TCM, Tibetan medicine and dharma

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Jyotish
Posts: 119
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:54 am

TCM, Tibetan medicine and dharma

Post by Jyotish »

TCM based on however little I understand it considers disease to be a result of qi blockage. And it seems like qi is directly connected to emotions in that one with unrestricted emotion does not have qi blockages Thus no health problem of any sort. Not sure how it addresses concerns of old age.

1)
When it comes to dharma we very well know many Buddhist masters get sick and I would assume and have faith that they don't have any form of emotional blockages. Even the Buddha himself had back pain. So from a Buddhist perspective then what is wrong with the tcm theory? The tcm looks quite neat too and I wanted to learn things like qigong but what is fundamentally different here in a Buddhist understanding then in terms of its effect on health.


2)
Also another related question is can anyone help explain what is the role of karma in thus? Does qi blockage has to happen for health problem? In that way somehow karma manifests as the qi blockage and then manifests to grosser physical problem.

3) Since we well understand and acknowledge qi, from a dharma perspective are qi and emotions equivalent? Emotions are talked about as energy too and energy is said to be qi.
tingdzin
Posts: 1934
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:19 am

Re: TCM, Tibetan medicine and dharma

Post by tingdzin »

The different levels of prana, or qi, and how they influence one another are addressed in Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's "Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech, and Mind". The question is not one to be addressed simply; for example, qi and emotions are not equivalent, although emotional energies are dependent on a certain level of qi energy functioning in a certain way.
Jyotish
Posts: 119
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:54 am

Re: TCM, Tibetan medicine and dharma

Post by Jyotish »

Hmm thanks. But don't emotions move in the body? Like when one feels angry it refers to experience of whatever anger moving at certain parts of body. Say may be some energy going to hands so you can beat. But as I understand it's not like this is happening in physical body but on subtle body which in turn perhaps activates the muscles and other corresponding physical things like Brian, nervous system etc. In that sense that is exactly qi isn't it? What is really the difference?
Jyotish
Posts: 119
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:54 am

Re: TCM, Tibetan medicine and dharma

Post by Jyotish »

Let me ask another question that is perhaps interesting to folks and can be answered without appealing to realization. TCM says disease is a result of qi blockage. Now qi blockage is related to emotional blockage on their theory. Emotional blockage is one form of klesa. Now to take an extreme example again the Tathagata himself had health issue. Clearly I would disagree he had any emotional blockage or klesas of any form. So meaning he shouldn't have had any qi blockage. But that would mean he shouldn't have had that health problem.

What's the catch here? What am I missing?
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