excess of
Qi, inadequate nutrition, or poor circulation of Blood  and Moisture
weaken health . Too much sun burns the plants, too much wind dries
them out, too much water rots their roots. Yet in the absence of
light, water, and air, the plants cannot germinate or grow. Theclimates, emot ions, and activities of life are not intrinsically good or
bad. It is their excess or deciency that distorts the pattern of ow. The Body As Garden
The gardener may occasionally need to apply strong measures like
poison or re to control marauding insects or weeds. But he has to
be careful not to damage the garden irreparably while he is
attacking the pest. Doctors as gardeners protect the Qi at the sametime as they attack the disease. Simultaneous with the struggle to
ght the disease, the doctor  of Chinese medicine strives to restore
the resilience and strength of the body. This adapta bility and
fortitude constitutes the condition of health. If in the process of
attacking the disease the Qi is dissipated, this undermines a person’s
capacity to recover health. The gardener is like the herbalist when he nourishes with compost
or adds minerals to the soil, using material substances to promote
growth. And he is like the acupuncturist when he builds fences, digs
ditches, ponds, and channel s for irrigation, adjusting the ow of
water and wind. OBSERVING THE  SIGNS: DIAGNOSIS
The gardener crumbles the soil between his ngers; he looks, listens,
senses, kneeling among the plants. On the basis of his observations,
he judges the garden’s needs. When the plants look lush and full, he
assumes condi tions are right for proper growth. If the leaves are
yellowed and oppy, he may see this as a sign that the soil is too
damp, so the roots can’t breathe. He can raise the bed and aerate
the soil, permitting better drainage. If the leaves are withered, dry,
and spindly, the gardener should water more frequently. When the
garden grows but does not produce fruit, more nutriment has been
used than has been replenished and the gardener enriches the soil
with compost. Like the gardener, the doctor observes the patient and perceives
signs and symptoms to determine the nature of the proble m at hand. He synthesizes all impressio ns to make a diagnosis. The doctor’s
diagnosis may sound similar to the gardener’s. They use the same
vocabulary. Both are concerned with the balance of heat and cold,
moisture and dryness, and the excess or deciency of these
conditions. A person, like a garden, is subject to external excesses of
Heat, Cold, Wind, Dampness , and Dryness , as well as to deciencies of
Blood, Moisture , and Qi.For example, a lack of Moisture  manife sting as cracked skin or
scanty urine is a symptom of Dryness . This may be caused by a dry
climate or may simply mean that the body is unable to properly
distribute its own uids. In Chinese medicine the diagnosis is Dryness  regardless of whether
it origin ates from an external climate or an internal condition. It is
the relationship between the body and water that keeps the tissues
moisturized. The body must be able to absorb, store, and circulate
moisture in order to adequately hydrate the cells. If any of these
functions breaks down, symptoms of dehydration will appear. A
person with diabetes, for instance, can drink a great deal of water
and still remain very thirsty because the body is unable to retain the
uid. In fact, twice as much uid may be lost through urination
than is consumed. According to Chinese medicine, diabetes is
described as severe Dryness  or deciency of Moisture . The reasoning
is correlative and axiomatic: Dryness  causes Dryness  to manifest,
Dryness  causes deciency of Moisture , a deciency of Moisture  may
cause Dryness . Cause and eect are dicult to distinguish. They
mutually generate each other and arise simultaneously. The logic is one of correspondence: things that correspond to the
same thing correspond with each other. To illustrate, when Fire
burns the skin, it causes redness, swelling, and pain. When these
symptoms arise spontaneously, they are considered to be due to the
presence of internal Fire or Heat. The source of the Fire cannot be
seen, only its eects. Since Heat produc es inammation, symptoms
of inammation are referred to as signs of Heat. Similarly, a person exposed to Cold shivers and becomes lethargic,
dull, and unres ponsive. When  such symptoms arise regardless of the
external temperature, the person is manifesting the condition of
internal Coldness. Coldness  is associated with the signs and
symptoms of lowered metabolic activity: depressed menta l function,
retarded circulation, weakness, and malaise. Again, the cause and
the eect are inseparable. This system of correspondence describes the parallelism and
synchronicity of events in the inner and outer world of the human
organism. All phenomena are ordered according to the Five Phases  ofWood , Fire, Earth, Metal , and Water , which represent ve
evolutionary stages of transformation and correspond with ve
Organ Networks , ve seasons, ve climates, and ve personality
types. The workings of the body are associated with each of the
seasonal cycles of birth, growth, ripening, harvest, and decay. Each
of the ve Organ Networks  performs a function within  the cycle. Analogous to the ve climates and seasons in nature is the internal
milieu generated by each of the Organ Networks . Disturbance of the
internal milieu  may provoke the Liver to generate Wind , the Heart  to
generate Heat, the Spleen  to generate Dampness , the Lungs  to
generate Dryness , and the Kidneys  to generate Cold. According to this correspondence logic, various conditions of
distress are linked with each Network . The Network  responsible for
digestion is the Spleen . Any problem of indigestion is related to it. This Network  is also associated with the capacity to formulate ideas
and focus attention. Thus, a problem related to foggy thinking and
poor concentration may also be related to excess Dampness  aecting
the Spleen . Similarly, the Liver Network  regulates the smooth ow of
Qi. Excess Wind  aecting the Liver induces erratic behavior, uneven
emotions, or uncoordinated movement. The theory of correspondence describes the parallelism and
synchronicity of events in the inner and outer world of the
human organism. All phenomena are ordered according to Yin
Yang and the Five Phases  of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal , and Water ,
which represent ve sorts of fundamental process, each of
which corresponds with ve Organ Networks , ve seasons, ve
climates, and ve personality types. The workings of the body
are associated with each of the seasonal cycles of evolutionary
transformation: birth, growth, ripening, harvest, and decay. Each of the ve Organ Networks  perform s a function within the
cycle. Analogous to the ve climates and seasons in nature is
the internal milieu generated by each of the Organ Networks . (see larger image)(see larger image)  
Click  to download a PDF of Yin-Yang Correspondences
In this way, Chinese medicine reveals the impact of distress upon
the whole person—disease reshapes mental, emotional, and physical
life. Like a weatherman, the doctor of Chinese medicine forecasts
the onslaught of stormy weather and predicts who is likely to get
what. Five types of people emerge from the congurations of physique
and character  that correspond with the Five Phases  and Organ
Networks . Not by an act of will, but out of their predispositions,
habits, and tendencies, these types “make their diseases,”
manifesting the strengths and weaknesses of their nature. Earth
becomes easily oversaturated, and the Earth  type generates phlegm,
edema, and mental quagmires. Fire ares easily, and the Fire type
produces inammation, dehydration, and high anxiety. Wood
proliferates rapidly, and the Wood  type provok es trembling,cramping, and rage. Water hardens and freezes, and the Water  type
develops sclerosis, arthritis, and indierence. Metal  cuts away and
restricts, and the Metal  type becomes breathless , sti, and
unarouseable. PROBLEMS IN  SEARCH OF A  SOLUTION . TREATMENT
If the cause of disease is understood as imbalance, then the goal of
treatment is to recover balance. Problems are resolved through
methods of complementarity . To resolve conditions of Cold, apply
warmth; to resolve Heat, apply cool. Stimulate move ment to relieve
stasis and astringe leakage to protect depleted reserves. Disperse
excess, strengthen weakness, moisten Dryness , drain Wetness . When
the Spleen  is excessive, strengthen the Liver to counterbalance it, and
when the Spleen  is decient, strengthen the Heart  to nurture it. Acupuncture and herbs are the primary techniques that evoke the
self-regulating response of the organism to reorganize and replenish
the Qi, Moisture , and Blood . Each method works by a dierent
mechanism. Acupuncture adjusts the density and ow of Qi in the
channels, which in turn aects the circulation of Blood  and Moisture
and the function of the internal organs. Herbs also aect the
quantity and quality of Blood, Moisture , and Qi through their impact
on the organs via the digestive and metabolic systems. Together
these methods perform the therapeutic tasks of reorganizing the
internal milieu, maximizing the exibility and adaptability of the
organism. There are as many treatment approaches as there are individuals. Chinese medicine can formulate a treatment according to the
particular expression of an illness. There are almost limitless
combinations of acupuncture points and herbs to meet the needs of
diverse patients. A given herb or acupuncture point eliminates the
Damp Heat  that may be expressed as herpes, while others relieve the
Coldness  that engenders the stines s and spasm of arthritis. The
single symptom , such as a cough, may arise as a consequence of
Wind , Cold, Heat, Dampness , or Dryness  aecting the Organ Networkof the Lung or Kidney . Dierent herbs and acupuncture points would
be selected for each dieren t type of cough. The doctor  combines
patterns of points and herbs the way the gardener combines
irrigation, composting, hoeing, and weeding to eliminate
obstructions, nurture growth, and maintain integrity. THE GARDENER AND THE  MECHANIC
In ancient China ancestors were worshiped and revered. They were
considered a more signican t part of the community than the living
insofar as they were thought to rule the world. The dead were not
seen as separate from the living; death was an important, revered
stage of life, not merely the end of it. Anatomical dissection of a
dead body would have been disrespectful and, for that reason,
utterly forbidden. Doctors were only allowed to study living bodies. Nonliving process could not be examined, and the whole could not
be divided into parts. In the Western scientic model, life is dissected into separable,
discrete parts within the context of a xed and stable environment
that can be measured objecti vely. In the Chinese model, life is about
the dynamic, constantly shifting relationships of one functional
system with another, always within the context of the whole system. No aspects of the personality or body function as independent,
discrete entities. Interaction occurs at every level. Our emotions shape our body;
our body generates feeling. The state of the Liver aects the function
of the Heart . The function of the Heart  aects the expression of the
personality. The logic is circular and each person is an
interconnected Network . The models of East and West are dierent, as is the point of view,
the emphasis, methods, outcomes. 4 What works in the garden may
be inappropriate in the factory. Compost doesn’t nourish a machine,
and oil and gasoline do not enhance the soil. Chinese medicine
readjusts balance, enhancing self-healing and helping chronic, long-
term problems . Western medicine aects the structural components,suppressing and eliminating pathologic phenomena, intervening in
life-threatening crises. Within the vocabulary of Western medicine, disease is dened as
either “organi c” (that which interferes with the structure of the
tissue) or “functional” (anyth ing that is not caused by an objectively
determined structural abnormality). Since disease is understood
primarily as a defect of structure, there is no “real” basis for a
functional disorder. Functional problems like migraine, fatigue, mental illness , colitis,
rheumatism, asthma, menstrual cramps, and so on are often referred
to as “psychos omatic” since they cannot be shown to originate in
the body and are therefore relegated to the mysterious realm of the
psyche. A strength of Chinese medicine lies in its powe r to detect
and meaningfully describe dysfunction even though the structure
appears intact and physically sound. Rather than look for
abnormalities of structure, Chinese medicine looks for disharmonies
of Qi that, over time, can aect structure but may appear prior to
gross manifestations of or clinically diagnosed disease. This ability to read the body before structural damage occurs
sometimes enables Chinese medicine to prevent disease before it
develops, to slow down its progress, or perhaps even to halt
degenerative processes such as arteriosclerosis, arthritis, and
nervous and autoimmune disorders. It also enables the doctor of
Chinese medicine to eectively treat problems for which Western
medicine has no known treatment. However, once structural damage has, occurred, there is no
pathologist to look at cells under a microscope to determ ine what is
malignant carcinoma or what bacteria are responsible for a given
infection. There is no surgeon to remove a damaged organ or
liberate a healthy baby trapped in her mother’s womb. Chinese
medicine does not separate the problem from the person who has it
—this is both its strength and weakness. Similarly, Western
medicine’s capacity to do just that accounts for its great
technological success and also for some of its more serious
limitations.There is value in each and both. Claude Bernard, a French
physician in the late nineteenth century, claimed that the milieu
intérieur , the condition of the person, was the critical factor in health
and disease. This position was overshadowed by Louis Pasteur’s
assertion of the germ theory, stating that external attack by
microbes was more signica nt than the soil or climate  in which
disease ourish ed. The focus shifted from the state of the organism
to the attackin g pathogen, from the person to the disease . This shift
has come to characterize Western medicine, regardless of whispers
from Pasteur on his deathbed that Bernard was right. Now another shift is beginning to gain momentum, thanks to a
shrinking planet and an expanding paradigm. With the growing
accessibility of Chinese medicine, the strengths of both medical
technologies might be combined, minimizing the weaknesses of
each. *Psyche and soma comes nearest to conveying the meaning of the Chinese concepts Shen
and Jing. Shen  refers to the organizing force of the self, reected in the mental, emotional,
and expressive life of an individual. Jing refers to the material substance, physical
structure, and sensate life of a person. When referring to the totality of a person, the
expression Shen-Jing  is used, encompa ssing both the intangible and tangible realms of
experience. OceanofPDF.comYin-Yang  
Yin-Yang SymbolCHAPTER FOUR
CYCLES OF  CIRCLES : A THEORY OF  RELATIVITY
YIN-YANG
Heaven was created by an accumulation of Yang; the Earth was
created by an accumulation  of Yin. Water and re are the
symbols of Yin and Yang; Yin and Yang are the source of power
and the beginning of everything in creation. Yang ascends to
Heaven; Yin descends to Earth. Hence the universe represents
motion and rest, controlled by the wisdom of nature. Nature
grants the power to beget and to grow, to harvest and to store,
to nish and to begin anew. Ilza Veith, Nei Ching
BEFORE LEARNING CHINESE MEDICINE, I STUDIED WITH SOCIAL THEORISTS
inuenced by Hegel, a German idealist philosopher. The relational,
interactive, process-oriented thinking of Chinese medicine  resembles
Hegelian dialectics. This was not altogether coincidence since many
European philo sophers were aected by Eastern thought. It was this
similarity that charmed me from the start. Because Chinese
medicine was about interwoven relationships and continuous
processes of decaying and becoming rather than a reductionist
examination of things in and of themselves, I had eagerly
anticipated studying it. Dialectical logic captures Yin-Yang  thinking. Within dialectics the
whole is a contingent structure, in reciprocal interactio n with its
own parts and with the larger whole of which it is a part. As parts
and wholes evolve as a conse quence of their relationship , constants
become variables, causes become eects, and systems develop that
regenerate and destroy the conditions that gave rise to them. 1OPPOSITION AND  UNITY
The Tao is an undierentiated whole. It is both the unity of all
things and the way the unive rse works. Out of this oneness emerges
Yin-Yang : the world in its innite forms. Yin-Yang  is a symbolic
representation of universal process that portrays a changing rather
than static picture of reality. The Yin-Yang  model is also used to
dierentiate aspects of process. Within the magnetic eld of
fundamental opposition and creative tension, each aspect
interrelates, interpenetrates, and depends upon the other. The poles
of a unied whole are characterized in relation to each other,
revolving cycles of the “one” becoming the “other.” Yin-Yang  can be
a dicult concept for Weste rners to grasp because it escapes strict
either- or categories that are xed and concrete. Wholly relative in
its designations, Yin-Yang  depends entirely on the point of view of
the observer, as this Taoist poem reects:
To the frogs in a temple pool
The Lotus stems are tall;
To the gods of Mount Everest
An elephant is small. All things have a polar natur e: time is divided into day and night
and summer and winter, gender into male and female, place into
heaven and earth, temperatu re into hot and cold, directi on into up
and down, space into inside and outside, and so on. But designations
of Yin or Yang are made only in relation to each other. For example,
the sun is bigger, brighter, hotter (Yang) in relation to the earth,
which is small er, darker, and cooler (Yin). The earth, however, is
more Yang in relation to the moon, which is more Yin. Yin  and Yang
cannot be separated. There  is no dark without light, no front
without back, no up without  down, no in without out, and no heat
without cold. There is no space without time, no birth without
death.The Yin-Yang  of the Mountain
The shady side of the mountain is Yin in relation to the sunny side,
which is Yang. As the sun rises and moves across the sky, however,
the warmth and light of the morning upon the one slope shifts to the
other slope in the afternoon—the sunny and shady sides merge and
alternate. Yang becomes Yin, and Yin becomes Yang. As the day
becomes night, the entire mountain is dark, cool, and quiescent. In
the night when  the moon shines on the mountain, the light of the
moon is Yang within the dark Yin of night. Yin also appears within Yang, and vice versa. For example, if Yang
is considered to be warm, expanding, and light, and Yin is cool,
contracting, and dark, then the shady side of the mounta in is Yin in
relation to the sunny side of the mountain, which is Yang. As the
sun rises and moves across the sky in relation to the mountain,
however, the warmth and light of the morning upon the one slope
shifts to the other slope in the afternoon—the sunny and shady sides
merge and alternate. Yang becomes Yin, and Yin becomes Yang. As
the day becomes night, the entire mountain is dark, cool, and
quiescent. In the night when  the moon shines on the mountain, the
light of the moon is Yang within the dark Yin of night.DESIGNATIONS OF  YIN-YANG
Because everything is in motion, all process is cyclic, and everything
contains its opposite, the dilemma of what came rst, the chicken or
the egg, is transcended in Chinese philosophy by accepting them as
inseparable agents of the process of creation. Chinese theory does
not separate cause from eect; instead, the one invariably turns into
the other in an ever-repeating cycle of metamorphosis. The day does
not cause the night, birth does not cause death, summe r does not
cause winter, but one precedes and the other follows. Life is a game
of leapfrog with events tumbling over each other in a perpetual
cascade. The chicken makes the egg— Yang generates Yin— but the
chicken grows out of the egg—Yin produces Yang. They are only
mutually generative. Which came rst (linear logic) matters less
than how they interact (systems, dialectical, relational logic). All states, events, and mome nts can be characterized as being Yin
or Yang, relative aspects of an alternating cycle along a single
continuum. Yin is at the core, sinking, conde nsed, and internal. Yang
is at the surface, rising, dispersed, and external. The humidity of the
air accumulates and condenses into clouds. This dense mass of vapor
(Yin) builds until the moment of discharge (Yang), when the weight
and density of the moisture transforms into thunder, lightning, and
rain. Relative to each other, Yin is quiescent, static, and contracting,
whereas Yang is dynamic, active, and expansive. Yin responds to Yang’s stimulus, and Yang is supported by the
solidity of Yin. Yin  is dense and hidden, while Yang is dispersed and
exposed. In a candle, the beeswax and wick are the material
foundation: solid, heavy, Yin; the ame, which moves upward, is
insubstantial in nature: bright, hot, Yang. The interactio n of the two
is what produces the useful light and heat and reects the
interaction of matter and energy. Their dependence on each other
renders them inseparable. Yang makes things happen. It transforms. Yin provides the material basis for the transforming power of Yang. Energy—heat, activity, light—transforms matter. If Yin is a noun,
then Yang is a verb, and life is a complete sentence.Yin-Yang  Tidal Flow of Rhythm
The processes in nature and in the life of living organisms
correspond to the stages of transformation of Yin-Yang  manifested
by seasonal, diurnal, developmental, and physiological cycles of
ourishing and withering, lightening and darkening, beginning and
ending, expanding and contracting. If Yin-Yang  is likened to a battleground, the fort represents the
Yin. Relatively hidden and protected from threat, it shelters the
noncombatants and food. The fort stores the potential or reserve
energy. The eld of battle is exposed, relatively unprotected, Yang. Upon it the precious stored-up Yin substance is transformed into
Yang activity.Health is dened as the poised balance between Yin-Yang , and
sickness is the result of a deciency or excess, a Yin-Yang
disharmony. Survival is based  on an organism’s capacity to adapt to
changing conditions and maintain equilibrium. Yin-Yang  harmony is
a metaphor for sustaining adaptability and equilibrium. YIN-YANG AND THE  HUMAN BODY
Yin-Yang  also describes human process. The stages of life go from
conception to birth, growth, decline, and death. Our youth (Yang) is
like the hare—quick, capricious, erratic, and light. Our older years
(Yin) are more like the tortoise—slow, deliberate, dense, and
persevering. When we expand and ll out chests with air, we are in the Yang
phase of respiration; when we exhale and empty our lungs, we are
in the contractive Yin phase. We perpetually ll and empty our
stomachs, our lungs, our hearts, our minds. We are active (Yang)
and lie quiet and rest ( Yin). Yin is the materi al basis, tissue, for the transforming power of
Yang, which reorga nizes and regenerates. Food (Yin) is transmuted
by metabolic activity (Yang) into more substance (tissue ) and more
energy (heat and metabolic activity). The sperm (Yang) joins the egg
(Yin), and new life is created by their merger and interaction . Thus
the sperm mobilizes and transforms the substance provided by the
egg. The sperm derives its propulsive and activating power from the
male (Yang), and the egg derives its receptive and nurturing power
from the female ( Yin). The internal organs of the body, hidden and protected from
external inue nce, are Yin relative to the exposed skin and muscle,
which are Yang. The lower part of the body is in contact or rooted to
the ground, Yin, where as the upper body is able to move freely,
Yang, even when the legs are rigid. The front of the body is
protected by folding the arms and legs to enclose the chest and
abdomen, whereas the back of the body is relatively exposed. Hence
the front is more Yin relative to the back, which is Yang.Immunity functions as the rst line of defense: guarding the
surface protects against internal harm. Using our battle analogy, the
eld army wards o attacks on the fort. If they get cut o from the
fort, the troops  will run out of ammunition and food. If the Yang is
weak, the body is unable to ward o attack and enemy forces
penetrate the protective walls. If the Yin forces of the fort are not
strong, supplie s and food are insucient to meet the ghters’ need
to refuel the energy they have expended. The Yin fort provides the
substance that sustains the Yang activity in the eld. Without
substance, activity is weakened; without activity, substance is
insecure and unprotected. They mutually support each other as an
interdependent and indivisible system. The exterior surface of the human body (skin, hair, supercial
nerves, and blood vessels) is exposed and therefore Yang. The
internal struct ures (viscera, bones, brain, and spinal cord) are the
basis of sustenance and therefore Yin. The internal Organs  can be
further dierentiated into the “hollow” Organs  (Yang), which
perform functions of digestion and elimination (catabolism), and the
“solid” Organs  (Yin), which  perfor m the function of assimilation and
storage (anabolism). The solid Organs  are analogous to the rock that
soaks up the sunlight and stores this energy as heat for later use,
much like a passive solar heater. The hollow Organs  can be likened
to a water wheel, which is capable of transforming the movement of
water into energy for work. The water wheel itself canno t store up
energy, and the heated rock cannot perform work directly. Together, as Yin and Yang, a paired solid and hollow Organ
comprise Organ Networks  (comm only referred to by the Yin Organ
name). The dense Yin Organs  of the Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung, and
Kidney  store the essential and potential energy derived from
substances; the hollow Yang Organs  of the Gallbladder, Small
Intestine, Stoma ch, Large Intestine , and Bladder  process the substances
of the external environment . However, Yin and Yang are relative,
not absolute designations: the Heart  is a “solid” Organ  and therefore
Yin, yet its propulsive contraction while squeezing the blood
through the vessels is Yang. This is what is meant by the Yang
within the Yin.QI, M OISTURE, AND  BLOOD
In the human body, Qi and Blood  are manifestations of Yang and Yin
respectively. The concept of substance as Yin and activity as Yang is
illustrated by the following: the Blood  itself is Yin; the activity of the
blood circulat ing is Yang. The mucus itself is Yin; its secretion,
movement, and expectoration are Yang. Urine and perspiration are
Yin; the ltration process that generates urine and the heat that
promotes perspiration is Yang. Nutrient substances are Yin; the
metabolic activity of digestion is Yang. Water has a Yin nature. Blood  has a Yin nature. Like water, Blood
is a soft, yielding substance that takes on the form of its container. Moist and dense, it is the medium for the nutritive essence that
feeds the tissues of the body. The Blood  is also considered the
medium of the mind insofar as it carries information (in Western
terms this takes the form of chemical messengers or horm ones) that
regulates body function. Blood  has the natur e of Yin, but Yin is not
the same as Blood. Yin is a universal principle, a concept, an aspect
of a dynamic process, whereas Blood  is a substance  that exists in the
living body. The Qi (Yang) moves the Blood  (Yin). Fire has a Yang nature. Qi has a Yang nature. Like re, Qi is
insubstantial, mobile, changeable, a catalyst for movement and
transformation. In fact, Qi is synonymous with movement and
process. Blood  and Qi are as insepa rable as Yin-Yang . If they are
separated, the Blood  does not move  and the Qi has no basis, so there
is no life. Based on these principles, the circulation of Blood  is
induced by the sucking and squeezing action of the lung, which
moves the Qi throughout the body. Blocking this ow of Qi inhibits
the circulation of Blood . Obstructing Blood  exhausts Qi. When the
muscles are not active and the vessels cannot pulsate, the Blood  will
not circulate. This happens when people who are bedridden over a
long period develop stasis ulcers or bed sores. Lack of activity leads
to a stagnation of Blood  and Moisture , which  in turn leads to
degeneration and death of tissue.Yang also correspo nds to the basal metabolic state. The warmth
that we associate with life when a person is completely at rest (as in
deep sleep or coma) belongs  to Yang. There may be no perceptible
movement or activity, yet if the body is warm with moist vapor
being exhaled, then we know the person is alive. Yang and Yin are
the fundament from which Qi and Blood  derive their existence—just
as the mother gives birth to the child, but the child grows on its
own. Moisture  is the intermediate state of Blood  generating to Qi and Qi
transforming Blood. Qi, Moisture , and Blood  can each be located on
the Yin-Yang  continuum as dierentiated manifestations of the
unitary life force, which is also Qi. EVERYDAY  LIFE
The course of our everyda y lives requires that we balance the
interior proces s of nurturing the self (Yin) with being engaged in the
exterior work of the world (Yang). Our activity in the world fosters
our productivity, then we retreat from the business of the day each
evening to relax, rest, and sleep in order to accumulate and
replenish our store of Qi for the day to follow. Our contempo rary culture encourages constant, often frenetic,
activity. People are so consumed with their productivity  that they
often neglect allowing enoug h time for the self to be replenished. To
overwork, overexercise, overparty, and overengage in the act of love
is to overindulge in Yang, which leads to burnout of Yin. The body
cannot for long tolerate consuming more than is replaced. The
consequences of this may be muscle, joint, bone, heart, or kidney
problems perhaps as serious and sudden as a heart attack. On the other hand, to be preoccupied with matters of internal
health and overly focused on nourishing and protecting the delicate
interior of the body could mean an overemphasis on the Yin phase
of accumulation. A collector  who keeps acquiring more and more
goods that have potential value is so busy amassing and storing that
he has no time or energy left to put his hidden treasure s to use inthe productive life of the world. The Yin is protected, but the Yang is
lifeless. Similarly, a person who is all mass or substance (Yin) and
no energy (Yang) is lethargic, inert, and cannot work or play well. Without exercise the muscles atrophy and the cardiovascular system
weakens. The key is to achieve balance, which means being exible,
diverse, moderate, and in harmony with your own rhythms and
needs. Chinese medicine makes use of acupuncture, herbs, diet,
physical exerci se, massage, mental discipline, and the modication
of life-style habits as forms of therapy to reestablish the rhythmic
swing of the Yin-Yang  pendulum. YIN-YANG  CHARACTER  PATTERNS
Some people can be characterized as being more Yang or Yin, based
on their character and body structure. Yet it is common for people
to manifest qualities of both, such as inhabiting a relatively Yin
body with a more Yang personality. A Yang body is larger, stronger, more tense, springy, and
muscular, with a greater capacity for food and activity and a
minimal requirement for rest. Yang prefers and feels comfortable in
a stimulating, complex environment and acts quickly and
impulsively as if endowed with an unlimited supply of stamina and
invincible immunity to harm. It is a predilection of Yang to
overindulge without severe consequences and, when sick, to suer
intensely and recover quickly. A Yin body is smaller, more slender and sinewy, and soft and
dense rather than tense. To be Yin is to enjoy quiet, calm, simple
environments and possess a more limited capacity for food, work,
and interaction . It is a preference of Yin to avoid prolonged stress
and to desire regular, adequate periods for rest and rejuvenation. Yin illnesses develop gradually, and symptoms linger. Yin tends to
be more conservative and ecient, again, more like the tortoise
than the hare. Yang is not necessarily healthier than Yin. A person
with a more Yin constit ution may live longer and accomplish morebecause his or her life-style and environment are less stressful. A
more Yang individual is likely to suer the long-term consequences
of abuse, neglect, and shortsightedness. My father is more Yang, and I’m more Yin—he strains to sit still
and relax, whereas I am content to abandon myself, reading and
reecting for hours. He drive s himself hard. In 1972 a heart attack
motivated him to stop smoking cigarettes or taking calls that
required him to perform emergency surgery in the middle of the
night. Since his heart attack seemed related to emotional stress as
well, he became more conscious about his state of mind, avoiding
upsets when he could. Althou gh he didn’t understand himself in Yin-
Yang terms, through his actions  he had begun to modula te his
extreme Yang by better protecting his Yin. I, on the other hand,
needed not to slow down my level of activity, but rather to do more
physically. Jogging felt too incompatible with my nature, so I
stimulate my Yin with Yang activity by swimming daily, doing t’ai
chi ch’uan (Chinese movement exercise), and walking. In our culture, the characteristics of Yang are often regarded as
being more desirable than those of Yin. It is better to be a rabbit
than a turtle. The aggressive, hard-driving, ambitious, upwardly
mobile personality is admired and rewarded. Our cultural heroes
and heroines are Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Superman, Wonder
Woman, and James Bond. Great physical prowess, a certain clever
cunning, and audacious savvy are Yang characteristic s. In Asian
culture the opposite is true. In the Orient it is the wise sage who is
distinguished not by his physique, but by his hidden powers of
wisdom and philosophy. Cultural judgm ents aside, to say someone is Yin or Yang does not
necessarily imply that one is strong or weak, healthy or sick, but
more describes  how someone is strong, weak, or sick. Recognition of
Yin-Yang  pattern s helps us observe how we live our lives and predi ct
the ways in which we will become ill and can be treated. When Yin is overabundant, Yang collapses, overcome by cold,
static inertia. When Yang is overabundant, it exhau sts the Yin,
depleting Blood  and Moisture , which result s in emaciation. A cold
and weak ( Yin) person needs to stay warm by dressing appropriatelyand eating warming foods. A hot and hyperactive (Yang) person
needs to guard against dissip ating Qi by overuse and abuse and by
learning to relax, exercise self-restraint, and be patient. Whereas the Yang type is subject to delusio ns of boundless,
superhuman strength, the Yin type is subject to fears of inadequacy. Through proigacy, the Yang type can become weaken ed or
decient and therefore more Yin. The Yin type, through
conservation, can acquire increased energy and expand limits,
becoming more Yang.
_OceanofPDF.com_Between_Heaven_and_Earth_-_Harriet_Beinfield.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Specialists
look at smaller and smalle r fragments, gaining more and more
positive information in the form of descriptive data but losing a
sense of the integrity of the system as a whole. How did this medical
model gain exclusive ascendance in America. NARROWING THE  INSTITUTION OF  MEDICINE
In the beginning of the century a survey of medical schools was
subsidized by the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations. Its purpose
was to nd out which schools would be most interested in
promoting “scientic medic ine,” therefore promoting the newly
developing drug- and hospital-based technology industries. The
Flexner Report, issued in 1910 by the American Medical Association
following this survey, recommended that nancial support from the
foundations be awarded only to medical schools committed to
scientic research based on models developed in the nineteenth
century. All therapies not based on the Cartesian model were
considered unscientic and would therefore be disenfranchised. Only 20 percent of the existi ng medical schools survived. The other
80 percent adhered to the “vitalist doctrine,” which asserted that
“man assists, but nature heals. ” Naturopathy, homeopathy, and
herbology were forced out of the mainstream and relegated to thestatus of folk medicine. They were ultimately driven under by lack
of funds and political harassment. Formerly the majority of physicians were helpers, allies, and
comforters to people struggli ng with maladies in their daily life. The
new doctor became the exclusive source of specialized knowledge
and the heroic slayer of disease. Increasingly a delegation of
authority and power went to the doctor. Patients were educated to
believe that doctors alone knew what made them sick and that only
their technology or drugs could make them well. As the depth and breadth of scientic information about the body
grew, both doctors and people lost faith in the capacity of the
human organism to heal itself. How could anyon e but an
enlightened and sophisticated engineer run such an awesomely
complex and vulnerable machine. This faith was withdrawn from
the body’s self-healing abilities and put into the hands of the
“experts”—the physicians. OUTCOMES OF  THIS MEDICAL  MODEL
Medicine was not set up to advise people on how to stay or become
well. The doctor could only x what had broken down. He could
miraculously remove evil (tumors, infections, stones) with drugs and
surgery. He could manipulate  function (thyroid hormones, diuretics,
steroids) and replace worn parts (plastic hips and hearts). As a
heroic soldier he could wage a valiant short-term battle. He could
remove the “evil,” but there was no mechanism built into the system
to discern or promote the “good. ” Medicine’s strengths  were the
source of its weakness. The research and clinical institutions of
medicine are still dened by the existing conceptual model and
more oriented toward intervention than prevention. Furthermore, as doctors became the experts, they acquired a type
of power over their patients. Mastery of medicine became a
technically sophisticated and exclusive high priesthood. The
common person could not possibly gain access to and interpret the
data necessary to administer medical care. Even the medicalprofession itself diversied into more highly specialized elds: the
general practitioner who cared for a whole person was replaced by
the cardiologi st, who cared for the heart; the orthopedist, who
ministered to the bones; the neurologist for the nerves; the
oncologist for the cancer; the psychiatrist for the mind; and so on. When power was taken from the person by the general
practitioner, and from the general practitioner by the specialist,
there was no longer one doctor who cared for the whole person and
knew her in the context of her total environment. The once intimate
relationship between helper and helped shifted to an impersonal one
between strang ers. Doctors lost knowledge of their patients as real
people. This shift in the organization of medicine taught people to feel
that science knew more about them than they could ever know or
understand about themselves. People as patients began giving away
the responsibility to care for their own health. The phrase health-
care delivery system  sugges ts the doctor is like a mail carrier who can
deliver health at the doorstep. This situation is reminiscent of
Plato’s image of a “househo ld” in which the “master,” the mind,
knows but does not act and the “slave,” the body, acts but does not
know. Doctors  function as the master (mind) and patients as the
slave (body). Now divided, the body loses its intelligen ce and the
mind loses its power to actualize: not only is self-understanding
undermined, but possibilities  for action are limited as well. People
mistakenly feel that the power to cure comes from outside
themselves, administered by an alien intelligence. This distortion of power often instigates an antagonistic
relationship between doctor s and patients. When doctors cannot
perform the heroic role and x the broken machine, they sometimes
blame the victim, judging patients guilty of not getting better. Isolated, abandoned, underm ined, and invalidated, patients then
feel condemned to a circle of pain with no escape. Along  with their
physical pain, they are frustrated and angered by their feelings of
powerlessness. They then become quick to blame the doctor for
their problems, jumping into malpractice litigation. Suing for
malpractice becomes an act of revenge, an attempt on the part ofthe patient to gain power over the doctor, not a reclamation of true
self-power. The doctor is either a hero or villain—heralded for
recovery or blamed for poor outcomes. OTHER PARADOXES
Power, no matter who has it, does not confer wisdom. Doctors
sometimes equate their authority with sagacity. Some interventions
produce disastrous long-term eects on health. Iatrog enesis, or
doctor-induced illness, can result from drugs, surgery, radiation, and
chemotherapy. Iatrogenesis is one of the leading causes of fatal
disease. Appro ximately one out of every ve people admitted to a
research hospital acquires an iatrogenic illness. Nobel prize-wi nning microbio logist René Dubos describes the new
threats to health arising out of technological innovation. He says it
is a painful and richly documented paradox that every drug of
proven worth can itself become a cause of disease. Some of the toxic eects are extremely indirect and delayed. They result from disturba nces in the physiologica l and
ecological equilibrium of the organism. Their mechanism  does
not reside in chemical or physiological reactions involving
direct cause-eect relationships, but rather in complex
interrelated responses made by the whole integrated organism,
including its indigenous microbiota. 8
Another consequence of focusing more attention on the disease
than the patien t is that the doctor can eradicate the tumor but has
no means of promoting the health of the patient. This enables one to
say, “The treatment was a success, but the patient died. ” For
example, chemotherapy claims success at treating the disease and
yet cannot necessarily impro ve the longevity of the patient. John
Cairns of the Harvard School of Public Health states:Each year about 3,000 patients under age 30 are being cured by
chemotherapy who would otherwise have died. Only two
percent of the patients who die of cancer are under 30,
however. For the vast majori ty of cancers, which arise in older
patients, the results of chemotherapy are much more
controversial. …  Apart from the success with Hodgkin’s disease,
childhood leukemia and a few other cancers, it is not possible
to detect any sudden change in death rates for any of the major
cancers that could be credited to chemotherapy. 9
The other major paradox of the Western medical model is that it
separates the indivisible. Western medicine has so successfully
dissected the human body that it suers from “overseparation,”
where the whole is no longer perceived as a meaningful entity. What was one indivisible circle, an unbroken continuum, became a
straight line of successive causality in which events became random,
losing their intrinsic relation ship to each other. The mind has been
separated from the body; the disease from the person who has it; the
specic pathogen from the disease process as a whole; the parts
from each other; the sympto ms from the source of the ailment; and
the patients from their self-responsibility and self-power. This overseparation occurred at the dawn of modern Western
civilization when matter was severed from the immaterial, human
from nature, and process was frozen in xed and absolute laws. Dualism shatte red unity. This division has made us susceptible to an
inversion of process whereby the means (technological, industrial,
and scientic innovation) governs our ends (human values) and
people become the “objects” rather than the “subjects” of their own
activity. This has distorted our image of what the world is and who
we are within it. The world man has made is impressive but lacks
integrity—it no longer ts together, and neither do we know our
place within it. When people are like machines, modern medicine
becomes oblige d to keep the machine running. Its purpose is dened
as avoiding death rather than enriching life. Bodies must be kept
alive at all costs because to die is considered intrinsically evil—death is the enemy to be conquered. Life and death are no longer
part of a continuous cycle. In ancie nt culture nothing was intrinsically good or evil, it was
simply a matter of how one stood in relation to it. For an old person,
it could be a gift to die with grace and ceremony just as it had been
a gift to live— to preserve the tissue without the spirit would have
been an oense, an insult worse than death. The center of Western civilization has been commerce, industry,
and information—the proliferation of economic transactions,
manufactured products, and data. As Westerners we have been able
to produce the world we live in, to control it by achieving power
over nature. But the Wester n model is exclusive. It excludes the
mysterious and intangible from its reality because the immaterial
cannot be tamed, contained,  and controlled. In an eort to achieve
mastery over the world, connectedness with nature and humanity
often perish. Physicist Roger Jones comments upon the legacy of Descartes:
“His genius, which has cleanly cut through the dense web of
primitive mystery, has also severed our felt connection to the
universe. ” This is where the Chinese model, still based on ancient
principles, can help the Cartesian separation become whole again. Science historian Joseph Needham tells us that “the mechanical
view of the world simply did not develop in Chinese thought, and
the organicist view in which every phenomenon was connected with
every other  … was universal among Chinese thinkers. ” Rather, he
continues, “The harmonious co-operation of all beings arose, not
from the orders of a superio r authority external to themselves, but
from the fact that they were all parts in a hierarchy of wholes
forming a cosmic and organ ic pattern and what they obeyed were
the internal dictates of their own natures. ”
OceanofPDF. comPhilosophy in the East: The Doctor As GardenerCHAPTER THREE
PHILOSOPHY IN THE  EAST: THE DOCTOR  AS
GARDENER
Everything observable by the senses is subject to change and
therefore in motion  … there are interlocking cycles of
change  … one cannot bid the winds and waves to cease, but
one can learn to navigate treacherous currents by conducting
ourselves in harmony with the prevailing process es of
transformation—and thus weather the storms of life. John Blofeld  
I Ching          
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY IS BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT ALL LIFE OCCURS  within
the circle of nature. 1 Things within this matrix are connected and
mutually dependent upon each other. Nature is one unied system,
the Tac with polar and complementary aspects: Yin and Yang. Nature is in constant motion, following cyclic patterns that describe
the process of transformatio n. When the elements of nature are in
balance, life is harmonic and ourishes. When the balance of polar
forces is upset, disaster looms. Within the Eastern worldview, the human being is a microcosm of
Nature, a smaller universe. Human beings represent the juncture
between Heave n and Earth, the ospring of their union, a fusion of
cosmic and terrestrial forces. The Chinese ideogram for human
being pictures a gure rooted like a tree in the Earth with hands
outstretched like branches toward the heavens, receiving power
from above and below. Sustained by the power of Earth and
transformed by the power of Heaven, humanity cannot be separated
from Nature—we are Nature, manifest as people. As a cosmos inminiature, we are propelled by the same forces. Good and bad are
relative, not absolute. Life and death balance each other. Seen and
unseen, soma and psyche, * are aspects of one continuous process, by
denition everchanging and in ux. 2
Since everything is connected by the circle, health is understood
broadly, den ing the whole being within the social and natural
order. What is good for nature is good for humanity, what is good
for one is good for all, what is good for the mind is good for the
body, and so on. To harm a part is to harm the whole. What is bad
for the heart is bad for the body, what damages one person damages
all people, what injures the earth injures me. Conversely, to restore
and preserve the good health of one body and mind is to foster the
well-being of the whole, the earth and all life upon it. The center of most ancient cultures, from China in the second
century B. C. to twentieth-century native America, was the earth. Human welfare was attached to the rains upon the soil, the wind of
the heavens, and pliable trees embedded in an abundant forest. Chief Seattle, in 1854, summed up this ancient view of how
humanity stands in relation to the world: “This we know—the earth
does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are
connected like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls
the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weav e the web
of life; he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he
does to himself. ”
Most ancient cultures, engaged in tilling, sowing, cultivating, and
harvesting the soil, depended on the fruits of the land for survival. Agrarian cultures experienced power through nature and aspired to
be in harmony with the seasons, rhythms, and patterns that
connected all things with each other. Within this reality, the world
was like a garden. The garden was nature—the living earth, the
human person, the biosphere, the circle of all life. When people are like gardens, then doctors are like gardeners. The role of the Chinese doctor is to cultivate life. THE MOTIVE FORCE: QI
That which animates life is called Qi (“chee”). The concept of Qi is
absolutely at the heart of Chinese medicine. Life is dened by Qi
even though it is impossible to grasp, measure, quantify, see, or
isolate. Immate rial yet essential, the material world is formed by it. An invisible force known only by its eects, Qi is recognized
indirectly by what it fosters, generates, and protects. Matter is Qi taking shape. Mountains forming, forests growing,
rivers streaming, and creatures proliferating are all manifestations of
Qi. In the human being, all functions of the body and mind are
manifestations of Qi: sensin g, cogitating, feeling,  digesting, stirring,
and propagating. Qi begets movement and heat. It is the
fundamental mystery and miracle. Life cannot be separated from the way it manifests. When the
heart beats and the breath is warm, it is understood that life exists
within the body. When the heart stops beating and the body
becomes cold, the life force, or Qi, is no longer present. Life force
and Qi are one. Like fresh air, healthy Qi moves freely; like stale air,
stagnant Qi is heavy, oppressive, constrictive, and congestive. Like air, Qi has its own movement and also activates the
movement of things other than itself. Just as the wind moves the
trees, grasses, and water, so Qi moves the chest, causing inhalation
and exhalation. People do not inhale Qi. Rather, Qi is the motive
force that establishes respiration. In this way, Qi is the cause and
also the eect. The essence of food is also a form of Qi. This highly rened
essence is the source from which the material form of the body is
constructed. When the Qi of food and the Qi of air enter the body,
they become one entity known as “pure” or “righteous” Qi. Air Qi
represents the immaterial motivating aspect of Qi and Food Qi the
material or constructing aspect. Qi is both the foundation of
structure and the catalyst of transformation and movement. Scholar Nathan Sivin relates that by the year 350 in Chinese
writings about nature, the word Qi meant “basic stu. ” Hecomments that in Chinese thought there was a tendency
to think of stu and its transformations in a unitary way. … [Qi
is] simultaneously “what makes things happen in stu and
(depending on context) “stu that makes things happen” or
“stu in which  things happen. ”  … Qi is often the material basis
of activity, but the activity  itself is often also describ ed as
Qi. …  This is not an easy idea for moderns, with their clear
distinction between substance and function, to grasp. The
ambiguity is impossible to overlook, but discourse was adapted
to it, and the readers for whom it was intended did not
complain that it is confusing. By the time a medical literature
developed, its authors tended to use Qi predominantly in the
functional sense. 3
Medical under standing was generated from ideas about  nature. According to the ancient Chinese art of practical ecology, known as
Feng Shui (“Wind Water”), the earth has veins of energy that cours e
through it, hold it together, and act as a grid from which all life
derives its power. The movement of wind and water reects the
activity of Qi. The forces of Qi can work to our advantage or disadvantage. By
closely observi ng the formation of mountains, growth of trees, ow
of water, move ment of wind, and patterns of light and shadow, the
practitioner of Feng Shui places us in a favorable relationship to
these forces, to derive maximum benet from the environment. The
object is to align human dwellings, objects, and activities with the
current of Qi. The point of focus is the relationship between the
person and the patterns of Qi. This protects and enhances our power
and good fortune. The doctor as gardener practices Feng Shui in
that he seeks to place human beings in a benecial relationship to
Qi. THE MOTIVE  FORCE:  QIQi (pronounced “chee”) can be understood as the creative or
formative principle associated with life and all processes that
characterize living entities. All animate forms in nature are
manifestations of Qi. Qi is an invisible substance, as well as an
immaterial force that has palpable and observable
manifestations. Qi has its own movement and also activates the movement of
things other than itself. Qi begets motion and heat. Within the
context of the human person, Qi is that which enlivens the body
and is dierentiated according to specic functional systems. All physical and mental activities are manifestations of Qi:
sensing, cogitating, feeling, digesting, stirring, propagating. One Chinese ideogram for Qi is comp osed of an upper radical
representing “rising vapor” and a lower radical denoting
“grain. ” The steam that spirals from a pot of cookin g rice
symbolizes distilled essence, hence Qi can be transla ted as the
vapor of the nest matter. The highly rened essence of food
(Food Qi ) and air (Air Qi ) in the body become one entity known
as “pure” or “righteous” Qi. Defensive Qi (wei) is the activity of
adapting to inuences such as weather or mobilizing resistance
to pathogenic microorganism s and noxious substances in the
environment. Qi refers to resources the human organism
consumes, transforms, and transmits. HEALTH IN THE  GARDEN
A garden is a dynamic self-regulating system that transforms
sunlight (Yang) and water (Yin) into the living tissue of vegetation. Within the cycle of seasons, there is a time for sprouting, maturing,
ripening, harvesting, and composting. Through this process of
transformation the garden continuously sustains and re-creates
itself. This interplay of Yin and Yang is what enables life to
mushroom. Maximum growth in the garden derives from the proper balance
between the heat and light of the sun with the cool moisture of
water. The garden is healthy when rich growing conditions prevail
and when plants are resilient enough to tolerate adversity. An
occasional period of drought, a spring storm, an infestation of
insects, or the moldy fungus  that grows during periods of extended
humidity can be overcome by a vigorous ecosystem, adaptable
enough to recover once the hardship has passed. The gardener does not make the garden grow. Nature does. The
gardener is an ally who prepares the soil, sows the seeds, waters,
and removes the weeds, placing plants in the proper relation to each
other and the sun. If the gardener did not tend the garden, it would
lose its unique  identity and grow wild, merging completely with its
surroundings to blend with the larger environment. The gardener
protects the integrity of the garden by promoting growth in some
areas, restrictin g it in others, adding compost to keep the soil fertile. He observes and nurtures the interaction between the garden and
environment. HEALTH IN THE  MICROCOSM OF A  HUMAN BEING
Both the garde n and the human body are microcosms of nature. The
processes, cycles, and conditions that exist in a garden can also be
observed in the life of a human being. Like the earth, the human body is enveloped and permeated by
streams of Qi that link and enliven all its activities. The human body
is subject to similar rhythms and cycles as the garden. A person both
embodies and interacts with cycles—daily, monthly, seasonal, and
lifelong. Over millennia doctors observed cycles in nature and
conceptualized the body in these terms. They saw a human being as
a complete system unto itself with constellations of subsystems
within it. The body is not conceived of as cells, tissues, and other
structural components. Rather it is understood in terms of the
relationships among the constituents of form and process that
generate, regulate, and accumulate Blood, Moisture, and Qi. Just as earth is comprised of land, ocean, and atmospher e, so the
body is organized as Blood, Moisture, and Qi. The Blood  governs
tissue, the material form of the body. The Moisture  governs the
internal environment, the body’s inner ocean. The Qi governs the
shape and activity of the body and its process of forming and
organizing itself. Qi also means the totality of Blood,
 
 
QI, MOISTURE, BLOOD
Just as earth is comprised of land, ocean, and atmosphere, so
the body is organized as Blood, Moisture, and Qi. Blood  governs
tissue, the material form of the body. Moisture  governs the
internal enviro nment, the body’s inner ocean. Qi governs the
shape and activity of the body and its process of forming and
organizing itself. Qi also implies the totality of Blood, Moisture,
and Qi, the total summation of the life of the organism. Blood  is a material substance as well as the process of
generating, distributing, and storing nutrients. Moisture  is an
amorphous substance as well as the process of generating,distributing, and storing uid. Qi is an invisible substance, as
well as an immaterial force that manifests as movemen t and
activity through which it is palpable and observable. Moisture
cannot be separated from the function of moisturizing, Blood
from nourishin g, nor Qi from moving. They are part of a
continuum of tangible forms and immanent functions. Within the body, every phenomenon is a product of the
interaction of Blood, Moisture, and Qi. Without proper Moisture,
the Qi becomes hot and agitated and the Blood  dries up and
congeals. Without Blood, Moisture  is dispersed and Qi is
scattered. Without Qi, Moisture  and Blood  stagnate, coagulate,
and cease circulating. Each constituent exists as an individual
entity and yet depends comp letely upon the larger system, the
body. All functions and processes are interdependent,
cogenerating, and mutually regulating. Moisture, and Qi, earth, sea, and air, the total summation of the life
of the organism, body, or world.
The medical model gained dominance in America through the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations' subsidized survey of medical schools, which led to the recommendation that only research-based medical schools be funded, resulting in the exclusion of naturopathy, homeopathy, and herbology.
How did the medical model gain exclusive dominance in America?
Western medicine focuses on treating the symptoms and curing the disease, rather than promoting overall well-being and health.
What is the primary focus of Western medicine?
The doctor is seen as a heroic figure who can "fix" the body, but not as a holistic caregiver who considers the patient's overall well-being.
What is the role of the doctor in the Western medical model?
In Chinese medicine, Qi is an invisible, immaterial force that is responsible for the body's processes and interactions, and is the foundation of life and health. It is also seen as the source of disease.
What is the concept of Qi in Chinese medicine?
The concept of Yin-Yang is used to describe the interdependent and interconnected nature of the body's processes and functions, emphasizing the importance of balance and harmony in maintaining health.
How does the concept of Yin-Yang apply to the human body?