Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Phoenix, Arizona, 日本鍼灸, アリゾナ

Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Arizona Volume 2, No. 5: May, 2009 Japanese Acupuncture, LLC (480) 246-0624:  600 N. 4th Street, Unit 147, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Oriental Medicine & On Human Conditions Chapter Two Heart: Joy, Arrogance, and Transcendence #5 I heard a fly buzz when I died; The stillness round my form Was like the stillness in the air Between the heaves of storm … I willed my keepsakes, signed away What portion of me I Could make assignable, and then There interposed a fly. With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz, Between the light and me; And then the windows failed, and then I could not see to see. Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson was, from my perspective, one of the most zenist American poets and I present the above poem as the prime example. She is about to commit suicide but when she is just ready a fly buzzes by and interferes with her contemplation. The window of opportunity shuts and she could not see to see. This poem is similar to the most famous haiku by Basho. The old pond, A frog jumps in... The sound of the water At the most quietest and private moment, a fly or a frog interferes, and the sound jets through the ear and the brain, transcending the consciousness to the dimension of non-duality: the self dissolves, everything becomes transparent as if all the questions in the universe are answered. You are at peace. You are one with the vibration of the Universe. It is very interesting to note that Dickinson used the words, "and then" three times. Each time, it was the realization, perhaps lasted only 1/1000 of a second, nonetheless, it was the deepest experience of her life. In the Daoist term, she had realized the Three: 夷(Yi in Japanese), 希(Ki), and 微(Bi). We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it the Equitable (Yi: 夷). We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it the Inaudible (Ki: 希). We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it the Subtle (Bi: 微)*. *Lao Zi: "With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One." Translated by James Legge What does Dickinson has to say about joy? 'Tis so much joy! 'Tis so much joy! If I should fail, what poverty! And yet, as poor as I, Have ventured all upon a throw! Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so – This side the Victory! Life is but Life! And Death, but Death! Bliss is but Bliss, and Breath but Breath! … We know all emotions are illusions and nothing to do with the realty. Joy she speaks is not emotional but an ineffable one. It has transcended so that she has nothing to fear or desire. She is in bliss at the moment of Now which is her victory, letting go her ego and attaining the realization or in Dickinson's term "Heaven." Can an acupuncturist give such bliss? Try one needle technique as a starter. A patient my have many symptoms, but choose only one point. See if you can treat all symptoms with the one. Think about it. Namaste. © 2009 Dr. Y. Frank Aoi/Japanese Acupuncture