ancient chinese wisdom

Mar

2015

Living in Simplicity

Zangetsu 残月, a Chinese master during the Tang dynasty, wrote the following advice to his students:

• Live in the world, yet not by forming attachments to the dust of the world.

• Poverty is your treasure. Modesty is the foundation of all virtues. Never exchange it for an easy life.

• Let your neighbors discover you before you make yourself known to them.

• To a sincere student, every day is a fortunate day.

• Pass each day in peaceful contemplation and leave results to the great law of the Universe.

This is the way of the student of Zen and Tao.

Rural Chinese families and all of their possessions by Chinese photographer Huang Qingjun 黄庆军

Photos copyright the artist

Courtesy 798 Photo Gallery

Apr

2012

The Pivotal Role of Emotions

How All Disease Is a Matter of Heart-Spirit, According to Classical Chinese Medicine

The defining classics of Chinese medicine establish that it is the invisible forces of Shen [Heart-Spirit] and Qi [vital energy] that rule matter. While western medicine is rooted in the modern science of matter analysis, modern and ancient physicians of classical oriental medicine view nature, energy, and consciousness in the relationship of matter..

“Heaven comes first,” states the Ling Shu, “Earth is second.” Or in the more elaborate words of Liu Zhou, a 6th century philosopher: “If the Spirit is at peace, the Heart is in harmony; when the Heart is in harmony, the body is whole. If the Spirit becomes aggravated the Heart wavers, and when the Heart wavers the body becomes injured. If one seeks to heal the physical body, one must therefore first regulate the Spirit.”

Chinese medicine asserts that discovering well-being comes from appreciating the real goodness inherent in very simple experiences, pivotal to emotional wellbeing.