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Contact Lola Lhamo for individual Health Diagnostics and Daoist Healing. Sessions take place at our Bali centre in Ubud, as well as by request at your home.

LhamoLola @ gmail.com or WhatsApp +44 775 7093532

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The Forgotten Treasure: Unveiling the Esoteric Art of Daoist Medicine

The legacy of true Daoist Medicine is a hidden stream, flowing from ancient times into the present day through unbroken, secretive lineages. The teachings outlined here emerge from one of the last inheritors of the 藥王派 (Yào Wáng Pài) – the Medicine King Sect – as preserved at the Five Immortals Temple (Bai Ma Shan). This tradition, carried by renunciant itinerant Daoist doctors, was governed by strict ethical precepts: they were forbidden to practice for profit in cities and treated only life-threatening conditions, never minor ailments. Theirs was a sacred duty, not a profession.

Daoist Medicine vs. Chinese Medicine: A Matter of Scope and Spirit

While often grouped under the broad umbrella of “Chinese Medicine,” Daoist Medicine (道醫 Dàoyī) is the source and root of TCM tree, and possesses a distinct, profound character. The primary difference lies in its scope:

• Chinese Medicine (中醫 Zhōngyī) is a magnificent system focused primarily on the 有形 (Yǒuxíng – the world of form): the physical body, Qi, blood, fluids, and the measurable influences of diet, lifestyle, and environment. Its foundation is the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic).
• Daoist Medicine (道醫 Dàoyī). While Chinese Medicine masterfully diagnoses and treats the 有形 (Yǒuxíng) – the world of physical form, Qi, and blood, – Daoist Medicine expands its scope dramatically into the 無形 (Wúxíng) – ‘the formless’ or ‘the unmanifest.’ This term is is central to Daoist philosophy, described in texts like the Daodejing as the nature of the Dao itself. It refers to the dimension of spirit, consciousness, karma, and destiny itself, – connecting with primordial energy from which the physical world arises. A Daoist doctor therefore treats not just the physical body, but the patterns of disharmony within this formless matrix before they crystallize into physical disease. It is inseparable from Daoist cultivation; one must first practice the Dao, and medicine follows naturally as an expression of that cultivation.

“大音希聲，大象無形。Dà yīn xī shēng, dà xiàng wúxíng.
The greatest sound is barely audible; the greatest form has no shape.”

~ Daodejing (道德經): Chapter 41

A core Daoist precept, “醫道通仙道” (Yī dào tōng xiān dào), meaning “The medical path connects to the path of immortality,” encapsulates this ideal. Healing is not the final goal but a catalyst for sacred metamorphosis—a process that forges a new, healthier self with enlightened perception and behavior.

The Three Causes of Disease: A Holistic Diagnostic Framework

A Daoist doctor’s diagnosis is vastly broader than a conventional one. Illness is analyzed through three interconnected causal layers:

1. Heavenly Causes (天因 Tiān Yīn)
These are karmic, spiritual, and pre-destined factors originating beyond the individual.

• Pre-heaven & Karma (先天 Xiāntiān, 因果 Yīnguǒ): Inherited predispositions or karmic debts from past actions or ancestors. Some illnesses are seen as contracts to be resolved in this life. For example, karmic afflictions, which can be inherited from harming other life, are seen as root causes for many “incurable” illnesses.
• Destiny (來因 Lái Yīn): One’s reason for incarnation, as reflected in the 八字四柱 (Bāzì Sìzhù – Eight Characters & Four Pillars) astrological chart, can be a root cause of illness.
• Spiritual & Psychological: Imbalances from religious beliefs (e.g., animal spirit worship) or unresolved trauma.
• Formless Entities (陰性能量場 Yīn xìng néngliàng chǎng): Negative, ancient energies that attach to a person’s energy body (often at the Mingmen gate), draining essence and causing symptoms like nocturnal emissions, chronic fear, or enuresis. Treatments often involve exorcisms to induce these entities to flee.

2. Human Causes (人因 Rén Yīn)
This aligns most closely with standard Chinese medicine, focusing on lifestyle and physical factors:

• Spiritual & Psychological: Diet, overwork, emotional excess, and unhealthy habits. Psychological causes for illness can come from the 7 emotions and 6 desires, societal pressure, unharmonious relationships with family members and friends, economic factors . 
• The Daoist approach adds a crucial element: 禁 (Jìn – Prohibitions). The doctor provides strict guidelines to curb the behaviors that caused the illness, aiming to shift the patient’s consciousness toward a healthier life. A cure is a chance for a new beginning, not a return to the old self.

3. Earthly Causes (地因 Dì Yīn)
This is the practice of medical Feng Shui (Geomancy). The environment is an extension of the body.

• This category overlaps significantly with the principles of Feng Shui (Geomancy). A Daoist doctor considers how a person’s environment – including the location of their home, nearby mountains, rivers, power lines, graveyards, the quality of light, sound, and air, – can influence their health over time, and gives suggestions on harmonizing the environment.

The Seven Skills of the Daoist Doctor (七技 Qī Jì)

What truly sets Daoist Medicine apart is its use of esoteric skills, all of which require a foundation of deep personal cultivation (修練 Xiūliàn) to be effective. These are the 七技 (Qī Jì):

1. 訣 (Jué – Hand Seals): Mudras used to direct Qi and communicate with formless realms.
2. 法 (Fǎ – Rituals): Ceremonial practices, often for exorcism or purification.
3. 咒 (Zhòu – Incantations): Sacred sounds and mantras to project intention and power.
4. 符 (Fú – Talismans): Written charms charged with Qi. Their creation is a rigorous practice requiring daily training under strict conditions and oral transmission. Crucially, a talisman only works if the patient begs for help and places full faith in the doctor, and the doctor recognizes a destined connection (緣分 Yuánfèn) with them.
5. 禁 (Jìn – Taboos/Prohibitions): Rules given to patients to prevent recurrence of disease.
6. 氣 (Qì – Qi Manipulation): Direct projection of life force, developed through Qigong and meditation.
7. 術 (Shù – Techniques): The practical, physical methods also found in TCM, such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion, cupping, and dietary therapy.

These skills are never used alone but are integrated. Their power stems from the practitioner’s cultivated 氣場 (Qìchǎng – Qi Field) and must be founded on the tenets of 慈悲，愛，包容 (Cíbēi, Ài, Bāoróng – Compassion, Love, and Mercy). Without this, they degrade into “black methods” (黑法 Hēi Fǎ) and can harm the user.

The Daoist Doctor: A Cultivator First, A Healer Second

The path to becoming a Daoist doctor is one of rigorous asceticism. Through Qigong, meditation, Dao Yin, and stillness practices, the adept builds a powerful Qi field. A common saying illustrates this: “導師學醫，籠中抓雞” (A Daoist studies medicine like trapping a chicken in a cage)—their cultivated skill makes grasping medical principles effortless.

The ultimate purpose of this training is to awaken 特意功能 (Tèyì Gōngnéng – special abilities), such as profound intuition and the capacity to see root causes. Only then is one a true Daoist doctor.

However, in the grand hierarchy of Daoist cultivation, being a doctor is considered a 煉己，築基 (Liàn jǐ, Zhùjī – “refining the self and establishing a foundation”) stage – a preparatory step for higher internal alchemy (丹道 Dāndào). The medical skills themselves must eventually be relinquished to advance further, lest the practitioner becomes stuck on a 彎路 (Wānlù – side path).

The Hierarchy of Healing

Daoists employ a tiered system of doctors, as described by the great physician 孫思邈 (Sūn Sīmiǎo) but expanded:

• 大醫 (Dà Yī – Great Doctor): The highest level, occupied by puissant figures like Christ or Buddha, who can remove karmic burdens with a single thought or word.
• 上醫 (Shàng Yī – Upper Doctor): Treats seemingly incurable diseases by addressing their root in the formless realms, using the 七技 (Seven Skills). They prevent disease before it manifests and rectify the patient’s behavior and destiny.
• 中醫 (Zhōng Yī – Middle Doctor): This term refers not just to “Chinese Medicine” but to a doctor who skillfully regulates Yin and Yang into 中和 (Zhōnghé – harmony) within the physical and energetic bodies. Most skilled societal doctors fall here.
• 下醫 (Xià Yī – Lower Doctor): Follows protocols rigidly without innovation or deep understanding.
• 庸醫 (Yōng Yī – Quack): A fraud who practices medicine deceptively for gain.

Interesting Additional Facts

• Elemental Anomalies: The Medicine King Sect’s Five Element theory has unique attributes. The Water element is associated with the color purple (not blue/black). Furthermore, Water correlates with Dryness (躁 Zào), and Metal with Cold (寒 Hán), explanations for which are more physiological than seasonal.
• The Role of the Yijing (I Ching): Daoist Medicine deeply integrates the Book of Changes. A dictum states: “不知《易》，不足以言太醫” (Those ignorant of the Yijing cannot speak of the highest medicine). It is used for diagnosis, plotting treatment strategies, assigning herbal formulas based on hexagrams, and even positioning patients in group healing sessions.
• The Power of Fresh Herbs: There is a strong preference for freshly picked, local herbs over mass-produced dried ones, as they contain the plant’s complete medicinal properties (藥性全部在 Yàoxìng quánbù zài). Incantations are recited during collection to give thanks and boost efficacy.
• The Practitioner’s Qi in Herbs: The same herbal formula prescribed by two different practitioners can yield vastly different results, as the Qi field of the prescriber is believed to attach to and empower the medicine.

Conclusion: A Living Tradition

Daoist Medicine is a complete spiritual and medical science, viewing humans as microcosms of the universe. It offers a path where healing is alchemy—transforming suffering into wisdom and disease into an opportunity for enlightenment. While much of this profound tradition remains secret, its core message is clear: true health is a state of harmony between the form and the formless, achievable only through personal cultivation and ethical living. It is a forgotten treasure, not lost, but waiting for those with the sincerity to seek it out.

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