Japanese
Acupuncture Newsletter, Phoenix, Arizona
By this time, many of my
readers understand that all dualistic questions can only be answered by the
silence and cannot be answered by any word. Immediately after you utter yes or no, you are no longer a Zen
master: fallen to our ordinary
life where all sufferings are.
Remember, the most important part of AUM or OM is the silence after the
“M.”
Zen is everywhere and at
any time. For example, you face “a
mute” person everyday. Let me ask
you that what is a good worker to you?
A good worker is the one who does a job before you even ask. He or she already knows what you want
or your habit: “Oh, I already
bought that for you. It is coming
next week.” “Honey, here is your
favorite breakfast.” etc., etc.
Spiritual level is the same. When Buddha raises a
flower, if you are at the same level as his, then you would say, “Ah, I get it,
Buddha!”* It is the empathy you attain. A good disciple knows what a Zen master
is truly asking (You must read his mind, behind his intention, not only one
step back, but two, or three steps back).
Knowing that you cannot answer with any word but must answer, all Zen
disciples are asked to break the dilemma.**
Here is an absolute
dilemma for you. What if a Zen
master asks you to climb up a tree and asks you to hang from a tree branch by
just biting. Your hands and feet
are dangling in the air. Then, the
master asks you what is the meaning of Dharma coming to the East? (What is
Buddha?) What would you do in
this situation? If you open your
mouth and answer, you fall to your death.
If you mean the silence by keep on biting, soon or later, your jaw gets
tired and would fall. If you don’t
answer, you go nowhere, and the master is waiting. Remind you that you don’t have a flower in your hand. Whoever can break through this gate is
the next Buddha.
Namaste.
*Story is that only one disciple understood what
Buddha meant with a flower.
**Quantum physic
dilemma: two different particles,
say, A and B, are separating from each other to the opposite direction with the
speed of light, yet when A turns to B, B turns to A at the same time. We all know that this is impossible
(with Einstein’s theory), yet it happens everyday (ask any physicist). However, we are coming closer to
answering (passing and communicating without a space).*** When we do, “Scotty, beam me up” could
be possible.
***Quantum Leap, New York Times, Aug. 20, 2013
"Because the bits were 'entangled,' to use quantum physics term, what happened to one happened to the other. So, when data was written to the sender side of the chip, it would leap to the receiving side without passing through the space between."
"Because the bits were 'entangled,' to use quantum physics term, what happened to one happened to the other. So, when data was written to the sender side of the chip, it would leap to the receiving side without passing through the space between."
Why We Make Bad Decisions by Noreena Hertz
New York Times, October 20, 2013
“Physicians do get things wrong, remarkably often. Studies have shown that up to one in
five patients are misdiagnosed. In
the United States and Canada it is estimated that 50,000 hospital deaths each
year could have been prevented if the real cause of illness had been correctly
identified…Yet people are loath to challenge experts…When we find data that
supports our hopes we appear to get a dopamine rush similar to the one we get
if we eat chocolate, have sex or fall in love. But it’s often information that challenges our existing
opinions or wishful desires that yields the greatest insights. I was lucky that my boyfriend alerted
me to my most dopamined drugged moments.
The dangerous allure of the information we want to hear is something we
need to be more vigilant about, in the medical consulting room and beyond…I
chose a surgeon who wasn’t overly confident. I’d learned in my research that the super-confident,
doctor-as-god types did not always perform well. One study of radiologists, for example, reveals that those
who perform poorly on diagnostic tests are also those most confident in their
diagnostic prowess.”
A Glut of Antidepressants: Overdiagnosis of Depression Is A Factor In Rise Of
Prescriptions by
Roni Caryn Rabin
New York Times, Aug 13, 2013
“Over the past two-decades, the use of antidepressants has
skyrocketed. One in ten Americans
now takes an antidepressant medication; among women in their 40s and 50s, the
figure is one in four. Experts
have offered numerous reasons…But a recent study suggests another
explanation: that the condition is
being overdiagnosed on a remarkable scale…The study, published in April in the
journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, found that nearly two-thirds of a
sample of more than 5,000 patients who had been given a diagnosis of depression
within the previous 12 months did not meet the criteria for major depressive
episode as described by the psychiatrists’ bible, the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or D.S.M.)…Most people stay on the
drugs, which can have a variety of side effects, for at least two years. Some take them for a decade or more…But
Americans have become more and more willing to use medication…Ironically…many
who actually have it suffer without treatment…it takes Americans eight years on
average to seek care…According to the D.S.M., a diagnosis of major depressive
episode is appropriate if the patient has been in a depressed mood and felt no
interest in activities for at least two weeks, and also has at least five
symptoms that impair function almost everyday. These include unintentional weight gain or loss, problems
sleeping, agitation or slowed reactions noticed by others, fatigue and low
energy, feeling of excessive guilt or worthlessness, difficulty concentrating
and recurrent thoughts of death…Many doctors have long prescribed antidepressant
soon after the death of a family member, even though the D.S.M. urges
clinicians to differentiate between normal grief and pathological
bereavement…Doctors need to improve their diagnostic skills, Dr. Mojtabai said,
and must resist the temptation 'to take out the prescription pad and write down
an antidepressant and hand it to the patient.'”
Volume 3, No. 4,
November, 2013
Oriental Medicine
& On Human Conditions
Chapter Four
Lung: Sadness, Courage, and Dissolution No. 4
In my last newsletter, I pointed out the importance of
Ren-4, Ren-6, Ren-12 and Ren-17 acupuncture points, all on the abdomen, for
treatment and diagnosis. Sadness
(the Lung element) does not turn to courage as long as the lung functions are
weak. Courage is the mother of the
Will (the Kidney element: please
read my last newsletter. If you
have not received them, they are all in my website under “newsletter.”). I also mention that the Ren-4 (about an
inch above the pubic symphysis, on the centerline) is my chosen point for
between the Spleem/Earth and the Lung/Metal elements. For between the Lung/Metal and the Kid/Water is Ren-9, just
a quarter inch above the navel on the centerline. This point has a simple name: the Water Point.
It relates to all fluid related symptoms such as ascites (accumulation
of fluid – water bloated-ness), toxic body fluid, urination problems, etc. This point connects with Du-4 (Ming
Men: the Gate of Life: on the centerline of the spine, at the
second lumber vertebrae). Du-4 is
one of the most important points, for it is the Gate of Life. The point is exactly opposite in
location to the Tantien (on the centerline of the abdomen, about an inch below
the navel). Marshal artists know
that the Tantien is the power source.
The physical power comes from here. Without the stability and firmness in the area, the legs
feel wobbly, cannot control the upper torso because the pelvis is unstable, and
feel weak and not focused. Once
Ren-9 is restored, it sends the energy downward to Ren-6 (about an inch below
the navel on the centerline). This
is the true connecting point to the Gate of Life (Du-4). When Ren-6 is firm and has good energy,
my treatment is over.
Once all pains on the abdomen are gone, a seed of the
Will starts to spring up: a sense of wellbeing is increased, self-awareness
kicks in, and a person is on the road to recovery. No other medicines can compete with our own Will to live, and this is what acupuncture is all about. Just like a Zen master asks to search
for the ultimate affirmation (drop all illusions and know what is truly real),
acupuncture asks you to find your will.
The harmony of the Five Elements, along with the mind, the body, and the
spirituality, can take you there.
So, can you convert sadness to courage at “this moment”,
here and now?
Namaste
© 2013 Dr. Y.
Frank Aoi (NM State)/Japanese Acupuncture, LLC
