Great Construction

Five, The Fallacies of Western Medical Science
and Building Japanese Healing

     Previously I explained that sickness results when living spirit clouds. The physical body of the human being has indeed been consummately created. Let us use examples of sicknesses such as the common cold, or, when the throat is painful due to tonsillitis, or, if the joints should hurt from arthritis. The question becomes, what is the substance of the symptoms of fever and pain that accompany these conditions. Indeed, spiritually, mysteriously, intriguingly it is this very pain that needs to be dealt with when treating sickness. Sickness is the product of human beings themselves.
     The goal of the Creator by whom human beings were fashioned is that they maintain their health, and the Creator maintains unavoidably the function of sickness within human beings as a means of warning against such intentions and deeds as the breaking the laws of heaven and earth or when seeming to be on the verge of breaking these laws. There is no doubt that it is God’s intention that there be human beings who do not break the laws and thus do not get sick. In other words, sickness is punishment for performing misdeeds.
     Thus, the pain and suffering of sickness has two meanings. First is the warning not to repeat evil, and the second is a function for curing the physical body. Therefore, fever and pain are parts of the process of healing disease, and as that function continues step by step, as time passes, the level of sickness decreases. But, as with all things, there is a zenith, and even in the case of sickness, in the healing process, there is a peak. Since there is a climax, there will be a time when the pain will be unbearable.
     But, the intervals of such pain will not last for long. That is because the periods of such severe pain are the peak of the healing function, and it is during such periods that most of the healing occurs. Until now, however, this process has not been understood, and the pain and suffering of sickness has been misinterpreted as a worsening of the condition. The more the pain and suffering, the more unease was felt, and medical treatment was sought. Unbeknownst to all, this is the exact opposite of what should be done. The more the pain and suffering, the greater the function of healing that is taking place.
     However, since Western medical science is the treatment of symptoms, it works only to lessen the pain and suffering.
     In other words, when a fever occurs, medical treatment seeks to cool it. If the formation of pus results in swelling, and the pus seeks exit, the swelling is treated with ice or else dispersion is attempted with medicine. When healing might involve pain, suppression of pain is sought with injections. These methods do nothing to heal the condition and block the healing function. Indeed, medical science is striving not to heal sickness, an error which could probably not be any more egregious. Moreover, even though sickness is a great issue that concerns human life, is it not truly surprising that this error has not been perceived?
     How can I who have learned of this error through spiritual guidance from the Regarder of the Cries of the World ignore the world and humanity? I have established a way to awaken humanity to this error, to the true method of healing, to the true hygienic way in which sickness is not incurred, to the true way of health of long health. This is Japanese medicine.

Lectures on Japanese Medicine, Volume 1, 1935
translated by cynndd

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“Go, Seiyō Igaku no Gobyū to Nihon Igaku no Kensetsu” is the fifth chapter of Nihon Ijutsu Kōgiroku, Dai-ippen (Lectures on Japanese Medicine, Volume 1) which was compiled and distributed in mimeographed form in 1935. Although “Dai-ippen” (Volume 1) is included in the title where it has been anthologized, there are no subsequent volumes.