AN INVISIBLE RIVER

In the Oriental Tradition, Meditation Can Detect the Elusive Energy-Flows that Sustain the Body

In order to understand the East Asian idea of the body, particularly that of the Chinese and Japanese, we must imagine that instead of having a body, we are our body –and more importantly, that our body lives us.  The East Asian tradition also recognizes a dimension of being that escapes our everyday understanding. 

The idea of the body which has been cherished in the East Asian tradition is based on the philosophy of self-cultivation, derived mainly from experience obtained through meditation.  A characteristic image of the East Asian meditational perspective is that of the “flowing body.”  The body is likened to a river whose water is, ideally, in pristine condition and transparent but cannot be seen by the naked eye.  It can, however, be detected through heightened awareness during meditation. 

When the threshold of self-consciousness is lowered in conjunction with the reduction of respiration, an advanced meditator can become aware of a subtle flow of energy throughout his or her body.  This energy, which is called ki in Japanese (qi, in Chinese) is the source from which both the psychological and the physiological emerge.

Ki-energy flows through a network of circuits, or “Ki-meridians,” beneath the skin.  According to psychologist Motoyama Hiroshi, this network is located in the water-rich area of the connective tissues of the dermis, the deep inner layer of the skin.  Ki-energy literally flows beneath the psycho-physiological body of which we are ordinarily aware. 

The flowing body knows no boundary between the interior and exterior, between mind and matter.  For this reason, acupuncture medicine maintains that absorption and release of ki-energy occurs, unconsciously, between the flowing body and its surroundings, as well as between one flowing body and another. 

The second idea of the body which is relevant for religious healing within the East Asian tradition is that of the spirit-body.  Each human spirit-body has a certain form which is different from that of the individual’s physical body and also from other spirit bodies.  It is defined by the pattern of emotions such as love, hate and anger, and their existential repercussions.  Whereas the flowing body is confined to the immediate ambiance of its physical body, the spirit-body is believed to possess relative freedom from spatial and temporal confinement.

The most significant point about these different ideas of the body is that the “visible” and “invisible” aspects are, in principle, reversible.  Without this reversibility, no religious healing is possible.

The crucial difference between religious healing and other kinds of healing is in their respective goals.  In religious healing, a pathological condition is regarded as a necessary step on the way to spiritual growth.  The pathological condition that calls for religious healing is functional in nature and not an organic disorder.

Acupuncture medicine is particularly effective in treating both functional and chronic disease.  It considers that a pathological condition is engendered by the stagnation of ki-energy flowing in the meridians.  The “water” in the flowing body becomes polluted, accumulates debris, and departs from its natural pristine condition.

Three factors may contribute to this stagnation:  (1) a psychological condition brought about by emotional instability; (2) environmental conditions, especially climatic conditions, and (3) our attitude towards our health, including such factors as irregular lifestyles, negligence, and exhaustion.

Another category of healing involves the manipulation of the flowing body and the spirit-body by means of visualization or image-experience.  Religious healing in Daoism, Buddhism, and to some extent, Shintoism, uses visualization techniques.  A general feature of visualization is to learn to experience a “sacred” image, initially by creating it within one’s psyche.  This psychological approach, based on the curative effect an image can have on the body, is employed because a religious image carries transformative power. 

Another kind of religious healing in the East Asian tradition is the Kharmic reconfiguration of the ripe, kharmic body.  This is predicated on an Indian belief that a human being comes into this world in virtue of his / her own kharma, and dies in virtue of the same.  This kind of healing, however, is reserved only for the “god-men,” or those who have achieved the highest enlightenment (satori), by transcending the temporal demarcation. 

In summary, the philosophical background to the idea of the body and healing in the East Asian tradition is that human beings inhabit the world of nature with other living beings.  By transforming their everyday mode of consciousness, they can become one with the creative activity of nature and awaken in themselves a natural healing power.

(Summarized from UNESCO COURIER, April 1997 pp15-20, by Shigenori Nagatomo)