The impact of CM philosophy

[Carole Rogers]

Hmmmn! I suppose I asked this question because it’s one I’ve been trying to answer myself for 36 years. Yes, of course CM changed my life in many, many ways – physically, my home life, my career, my whole existence, but the way that the philosophy specifically changed me is much harder to define.

I know that when I started to study acupuncture it felt like coming home. Like relearning something I had always known. Of course, I had been interested in philosophy and psychology for many, many years, and my closest friends had been Asians during my teenage years – most of them Chinese. The arts and cultures of Asia had always been of interest – I did Chinese style painting, I grew Bonsai, I read books on Asia, I ate Asian foods of all varieties, but coming to acupuncture and its philosophy was a great deal more. I realised that I was prepared to spend the rest of my life working for and trying to preserve this form of healing and all that went with it. Teaching seemed to be the best way to do that – the more people who understood and practised it the safer it was for future generations.

I now believe that the time was right for its preservation – although I did not know it during the early years when we were fighting off attempts to ban acupuncture in Australia. In general the public had grown weary of modern medicine despite its many wonders (and they really are many) and were searching for new ways of being helped – not just in body but also in mind and spirit. In a similar way, and we have seen this in the forum, there were individuals who were willing to study for years, often under difficult personal circumstances to acquire the skills to practise in a profession with, at that time, an uncertain future. I think, for many of them, and for me too, it was the philosophy that engendered this dedication. I really can’t believe that it’s because we get such a great thrill out of sticking needles into people!

Even today, as we have seen in this discussion, it is not an easy profession to master, and those students who think it is soon depart. It still requires a great deal of hard work and dedication – although as a teacher students often told me I didn’t know what it was like to be a student! (Did they think I was born knowing it? ) Certainly it is a challenging path and I believe that it is the beauty of the underlying philosophy that makes many of our students persist despite the many difficulties that they face.

Thank you all for trying to answer what is, I know, a rather difficult question. You all get top marks.

[Michael Broer]

Here Carole,
This is for you

[Carole Rogers]

Ahhh. Moxamike, you really know the way to a woman's heart. Thank You!

[dragonmonk]

teachers pet!

[D. S. White]

You didn't happen to glance over my research proposal did you Carole?

I am currently amidst the first semester of my PhD at UTS looking into the impacts and influences of both Classical Chinese Literature (related to medical practice) and Modern Medical Research (related to Chinese Medicine). It is great to see that there is somewhat of an interest in this type of work.

How it has changed ones life is another yet connected matter. It is interesting to see (through informal discussions) that many indivdiuals seem to be attracted to the mystical and unkown components of Chinese medicine, many of which were influenced by Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.

What is of particular interest, to me anyway, (and i hope this does not drift to far off the original question posed by Carole) is that as Chinese medicine was introduced into "the west" how has it, as a medical profession, clinical and scholarly practice, dealt with its own "culture shock"? Being influenced by vaious religious and ideological elements that shared common ground and belief (particularly that of Daoism and Confucianism), how does Chinese Medicine and its students and practitioners, apply, learn and understand this "art" (or "craft") when approaching it from various cultural and religious backgrounds. Does the definition or idea of Qi, Xue, Jing, Shen and so on differ? If so does that mean that their practice is inferior / superior / just plain different - a new form of the evolutionary application of Chinese medicine?

It is hard for me to comment - as i am just beginning data collection (this weekend), and my influences stem primarily from Daoist teachings.

Ha ha - i just finished my presentation on this very topic for the upcoming AACMAC this weekend...i could ramble on for hours, so i won't.

To answer the orginal question of how "acupuncture philosophy" has changed my life - it is hard to say. As i view this type of philosophy from different points - Daoist, Confucian, Biomedical, Neuroanatomical (though the later aren't philosophies per se). As a "Daoist Adept" (inverted, cause i'm trying) i approach all elements of practice and life with the same outlook. So the change is still happening - in fact the way that change is happening is changing and so on.

I look at acupuncture philosophy as a mere expression of a more inclusive and expansive philosophy or idea (that does essentially revolve around the concept of Dao).

I'll leave with a quote, from my presentation, sourced from Dr. Scheids text (Currents of Tradition in Chinese Medicine, 2007)

“To embody the totality of the Way [Dao], so that the world may enjoy the blessings of tranquillity and peace and the people may be able to live out their lives, is the way of the orthodox scholar. To use an aspect of the Way, so that the world may escape the horrors of disease and wasteful early death and the people may be able to live out their lives, is the way of physicians. Whether scholar or physician their way is the Way of the sages.� Wu Cheng (1249-1333)

[blubberingfool]

I'll say this much: it's like a giant booger stuck to your finger - the more you try to shake it off, the faster it sticks on. When TCM philosophy/way of viewing life becomes like that for you, you know you're a hopeless case!

What a fine mess we're all in!!!