“From the one comes two,
Two produces three,
From the three emerges the myriad things”
Lao Tzu Dao De Jing
So continuing on from last months’ exploration into the world of Daoism, Chinese medicine and the separation Yin and Yang, we move from the ‘two’ to the ‘three’.
To recap, the Great indescribable Oneness, known as the Dao, divides itself into its two polar opposites, Yin and Yang. As these two are inseparable a third aspect is then created, the combination, to varying degrees, of Yin and Yang.
This triplicity permeates every aspect of Daoist philosophy and therefore Chinese medicine. On a Cosmological scale we have the pure Yang of ‘Heaven’ sending information downwards and the pure Yin energy of the Earth rising upwards. In between this two way flow of energy we have us, Mankind, a (supposed!) perfect blend of Yin and Yang.
Another tenet of Daoism is ‘as above, so below’. Whatever happens on the macrocosm also happens on the microcosm. This trio therefore has to manifest in the body as well. They exist within Man as ‘the three treasures’, Jing, Qi, and Shen, roughly translated as Essence, Energy and Spirit.
It is important to note that these three treasures are in essence the same thing. They are manifestations of Yin and Yang, just vibrating at different frequencies. Shen or the Spirit is closest to the Yang of heaven, whilst Jing or Essence is vibrating at a frequency closest to the dense physical Yin world of matter and Earth. Qi, or our Energy, is therefore the mix of Yin and Yang.
‘So, what has all this got to do with Chinese medicine?’ I hear you (myself!) ask. Well essentially what we are trying to achieve within Chinese medicine is balance. Namely this balance of Yin and Yang within the body. The meridian system, which we access in acupuncture through the needles, is basically a two way highway of Yin and Yang information which mingles within us. If this meridian system becomes blocked, for whatever reason, then this lack of flow creates problems.
This lack of flow, can manifest in many ways, but the most common form in which we experience it is pain. Therefore the principal aim of acupuncture is to release these blockages of energy and then hopefully relieve the pain.
However, pain itself exists on the dense physical plane of reality. Blockages can and should be released before they work their way down to the down to the body. As we have seen Jing, Qi and Shen are different aspects of the same vibration and you can’t really effect one without effecting the others. Therefore when you are inserting a needle into a persons’ meridian system, you are working at the energy level, but you are also effecting the physical body, and perhaps most importantly the Spirit.
In fact most blockages start at the level of the Spirit and work their way down, where it then becomes more difficult to shift. (Unless, of course, you hit yourself with a hammer, then that definitely is a blockage on a physical level!) In ancient China they recognised this, and you would go and see your acupuncturist every week to prevent illness manifesting in the body. If you did happen to become ill you would stop paying him until you got better!
Unfortunately, here in the West, we do things differently. Not only do we wait till pain arises until we do something about it, we usually then go and see our Doctor who often prescribes pain killers, which masks the blockage rather than releases it. It is only when all else has failed, that people often seek an acupuncturist when the blockages and pain have become really entrenched.
It is however testament to the genius of the ancient Chinese, that even at this late stage, acupuncture can be extremely effective.