I have been fascinated with the Five Immortals Temple in the Wudang Mountains of China since a friend told me of his visits there. At first it seemed to be an ideal opportunity to witness pre-TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine, according to government standards) and Taoist healing, along with authentic martial arts and chi gong. I then became even more interested when I realized that the temple teaches about the use of fresh herbs. In this country, I have pretty much only been exposed to pharmacy-based Chinese herbalism (naturally), which utilizes dried herbs of the pharmacy. As a traditional herbalist and wildcrafter, however, I have seen certain herbs (like Motherwort, Echinacea, and many more) work much better in their fresh form (or tinctured from fresh herbs) than when dried. For years I have studied literature on Chinese herbal medicine and cannot remember finding any references to the use of fresh herbs (aside from the herbal legends, which tell about the legendary discovery and uses of herbs) until the Five Immortals website.
Thinking again about the temple, I went to their website to find it updated and expanded, including this article:
The Current Issues of Contemporary Taoist and Chinese Medicine 现代道医与中医存在的问题
The article mentions that the word "shaman" (that is usually associate with Native Americans) began in China, and it goes on to discuss many issues. This article resonates with much that I have found during my work as an herbalist and I am very happy to share it here (link above) in hopes that it expands readers' understanding of the condition of herbalism today.
Thinking again about the temple, I went to their website to find it updated and expanded, including this article:
The Current Issues of Contemporary Taoist and Chinese Medicine 现代道医与中医存在的问题
The article mentions that the word "shaman" (that is usually associate with Native Americans) began in China, and it goes on to discuss many issues. This article resonates with much that I have found during my work as an herbalist and I am very happy to share it here (link above) in hopes that it expands readers' understanding of the condition of herbalism today.
Please read the whole article on the Five Immortals website. For convenience and to make notes, I have included some quotes here:
"The ancient character for shaman signifies communication with the upper heavenly realms and the lower earthly realms, it denotes reaching the will of the spirits, knowing the four seasons, comprehending cause and effect, esteeming the rules and laws. The shaman stands for the unification of Heaven and Human; Form and Spirit’s simultaneous healing (the form being of equal importance)."
"Thirdly, medicinal herbs are not true to the original anymore
1. The farmers of herbs hope to receive more money, applying chemical fertilizers and pesticides disorderly, to the point of making Chinese Medicine lose its naturalness and lack effectiveness.
2. Gatherers of herbs do not collect the herbs according to the right time and the 24 solar terms. Dictated by the market’s current quotation price herbs are picked and as a result the medicinal herbs lose their potency.
3. Salespeople of herbs use fake herbs as genuine ones for their own profit and economy. They serve the substandard herbs as good standard herbs. They use one herb and change it into two, to the point of medicinal herbs losing their properties.
It could be said that people profiting on herbs have already no honesty."
"To sum it all up, one aspect cannot harmonize balance.
It is not that the medical treatment is not sufficient. In fact it is the heart of the people of modern times that is hard to fathom. People say Chinese Medicine dies because of Chinese Pharmacology. In fact it is hard to differentiate the genuine from the fake in Chinese pharmacology and it is even harder to control. That is why Daoist Medicine states, that the human body is a holistic and integrated system. One cannot single out a certain item in order to heal, and yet overlook all kinds of factors that have an effect on the body, Daoist medicine ought to teach people to revere heaven and fear earth, to establish routine in daily life, to have dietary moderation, to exercise restriction in addictive desires, to reside on specifically chosen grounds, act benevolently for the people, indifferent to gain and loss, to take honesty as one’s root. Daoist medicine cures peoples’ cause and effect, dissolve peoples’ karma. It guides people to be inclined to charity and to the dual consideration of yin and yang dual, to give equal mindfulness to form and spirit. Moreover, medicines rely on the correct timing. Plant and harvest them by yourself. Do not go against nature. Combine medicines according to set methods and rules and apply medicine with skill. Heal the ones with destiny, save the virtuous ones. Grasp the theories of the Yi Jing numerals, depend on the revelations of the turtle of the oracle. Practice the Dao of heaven and human unity. Via the implementation of Daoist medicine’s mysterious gong-skill, regulate and adjust holistically.
That is why immortal masters point out; “In this world there is no disease that is incurable, there are only people that are incurable”."
"The ancient character for shaman signifies communication with the upper heavenly realms and the lower earthly realms, it denotes reaching the will of the spirits, knowing the four seasons, comprehending cause and effect, esteeming the rules and laws. The shaman stands for the unification of Heaven and Human; Form and Spirit’s simultaneous healing (the form being of equal importance)."
"Thirdly, medicinal herbs are not true to the original anymore
1. The farmers of herbs hope to receive more money, applying chemical fertilizers and pesticides disorderly, to the point of making Chinese Medicine lose its naturalness and lack effectiveness.
2. Gatherers of herbs do not collect the herbs according to the right time and the 24 solar terms. Dictated by the market’s current quotation price herbs are picked and as a result the medicinal herbs lose their potency.
3. Salespeople of herbs use fake herbs as genuine ones for their own profit and economy. They serve the substandard herbs as good standard herbs. They use one herb and change it into two, to the point of medicinal herbs losing their properties.
It could be said that people profiting on herbs have already no honesty."
"To sum it all up, one aspect cannot harmonize balance.
It is not that the medical treatment is not sufficient. In fact it is the heart of the people of modern times that is hard to fathom. People say Chinese Medicine dies because of Chinese Pharmacology. In fact it is hard to differentiate the genuine from the fake in Chinese pharmacology and it is even harder to control. That is why Daoist Medicine states, that the human body is a holistic and integrated system. One cannot single out a certain item in order to heal, and yet overlook all kinds of factors that have an effect on the body, Daoist medicine ought to teach people to revere heaven and fear earth, to establish routine in daily life, to have dietary moderation, to exercise restriction in addictive desires, to reside on specifically chosen grounds, act benevolently for the people, indifferent to gain and loss, to take honesty as one’s root. Daoist medicine cures peoples’ cause and effect, dissolve peoples’ karma. It guides people to be inclined to charity and to the dual consideration of yin and yang dual, to give equal mindfulness to form and spirit. Moreover, medicines rely on the correct timing. Plant and harvest them by yourself. Do not go against nature. Combine medicines according to set methods and rules and apply medicine with skill. Heal the ones with destiny, save the virtuous ones. Grasp the theories of the Yi Jing numerals, depend on the revelations of the turtle of the oracle. Practice the Dao of heaven and human unity. Via the implementation of Daoist medicine’s mysterious gong-skill, regulate and adjust holistically.
That is why immortal masters point out; “In this world there is no disease that is incurable, there are only people that are incurable”."
