Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Phoenix, Arizona
Volume 3, No. 1: January, 2011
Japanese Acupuncture (480) 246-0624
600 N. 4th Street, Unit 147, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Oriental Medicine & On Human Conditions
Chapter Three
Spleen: Worry, Harmony, and Illumination #1
In a Buddhist mandala, the Buddha of the East is Aksobhya who represents the integrity of illuminating experience. The Buddha of the South is Ratnasambhava who represents the radiance of beauty of illumination. The Buddha of the West is Amitabha who is the symbol of great compassion. The Buddha of the North is Amoghasiddhi who represents directed effort. Vairocana, the Illuminator, sits in the center. Together, the mandala points to the way of releasing fear and desire and to harmonize our individual life.
In Five Element Theory, the Spleen Element, also called the Earth Element*1, contains the Stomach and the Spleen. Implication of the Earth Element is quite important since the acupuncture meridian line starts from the center of the Stomach. Most acupuncturists belong to the Stomach School which regards the digestive system is the key to balance the other Elements and the whole body. The last words of Master Nagano in Japan were I-no-Ki (胃の気: Wei-Qi in Chinese). Master Sawada dedicated Ren-12 (the point directly above the stomach) as the primary protocol treatment point. Settlement of Stomach Qi is for all ailments. Without proper stomach functions, there will be no recovery. For example, weak absorption rate of foods makes us susceptible to many illnesses. Proper digestive functions must be restored and the process must start from the Stomach. When the Stomach is restored, the energy moves and settles at the Dantien (丹田), about an inch below the navel. This is an important physiological fact that not only acupuncturists should understand but all of us. Anyone who practices martial arts, Tai-Qi, yoga, or meditation knows that the area of the lower abdomen is the center of concentrated energy. The life force comes from here, and the skin tone of the area must be taut and supple. Softness, droopiness, and weakness of the area indicate a weak body function and a sickness (life span maybe limited in a certain case).
Regarding major acupuncture points on the center of the abdomen, Ren-4, 6 and 12 (plus Ren-10 and Ren-13), Master Sawada said when we “Open” the area, “it becomes San Jiao, and (properly) Store, it becomes the Three Guans. *2” The sentence only comes from an experienced practitioner who has practiced the art of acupuncture for years. You may not understand what I write here, but the center of the abdomen is quite important in treating people, especially for the Tai Qi Treatment (whole body treatment). Like the real estate slogan, “location, location, location,” the same is said of acupuncture: stomach, stomach, and stomach (or digestion, digestion, digestion). Arguably, the Stomach is the center of Five Element and it is the harmonic Element.
As the name of the Element suggests an Earth personality is grounded and gentle. However, an Earth type is susceptible to worry. We all experience, a second after we start to worry, we feel queasiness in our stomach. As if our thought in the brain has a direct connection to the stomach.*3 Emotion and illness are inseparable, and attachment to worry will result in a chronic digestive problem.
How we detach ourselves from emotions and bring the whole body in balance is the subject of this chapter. It is interesting to know that Buddha had a chronic digestive issue, yet he attained illumination and realization. Let us hope we can all do the same.
*1 Earth Element: the paired combination of Spleen and Stomach Elements. It is said in a certain school, when a baby drinks the first milk from mother, the meridian lines start to function from the moment on.
*2: 開けば三焦、納むれば三完
*3: I believe western science is considering the stomach or the intestine as the second brain.
© 2011 Dr. Y. Frank Aoi (NM State)/Japanese Acupuncture, LLC
