Philosophy of Chinese Medicine - Essay Example

Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Concept of the Shen mind 4 pages, 7 sources Traditional Chinese Medicine is gaining popularity in the Western hemisphere as researchers are realizing more and more that the human body operates as an interconnected system rather than a connected yet separate cooperation between the mind and the body. While Western medicine focuses on eliminating the external causes of illness in the belief that there’s a ‘pill for every ill’, traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM for short, focuses on balancing the Yin and Yang to bring harmony to the system and eliminate illness. In this system, Yin represents water, quiet, substance and night, while Yang represents fire, noise, function and day. As can be seen, these two entities are polar opposites, which means that in order to have one, you must have the other – in order to comprehend light, you must comprehend dark. But these definitions are misleading because they suggest an absolute measure. “Yin and Yang create each other, define each other, control each other, and transform each other. They are not absolute, but relative concepts. Each yin or yang can continually be further subdivided into yin and yang” (“The Oriental View”, 1996). Because each of the organs of the body has an element of Yin and Yang, it is believed illness and ill health can only enter when these principles are out of balance with each other. “The state of the body is determined by the balance of Yin and Yang within it” (Lewith, 1998). The theory of Yin and Yang is further segmented into various areas and aspects of the body in much the same way as another ancient theory, the Five Elements Theory, or Shen is segmented. Shen is an ancient philosophical concept that was used to explain the composition and phenomena of the physical universe in a variety of ways. Within the Yin Yang theory, Shen is the spiritual substance of the body (“The Oriental View”, 1996). However, the term is also used to refer to the five elements as a collective group and to designate an individual element within this group. Others define shen as the messengers of Heaven, “the principle of life, that which transforms an assemblage of matter into a living being” (Larre and Rochat 1992), something that transcends Yin and Yang and is innumerable and indestructible. In considering this concept, it is important to know just what is being spoken of. The term has been broadly defined as being “that which makes humans more than an object in motion” (Balensi, 2004). To understand Shen, it is important to know the various ways in which it is considered within Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as to understand how it is connected with the philosophical and cultural beliefs of the society from which it sprang. Within the concept of Chinese medicine, Shen is part of the five elements of mind and/or spirit, but it is also the term used to encompass all of these five elements into one idea. The five elements are typically defined as hun (wood), shen (fire), yi (earth), po (metal) and zhi (water) while all of these together are spoken of in terms of the Shen. Each of these elements also has a specified association with a specific mode of thought as well as a specific area of the body. Hun, the concept of the ethereal soul similar in form to the Western notion of spirit, resides in the liver. Po refers to the concept of a corporeal soul, or soul of the body, and provides physiology from its home in the lungs. Yi refers to the intellect and scholarly memory and resides in the spleen. Zhi, the water element, indicates the will, the urge to exist and do, willpower. Its bodily home is in the kidneys. However, the element shen, as opposed to the concept Shen, is typically related to the waking consciousness, alert thought and it resides in the heart. “Notice that the five aspects are distributed throughout the body. There is no distinction between mind and body; they’re one entity. The ethereal affects the substantial and the substantial affects the ethereal” (Balesi, 2004). Although four of the five elements are named something other than shen, they are caught under the umbrella term because of the inability, within Chinese philosophy, to separate spirit from the organs each of these elements represent. “The organs also house ‘spirit’ or shen, referring to both consciousness and spirit entities. The … Daoist book .. describes the body as being full of shen that lives in all the main organs and energy centers and influences their workings” (Young, 2001). Without shen, a person would not have the ability to think clearly or to use the power of the mind to attain higher mental states. As one of the three treasures of man (the other two being jing/essence and qi/energy), Shen is essential for living life to the fullest. “If a body is lacking in Shen, then its general condition in often dull, lacking in luster, lifeless and wooden. Eyes which show a glittering quality indicate an abundance of Shen which ordinarily is considered to be an indication of good health” (Zabwodski, 2004). Shen, with its home in the heart, is represented in the philosophy and culture of the ancient Chinese as much as it is ingrained in the medicine. “The Heart has a double aspect, as did the Chinese sovereign. In traditional Chinese society, the Emperor was the embodiment of Heaven on Earth. He brought order and prosperity to his kingdom simply by being; it was his enlightenment, intelligence and personal harmony which radiated from his palace at the center of the Forbidden City” (Diebschlag, 1997) even as he remained a human man, a political leader and a stationary ruler based within his palace. Just as the heart is known to pump blood through the entire body, regulating its function and nourishing it so it can grow and be healthy, so was the Emperor seen to have this same authority. Simply by existing, he was seen to pump the country with the vital essences required to grow and be healthy. Another philosophical aspect of the concept of shen is that “the shen radiate from the Heart not through an accumulation of energy, but from a void. The void of the Heart is a fundamental concept in Chinese thought, referring not to an absence, but to a space of potential which allows the possibility of creativity, communication and interaction” (Diebschlag, 1997). This void is necessary if it is to have the space necessary to foster the actions and interactions of a living being and to allow the shen to perform its, or their, function. Thus the heart has two functions, to control the living and to facilitate the living. “The dual nature of the Heart represents the meeting of the changeless and the changing, the inevitable and the contingent, the implicate and the manifest. It stands for absolute autonomy and at the same time, responsiveness to, and resonance with, universal forces, trends, and patterns” (Diebschlag, 1997). Thus the Shen plays a significant role in the understanding of health as it relates to physical, intellectual, spiritual and emotional well-being. With its home in the heart, it takes on the special significance this organ plays in the life of any entity, be it human, societal, philosophical or metaphysical. Its importance in shaping and defining the other elements places it in a unique position that makes it an essential ingredient in any practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine regardless of the practice. It can be said without the shen, there is no life as the spirit is dead or missing, just as without the heart, the body cannot function and without the emperor the country will fail. Although Traditional Chinese Medicine can learn something from the medicine of the West, it has much more to teach regarding the interrelationships between the physical, mental and emotional functions of the human body. References Balensi, Joseph. (2004). “Shen – Spirit Mind Emotions.” The Chinese Medicine Sampler. Tucson, AR: Health Balance, LLC. http://www.chinesemedicinesampler.com/theoryshen.html Diebschlag, Francesca. (1997). “Psychospiritual Aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine.” [notes for a talk given at East West Seminar]. Bore Farm: Planet Herbs. Larre, C. & Rochat de Valle, E. (1992). The Secret Treatise of the Spiritual Orchid. Cambridge: Monkey Press. Lewith, George T. (1998). “The Conceptual Basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine.” Acupuncture: Its Place in Western Medical Science. London: Thorsons Publishing Group. Oriental View of Health, The. (1996). Toronto: Shiatsu School of Canada. Young, Jacqueline. (2001). The Healing Path. London: Thorsons Publishing Group. Zabwodski, Paul. (2004). “An Overview of Chinese Medicine.” Traditional Chinese Medicine Articles. London: Masterworks International. Read More