The Treatment of Modern Western - Biblio.nhat-nam.ru

INTRODUCTION 13understands, the easier it is to think in and problem solvewith Chinese medicine.2. Being flexible in one’s application [of that theory] inclinical practiceThere is no unified ground theory of Chinese medicine.Chinese medicine has developed over not less than 2,500years and a large land mass encompassing many differentpeoples. Each theory or statement of fact in Chinese medicinedeveloped in a certain time and place due to particularfactors. While many of these theories fit together to form alarger whole, not all do. In fact, certain theories are mutuallycontradictory. For instance, one theory states that thedefensive qi issues from the lower burner, while another theorysays it issues from the upper burner. Therefore, one mustbe flexible in the use of Chinese medical theories, using theappropriate theory in the appropriate situation and notallowing oneself to be abused by these theories as if they wereanything other than tools. As every mechanic knows, it isimportant to use the right tool for the right situation, and,when not in use, no tool is inherently better than any othertool. Therefore, sometimes it is appropriate to use five phasetheory, while, in other situations, it is more useful to use yinand yang, viscera and bowel, or qi and blood theory.Similarly, sometimes the six divisions or aspects of the ShangHan Lun (Treatise on Damage [Due to] Cold) describe a particularpatient most precisely, while other times it is the fourdivisions of warm disease theory which most accuratelyorganize a patient’s presenting signs and symptoms.3. Unceasingly exploring and refining patterndiscrimination and treatment determinationThis means incessantly refreshing one’s memory of thepathognomonic signs and symptoms, tongue and pulse signsof all the major patterns. It also means understanding thedisease mechanisms which produce each sign or symptom aswell as the most important signs and symptoms which aredependable markers in real-life patients. For instance, whileall Chinese textbooks list poor appetite as a symptom ofspleen vacuity, when spleen vacuity is complicated by stomachheat, the appetite is either not poor or may actually beexcessive. Further, one should pickle oneself in the treatmentprinciples for the various patterns at the same time as continuallysearching for the most effective formulas and medicinalsfor the main patterns that modern Western patientspresent.4. Looking for the essence of the patternIn Chinese medicine, it is said, “[When] treating disease,first seek [its] root.” In most Western patients with chronicdiseases, the root is a liver-spleen disharmony which is thencomplicated by any number of other disease mechanisms.For instance, if damp heat is due to spleen vacuity engenderingdampness and liver depression transforming heat, simplyclearing heat and eliminating dampness will not achieve thedesired results and may actually aggravate the situation.5. Developing a high level of excellence in theprescription of Chinese medicinal formulas 14Developing a high degree of excellence in the prescription ofChinese medicinal formulas begins with thoroughly understandingthe Chinese materia medica. The basic repertoireof 270-350 Chinese medicinals is the ABCs of this art. Onecannot create words or sentences if one does not have a firmgrasp of the alphabet. Likewise, one cannot create and modifyformulas if one does not have a firm grasp of the natures,flavors, channel entries, functions, indications, combinations,dosages, and contraindications of the basic Chinesemateria medica. Armed with such a basic understanding,one can then proceed to memorizing a core repertoire of 70-100 Chinese medicinal formulas, including each formula’singredients, their standard dosages or proportions, theirroles in the formula, the formula’s functions and indications,its best known modifications, and its contraindications.This core repertoire of formulas provides the modelsupon which an infinite number of variations and new formulascan be created to meet the exigencies of each individualpatient.Unfortunately, there are simply no shortcuts to learning allthe above information to the degree necessary to make itreally work as a well-honed system. This is why great Chinesedoctors are referred to as lao yi sheng, “old doctors.” However,in terms of Wan’s first key, there are some theories withinChinese medicine that are particularly helpful in explainingwhy certain patterns group together and how one patternevolves into other patterns. If one understands these importanttheories, it is our experience both as teachers and cliniciansthat they can take years off one’s process of maturationin Chinese medicine. As it so happens, a number of thesetheories stem from the Jin-Yuan dynasties and the four greatmasters of that time.LIU WAN-SU’S THEORY OF SIMILARTRANSFORMATIONLiu Wan-su, a.k.a. Liu He-jian, was, chronologically speaking,the first of the four great masters of medicine of the Jin-Yuan dynasties. Liu is remembered today as the founder ofthe School of Cold & Cool (Medicine). Liu Wan-su’s theoryof similar transformation says that the righteous or ruling qiof the living human organism is yang and, therefore, warmin nature. Hence, any guest qi, whether externally invadingor internally engendered, will tend to transform into a warm