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TCM

TOWARDS A SPIRIT AT PEACE

Going with the Flow of NatureIn order to better understand the Chinese therapeutic approach to disorders of the shen, we have to first examine in greater detail the Chinese concept of healthy spirit. This concern falls into the realm of philosophy and religion, because it involves the correct ordering of one’s thoughts, desires, goals, and methods. Who is to determine what is correct? The answer is in the messages attributed to god or to sages. In this chapter the Taoist (pinyin: Daoist) approach to spiri-tual health is the focal point, but it is necessary also to mention Bud-dhism, which (in China only) is closely related, and also to briefly mention Confucianism; these al-so have had an influence on tra-ditional Chinese medicine. Most patients visiting Western practitio-ners of Chinese medicine are not familiar with these Asian religions, at least, not in detail. The medi-cal doctor, acupuncturist, or oth-er practitioner trained in the West is rarely in a position to relay the basic concepts of Asian spiritual-ity except to the extent that they might be integrated into his or her therapeutic style (choices of ques-tions to ask the patient; ways of answering patient questions; med-ical interventions and life style changes to recommend). Rather, most patients (and physicians) will

have come from a Judeo-Christian background or a non-religious sec-ular humanist background, which was derived from it. Many of the Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian ideas, particularly those about rec-ommendations for living properly in society, are consistent with the Western ideas, though the points of emphasis differ.

To help draw attention to the fact that these philosophical-religious concepts influence Chinese med-ical therapeutics, we can consider the name given to a popular herb formula that is used for, among other things, mental distress, de-pression, and anxiety: Xiao Yao San. The title given to the herb prescription makes reference to the unfettered wandering of the Tao-ists who prided themselves in be-ing in tune with the movements of nature, living in harmony with the seasons, and in balance with the qi of the earth. The correspond-ing acupuncture point is taichong (LV-3), which is widely used to-day for depression, frustration, pent-up feelings, irritability, and mood swings; to match the herbal formula Xiao Yao San, that point would be combined with sanyin-jiao (SP-6) to strengthen the cen-ter while freeing up the circulation of qi. There will be more about the herbs and acupuncture points in later chapters. First, it is necessary to consider the underlying con-cepts.

Taoist Wandering: A Mind that Is FreeThe fundamentals of Taoism are described in the book Tao Te Ch-ing (pinyin: Dao De Jing), at-tributed to the legendary Lao-tzu (pinyin: Laozi). It is the most widely translated book from Asia. To study this work involves con-siderable time and effort; the fol-lowing discourse is aimed at help-ing the reader understand some of the main points that are relevant to the issues of spiritual health.

In chapter 8 of the 81-chapter work (a chapter being only a few sentences long), the Tao is likened to water. The translations vary among the popular English lan-guage versions (1-4), but a render-ing that captures the essence of all of them is this one (5):

PART 2

A Mind that is Free

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Understanding the treatment of shen disorders with chinese medicine

The highest good is like water; wa-ter is good at benefiting the ten thousand things and yet it has tranquility [does not compete with them]. It dwells in places the mass-es of people detest, therefore it is close to the Way [Tao].

There are three key elements of this saying about water as a de-piction of the Tao: water is posi-tive (good, beneficial); it can flow without striving or competing, re-maining tranquil; and it enters places that people would usually avoid. The way water flows around obstacles, as observed when watch-ing a mountain stream, has been taken by many readers of this an-cient book as an emblem of the proper way the mind should deal with the difficulties it encounters. Joining the flow of Tao, where ev-er it may go, leads one to unusu-al places, but places meant to be visited by those who have devoted themselves to the Tao. People de-test the places not because they are bad but because they are not fa-miliar; they are held back by fear of the unknown, not trusting in the Tao. Fear is the emotion that ultimately causes the most difficul-ties. Going into nature and observ-ing the flow of streams is, in itself, one of the natural remedies for a troubled mind. Learning to move gracefully around obstacles is one of the aims of practicing Tai Qi Chuan (pinyin: Tai Ji Quan).

The philosophy of Taoism was elu-cidated further by Chuang-tzu (pinyin: Zhuangzi), who is be-lieved to have lived around 365-290 B.C. (Taoism is sometimes referred to as the Lao-Chuang phi-losophy). While Lao-tzu focused a large part of his description on the way in which rulers should prop-erly rule their people, Chuang-tzu

gave a more personalized account of Taoism suited to the individu-al. A record of Chuang-tzu’s teach-ings, simply called the Chuang-tzu, was recorded around 310 A.D. by Guo Xiang in a form sim-ilar to that which exists now. By that time, Taoism had become a major force in Chinese society. It had influenced Chinese herb-alists, many of whom were Tao-ist alchemists seeking immortality. They used a variety of means to at-tain their goal, including medita-tion, special exercises that were lat-er to become the familiar chi-kung (pinyin: qigong), and ingestion of various alchemical substances, some of which became important in herbal remedies (and, unfortu-nately, often included poisonous components).

The first chapter of the book of Chuang-tzu’s teachings (6) is ti-tled Xiao Yao; this has been trans-lated as “Wandering Boundless and Free.” Xiao has the meaning of free and unrestrained; yao has the meaning of distant; thus, the term implies going a long distance without restraint. The chapter is comprised of short sayings or sto-ries (in English translation, each is about 50-100 words) that encour-age the reader to be free of rig-id concepts. These sayings, steeped in Chinese mythology and cul-ture, are often difficult for West-erners to interpret; one that is rel-

atively easy to understand is about Lieh-tzu (pinyin: Liezi), a third au-thor associated with books of Tao-ist sayings:

Lieh-tzu rode the wind and set out, boundless and clear, returning after only 15 days. To be so blessed is rare-and, yet, however free that wind made him, he still depended on something. But, if you mount the source of heaven and earth and the ten thousand changes, if you ride the six seasons of qi in their endless dispute-then you travel the inexhaustible, depending on noth-ing at all. Hence the saying: ‘The realized remain selfless; the sacred remain meritless; the enlightened remain nameless.’

The key is to depend on nothing at all, that is, to be free of all rigid concepts, attachments to materi-al goods, positions of recognition, and all obstructions to movement through life, to have one’s mind and body move according to the Tao, often translated as the “Way.” The realized Taoist becomes self-less (helpful to others but not con-cerned about receiving rewards and praise, hence meritless and nameless). In this description, it is said that to set out boundless and clear (free) is a rare and blessed thing. This roaming is not refer-ring to actually traveling about the countryside (which is an exter-nal practice that mimics what hap-pens inside); it refers to what goes on within the mind, either dur-ing meditation or in daily life. This story by Chuang-tzu reflects the words found in Chapter 25 of the Tao Te Ching, where the Tao is de-picted this way (3):

I do not know its name, call it Tao. For lack of a better word, I call it great. Being great, it flows. It flows far away. Having gone far, Lao-tzu

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TCMit returns....Man follows the earth; earth follows heaven; heaven fol-lows the Tao; the Tao follows what is natural.

As in the Chuang-tzu story, there is movement going away and com-ing back, and it is a long distance (in the story, 15 days in roundtrip being a short journey); the ulti-mate leader in the journay is that which is natural. Another telling passage in Chuang-tzu’s chapter ti-tled Xiao Yao is this small debate between Chuang-tzu and Hui-tzu (pinyin: Huizi). Hui-tzu was a contemporary of Chuang-tzu who held a contrary and competing philosophical view based on ratio-nalism:

‘I have a big tree,’ said Hui-tzu to Chuang-tzu. ‘Its huge trunk is so gnarled and knotted that no mea-suring string can gauge it, and its branches are so bent and twist-ed they defy compass and square. It stands right beside the road, and still carpenters never notice it. These words of yours [referring to the stories of Chuang-tzu re-corded in this chapter], so vast and useless, everyone ignores them the same way.’

Chuang-tzu replied [after giv-ing examples of his point]: ‘Now,

you’ve got this huge tree, and you agonize over how useless it is. Why not plant it in a village where there’s nothing at all, in a land where emptiness stretches away forever? Then you could be no one drifting lazily beside it, roam boundless and free as you doze in its shade. It won’t die young from the axe. Nothing will harm it. If you have no use, you have no grief.

The tree that is logically useful (its wood is desirable) will be cut down; the tree that is logically use-less (its wood too gnarled to be of value) is spared. So, which is bet-ter? To be useful or useless? And who is to decide whether some-thing is useful: the gnarled tree serves just fine for shade and is not in danger of being cut down for its wood. In Chapter 22 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu says (3):

Wise men embrace the one, and set an example to all. Not putting on a display, they shine forth; not justifying themselves, they are dis-tinguished. Not boasting, they re-ceive recognition, not bragging, they never falter. They do not quarrel, so no one quarrels with them.

The tree, in the story above, may be huge, but carpenters never no-tice it. The Taoist is likewise un-noticed because he does not try to call attention to himself; not call-ing attention to himself, no one quarrels with him. But, this does not mean that he is without value. Like the Tao, he is “great,” like the tree, he can provide welcome re-lief (shade) and a break from des-olation (absence of wisdom and virtue). He is not so useless af-ter all. How many people fret over not being as “great” as another or

as they dream to be, feeling de-pressed about it, yet can do things that are truly important for anoth-er person, and so they are doing their part?

Zhi Dun (314-366 A.D.) intro-duced Buddhism, a philosophy based on the avoidance of rigid, limiting concepts, to Taoist Chi-na. In his commentary about the book of Chuang-tzu, one passage survives to the present; it is about Xiao Yao (7):

Free and easy wandering re-fers to the mind of the perfect-ed. When Chuang-tzu talks about the Great Tao, he uses the analo-gy of the Peng bird and the quail. Because the Peng’s life is with-out obstruction, the bird is free from all limitation in the realm be-yond the body. The quail, on the other hand, because it lives in the near and scorns the far, it is lim-ited and obstructed in its mind. The perfected one rides the truth of heaven, soars aloft, and wanders boundlessly in unfettered freedom. He treats beings as beings-with-out being treated as a mere being himself. He is not self-satisfied in his wandering. Mystically one with the universe, he does not act pur-posefully. He is not hurried, yet moves swiftly. He goes everywhere

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Chuang-tzu

in his freedom. He is truly a free and easy wanderer.

In the book Road To Heaven: En-counters with Chinese Hermits (8), Bill Porter relays this poem by Wang Wei (699-761 A.D.; see in-side cover), a Taoist who lived in Chungnan:

In my prime, I loved the Way;a Chungnan cottage in old age.When I want to roam alone,wonders are wasted all on me.Hiking to the river’s source,sitting, watching clouds arise.Sometimes with an old recluse,talking, laughing, free from time.

The “Way” or Tao is freedom from worries about time (meaning wor-ries about accomplishments that will be recognized by others), with a life that appears leisurely, like that of a butterfly fluttering here and there. However, to attain the state of true freedom, each indi-vidual must cultivate the proper attitude: to overcome the tenden-cies of striving for reward and re-sisting obstacles that seem to stand in the way. In the Tao Te Ching (chapter 48) it is said: “The world is ruled by letting things take their course, it cannot be ruled by inter-

fering.” Letting things take their course is often described as “be-ing in harmony with nature.” Har-mony with nature requires yield-ing, but it results in great things. If this were the totality of the teach-ing, the Taoist would seem rather irresponsible. However, this is one part of the teaching; the other part provides for a certain grounding.

The study of this first aspect of Taoism is supposed to help one overcome the ingrained person-al approach of clashing with-rath-er than flowing around-a difficulty that is encountered, typically a dif-ficulty that is placed by one’s own mind. The lack of freedom of the mind influences the person’s flow of qi and blood, causing it to flow erratically and bind up; the bodi-ly condition, in return, contrib-utes to stagnant or erratic men-tal function, with the potential for continued worsening of the total condition. In the Chinese mod-el of health and disease, the free flow of qi and blood is the require-ment for health and the obstruct-ed flow of qi and blood is a cause of disease (there are other causes, such as deficiencies and excess-es). The obstruction of circulation corresponds to both a physical stagnation (repression of natu-ral movement) and the psycho-logical condition we call depres-sion, the sense of inability to move and change to overcome obsta-cles. The great herbal teacher Zhu Danxi said (10): “So long as the qi and blood enjoy harmonious flow, none of the hundreds of diseases can arise. Once they are depressed and suppressed, various diseases are produced.”

Basics of Taoist Action: Doing while not DoingAnother aspect of the Taoist teach-ing, ultimately related to the free-dom described above, but having a different starting point, may prove more practical: it answers a ques-tion about how humans live to-gether, not just with nature, but with each other. Further, in ad-dressing this issue, Taoism teach-es how to manage one’s own men-tal proclivities.

The underlying principle regard-ing actions presented in the Tao Te Ching is that one should take care of things that are in need of do-ing, and then move on to the next thing that needs to be done, with-out any attachment to the accom-plishment of the first or the po-tential outcome of the next. By avoiding any “attachment to the accomplishment” it is meant that one should not dwell upon such things as taking credit for it, accu-mulating rewards (including ma-terial things and power), or spend-ing time with retelling it in order to get recognition.

Along these lines also, with regard to one’s work, do not bother doing things other than what needs to be done. For example, one should not spend time at efforts that are aimed specifically at collecting wealth, accumulating power, or gaining praise, or even bothering others by taking up their time with unnecessary things. Moving from one moment to the next, taking care of what is necessary, and not straying from that, is the Way. So long as one follows this teaching, things will progress smoothly; but as one deviates from this pattern, obstacles and heartaches arise. Be-cause one does not dwell upon ac-

Wang Wei

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TCMcomplishments nor make efforts to gain things, it is said that “noth-ing is done.” It should be under-stood, however, that this does not mean simply sitting lazily, avoid-ing doing anything or skirting ob-vious responsibilities; something is done, just not specially recog-nized as such. Also, in the absence of striving after wealth, power, or praise, one may come by it natu-rally, which brings its own require-ments for action; these outcomes aren’t necessarily bad, just not suit-able as a goal in themselves.

These spiritual messages may be particularly relevant to the ordi-nary conditions that affect peo-ple today. The Taoist belief is that one will suffer from not following this teaching; since this is about a way of being, not just a response to any individual event or under-taking, a person who fails to fol-low the Tao may continually be-have in a way that causes distress; a potential source of a serious men-tal disorder.Here are some sample quotations about the proper way of living (3).

“Creating, yet not possessing. Working, yet not taking credit.Work is done, then forgotten. The-refore, it lasts forever.” (chapter 2).

“If nothing is done, then all will be well.” (chapter 3)

“The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead. He is detached, thus at one with all. Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.” (chapter 7)

“Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it. Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow. Retire when the work is done. This is the way of heaven.” [“Retire when the work is done” here means that one should not try to make anything further of the

accomplishment.] (chapter 9)

“Giving birth and nourishing, bearing yet not possessing, work-ing yet not taking credit, leading yet not dominating, this is the pri-mal virtue.” (chapter 10)

“Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for things. Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.” (chapter 13)

“Who can remain still until the moment of action? Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment, not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.” [“Remain still” here means that one is not constantly pursuing self-ish fulfillment between the actions that are essential.] (chapter 15)

“Wise men embrace the one and set an example to all. Not putting on a display, they shine forth; not justifying themselves, they are dis-tinguished; not boasting, they re-ceive recognition; not bragging, they never falter.” (chapter 22)

“He who stands on tiptoe is not steady; he who strides cannot maintain the pace; he who makes a show is not enlightened; he who is self-righteous is not respected;he who boasts achieves nothing; he who brags will not endure. Ac-cording to followers of the Tao, ‘these are extra food and unneces-sary luggage.’ They do not bring happiness, therefore followers of the Tao avoid them.” (chapter 24)

“Achieve results, but never glory in them. Achieve results, but nev-er boast. Achieve results, but never be proud. Achieve results, because this is the natural way.” (chapt 30)

“A truly good man does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone. A fool-ish man is always doing yet much

remains to be done.” [“Always do-ing” here means that he is wasting time doing unnecessary things.] (chapter 38)

“The sage works without recogni-tion. He achieves what has to be done without dwelling on it. He does not try to show his knowl-edge.” (chapter 77)

The Things to Be Done and the Way to Do ThemThe above teachings tell about one’s attitude in work. What is the nature of the actions, the things to be taken care of? How is one to know what is needed and what ought not to be done? What is one to be like in day-to-day affairs? As the following quotes display, one can know what to do by focusing attention on such virtuous things as gentleness, kindness, truth-fulness, competence, alertness, simplicity, yielding (rather than obstructing), constancy, open-heartedness, caring, perseverance, willingness to take on difficult tasks, mercy, economy, generosi-ty, humility, gentleness, medita-tion, etc., and avoids such things as extremes, excesses, complacen-cy, abandoning those in need, try-ing to do too much at once rath-

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er than take the small steps that are necessary, ignoring what is known, having desires for unnec-essary things, and rigidity in ideas, as well as avoiding those concerns described earlier, such as boasting, accumulating wealth and power, and seeking rewards.

Here are some sample quotations (3). One of the great teachings is the last one listed here, from chap-ter 81, about giving of oneself for others.

“In dwelling, be close to the land, in meditation, go deep in the heart, in dealing with others, be gentle and kind, in speech, be true, in ruling, be just, in business, be competent, in action, watch the timing.” (chapter 8)

“Alert, like men aware of dan-ger, courteous, like visiting guests, yielding, like ice about to melt, simple, like uncarved blocks of wood....” (chapter 9)

“Knowing constancy is insight, not knowing constancy leads to disaster. Knowing constancy, the mind is open; with an open mind, you will be openhearted. Being

openhearted, you will act royally. Being royal, you will attain the di-vine. Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao.” (chapter 16)

“The sage takes care of all men and abandons no one. He takes care of all things and abandons nothing.” (chapter 27)

“The sage avoids extremes, ex-cesses, and complacency.” (chap-ter 29)

“Perseverance is a sign of will power. He who stays where he is endures.” (chapter 33)

“The truly great man dwells on what is real and not what is on the surface.” (chapter 38)

“There is no greater sin than de-sire, no greater curse than dis-content, no greater misfortune than wanting something for one-self. Therefore, he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” (chapter 46)

“All things arise from Tao. By vir-tue they are nourished, developed, cared for, sheltered, comfort-ed, grown, and protected.” (chap-ter 51)

“Keep your mouth shut, guard the senses, and life is ever full. Open your mouth, always be busy, and life is beyond hope.”(chapter 52)

“Cultivate virtue in yourself and virtue will be real; cultivate vir-tue in the family, and virtue will abound; cultivate virtue in the village, and virtue will grow....” (chapter 54)

“Knowing harmony is constancy, knowing constancy is enlighten-ment.” (chapter 55)

“In caring for others and serving heaven, there is nothing like re-straint. Restraint begins with giv-ing up one’s own ideas. This de-pends on virtue gathered in the past. If there is a good store of vir-tue, then nothing is impossible.” (chapter 59)

“Reward bitterness with care. See simplicity in the complicated. Achieve greatness in little things. In the universe the difficult things are done as if they are easy. In the universe, great acts are made up of small deeds. The sage does not at-tempt anything very big, and thus achieves greatness. Easy promises make for little trust. Taking things lightly results in great difficulty. Because the sage always confronts difficulties, he never experiences them.” (chapter 63)

“The sage seeks freedom from de-sire. He does not collect precious things. He learns not to hold on to ideas. He brings men back to what they have lost.” (chapter 64)

“From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity; from humility comes leadership.” (chap-ter 67)

pages of the Tao Te Ching

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TCM“Knowing ignorance [knowing that you are ignorant] is strength; ignoring knowledge is sickness.” (chapter 71)

“A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap; at their death they are withered and dry. Therefore, the stiff and unbending is a disciple of death; the gentle and yielding is a disciple of life.” (chapter 76)

“The sage never tries to store things up; the more he does for others, the more he has; the more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.” (chapter 81)

Many of the recommendations of the Tao Te Ching may seem ob-vious. Yet, even those who have achieved great equanimity know that one can again and again ex-perience failings, and thus, must be reminded and brought back to what has been lost. As it is said in the Tao Te Ching (chapter 78): “Under heaven everyone knows this; yet no one puts it into prac-tice.”

Linking Taoism and BuddhismTaoists, when confronted with a rise in devotion to Buddhism in China, eventually adopted it as part of their own philosophi-cal base. As Taoist Master Yang at the Baxianggong (Eight Immortals Temple, Beijing) said recently (8):

Buddhists and Taoists walk the same path. They just dream differ-ent dreams. Essentially, Buddhism and Taoism are the same. Their sacred texts talk about the same things. It’s just that Taoism em-phasizes life, and Buddhism em-phasizes nature. But people who

truly cultivate, cultivate both. In terms of actual practice, Buddhism is somewhat better than Taoism. Even though Taoists talk about cultivating their mind, they of-ten have a harder time controlling their emotions. They have a harder time suppressing feelings of pride. But to cultivate either of them suc-cessfully is very hard.”

To say that “Buddhism emphasiz-es nature” and that “Buddhism is somewhat better” are remarkable statements from a Taoist. Yet, he has hit upon one potential pitfall: feelings of pride. Because the Tao-ists have invested heavily on devel-oping certain talents (e.g., physical

middle way). This led, ultimately, to full enlightenment that was at-tained during prolonged medita-tion, throughout which he faced the demons of mundane con-sciousness. His enlightenment consists of an egoless state, where calm prevails. The philosophy of Buddhism was presented in the form of discussions between Bud-dha (as the enlightened former prince became known) and his dis-ciples in documents called sutras (teachings, discourses, sermons). The earliest of these are traced back to around the 4th century B.C. Among the most important of ancient texts are the Lotus Su-tra, Heart Sutra, Avatamsaka Su-tra, and Diamond Sutra (the latter considered especially important in bringing Buddhism to China).

Although Buddhist scholars don’t agree, and certainly people of In-dia won’t agree, many Taoists be-lieve that Lao-tzu was, in fact, one and the same man as Buddha, or, at the very least, was the actual originator of Buddhism. There is a story that Lao-tzu traveled west, following the Changnan Moun-tain range, and reached India where his teachings were received as Buddhism. It is also told that Lao-tzu, not as a man, but as a ho-ly immortal, was able to make Yin Xi (recipient of the Tao Te Ching manuscript) appear as the Buddha to the “barbarians” in India, where the teachings were transmitted. In this way, Buddhism is seen in Chi-na as nothing more than a foreign sect of Taoism.The close connection between Tao-ism and Buddhism is still per-ceived by some Taoists. In 1995, Shambhala Publications produced a book called Huahu Ching: The Later Teachings of Lao Tzu (9).

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disciplines, some aimed at lon-gevity), they may forget the basic teaching and take pride in their ac-complishments.

The Tao Te Ching is thought to have originated from teachings given sometime around the 4th century B.C. According to legend, during his travels to the west, Lao-tzu gave the written teachings to Yin Xi, the guardian of the Han-gu Pass, who preserved them. The origins of Buddhism are usual-ly traced to Shakyamuni (Siddhar-ta, Gautama), an Indian prince who renounced his royal inheri-tance and pursued a path of asceti-cism (which nearly killed him) and then found a path of balance (the

The Eight Immortals

This version of the Huahu Chingis nothing other than The Dia-mond Sutra even though there is no mention of that title, followed up with several pages of unique Taoist writings. Hua-ching Ni, its translator, who claims to be part of a 2,000 year old lineage of Tao-ist masters, says that the original text of the Huahu Ching was lost and has been passed on by oral tra-dition, a tradition of which he is a recipient. In the book, the trans-formation of Siddhartha to the Buddha is described thus: “Reject-ing his position as crown prince, he went into the mountains and

cultivated the Tao. He realized the highest Tao and duly was called the Buddha.”Bill Porter, in his talks with moun-tain-dwelling hermits, found plen-ty of Ch’an practitioners (as Chi-nese Buddhists are called) living alongside the Taoists hermits. One of the Taoists he interviewed, Jen Fajung, abbot of Loukuantai, said this (8):

Taoists and Buddhists seek that which doesn’t change. This is why they don’t seek fame or fortune. They seek only the Tao, which is the nothingness of which we are all created and to which we all re-

turn. Our goal is to be one with this natural process.

For several centuries, China grap-pled with the question of wheth-er Taoism or Buddhism should be officially sanctioned: which one was the best? This question also raised the concern of how Confu-cianism, which was deemed clear-ly different than the closely relat-ed pair of Taoism and Buddhism, would fit in. As Livia Kohn relays in her book Early Chinese Mysti-cism (10):

In the fourth century, Chinese li-terati integrated Buddhism in an encompassing “harmony among three teachings.” The chief expo-nent of this integrationist view was Sun Chuo (ca. 310-390 A.D.), who combined Confucian social responsibility, the Lao-Zhuang [Taoist Canon] ideal of contem-plation, and Buddhist enlighten-ment. In the fifth century, the first wave of court debates took place in south China....Following Sun Chuo’s line of reasoning, Zhang Rong contended that both teach-ings [Taoism and Buddhism] were fundamentally identical. Both court factions should therefore have equal say in matters of state. The Buddhist Zhou Yong coun-tered this argument by referring to the association of Taoism with the Great Peace of 184 A.D. [Great Peace refers to a Taoist movement: using predictions based in Taoists texts, the followers staged a rebel-lion that lasted over a decade; this rebellion was the “beginning of the end” of the Han Dynasty, which collapsed in 220 A.D.]. Contrary to this lowly heritage, he claimed Buddhism was lofty and of high quality.

The Medicine Budha

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TCMGu Huan, in his Yixia Lun (On Barbarians and Chinese) of the year 467 A.D., argued that Bud-dhism was quite suitable for bar-barians, while Taoism was the proper teaching for the Chinese. [He argued also that:] Buddhism was concerned with salvation of the spirit, was second hand, did not involve filial piety [a key as-pect of Confucianism], and con-tains complex and abstruse ideas; by contrast Taoism was concerned with longevity of the body, orig-inal, very filial, and straightfor-ward, concrete, and practical....In the sixth century, a second round of debates-now growing increas-ingly polemical-was staged at the Northern Wei court. In 520 A.D., the Taoist Jiang Bin and the Bud-dhist Tan Muzui argued the se-niority of their teachings in the presence of the emperor. They concentrated on the problem of dating. If Laozi went west to con-vert the barbarians and become the Buddha, he must have left China earlier than the recorded birth of Buddha in India [which doesn’t agree with the reported dates]…..the Buddhists emerged victorious from this phase of the debate and thereby gained influ-ence at the court....

The debates went on for centuries more. Taoism and Buddhism have remained intertwined in China ev-er since.

Buddhism has had some influence on herbal use in China. For exam-ple, the development of the pop-ular herb heshouwu (Polygonum multiflorum) is attributed to a Buddhist priest who knew Mr. He, the man who first took the herb and found its miraculous proper-ties. Its pair of intertwined vines were thought by some to represent

the close linkage between Bud-dhism and Taoism. The fruit luo-hanguo was developed into a me-dicinal agent by Buddhist monks. During the Tang Dynasty, Guilin (where this fruit originated) was a major Buddhist retreat area with many temples. The fruit was then named after the Luohan, which are advanced Buddhist practitioners (in India, they are called Arhats; see illustration-end page part 1).

Buddhism is an approach to life that posits the primacy of mind. Its doctrine considers the distur-bance of mind by attraction, re-vulsion, and confusion, to be the primary spiritual disorder which leads one to suffering. Therefore, calming the mind, particularly by meditating, is the most impor-tant means of gaining health of the spirit. Living a moral life is under-stood to be a means of not only helping others, but also preventing situations that disturb the mind. Because Buddhist belief depicts a long cycle of birth, death, and re-birth, it does not emphasize earth-ly immortality, and also places less emphasis on maintaining bodi-ly health than do the Taoists. Bud-dhism puts greater emphasis on calming the emotions and stabi-lizing the body so that prolonged meditation is possible.

ConfucianismConfucianism predated both Tao-ism and Buddhism and is attribut-ed to Kung-fu-tze (pinyin: Kong Fuzi) whose name was Latinized to Confucius. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, so-cial, political, and religious teach-ing aimed at making men worthy of respect. Confucius’ ideal person, the junzi, is not simply the man of virtue, but the man of learning

and of good manners. The perfect man must combine the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman. The key element, though, is his mor-al force.

There is a well-known Chinese herb formula named for the gen-tleman described by Confucius, called Si Junzi Tang; the “Four Gentleman Decoction.” This name was given because of the great re-spect held for the four major in-gredients, as well as for the valu-able action of this formula in rectifying the person’s “center” to aid restoration of health. In the book, Confucius Lives Next Door (11), T.R. Reid describes the term junzi this way:

It is written with two characters that mean royal [jun] and person [zi]. This tells us that tradition-ally junzi referred to a prince, an aristocrat, someone who obtained a position of stature and pow-er through birth. Confucius ac-cepted the basic principle that cer-tain people have the right to hold elite positions, but then he com-pletely changed the rules for join-

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ing the ranks of the elite. To Con-fucius, the junzi-the term has been variously translated as “the no-ble man,” “the superior man,” the “gentleman”-was a person who had earned elite status. To be a gentle-man, a person had to spend a life-time studying and following the rules of virtuous conduct. Just be-ing born right was not enough.

Confucianism laid the way for the development of Taoism by em-phasizing the character of the ideal man. However, Confucianism had the tendency to fall into the nature of a legalistic approach, where one followed certain rules of behavior, but did not necessarily have the in-ner nature that would lead to good results, so the Taoists countered by proclaiming freedom from such rules, emphasizing the cultivation of the ideal inner condition in har-mony with nature. Confucian-ism itself appears to have arisen as a move away from an earlier belief system in which a heavenly god ruled over humans. Thus Confu-cius shifted the burden of moral behavior to the set of rules, partic-ularly about social and family re-lationships. In recent times, the influence of Confucianism on so-ciety was best seen in Japan, where it had been introduced from Chi-na around the 12th Century.

ReferencesWu JCH (translator), Tao Teh Ching, 1961 St. John’s University Press, New York, NY.Kwok, MH, Palmer M, and Ramsay J, The Illustrated Tao Te Ching, 1994 Barnes and Noble Books, New York, NY.Feng GF and English J, Tao Te Ching, 1972 Vintage Books, New York, NY.Porter B (aka Red Pine), Lao-tzu’s Tao-teching, 1996 Mercury House, San Francisco, CA.

Henricks RG, Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recent-ly Discovered Ma-Wang-Tui Texts, 1989 Ballantine Books, New York, NY.Hinton D, Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters, 1997, Counterpoint, Wash-ington D.C.Kohn L, Early Chinese Mysticism: Phi-losophy and Soteriology in the Taoist Tradition, 1992 Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Porter B, Road to Heaven: Encounters

Confucius

with Chinese Hermits, 1993 Mercury House, San Francisco, CA.Hua-Ching Ni, Hua Hu Ching: The Later Teachings of Lao Tzu, 1995 Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston, MA.Kohn L, Early Chinese Mysticism, 1992 Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Reid TR, Confucius Lives Next Door, 1999 Random House, New York, NY.