{"id":9620,"date":"2013-10-16T08:36:11","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T12:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=9620"},"modified":"2013-11-11T16:01:20","modified_gmt":"2013-11-11T21:01:20","slug":"concept-of-harmony-related-to-daoist-yangsheng-and-western-medical-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=9620","title":{"rendered":"Concept of Harmony and Daoist Yangsheng vs. Western Medical Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Concept of Harmony related to Daoist Yangsheng\u00a0<\/b>and Western Medical Thought<\/b><\/h2>\n

By Matthew Banks<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Modern Western understandings of health and disease are seen as grounded in science, indeed the 20th<\/sup> century has sometimes been referred to as \u201cthe Pharmaceutical Age.\u201d\u00a0 In the 21st<\/sup> century this has led to disease being treated solely on its symptoms, not its causes.\u00a0 In turn, the idea of what is considered healthy is often based on image.\u00a0 Judged solely on modern ideas then, Western understandings of health and disease are almost completely disconnected to the concept of harmony.<\/p>\n

\"dreamstime_xl_9778163\"<\/a>However, if we look back at Western understandings before great advances in medicine, the predominant medical theory closely related to the concept of harmony.\u00a0 Humoral theory had its foundations in the idea that body and mind were closely linked and that certain foods could impact both.<\/p>\n

Daoist Yangsheng theory\u2019s understandings of health and disease are clearly connected to the concept of harmony.\u00a0 It is based upon linking body, mind and spirit together, whilst also linking these aspects to nature, society and longevity.<\/p>\n

Humoral theory stems from the ideas of Hippocrates, one of the founders of Western medicine.\u00a0 Wooten says, \u201cIn Western society, we turn above all to the medical profession for help, and the doctors who treat us belong to a profession that dates back to Hippocrates, the ancient Greek who, some 2500 years ago, founded a tradition of medical education that continues uninterrupted to the present day.\u201d\u00a0 It was a theory that \u201cdominated medical thinking until the 18th<\/sup> century.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theory consisted of four humours, also known as temperaments, \u201cblood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm.\u201d Balancing these was given great importance.\u00a0 Bynum says they \u201cconstituted a considerable framework for understanding health and disease, and much else besides.\u201d\u00a0 An inappropriate balance supposedly caused disease and affect health.<\/p>\n

\"fourhumors\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This theory based itself upon many forms of harmony.\u00a0 Arikha says when this theory was practiced, \u201cDoctors continued to work on the assumption that the body and mind were intimately connected\u201d and that \u201can excess of black bile produced the melancholic.\u201d\u00a0 This is harmony between the body and the mind.\u00a0 It was shown to believe in harmony with nature and the environment; every humour had its own element, whilst \u201cHeat and cold, dryness and moistness\u2026determined the effects of each humour on mood, thought and health.\u201d\u00a0 There are links between nutrition and health and disease: \u201cEach food and season having its own dominant humour,\u201d which could be influenced by time of consumption, \u201ca recommended regime might be to avoid meat and lettuce, and to eat partridge but not duck, in the Spring!\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite these links between towards health and disease in Humoral theory and the concept of harmony, the theory lacked harmony in some areas.<\/p>\n

Three areas traditional Western understandings of health and disease have not related to harmony are spirit, society, and immortality.\u00a0 Nordenfelt says of that time; \u201clife on earth was not the important life. This life was only a preparation for the eternal life together with God. Thus, health in this life could not have the utmost value. It was much more important to successfully prepare oneself for the eternal life and thus live in accordance with the duties indicated in the holy literature, in particular the Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here the spirit is seen as a separate entity to be prepared for eternal life and not linked to Humoral theory.\u00a0 There was no harmony with traditional society, because living for holy literature took precedence.\u00a0 A lack of harmonization with immortality is also noticeable, because living in accordance with holy literature brought eternal life.\u00a0 Harmonising these areas with health and disease was unimportant.<\/p>\n

Nordenfelt believes philosophers like Plato impacted feeling towards health and disease, limiting impact upon society, and quotes Plato as saying: \u201cWe should not concentrate our interest and ambition on our own health and on questions on health and disease.\u00a0 When people concentrate on their own health and want to consult a doctor at all times, this is a sign of unsound conditions in the state.\u201d\u00a0 Plato, whose books Dr Jay Kennedy of Manchester University says \u201cplayed a major role in founding Western culture,\u201d believed concentrating on one\u2019s own health, and being active in pursuing good health, showed a lack of harmony within the state.\u00a0 He also believed disease doesn\u2019t demand focus, saying: \u201cAttention to health is life’s greatest hindrance.\u201d\u00a0 From these statements its clear Plato preached an ambivalent attitude toward health and disease, going so far as to say that attention to health was a symptom of disharmony.\u00a0 Thus Humoral theory, as well as traditional Western understandings of health and disease, didn\u2019t relate to the overall population; it was disconnected from the general consciousness of society.<\/p>\n

Modern Western understandings of health and disease are rooted in science and are increasingly superficial.\u00a0 This comes in two parts; firstly, people\u2019s ideal of what is healthy is now intrinsically linked to image, and that achieving good health can be predominantly achieved through scientific means, i.e. dietary supplements and surgical procedures, rather than a balanced life.\u00a0 Secondly, disease can be solved through pharmaceuticals, and the causes of disease are given secondary importance.<\/p>\n

\"dreamstime_xl_2480653\"<\/a>In modern Western culture it is seen as healthy for men to be physically strong.\u00a0 This has led to a rise in the number of men who take dietary supplements to help increase muscle mass.\u00a0 Many people take supplements without knowing precise benefits, or whether they are actually needed.\u00a0 Fr\u00e9chette says, on protein supplements; “No less than 81 per cent of athletes taking supplements already had sufficient protein from their diet.”\u00a0 Similarly, exercise is often merely a means to achieve the desired image.\u00a0 There is limited harmony with what the body actually needs and wants, which is also a lack of harmony with nature and with one\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n

A lack of harmony is also presented through analysis of obesity and its treatment.\u00a0 BBC News Health reported: \u201cThe number of people admitted to hospital in England for obesity-related reasons rose by more than 30% last year\u201d (2010).\u00a0 It also reported that \u201cThe number of weight-loss hospital procedures (bariatric operations) carried out in England rose by 70%, from just over 4,200 in 2008\/09 to just over 7,200 in 2009\/10.\u201d\u00a0 This reinforces the view that in the modern day West causes of disease are often ignored.\u00a0 Harmonization with the body and health is limited.\u00a0 Such a large reliance on medical science over natural and preventative methods indicates discord between one\u2019s own body and nature.<\/p>\n

Reliance on medical sciences over pre-emptive and balanced approaches, such as Humoral theory and Daoist Yangsheng is also present in therapeutic drug use.\u00a0 Visiongain\u2019s 2010 report tells us \u201cIn 2009, the global over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical market generated revenues of more than $60bn,\u201d whilst \u201cAccording to estimates from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, retail sales of OTC medicines in the US in 2010 were worth $17 billion, unchanged from the preceding year, and showing an increase over more than $3 billion over a ten-year period.\u201d\u00a0 Western understandings of health and disease are based on a culture of science in which the symptoms are treated and causes ignored.<\/p>\n

Daoist Yangsheng understandings are highly related to the concept of harmony in many different areas.\u00a0 Like Humoral theory, it shows harmony with nature, and of body and mind.\u00a0 Unlike Humoral theory, it also harmonises body and mind with spirit.\u00a0 It also harmonises with longevity and with society.\u00a0 Daoist Yangsheng promotes cultivation of the body; looking for harmony to stop the onset of disease, rather than just reacting.<\/p>\n

One of the main differences between Daoist Yangsheng theory and traditional Western understandings is their relationship to longevity.\u00a0 In traditional Western understandings, we saw that staying healthy to achieve longevity was not considered and there was no link between the two.\u00a0 In Daoist Yangsheng understandings, we can achieve longevity in this life through the proper cultivation of the body, mind and spirit. In the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, Qi Bo tells Emperor Huang Di that \u201cThe immortals kept their mental energies focused and refined, and harmonized their bodies with the environment.\u201d\u00a0 So whilst Humoral theory links the body to the environment in a way designed to keep the body free of disease, Daoist Yangsheng links the body, mind and spirit to nature, and this culminates by leading people towards longevity.\u00a0 Kohn agrees: \u201cThat is, one can make themselves that basis, the root, the foundation of the cultivation process, anchor oneself in physicality and transform the very nature of physical existence as part of the divine undertaking.\u00a0 This is the route the Daoist tradition has chosen.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Daoist Yangsheng understandings of health and disease relate to the concept of harmony throughout the body, and link it to longevity or eternal life.\u00a0 The body is a key element in achieving this goal.<\/p>\n

Daoist Yangsheng understandings present links between health and disease and harmony of the body, mind and the spirit through approaches to exercise and nutrition.\u00a0 The key to the Daoist Yangsheng concept of exercise and nutrition is Qi, <\/i>the Daoist Yangsheng idea of life force.<\/p>\n

Ability to \u201ccirculate Qi well through mind-body exercise, you will be able to achieve harmony in body-mind-spirit, and reach balance in your internal qi system, which will automatically adjust your diet or nutritional habits (the body knows what is good or bad for it), and offer you the capability to fast naturally (energetic fast is important part of Daoist and Buddhist practice).\u201d\u00a0 This harmonizes nutrition with exercise, whilst bringing both together in harmony with mind, body and spirit.\u00a0 The Yellow Emperor\u2019s classic says exercise is important, as is emotion or mood, \u201cOne should refrain from anger, and stay physically active, to prevent the pores from closing and the qi from stagnating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daoist Yangsheng differs from modern Western understandings of health and disease by preaching the importance of disease prevention over medicinal treatment of symptoms.\u00a0 The Inner Teachings of Taoism show this, \u201cMedicine here is a metaphor, but students in later generations took the alchemical classics literally and thought the medicines were material substances; they gathered herbs in the mountains and compounded them into potions, vainly hoping for long life. Some gathered minerals and cooked them into elixirs, which they ingested, imagining they would thereby become able to fly aloft. What they did not realize was that material medicines can only cure physical ailments. Immaterial sickness can only be cured by gathering the primordial, true, unified, energy.\u201d\u00a0 Yangsheng requires harmony of energy, and believes this is the true way to be healthy, not medicine and pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n

Daoist Yangsheng harmonizes with society generally.\u00a0 \u201cYang Sheng science is a required course for all foreign students who study Chinese medicine in China, but it is just an optional course for Chinese students who grew up in China,\u201d \u201cThis policy may reflect the fact that knowledge of Yang Sheng has been taught through the Chinese socialization process in daily life; young Chinese learn about Yang Sheng through osmosis.\u201d\u00a0 This appears to show Daoist Yangsheng has become part of everyday culture for Chinese people.<\/p>\n

Overall, Daoist Yangsheng understandings of health and disease are highly related to the concept of harmony.\u00a0 It preaches harmony of the mind, body and spirit, whilst also harmonizing with nature.\u00a0 Exercise and nutrition are linked to mind and body, whilst spirit is intrinsically linked to longevity and nature.\u00a0 Daoist Yangsheng understandings harmonize with society; it has been accepted into the consciousness of China.<\/p>\n

In comparison, we have seen that modern Western understandings of health and disease are unrelated to harmony.\u00a0 It is based around science and superficial goals.\u00a0 It\u2019s concerned with how disease can be cured, not how it can be prevented. It links the body to nutrition and exercise, but is often used to achieve superficial ends, rather than to bring the body into harmony with other areas of life.<\/p>\n

Whilst Western understandings of health and disease in the past have related to the concept of harmony quite closely, this has dissipated over time, partly due to lack of harmony with key areas of life.\u00a0 Conversely, Daoist Yangsheng understandings show a deep and broad relationship with the concept of harmony.\u00a0 It encompasses all areas of life and can be seen as a useful tool for people in the modern Western world to embrace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Pharmaceutical Era’s Most Lasting Impact<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n