Members should read from page 71 - 115. The readings covers two more section of Chapter 1 : Outlines of the Six Conformations in the Shānghán Lùn and The Theory of Qì Transformation in the Shānghán Lùn.
Book group meetings are open to all however enrollment in the book group is required.
Hi Everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all again in a week. Don't get discouraged if you felt the last meeting was over your head. That was some stuff that has not been written about that much and everyone was trying to figure it out. Next week should get a bit more clinical and we look forward to more lively discussion. If you have questions and want to post them, please feel free or bring questions/thoughts/ideas to the live class. The next class will be moderated by Sharon Weizenbaum. See you there.
I am not able to make the book group today but have so many questions. The root, branch and center associations are very confusing to me. Here are a few questions:
1) page 94 paragraph 2, the zang fu organs are the root/interior while the channels are the branch/exterior. For example how do we look at a jueyin or yang ming disharmony when on page 95 last paragraph it states, the yangming and jue yin don’t follow the root ad branch but rather the center, when clearly there is a organ presentation and a channel presentation? Are the root and channel different in this context?
2) page 95 paragraph 3, “It s because the root of shaoyang is fire & manifests as yang while the root of taiyin is dampness and manifests as yin. When the root and branch share the same qi they should follow the root"… this entire paragraph escapes me.
Almost every line is confusing.
There are more questions to come which I will post later. I wonder, is my SAAM studies are complicating this reading? For instance if the yangming is imbalanced I immediately start to look to see if taiyin is appropriate and hardly consider jue yin ( as page 94 quotes them more together. Maybe this in very incorrect. lots to digest and learn.
Thanks so much for your questions Bethany. This reading was very confusing. Hoping that we can clear some things up, but maybe not all. I will be sure that Sharon hears your questions during the meeting today and a recording will be posted after. Hope you get to come to the next one!
Hi Bethany, Yes, it is confusing! I am hoping to clarify the answers in today's book group. You are confused because it IS confusing! It's not you!
In your question #1, Dr. Liu talks about the root/branch in regard to Zangfu and channels with the Zangfu as the root and the channels as branch. However, he distinguishes this from what he is saying about root and branch in regard to the six conformations. Hence, he is saying that these are different roots and branches, to not confuse them.
I think that your SAAM studies should help clarify this material and I can explain this later today!
I feel so silly asking because I am sure Sharon has explained this before, but I think what is holding me back from really understanding the material is I do not know what is meant by root, branch and center qi.
I did also have a question about what is meant by “heat effusion” - I assume that is the appearance of heat symptoms but want to be certain it isn’t something more specific.
Lastly, I would like to say (and this is more of a statement than a question) that the Shang Han Lun always seems to start out as fairly straightforward before it appears to diverge quickly into a “if this, than that” scenario which is where I get super kerfuffled. It’s like I need to understand the important symptoms to look out for and how to discern one thing from another (for example the deficiency causing sleeplessness vs excess causing heart vexation.)
Hi Alison, Root, branch, and middle are a confusing topic and commentators disagree about what the heck the Neijing is talking about.
Heat effusion is often translated as "fever." Many translators keep it as heat effusion because it represents the subjective experience of heat. Often those with a "fever" actually feel cold and those who experience some heat have a foundational cold pattern. Hence heat effusion is often preferred as the choice term. But the main thing is, as far as I know, is that it is the subjective experience of heat.
As for reading the Shang Han Lun, I think it is important to see what a mentioned symptom means more broadly. It is often symbolic for something bigger. For example, to reference your previous question, the heat effusion in the Gui Zhi Tang pattern can mean the way a person easily flushes when they are embarrassed or upset or it can me some red rash on the cheeks….I gave a talk on reading the text that is in the WPC.
https://www.whitepinecommunity.org/recorded-class/reading-shl
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