“The Kidneys store the Jing” is one of the stated functions of the Kidneys in Chinese medicine. The term Jing is one which has no English language equivalent. It refers to a substance which is endowed to each person, through their parents, at the moment of conception. It has both a qualitative and a quantitative […]
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Menopause is not a Disease
The word “shen” means spirit in Chinese medicine. There is a global concept of Shen which reflects the quality of a person’s vitality and life force. Each organ also houses a particular Shen, such as the “zhi”, or will, for the Kidneys, and the “shen”, or spirit, for the Heart. Heart Shen is physiologically an […]
Honesty – The Virtue of the Spleen
The Spleen is the organ whose Chinese function is most difficult to understand from a Western biomedical perspective. Unlike all of the other organs, the Chinese concept of the Spleen has very little to do with the anatomical spleen (see also Nothing to Study – The Concept of an Organ in Chinese Medicine). Some of […]
Benevolence – The Virtue of the Liver
Each of the five Chinese organs, or Zang, has associated with it a corresponding emotion. This emotion is the quality of energy governed by the respective organ, experienced on a human level. In health this energy flows freely, but in imbalance it becomes stagnant, expressing itself as a recurring emotion. Because the Liver governs the […]
Wisdom – The Virtue of the Kidneys
The basic paradigm of virtue in Chinese medicine is as follows: Virtue, “de” in Chinese, implies contact with original nature. The character symbolizes accordance between and action in accordance with one’s heart-mind (the Chinese term “xin”, or Heart, literally translates at heart-mind. Virtue is what manifests when one acts in accordance with one’s true nature. […]
Propriety – The Virtue of the Heart
How can a person know the Dao? By the heart. How can the heart know? By emptiness, the pure attention that unifies being and quietude. The heart is never without treasure, yet it is called empty. The heart is never completely filled, yet it is called unified. The heart is never without movement, yet it […]