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Book Review: Nourishing Destiny: The Inner Tradition of Chinese Medicine reviewed by Jonathan Daniel, C.C., L.Ac. “Our contract with heaven is broken the moment we start closing doors to self-expression and obstructing the flow of qi between heaven and earth. Like a great flood, the dao will overwhelm any obstacle (inappropriate attitude or belief) placed in its path as it strives to assert its true nature. If an individual continues to resist the flow of the dao, then symptomatology may develop in the inner kingdom. These symptoms appear as obstructions in the rivers of the inner kingdom – the functions, officials and meridians of the physical body. The practitioner of the inner tradition helps to unblock the passageways by choosing medicines of the highest class that correspond to heaven, thereby promoting the patient’s full self-expression, a necessary step if ming is to be established and vitality maintained.” This quotation from page 35 of Lonny Jarrett’s book, Nourishing Destiny, expresses the essential concept of this book and also, in my opinion, what is and should be the basis for the practice of Chinese Medicine – perhaps all medicine. Jarrett’s background includes what may be the best explanation of the “Five Element” system of Worsley that I have seen. Not only does he explain that position well, but he lets the reader see it as a very attractive and interesting system, showing that far from being simplistic, the Five Element system has much to offer both theoretically and practically to all those who practice Chinese Medicine. Some authors have said that Chinese Medicine has traditionally lacked a psychological element. They claim that in traditional culture, emotions and mental problems were expressed more in terms of their visceral manifestations. However, Jarrett makes it clear that the psychospiritual not only is present in Chinese Medicine, but it forms the core and basis for an understanding of human difficulties. According to Jarrett, the “inner tradition” is most explicitly concerned with the psychospiritual basis of illness, and views physical symptoms and signs as relatively superficial manifestations that are compensations for underlying constitutional issues. Health is the result of not only becoming aware of our innermost being, but also cultivating that awareness and ensuring that our circumstances maintain the flow of our innermost being. This is how Jarrett describes what is meant by “nourishing destiny.” Jarrett’s concept of “nourishing destiny” expresses what should be the goal of the practitioner of medicine. An individual’s destiny is that individual’s innermost being. Disease arises from a lack of regard for that innermost being. The health of the individual is the result of respect for the integrity of that individual both by the individual himself/herself and by the practitioner of medicine. Indeed, it could be said that if a practitioner were to apply what would ordinarily be considered correct methods of treatment, but the time of application or the method of administration violates the integrity of the patient, then this treatment is incorrect and may ultimately lead to undesirable and detrimental results. This is an important concept that should also form the basis of the practice of all forms of medicine,and is in conformity with the Hippocratic epigram at the heart of Western traditional medicine, “Primo non nocere,” (first do no harm). Jarrett’s text provides a lengthy discussion of the five constitutional types, varying slightly from Worsley’s “causative factors,” followed by a discussion of individual acupuncture points whose functions and indications are presented within the framework of his overall concept. His philosophical and mythical descriptions of the points are helpful in understanding each point from a theoretical perspective. By understanding this mythic infrastructure of points one can take another look at the traditional functions and indications and arrive at a deeper understanding of the basis of a point’s usage. It may be questioned just how traditional Jarrett’s approach really is. I am one of those who tends to look for authenticity in traditions and this is one of the factors which has made me avoid reading Worsley’s works up until now. However, although his bibliography shows no original sources in Chinese, there is a sufficient amount of material in the book to indicate that Jarrett has done an extensive study of many aspects of Chinese culture in preparing this book. It is my hope that this text may provide practitioners of internal traditions with a better grounding in the theoretical basis of their practice and the historical sources of input to their art. It is also my hope that this text may provide a window for the inquisitive mind to follow more deeply into the universe that is Chinese medicine.
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