Guest guest Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 What a wonderful analysis. Bravo. Emptiness is not empty, as they say. Physics tells us that a cubic centimeter of empty space has the energy of 10000 hiroshimas (or something like that). Emptiness the border of what we know and do not know, the infinite warp and woof of a universe of which we snatch merely threads. Perhaps Qi arises out of the space between consciousness and matter, the manifestation of their complementary and nondual relationship. -Ben Benjamin Hawes, MAOM, Lic. Ac., CORTEZ FAMILY ACUPUNCTURE 1430 E. Main Street, Suite #4 Cortez, CO 81321 (970) 565-0230 > Message: 1 > Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:39:59 -0800 > " Matt Bauer " <acu.guy > Re: Re: TCM theory > > Hi Mike, > > My understanding of the dynamics of qi in general and the jing-luo system > in particular is based on Taoist philosophy. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu > stressed the value of emptiness when he stated that while 36 spokes make a > wheel, it is the empty hub in the center that allows it to be used and > while one may mold clay into a vessel, it is the emptiness created that > gives a vessel its value, etc. He ends this teaching by saying " Thus, what > we have may be something substantial, but its usefulness lies in its > emptiness. " There is also a wonderful teaching by Chuang Tzu about a > butcher that demonstrates mastery in butchering oxen. Explaining his skill > he states that the animal has empty spaces around the joints and that he > just inserts that which has no thickness (knife blade) into the empty > spaces and the pieces fall away. Later, in this same book, there is a > wonderful line " The body is a cavity of hollows arranged in layers " > (translation by Hua-Ching Ni). > > I believe qi flows throughout the empty spaces within nature, including > the human body. Some scientists make a powerful argument that many of the > earth's most important features are empty spaces; fissures through which > gas, water, and oil flow, the joints of the tectonic plates, etc. Consider > a sponge; If one pours water into a dry sponge, the water will find its > way out by following the path of least resistance via smaller and larger > channels of space throughout the sponge. The human body is like a sponge - > it has channels of spaces made up of the walls of surrounding structures. > Thus, one might say the channels of the jing-lou are not themselves > structures but are formed by the structures of surrounding tissues. When > one considers that even the most dense tissues are riddled with empty > space - indeed every atom is mostly empty space - that leaves a vast > universe of nothingness for qi to flow. When it comes to the structures > that comprise the human frame then, I would echo Tao Tzu; " Thus, what we > have may be substantial but its usefulness lies in its emptiness. " Hope > this helps - Matt Bauer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Then again... Non-doing didn't mean just to not do anything, it meant not to do too much, or too little. Emptiness also means to be filled, but not extremly, to be with only enough to support. Anything else would be just too much. --- Benjamin Hawes <ben_laura wrote: > > What a wonderful analysis. Bravo. > Emptiness is not empty, as they say. Physics tells > us that a cubic > centimeter of empty space has the energy of 10000 > hiroshimas (or something > like that). Emptiness the border of what we know and > do not know, the > infinite warp and woof of a universe of which we > snatch merely threads. > Perhaps Qi arises out of the space between > consciousness and matter, the > manifestation of their complementary and nondual > relationship. > > -Ben > > Benjamin Hawes, MAOM, Lic. Ac., > Director > > CORTEZ FAMILY ACUPUNCTURE > 1430 E. Main Street, Suite #4 > Cortez, CO 81321 > (970) 565-0230 > > > Message: 1 > > Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:39:59 -0800 > > " Matt Bauer " <acu.guy > > Re: Re: TCM theory > > > > Hi Mike, > > > > My understanding of the dynamics of qi in general > and the jing-luo system > > in particular is based on Taoist philosophy. In > the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu > > stressed the value of emptiness when he stated > that while 36 spokes make a > > wheel, it is the empty hub in the center that > allows it to be used and > > while one may mold clay into a vessel, it is the > emptiness created that > > gives a vessel its value, etc. He ends this > teaching by saying " Thus, what > > we have may be something substantial, but its > usefulness lies in its > > emptiness. " There is also a wonderful teaching by > Chuang Tzu about a > > butcher that demonstrates mastery in butchering > oxen. Explaining his skill > > he states that the animal has empty spaces around > the joints and that he > > just inserts that which has no thickness (knife > blade) into the empty > > spaces and the pieces fall away. Later, in this > same book, there is a > > wonderful line " The body is a cavity of hollows > arranged in layers " > > (translation by Hua-Ching Ni). > > > > I believe qi flows throughout the empty spaces > within nature, including > > the human body. Some scientists make a powerful > argument that many of the > > earth's most important features are empty spaces; > fissures through which > > gas, water, and oil flow, the joints of the > tectonic plates, etc. Consider > > a sponge; If one pours water into a dry sponge, > the water will find its > > way out by following the path of least resistance > via smaller and larger > > channels of space throughout the sponge. The human > body is like a sponge - > > it has channels of spaces made up of the walls of > surrounding structures. > > Thus, one might say the channels of the jing-lou > are not themselves > > structures but are formed by the structures of > surrounding tissues. When > > one considers that even the most dense tissues are > riddled with empty > > space - indeed every atom is mostly empty space - > that leaves a vast > > universe of nothingness for qi to flow. When it > comes to the structures > > that comprise the human frame then, I would echo > Tao Tzu; " Thus, what we > > have may be substantial but its usefulness lies in > its emptiness. " Hope > > this helps - Matt Bauer > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Non-doing may also be restraining from doind something you normally or habbitualy do (mindlessly without awareness),so that some other action may manifest or come forth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Hey Benjamin, Have you heard about some physic theories (usually referred to as " Membrane " theories) that put forward the notion that our universe is bordered by another universe and that the two occasionally bump membranes thus creating much of the energy phenomena that current physics cannot account for (like dark matter)? Talk about a yin/yang pairing. - Matt Bauer - Benjamin Hawes Chinese Medicine Tuesday, November 16, 2004 4:48 PM RE: emptiness, Chuang Tzu, etc. What a wonderful analysis. Bravo. Emptiness is not empty, as they say. Physics tells us that a cubic centimeter of empty space has the energy of 10000 hiroshimas (or something like that). Emptiness the border of what we know and do not know, the infinite warp and woof of a universe of which we snatch merely threads. Perhaps Qi arises out of the space between consciousness and matter, the manifestation of their complementary and nondual relationship. -Ben Benjamin Hawes, MAOM, Lic. Ac., Director CORTEZ FAMILY ACUPUNCTURE 1430 E. Main Street, Suite #4 Cortez, CO 81321 (970) 565-0230 > Message: 1 > Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:39:59 -0800 > " Matt Bauer " <acu.guy > Re: Re: TCM theory > > Hi Mike, > > My understanding of the dynamics of qi in general and the jing-luo system > in particular is based on Taoist philosophy. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu > stressed the value of emptiness when he stated that while 36 spokes make a > wheel, it is the empty hub in the center that allows it to be used and > while one may mold clay into a vessel, it is the emptiness created that > gives a vessel its value, etc. He ends this teaching by saying " Thus, what > we have may be something substantial, but its usefulness lies in its > emptiness. " There is also a wonderful teaching by Chuang Tzu about a > butcher that demonstrates mastery in butchering oxen. Explaining his skill > he states that the animal has empty spaces around the joints and that he > just inserts that which has no thickness (knife blade) into the empty > spaces and the pieces fall away. Later, in this same book, there is a > wonderful line " The body is a cavity of hollows arranged in layers " > (translation by Hua-Ching Ni). > > I believe qi flows throughout the empty spaces within nature, including > the human body. Some scientists make a powerful argument that many of the > earth's most important features are empty spaces; fissures through which > gas, water, and oil flow, the joints of the tectonic plates, etc. Consider > a sponge; If one pours water into a dry sponge, the water will find its > way out by following the path of least resistance via smaller and larger > channels of space throughout the sponge. The human body is like a sponge - > it has channels of spaces made up of the walls of surrounding structures. > Thus, one might say the channels of the jing-lou are not themselves > structures but are formed by the structures of surrounding tissues. When > one considers that even the most dense tissues are riddled with empty > space - indeed every atom is mostly empty space - that leaves a vast > universe of nothingness for qi to flow. When it comes to the structures > that comprise the human frame then, I would echo Tao Tzu; " Thus, what we > have may be substantial but its usefulness lies in its emptiness. " Hope > this helps - Matt Bauer http://babel.altavista.com/ and adjust accordingly. If you , it takes a few days for the messages to stop being delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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