area51novel Chapter 96 Emptying the Mind and Returning to Enlightenment
Chapter 96 Emptying the Mind and Returning to Enlightenment
Chapter 96 Emptying the Mind, Returning to Zero, and Enlightenment
I. Only by practicing medicine can one truly understand one's own shortcomings.
Zhou Deshan and Xu Jingming took turns sitting in the clinic every day, receiving patients from the surrounding streets and alleys who came to seek medical treatment.
Day after day, I personally and closely examine patients with various common ailments of varying severity, personally observing, listening, inquiring, and palpating to diagnose and diagnose their conditions.
The more diligently they practiced their medical work, the clearer and more profoundly they became aware of the shortcomings and deficiencies of their years of medical practice, and the more they recognized their own shallowness and inadequacy.
The two had been practicing medicine for four or five decades, relying on their old experience to practice medicine for half their lives. In the past, they were confident in their medical skills based on their seniority and reputation, and never had the slightest self-doubt.
Only after truly calming down and breaking free from old ways of thinking, and starting from scratch to quietly practice and gain experience in clinical care, did the two of them suddenly realize the truth.
He realized that the medical approach he had adhered to for most of his life had long deviated from the fundamental principles of medicine, and that he had gone astray from the very beginning.
When there were few patients during the day and the hall was quiet, the two stood side by side quietly under the eaves of the clinic.
Looking at the empty and quiet consultation hall, and recalling their past arrogance and conceit, both of them showed expressions of guilt and shame on their faces.
Xu Jingming let out a long, heavy sigh, his brows furrowed with regret and remorse, and slowly opened his mouth to murmur a sigh.
"In the past, we were among the most renowned doctors in the provincial capital. We were always confident in our medical skills and extensive experience, and we were certain that we would not make any mistakes when treating patients and prescribing medicine."
"Now that I follow my master to see patients every day and experience it firsthand, I have finally realized that we were just rigidly following the textbook before."
"They only blindly follow ancient prescriptions and prescribe medicines, without truly understanding the principles of traditional Chinese medicine or comprehending the underlying causes and changes in the symptoms."
Upon hearing these words, Zhou Deshan's face also showed a strong sense of bitterness. He shook his head helplessly, his tone full of sudden realization.
"We spend our whole lives clinging to old, outdated prescriptions passed down from our ancestors, rigidly adhering to the inflexible rules left by them, and our thinking is inflexible and lacks any ability to adapt."
"Having spent half his life practicing medicine, he only mechanically dispenses medicine according to existing prescriptions, without any ability to trace the origins of the disease or to differentiate between different conditions, let alone understand the rise and fall of Qi throughout the human body."
At this moment, the two of them were completely clear-headed and realized that although they had spent the past half of their lives practicing medicine and saving people, they had actually been stuck in their ways and lost half of their lives, wasting decades of their time.
As evidenced by the poem
Daily consultations reveal true skill.
Only then did I realize how desolate I had been in the past.
He spent half his life practicing medicine, but all his efforts were on unorthodox paths.
Only through awakening can one understand the true path and its profound meaning.
II. Suddenly realizing the error of the old ways
After days of clinical practice, the two men's inner awakening became more profound, and they could no longer let go of the guilt and reflection in their hearts.
They both made a firm and unwavering determination to forcibly clear their minds of deeply ingrained old medical theories, old prescriptions, and entrenched diagnostic habits.
He forcefully reversed the ingrained medical habits of decades, treating himself as a completely blank sheet of paper.
Completely abandon rigid and outdated ancient methods and theories, calmly reset and let go of all the past, and start from scratch to learn the true art of traditional Chinese medicine.
Xu Jingming looked solemn and serious, then turned to look at Zhou Deshan beside him, his tone firm and resolute.
"From today onward, we must completely discard all the old prescriptions and outdated ways of thinking in our minds."
"Clear away all the medical experience of the past few decades and not be bound by old ways of thinking in the slightest."
"Only by completely emptying oneself can one truly accept the new medical principles taught by the master and understand the essence of healing."
Zhou Deshan nodded solemnly, his eyes resolute, all distractions gone, leaving only a sincere desire to learn.
"Without completely breaking free from old prejudices, one will never escape the circle of self-imposed isolation and will never learn the true path of medicine."
At this moment, the two were of one mind and recognized themselves from the bottom of their hearts. They would never again be arrogant and stubborn because of their half-life of experience.
My only thought is to break free from old ideas, return to my original state, and start learning from scratch in a down-to-earth manner, so as not to let down my master's painstaking teachings.
As evidenced by the poem
Suddenly realizing the error of his ways, he abandoned his old methods.
Clear your mind of distractions and purify your heart.
Let go of half a lifetime of old thoughts,
I wholeheartedly set my mind to learning traditional Chinese medicine.
III. Reviewing and Understanding Medical Principles in Leisure Time
During the breaks between daily consultations when no patients came, the two never dared to slack off or waste time.
Sitting quietly in the side hall of the clinic, he calmly reviewed the basic orthodox medical principles that Chen Shanhe had taught him.
He meticulously studied the core diagnostic principles of integrating military strategy with medicine, word by word, and carefully comprehended the medical strategies for attacking and defending against pathogenic factors.
We exchange ideas on various difficulties and challenges encountered during our consultations, offer each other advice and reminders, and make progress together.
Zhou Deshan unfolded the pages of medical records, lightly tapped the words on them with his fingertips, and slowly spoke to Xu Jingming.
"We must study and ponder the changes in the body's Qi, its rise and fall, its internal and external manifestations, and its emptiness and fullness, as Master has described."
"Treating illness is like waging war; for acute illnesses, we must attack swiftly, while for chronic illnesses, we must proceed with a more circuitous approach. We must engrave this principle in our hearts."
Xu Jingming listened attentively, nodding repeatedly, and then expressed the confusion and doubts that arose in his mind when he was seeing patients.
"Some patients' pulses may appear to indicate a cold condition, but they actually have internal heat. It is easy to be misled by old experience and misdiagnose the root cause of the disease."
The two talked back and forth, exchanging ideas and reminding each other not to fall back into old habits of medical practice.
Always keep in mind the new dialectical logic, break free from the constraints of old methods, and wholeheartedly understand the right path of medical practice that is in line with the root cause of the disease.
As evidenced by the poem
In his spare time, he reads books and contemplates the principles of medicine.
We helped each other resolve our doubts and discussed the issues together.
Military strategy integrates medicine to clarify offense and defense.
Diligently comprehend and solidify your own mind.
IV. Be humble and start from the beginning to improve yourself.
After days of hands-on experience in seeing patients, and repeated self-reflection and review, Zhou Deshan and Xu Jingming completely shed the halo of their renowned medical qualifications accumulated over half a lifetime, and put down all their arrogance and stubbornness.
They completely changed their former arrogant and self-important nature. They would no longer rely on decades of outdated and rigid medical experience to be self-righteous, nor would they arrogantly and arbitrarily diagnose patients or blindly prescribe medicine.
The two had long since calmed down and become more humble and modest, completely suppressing all their restlessness and resigning themselves to their past achievements. They devoted themselves to learning medicine from scratch and steadily building a new foundation for their medical practice.
Day by day, we gradually reversed the deeply ingrained, decades-old fixed medical thinking and changed the old diagnostic habits and medical practices that were already ingrained in our bones.
The two of them stayed at the commoners' clinic, taking turns to see patients every day, and spending their spare time studying the new medical theories of traditional Chinese medicine.
With a calm and composed mindset, one can steadily refine oneself and hone new medical skills little by little.
They never expect to achieve great things or become famous overnight; they simply focus on steadily refining every detail of their medical studies and building a solid foundation for themselves.
Humbly accepting the new medical knowledge taught by Chen Shanhe, patiently studying and refining the diagnostic methods that integrate military strategy with medicine, changing oneself little by little day by day, and reshaping the original heart of a doctor.
The two of them knew perfectly well that, in their twilight years, overturning a lifetime of preconceived notions and changing their mindset to learn medicine from scratch was the most difficult thing for others to do.
But they also know very well that this path is difficult, but it is also the most correct and righteous path.
Only by completely breaking free from the narrow and outdated self can one reshape one's medical skills to truly heal the sick and save lives, and truly understand the supreme path of a healer—to save lives and benefit all people.
From then on, the two completely calmed their minds and tempered their nature, put aside their distracting thoughts and humbly cultivated themselves, starting anew with a mindset of starting from scratch.
I will take each step of my medical studies and enlightenment steadily, never betraying my original aspiration of finding my way back from the wrong path, never betraying the kindness of my teacher Chen Shanhe who has taught me with such care, and never betraying the countless ordinary people who come to me for medical treatment with high hopes.
As evidenced by the poem
Be humble and start learning from the beginning.
Turn around old ideas and abandon outdated practices.
Strengthening the foundation of medical practice
He spent his life seeking enlightenment and alleviating the people's suffering.