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

INTRODUCTION 19The lifegate is the root of nature and destiny [orlife], the sea of essence and blood, the source ofengenderment and transformation, and the motherof the spleen and stomach.The lifegate is the root of the original qi. Withoutit, the yin qi of the five viscera is not able to enrich.Without it, the yang qi of the five viscera is not ableto emit.The lifegate governs the 12 channels. If the kidneysare without it, there is no making strong and skillcannot exit. If the bladder is without it, the qi ofthe three burners cannot be transformed and thewater passageways cannot move. If the spleen andstomach are without it, they are not able to rottenand ripen water and grains and the five flavors cannotexit. If the liver and gallbladder are without it,the general has no decisiveness and decision-makingcannot exit. If the large and small intestines arewithout it, change and transformation do not moveand the two excretions are blocked. If the heart iswithout it, the spirit brilliance is clouded and it isnot able to react to the tens of thousands of affairs.The heart receives the lifegate and the spirit brillianceis primary. It is the first to respond to things. Theliver receives the lifegate and engenders strategemsand considerations. The gallbladder receives the lifegateand [there is] decision-making. The stomachreceives the lifegate and is capable of reception andassimilation. The spleen receives the lifegate and iscapable of movement and transformation. The lungsreceive the lifegate and govern the regulation [of qi ofthe entire body]. The large intestine receives the lifegateand transforms and guides. The small intestinereceives the lifegate and disseminates and transforms.The kidneys receive the lifegate and [there is] vigor.The triple burner receives the lifegate and establishesthe sluiceways. The bladder attains the lifegate andreceives and stores [the urine].As these various sayings imply, it is the lifegate fire thatwarms and steams all the viscera and bowels, channels andnetwork vessels, and tissues of the body, including thesinews and bones, muscles and flesh, skin and hair.Therefore, the lifegate is the root of all warm transformationsin the body. However, certain viscera and bowels havea closer relationship to the lifegate than others. In particular,the influence and activities of the lifegate fire are mostclearly seen in the workings of the heart-pericardium, livergallbladder,spleen-stomach, kidneys-bladder, and tripleburner. When the lifegate fire promotes the yang functionof these viscera and bowels in a normal, healthy way, it isalso referred to as lesser fire. If this lesser fire becomes excessivelyeffulgent and flames upward, it becomes vigorous fire,a species of evil qi.In terms of the clinical implications of the above theory,since the yang qi of these viscera and bowels are all connectedvia the lifegate, flaming and hyperactivity of lifegatefire may cause flaming and hyperactivity of the yang qi ofany of these viscera and bowels. Vice versa, flaming of heator hyperactivity of yang in any of these viscera and bowelsmay lead to flaming and hyperactivity of the lifegate or ministerialfire. In Chinese medicine, this ability of heat orhyperactivity in one part of the body to cause flaming ofheat or hyperactivity of yang in another part of the body iscalled “mutual engenderment,” and the viscus with the closest(pathological) relationship to lifegate fire is the liver. Thefollowing two sayings underscore the especially close relationshipbetween lifegate fire/ministerial fire and the liver(gallbladder): “[If] the five minds become excessivelyexhausted, ministerial fire may rise up internally within theliver and gallbladder,” and, “Ascending and upbearing of theqi may join with liver-gallbladder ministerial fire.” Thus thistheory helps explain why liver depressive heat, fire, andascendant hyperactivity of yang may cause heat and hyperactivityin the heart, stomach, and/or kidneys, while heat inthe heart, stomach, and/or kidneys may cause or aggravateheat or hyperactivity in the liver.QING DYNASTY GU WORM THEORYHeiner Fruehauf, Dean of Chinese Medical Studies at theNorthwest College of Naturopathy in Portland, OR, hasrecently published some interesting research on gu wormtheory and therapy. 20 The concept of gu worms and gu poisoningis a very ancient one within Chinese medicine, stemmingfrom shamanistic beginnings. However, over the centuries,this concept has evolved from a shamanistic one to amore mainstream Chinese medical one. In particular, thisCHARACTERISTICS OF GU CHONG ORGU WORM DISEASES1. Gu toxins spread throughout the body like oil mixingwith flour.2. Gu worms cause polysystemic pathologies withmultiple symptoms.3. Gu evils primarily enter the body through food.4. Gu evils severely harm the body’s source qi (meaningthe spleen or spleen and kidney qi).5. Chong worms include intestinal parasites and invisibleorganisms which cause skin diseases.6.Candida albicans is classified as a type of chong orworms in modern Chinese medicine.