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Healing & Alternative Health: Chinese medicine
A Modern Taoist Lifestyle
by Kevin O'Neil, L.Ac |
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Chinese Taoists are often pictured living in the mountains wearing coarse robes with long hair and beards. Such people still exist, though the communities of mountain monasteries aren't what they used to be. I drank tea with an older Taoist hermit who was rebuilding a monastery in the mountains of the Yun Nan province. He tended to the garden, carved wood panels, painted, raised chickens, smoked a long pipe, and helped travelers pay their respects at the incense altar. Once a month, people from town would bring up some rice or other special supplies as donations. It isn't easy to be that kind of Taoist in modern America. But that's not the only kind of Taoist. Being a Taoist has more to do with "going with the flow" than living in the past. Certainly, I often yearn to be the little man in the scroll painting, lounging in a gazebo gazing at a waterfall while sipping tea. However, I'm more often found in front of my Mac, doing creative work on AncientWay.com while listening to mp3s.
I remember being let down when I first learned that traditional Chinese herbalists had a many-tiered system of herb gatherers and farmers, driers and preparers, pharmacists, and then the prescribing physicians. I romanticized the shamanic practice of doing it all myself, as if I'd be able to see a patient in the clinic and then go for a hike to get the special herbs they needed from my secret forest patches. Well, I do have some secret forest spots where I go to check on the Mugwort, wild Mint, and other local plants. There's so much sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata) around here that nobody needs a "special spot" to gather it. But the truth of clinical practice is that in the past, herbalists had lines of people waiting for their consultations and herbs, which the herbalist and/or his assistants would fill out of the wooden drawers.. It's an accomplishment to have one's herbal inventory management down so as not to run out of common herbs, much less have the ability to grow or gather the appropriate amounts on top of a busy clinical schedule.
Most accomplished Taoists have been scholarly people, who have been able to read and write classical Chinese, not a simple feat even for college-educated Chinese people today. Masters of the I Ching and astrology have a fabulous grasp of math. Many of the great inventions, from the compass to metal alloys, were created by Taoist alchemists who built laboratories beyond what most modern people understand. History focuses too much on the failed experiments and the mistakes of a few alchemists, and rarely pays respect to the alchemical discoveries of distillation, metallurgy, dye-making, and pharmaceutical science.
The beauty of the Tao is that it's everywhere, and that includes modern life. Chemistry is a fabulous example. Taoists have respected the power of the number 8 in the I Ching, the Ba Gua (Eight Pictures), and the personification of the Eight Immortals. Chemistry teaches that atoms have an "Octet Rule" where they are "happy" when they have 8 electrons in orbit. The basic principle of atoms forming molecules is that they are seeking to be complete by sharing electrons to complete their octets. Biology teaches that the DNA has 64 codons, which are structured like the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching. Computers, which run on binary math language, are indebted to the I Ching as well, for that is what inspired the French mathematician Gottfried Leibniz to work out his system of using 1 and 0 to represent every number (and, in his mind as well as the I Ching's, every thought and decision).
There are several schools of Taoist thought which are more based in philosophy than any particular practice. As with many philosophies which developed into religions, Taoism started as an iconoclastic, rebellious way of deconstructing typical belief systems yet developed several religious sects which relied upon ritual and dogma to try and honor the great ancestors (who laugh in their graves at robotic religious practice). Lao Zi quit his cushy government job and rode off into the mountains on an ox, stating that humans would never stop being violent and greedy. Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu) postulated that death may be more enjoyable than this life and refused to get hung up on his identity as a human, pondering that he may be a butterfly dreaming he was a man.
Certainly there are the esoteric Taoist practitioners who value the philosophy but also have the structure of internal practice. These are energy workers and meditators who get so in touch with their physiology and psychology through disciplined breath work and yoga that they wake up new centers of consciousness. Many of these people are also healers, as their understanding of body, mind, and nature allow them to diagnose and treat even very complex problems.
Some of the most revered Taoist physicians have been dedicated authors. Li Shi Zhen, Zhang Zhong Jing, Tao Hong Jing, Hua Tuo, and others are noted for their volumes of texts, compiling herbal and clinical knowledge from their experience and study. It is difficult enough to write a book or create an herbal database in this era of computers and fancy software, such as the system I've been programming for AncientWay.com. It was much more difficult to do so in the era of brushes and rice paper. One reason Dr. Henry C. Lu stands out as a pre-eminent author of Chinese Medical books in English is that he's one of the first Chinese-trained doctors to spend considerable time creating a computer database of the Chinese Medicine systems. I'm glad I studied with him, because it's helped me to see the appropriateness and beauty of creating a searchable online pharmacy to help people not only study and find the herbs, but to buy them as well.
Many monks in monasteries spent as much time copying texts by hand (both in the East and the West) as they did meditating or praying. Today's version is working on the computer, then going outside to do some Tai Ji and Qi Gong stretching and breathing. Meditation is a wonderful practice, and belongs in everyone's lifestyle, even if only a few minutes at a time. Longer periods of meditation, such as at a retreat or on a slow weekend, help to deepen one's awareness, build the energy, and tune in to one's higher purpose by dropping the more superficial thoughts and becoming centered. But Taoist meditation is a tool to help with all of life's other projects, not an end in and of itself. Meditation does not create health an longevity when done to excess-that is why stretching and exercise are always taught along with meditation. To use meditation as a tool to negate or escape the body is to pursue Yang while trying to extinguish Yin. It has been a popular trend in patriarchal religions to demonize the body, nature, food, and women, but that is clearly not in harmony with the basic tenets of Taoist balance.
While part of my point is that many modern technologies and sciences grew out of Taoist inventions and ideas, that naturally does not give an across-the-board blessing to all modern ways for someone seeking to live a healthy life based upon Taoist principles. One of the main areas where this applies is food. Taoists, before Buddhism's influence, were not strict vegetarians. Zhuang Zi praises a butcher in tune with the Tao for never dulling his cleaver due to the ability to flow between the bone and flesh, and Lao Zi compares ruling a big country to cooking a small fish. However, Taoists from the earliest records cautioned against eating too many grains. They observed that grains fed parasites (from visible worms to invisible "worms" such as Candida) and that by avoiding grains and using more herbs and mushrooms as foods (in soups and teas, especially) that their energy increased and they developed stronger immunity.
Even if you're not able to go live in the mountains and grow your own food, you can integrate several aspects of the Taoist approach to life into your current lifestyle. The philosophy is the most useful, and can truly reduce the stress that conventional belief systems cause. Stretching and meditation are great practices which everyone should do. Having a good diet and using tonic herbs is the third approach to integrate into your lifestyle. You don't have to spend years studying the complete system of herbal medicine, but taking the time to read up on and research a group of herbs you can have around and use in soups, teas, and capsules can make a huge difference in supporting a healthy lifestyle abundant in energy. Last month, I mentioned that I would talk about 10 herbs that you could integrate into your kitchen and medicine chest to help your health and metaphysical well-being. Since our memory works in block of 5-7, I'll break the 10 into 2 parts, giving 5 this month and 5 next month.
Here are my current top 5 tonic herbs to know and use:
1. Ginseng (Ren Shen, Panax Ginseng, Red Ginseng):
I'd like to be more esoteric with my herb choice, but having used good quality ginseng for a while now, I know that it deserves its reputation. Bad ginseng products, which are more sugar and flavoring than ginseng, also deserve their poor reputation. Mostly for men, ginseng tea is a fabulous energy and endurance booster. It can be overheating, but I feel that any damage done by moderate ginseng consumption is much less than the damage caused by coffee and sugar abuse, which are much more rampant.
2. Dang Gui (Tang Kwei, Angelica sinensis):
Chinese medicine teaches that most diseases start with blocked Qi or blood circulation, and that is especially true for women's menstrual problems. Dang Gui is a fabulous circulation enhancer and hormonal balancer, and can be put into soups (such as chicken soup) or made into a tea.
3. Gou Qi Zi (Wolfberry, Lycium fruit):
These look like red raisins, and are a fabulous snack to have by the handful. Full of beta-carotene and antioxidants, these are traditionally used to strengthen the eyes and supplement the kidney and the liver. While they can be cooked and added to soups and cereals, they are also a great snack by themselves or with pumpkin seeds.
4. Huang Qi (Astragalus membranaceus):
This herb looks like a tongue-depressor, but is more likely to keep you out of the doctor's office than any other. It is a powerful immunostimulant, and is prescribed in relatively large doses (12-18 gm) to strengthen weak Defensive Energy (Wei Qi). It can also be added to soups or made into a tea. Don't bother trying to eat the root-it's too fibrous.
5. Cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao, Cordyceps sinensis):
This is one of the most famous tonic herbs, and is a mushroom that grows on a caterpillar in the Tibetan plateaus. It is one of the most expensive herbs, good quality fetching over $1000/lb wholesale. However, in recent years, the mycelium (the mushroom body) has been successfully cultivated indoors, where it is pure, clean, and relatively cheap. For most of the best herbs, I recommend using the whole herb (especially Ginseng). However, for Cordyceps, I recommend the lab-grown biomass powder. Gram-for-gram, the wild Cordyceps may be twice as potent as the laboratory grown powder, but the laboratory grown powder is about 1/10th the price. In addition to being a good immune stimulant and famous for aiding Chinese Olympians to have record-setting endurance and power, Cordyceps is fabulous for helping to prevent cancer, which is the great scourge of our chemically toxic society. Having an herbal ally who can offset the effects of the fumes and plastics we're exposed to on a daily basis is powerful medicine, indeed. This is easiest to take in capsules.
So in summary, one can be a modern Taoist who uses computers, studies chemistry and astrology, yet makes time to be outdoors stretching and observing natural cycles. Taoist practice, whether internal energy meditations or taking tonic herbs, should help you to uncover and fulfill your true purpose in life through removing blockages and increasing your energy. We are modern metaphysicians, who strive to use the knowledge of the past with the privileges of the present. However, knowledge isn't enough-to be a healthy Taoist in the modern world, one should balance out work with herbs, meditation, and exercise. I encourage you to use the information on my 5 top herbs to spur more self-education. Buying and trying these herbs in your kitchen is not overly expensive (they are all available at www.ancientway.com) and may be the fuel you've been waiting for to propel your physical body and spiritual practice to the next levels of peaceful productivity.
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Kevin O'Neil,
Licensed Practitioner of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
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Kevin O'Neil, Licensed Acupuncturist, began his Chinese Medicine training in Chinatown, Victoria, B.C. at the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with Henry Lu, Ph.D. .
After one year, Kevin transferred to the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, where he spent 3 years completing his Master's Degree of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Upon graduation, Kevin went to China and interned in the HeiLongJiang Chinese Medicine University Hospital, before moving to Tainan, Taiwan to continue his studies of Chinese Medicine, language, and culture.
Upon 'repatriation,' he chose to embrace the Taoist tradition of living in the mountains where the pace of life is more relaxed and the air is clean and clear. Finding Klamath Falls, Oregon to suit these characteristics, Kevin opened his clinic there in Spring, 1999.
Ancient Way Acupuncture & Herbs, Inc.
Medical/Dental Building
905 Main St #409
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
541-884-6377
www.ancientway.com |
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