Robert Keller

Honesty – The Virtue of the Spleen

By Robert Keller | October 15, 2017
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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

By Robert Keller | October 15, 2017
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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

By Robert Keller | October 15, 2017
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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

By Robert Keller | October 15, 2017
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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 […]

Preciousness and Righteousness – The Virtues of the Lungs

By Robert Keller | October 15, 2017
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As summer comes to an end and fall begins, the inner beauty of nature is revealed in bright colors and clear skies. At the same time, having peaked, flowers and trees begin to outwardly die as their energy returns to the earth for restoration over the winter. The beauty of fall is tied to its […]