MARGARET LOCK

The May Lectures introduced me to the new and fascinating field of holistic medicine at a time when its originators were just beginning to pool their resources and form what would later become known as the holistic health movement. The dis­

cussions during that week also made it quite evident to me that the change of world view I was describing in

The Tao of Phrs­

ics

was part of a much larger cultural transformation, and at the end of the week I felt with great excitement that I would ac­

tively participate in that transformation for many years to come.

For the time being, however, I was busy finishing my book, and I did not think of exploring the larger context of the paradigm shift until two years later when I began to lecture about the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysti­

cism in the United States. At my lectures I met people from various disciplines who pointed out to me that a shift from mechanistic to holistic concepts similar to the one in modern physics was also happening in their fields. The majority of these people were health professionals, and so my attention was di­

rected once more toward medicine and health care.

My first impulse to study systematically the parallels be­

tween the paradigm shifts in physics and those in medicine came from Margaret Lock, a medical anthropologist whom I met at Berkeley while teaching a DC extension course on

The Tao of Phrsics.

After a lecture on Chew's bootstrap physics a woman with a marked English accent, a frequent participant in class discussions, made a rather surprising comment. "You know," she said with an ironic smile, "these diagrams of parti­

cle interactions, which you drew on the blackboard today, re­

mind me very much of acupuncture diagrams. I wonder whether there is more to that than a superficial similarity." I was in­

trigued by this remark, and when I inquired further about her knowledge of acupuncture, she told me that she had written her thesis in medical anthropology on the use of classical Chi­

nese medicine in modern Japan and was often reminded of the philosophy underlying the Chinese medical system during my

course on

The Tao of Phrsics.

These comments opened up a very exciting perspective for me. I remembered from the May Lectures that the paradigm

THE SEARCH FOR BALANCE 1 55 shift in physics had some important implications for medicine.

I also knew that the world view of the new physics was similar in many ways to that of classical Chinese philosophy. Finally, I was aware that Chinese culture, like many traditional cul­

tures, was one in which knowledge of the human mind and body and the practice of healing were integral parts of natural philosophy and of spiritual discipline. Indeed, the

T ai Ii

mas­

ter who instructed me in this ancient Chinese martial art­

which is, more than anything else, a form of meditation-was also an accomplished herbalist and acupuncturist and would always emphasize the connections between the principles of ·

Tai Ii

and those of physical and mental health. It seemed that Lock was now providing an important link in this chain of rea­

soning by pointing out parallels between the philosophy of modern physics and that of Chinese medicine. I was naturally very eager to explore these ideas further with her and invited her for tea and a long chat.

I liked Margaret Lock right away, and when she came to visit we found that we had much in common. We belonged to the same generation, had both been strongly influenced by the

social movements of the sixties, and shared a keen interest in Eastern culture. I immediately felt very comfortable with her, not only because she reminded me of some of my close friends in England, but also because our minds seemed to work in very similar ways. Like myself, Lock is a holistic and systemic thinker and a synthesizer of ideas while, at the same time, striving for intellectual rigor and clarity of expression.

Lock's professional field, medical anthropology, was quite new when I met her, and since then she has established herself as one of the leading scholars in that field. Her research on the practice of traditional East Asian medicine in modern urban Japan was a unique contribution. She spent two years in Kyoto with her husband and her two small children interviewing doz­

ens of doctors, patients, and their families (she is fluent in Jap­

anese) and visiting clinics, herbal pharmacies, traditional med­

ical schools, and healing ceremonies at ancient temples and shrines in order to observe and experience the full range of the traditional East Asian medical system. Her work attracted great attention in the United States not only among her fellow an­

thropologists but also among the growing number of practition­

ers of holistic medicine, who recognized her careful and lucid

156 UNCOMMON WISDOM

account of the interactions between traditional East Asian and modern Western medicine in contemporary Japan as a rich and valuable source of information.

At our first conversation, I was most interested in finding out more about the parallels between the view of nature emerg­

ing from modern physics-especially from bootstrap physics, my own field of research-and the classical Chinese view of human nature and health.

"The Chinese idea of the body was always predominantly functional," Lock began. "The concern was not so much with anatomical accuracy but rather with the interrelationship of all the parts." She explained that the Chinese concept of a phys­

ical organ refers to a whole functional system, which has to be considered in its totality. For example, the idea of the lungs in­

cludes not only the lungs themselves but the entire respiratory tract, the nose, the skin, and the secretions associated with these organs.

I remembered from Joseph Needham's books that Chinese philosophy as a whole was more concerned with the interrela­

tions between things than with their reduction to fundamental elements. Lock agreed, and she added that the Chinese attitude which Needham called "correlative thinking" also included their emphasis on synchronic patterning rather than causal relations. In the Chinese view, according to Needham, things behave in a certain way because their positions in the interre­

lated universe are such that they are endowed with intrinsic natures that make their behavior inevitable.

It was evident to me that such a view of nature came very close to that of the new physics, and I also knew that the simi­

larity was reinforced by the fact that the Chinese saw the net­

work of relationships they were studying as intrinsically dy­

namic. "This is also true for Chinese medicine," Lock observed.

"The individual organism, like the cosmos as a whole, was seen as being in a state of continual flow and change, and the Chi­

nese believed that all developments in nature those in the physical world as well as those in the psychological and social realms-show cyclical patterns."

"These would be the fluctuations between

rin

and

rang,"

I observed.

"Precisely, and it is important to realize that for the Chi­

nese nothing is only

rin

or only

rang.

All natural phenomena

THE SEARCH FOR BALANCE 1 5 7 are manifestations of continual oscillations between the two poles, and all transitions take place gradually and in unbroken progression. The natural order is one of dynamic balance be­

tween

yin

and

rang."

At this point we engaged in a long discussion about the meanings of those ancient Chinese terms, and Lock told me that one of the best interpretations she knew was that given by Manfred Porkert in his comprehensive studies of Chinese med­

icine. She urged me to study Porkert's work. Together with Needham, she explained, he is one of the very few Western scholars who can actually read the Chinese classics in their original form. According to Porkert,

yin

corresponds to all that is contractive, responsive, and conservative;

rang

to all that is expansive, aggressive, and demanding.

"In addition to the

rin/ rang

system," Lock continued,

"the Chinese used a system called

Wu Hsing

to describe the great patterned order of the cosmos. This is usually translated as the 'five elements; but Porkert has translated it as the 'five evolutive phases; which conveys the Chinese idea of dynamic relationships much better." Lock explained that an intricate correspondence system was derived from the five phases, which extended to the entire universe. The seasons, atmospheric influ­

ences, colors, sounds, parts of the body, emotional states, social relations, and numerous other phenomena were all classified into five types related to the five phases. When the five-phase theory was fused with the

yin/ rang

cycles, the result was an elaborate system in which every aspect of the universe was de­

scribed as a well-defined part of a dynamically patterned whole.

This system, Lock explained, formed the theoretical foundation for the diagnosis and treatment of illness.

"So what is illness in the Chinese view?" I asked her.

"Illness is an imbalance which occurs when the

ch'i

does not circulate properly. This is another important concept in Chinese natural philosophy, as you know. The word means lit­

erally 'vapor' and was used in ancient China to describe the vital breath, or energy, animating the cosmos. The flow and fluctuation of

ch'i

keep a person alive, and there are definite pathways of

ch'i,

the well-known meridians, along which lie the acupuncture points." Lock told me that, from the Western scientific point of view, there is now considerable documenta­

tion to show that the acupuncture points have distinct electrical

1 58 UNCOMMON WISDOM

resistance and thermosensitivity, unlike other areas at the body surface, but that no scientific demonstration of the existence of meridians has been given.

"A key concept in the Chinese view of health," she con­

tinued, "is that of balance. The classics state that diseases be­

come manifest when the body gets out of balance and the

ch'i

does not circulate naturally."

"So they do not see disease as an outside entity that invades the body, as we tend to do?"

"No, they don't. Although this aspect of disease causation is acknowledged, sickness, in their view, is due to a pattern of causes leading to disharmony and imbalance. However, they also say that the nature of all things, including the human body, is one of homeostasis. In other words, there is a natural striving to return to equilibrium. Going in and out of balance is seen as a natural process that happens constantly throughout the life cycle, and the traditional texts draw no sharp line be­

tween health and illness. Both are seen as natural and as being part of a continuum, as aspects of the same fluctuating process in which the individual organism changes continually in rela­

tion to a changing environment."

I was very impressed by this concept of health and, as al­

ways when I studied Chinese philosophy, I felt deeply moved by the beauty of its ecological wisdom. Margaret Lock agreed when I observed that Chinese medical philosophy seemed in­

spired by ecological awareness.

"Oh, yes, absolutely," she said. "The human organism is always seen as part of nature and constantly subject to the in­

fluences of natural forces. In the classics, seasonal changes are given special attention and their influences on the body are de­

scribed in great detail. Both doctors and lay people are ex­

tremely sensitive to climatic changes, and they use this sensi­

tivity to apply some preventive medicine. You know, I have observed in Japan how even small children are taught that they must pay careful attention to the changes of the weather and the seasons, and to observe the reactions of the body to those changes."

Lock's outline of the principles of Chinese medicine made it clear to me why the Chinese, as I had often heard, strongly emphasize the prevention of illness. A system of medicine which regards balance and harmony with the environment as the

THE SEARCH FOR BALANCE 159 basis of health will naturally emphasize preventive measures.

"Yes, indeed," Lock agreed. "And it must be added that, according to Chinese beliefs, it is one's personal responsibility to try to keep healthy by looking after one's body, by observing the rules of society, and by living in accordance with the laws of the universe. Illness is seen as signaling a lack of care on the

part of the individual."

"What, then, is the role of the doctor?"

"It is quite different from that in the West. In Western medicine, the doctor with the highest reputation is a specialist who has detailed knowledge about a specific part of the body.

In Chinese medicine, the ideal doctor is a sage who knows how all the patterns of the universe work together, who treats each patient on an individual basis and records as fully as possible the individual's total state of mind and body and its relation to the natural and social environment. As far as treatment is concerned, only a small portion of it is expected to be initiated by the doctor and to take place in the doctor's presence. Thera­

peutic techniques are viewed by both doctors and patients as a kind of catalyst for the natural healing process."

The Chinese picture of health and medicine, which Lock had outlined for me in this first conversation, seemed to be fully consistent with the new paradigm emerging from modern physics, and it also seemed to be in harmony with many ideas I remembered from the discussions at the May Lectures. The fact that her framework came from a different culture did not worry me. I knew that Lock, being an anthropologist and having carefully studied the use of classical Chinese medicine in mod­

ern urban settings in Japan, would be able to show me how its basic principles could be applied to holistic health care in our culture. In fact, I planned to explore this question in detail with her in future conversations.

Exploring

ch'i

with Manfred Porkert

Among the Chinese concepts Lock and I had discussed in our first conversation, the concept of

ch'i

held a special fascination for me. I had often encountered it in my studies of Chinese philosophy and was also familiar with its use in the martial arts. I knew that it is generally translated as "energy" or "vi-

1 60 UNCOMMON WISDOM

tal energy," but I sensed that these terms did not convey the Chinese concept adequately. As with the Jungian term "psy­

chic energy," I was most interested in finding out how

ch'i

was related to the concept of energy in physics, where it is a quantitative measure of activity.

Following Lock's advice, I studied some of Porkert's writ­

ings but found them rather difficult to penetrate because of the very special, mostly Latin, terminology he had created to trans­

late the Chinese medical terms. It was only several years later, after my studies of systems theory and my conversations with Bateson and J antsch, that I began to understand the Chinese concept of

ch'i.

Like Chinese natural philosophy and medicine, the modern systems theory of life views a living organism in terms of multiple, interdependent fluctuations, and it seemed to me that the concept of

ch'i

is used by the Chinese to describe the total pattern of these multiple processes of fluctuation.

When I finally wrote the chapter "Wholeness and Health"

in

The Turning Point,

I included an interpretation of

ch'i

that reflected my tentative understanding of both ancient Chinese medical science and the modern systems view of life:

Ch'i is not a substance, nor does it have the purely quantita­

tive meaning of our scientific concept of energy. It is used in Chinese medicine in a very subtle way to describe the various patterns of flow and fluctuation in the human or­

ganism, as well as the continual exchanges between organ­

ism and environment. Ch'i does not refer to ^the flow of any particular substance but rather seems to ^represent the ^prin­

ciple of flow as such, which, in the Chinese view, is always cyclical.

Three years after writing this passage I was invited to speak at a conference sponsored by the Traditional Acupunc­

ture Foundation, at which, to my great delight, Manfred Por­

kert was also among the speakers. When I met Porkert at the conference I was very surprised that he was only a few years older than I; his great erudition and extensive publications had led me to assume that he would be at least in his seventies-a venerable scholar like Joseph Needham. Instead I met a youth­

ful, dynamic, charming man, who immediately engaged me in an animated conversation.

Naturally, I was very eager to discuss the fundamental con-

THE SEARCH FOR BALANCE 161 cepts of Chinese medicine with Porkert, and especially the con­

cept of

ch'i,

which had intrigued me for many years. I told him about my wish, and, following the bold approach I had so often used successfully in the past, I asked Porkert whether he would agree to a public discussion during the conference. He imme­

diately agreed, and on the following day the organizers staged a dialogue between the two of us on "the new vision of reality and the nature of

ch'i."

When I sat down face to face with Manfred Porkert in front of an audience of several hundred people, I realized how foolhardy it had been of me to put myself in this situation. My knowledge of Chinese medicine and philosophy was, after all, very limited, and here I would be discussing these subjects with one of the greatest Western scholars in the field. Moreover, this discussion would not take place in private over a cup of coffee but in public in front of a large group of professional acupunc­

turists. Nevertheless, I was not intimidated. In contrast to my conversations with many other remarkable people, which rep­

resent the fabric of my story, this one took place two years after I had completed

The Turning Point.

I had assimilated the systems view of life, had fully integrated it into my world view, and had made it the core of my presentation of the new paradigm; I was ready and eager to use this new framework for exploring a wide range of concepts. What better opportunity to increase my understanding than by probing Porkert's exten­

sive knowledge!

To begin the discussion, I gave a brief summary of the systems view of life, emphasizing in particular the focus on patterns of organization, the importance of process thinking, and the central role of fluctuations in the dynamics of living systems. Porkert confirmed my understanding that, in the Chi­

nese view of life, fluctuation is also seen as the basic dynamic phenomenon, and, having thus prepared the ground, I went straight to the heart of the matter-the nature of

ch'i:

"It seems, then, that fluctuation is the fundamental dy­

namic the Chinese sages observed in nature, and in order to systematize their observations, they used the concept of

ch'i,

which is a rather complex concept. What is

ch'i?

I believe it is a common word in Chinese."

"Of course it is," Porkert replied. "It's an ancient word."

"What does it mean?"