Where Does Disease Come From, Part 1

2008/2/19 15:59:06

A human birth is rare to obtain. Therefore, enabling this human body to live out its natural lifespan is something every person should do. And one of the greatest obstacles to this goal is disease.

So then — where does disease come from?

Of course, to put it in the most radical terms: disease comes from delusory thinking. But saying it this way will probably not be accepted by many people. So let us say something more accessible: all diseases come from the five skandhas — that is, from the aggregation of your form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.

Generally speaking, so-called doctors — whether Western or Chinese — only know about diseases arising from form, sensation, and perception. Diseases originating in the mental formations and consciousness skandhas are beyond what they can know. Of course, the most superficial aspects of the formation skandha can be addressed by the very best Chinese medicine practitioners, but these days there are probably hardly any such doctors left.

Fortunately, our everyday illnesses all arise from form, sensation, and perception. Even many so-called incurable diseases are of this nature.

Disease, in its essence, does not need treatment — indeed, cannot be treated. Why? So-called disease arises from the conjunction of many conditions. What needs to be treated is not the disease itself, but the larger environment of these conjoined conditions.

In this respect, Chinese medicine is far superior to Western medicine. Chinese medicine does not, in essence, treat disease — it regulates the human body. Because disease is a product of conjoined conditions, once you change the most important conditions in that environment, the disease naturally disappears.

Disease is not God-like — it is conditional. Attacking the disease itself is merely attacking a phantom. This is exactly what Western medicine loves to do. For example, upon finding a tumor, Western medicine's response is to cut it out, to administer chemotherapy. But this tumor is merely a product of conjoined conditions. Without addressing the conditions that produced it, cutting it out or subjecting it to chemotherapy is futile.

Chinese medicine, on the other hand, uses herbal remedies to regulate these conditions — that is, this form, sensation, and perception. For Western medicine, the patient is merely a corpse. For Chinese medicine, the patient is the kindred spirit one seeks through the mountains and flowing waters — the doctor and patient together produce the beautiful music of that encounter.

The beautiful melody of Chinese medicine is born from the harmonious conjunction of doctor and patient together.