TCM-studier

Filosofiska rötter

TCM är starkt förankrat i traditionell östlig filosofi. Filosofin var inte en enda och har inte sitt ursprung i bara en era av kinesisk historia, men byggdes på, läggs till och modifierades genom historien. Detta är mycket typiskt för kineserna, som är ett mycket pragmatiskt folk. De har inga problem att acceptera en mängd olika filosofier i sin kultur och inte ser någon konflikt mellan dem. Ett exempel skulle vara The Three Teachings: Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism som samexcisterade harmoniskt i Kina: vi kan se dem tillsammans i målningar, med Lao Tzu, Confucius och Buddha alla avbildade tillsammans.

Shamanistisk Medicin

 

Confucius (K'ung Fu-tzu) (551-479 f.Kr.)

Född i slutet av östra Chou-perioden och början av krigande stater. Vi känner till honom från "Analekter", en serie passager skriven av hans lärjungar.

Taoism

Taoism is not a religion, more a philosophy based on the concept of Tao. Sometimes said to mean "the way", or something like unknowable, unimaginable, source of all phenomena. Before Tao there was chaos, then suddenly Tao manifested as the universe (comparable to the modern "big bang" theory). Tao expresses through the duality of Yin-Yang. Tao is like the eternal primeval law of nature.

The best known ancient Taoist philosopher was Lao Tzu (Lao Tzu = "Old Master"). He wrote the Tao Te Ching: a mystical Taoist work, full of poetic allusions, riddles, etc. to expand consciousness, promote love of nature and simplicity, and rejection of worldly ambition. The Tao Te Ching is a composite text, probably dating from 3rd century BC (the same time that the major medical classic, the Nei Ching, was officially written down) but Lao Tzu has had his traditional dates fixed to make him slightly senior to Confucius (i.e., 6th century BC). It is impossible to know the exact birth date.

The best introduction to Taoism is to read some Taoist literature. The way the ancient Taoists' would teach would be via observation of the nature, in the hopes of obtaining a direct grasp of the truth. Most mystical or inner-directed spiritual paths concur with this.

I kapitel 1 i Tao Te Ching, skrev Lao Tzu:

Det tao som kan berättas är inte det eviga Tao
Namnet som kan namnges är inte det eviga namnet.
Det namnlösa är det evigt verkliga.
Namngivning är ursprunget till alla särskilda saker.
Fri från begär inser du mysteriet.
Fångad i begär ser du bara manifestationerna.
Ändå uppstår mystik och manifestationer från samma källa. Denna källa kallas mörker.
Mörker i mörkret. Porten till all förståelse.
Taoismen förespråkar "wu-wei" som betyder att inte göra eller icke-avsiktlig handling. Att vara utan planer, gå med strömmen. Inte överraskande var taoismen en populär filosofi främst hos aristokratin!
Att söka lärande smärtar dag för dag. Att söka Tao förlorar man dag för dag
Att förlora och ändå förlora lite till tills man har nått Wu-Wei
Gör ingenting och ändå finns det inget som inte görs.
För att vinna världen måste man bry sig om ingenting. När man ägnar sig åt det och det kommer man inte att vinna världen.

 

An example of working with the Tao is given in a traditional tale of a Prince Wen Hui and his cook. Prince Wen-Hui was visiting his kitchen one day when he happened to pause and observe his cook slicing through joints of meat. He remarked upon the deft and smooth way his cook worked, the blade hardly seeming to touch the bone as it cut. His cook explained that he simply relaxed, and non-purposefully allowed the knife to do its work. In this way, he became one with his knife, which slid through the spaces between the joints, never touching the bone. He explained that he had used the same knife for many years and it had never needed sharpening. The prince was astounded at his cook's story, and exclaimed that although he was an avowed Taoist, he had truly learned something fundamental about the philosophy from his cook.

Taoists advocated simplicity, living according to the Tao, according to the laws of nature.

The Chinese medical classics speak with reverence of sages of ancient times, who knew how to live according to the Tao, hence they lived very long lives. Whereas nowadays (3rd century BC) people had lost the ability to live in harmony with nature, did not adhere to the principles of moderation, and hence were unhealthy. One wonders what they would say about the 20th century!

Taoism eventually split into two camps: alchemical Taoism, which became a search for immortality via diet, exercise, meditation and magical herbs, and popular Taoism, which developed a church and a whole pantheon of gods, and became heavily involved with popular superstitions and demonic lore, thus losing credibility with the educated class. Earlier Taoist classics, however, continued to be read.

Taoism had a strong influence on medicine: the idea of humans being part of nature and needing to remain in harmony with nature was fundamental. "As above, so below." As an example of this, guidelines were established in the Nei Ching as to how one should conduct oneself in various seasons. In the winter time, one should go to bed early and get up late, and not waste one's energy, for winter is the time of conservation and storage (a time where Yin is strongest). In the summertime one should rise early and go to bed late and "act as if one loved everything outdoors", for Summer is the time of maximum Yang, and people's naturally have more energy to expend.

Let's return to the Warring States period, the time of great social unrest where uncertainty about personal and collective existence, increasing chaos and amorality led to the search for a lasting philosophy that might change things. The time of the "hundred schools". The medicine that developed during this period of intense philosophical activity is the central part of what traditional Chinese medicine is today. It has been referred to as the medicine of systematic correspondences.

Medicine of Systematic Correspondences

The fundamental principles of this medicine arose from divergent influences, including Taoist and Confucian ideas. The Naturalist School was responsible for systematically elaborating the concepts and theories of Yin-Yang, which had been an ancient idea that was now fully developed and recorded.

Huang Ti Nei Ching Su Wen Ling Shu

During the time of the "Hundred Schools", (3rd century BC), the famous classic of TCM, the Huang Ti Nei Ching (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine) was written down in its present form.

It had existed far earlier in one form or another, parts probably being handed down by word of mouth, and is thus a compilation of much earlier material, with added commentaries (commentary writing is very popular with the Chinese). The "Nei Ching" as it is called, is a mixture of ideas and philosophies, some more ancient (i.e. Taoist philosophy) and some from the time it was written (3rd century BC), such as the Yin-Yang, Five elements and theories of the Zang Fu (Organs). It is also likely that more was added to this classic by later dynasties.

The book describes the conversations between the Yellow Emperor (Huang Ti) and his physician (Chi Po), hence it is a historical (actually legendary) account.

Huang Ti is said to have lived 2697-2595 BC, i.e. before writing existed. He was portrayed as a true Renaissance man. He designed a cart based on the big dipper, designed a series of musical notes and instruments to play them on, but his great love was medicine, which is shown in the conversations he has with his physician, during which he asks about everything imaginable.

There are 2 parts to the Nei Jing:

• Su Wen (Essential Questions):
• This forms the core of the book; it deals with the whole realm of medical knowledge, and involves aspects of all the philosophical concepts mentioned earlier.
• Ling Shu (Spiritual Axis):
• This mainly constitutes a supplement to the Su Wen. It expounds the concept of Tao and the cosmological patterns of the universe, then portrays with vivid imagery the character of the two primordial forces, Yin and Yang, and how they interact in nature and in human beings. There is then a description of the bodily organs (as "officials" - showing Confucian influences), and their functions and pathologies. The technique of pulse reading for diagnosis and the various types of pulses are discussed at length. The book describes how to live in harmony with nature, and the results of not doing so (imbalance and disharmony). Therapies are based on restoration of harmony and balance to the body.

Surgery is mentioned, but only as a last resort e.g. to remove tumors.
Acupuncture is mainly mentioned in the Ling Shu. Commentaries were added, both in the 3rd century BC and in later dynasties.
One commentary published in the same period was the NAN JING (Difficult Classic) appeared. This filled out the Nei Jing and answered some difficult questions. Points for acupuncture and moxibustion are discussed, as well as physiological and pathological conditions of the eight Extra Vessels. Many commentaries were added in the Tang dynasty. These are important, and render the work easier to read, the essential part was left intact.