Another Pathology
───The Pathology of Original Relation and The Medical Care of Emptiness; A Philosophical Trial───
In the following sentence,the words of “emptiness” and “nothing” do not mean “not being”, but ” the relationship of interdependence”.
From the beginning of human history, all diseases are nothing. In the past, in the present ,and even in the future, all diseases are nothing.
Our existence occurs in the midst of countless relationships between water, air and food, etc.
We cannot exist for ourselves. We are in an interdependent relationship with other various things. All diseases are the same. From this point of view , all diseases are nothing.
Of course, countless people have become ill and died. But this is temporary condition. Essentially, all diseases are nothing. All diseases are temporary conditions which are born in the midst of the relationships; the original aspect of disease is emptiness. Hence, the patient`s condition is changeable.
If all diseases could exist for themselves, the patient`s condition would not change and the act of medical care would not work. The Possibility of changing the patient`s condition shows that all diseases do not exist for themselves.
All bacteria and viruses also cannot exist by themselves. They always need an object in which to live. Can a decayed tooth bacteria cause a decayed tooth by itself? Can an infulenza virus cause the flu by itself? Can a cancerous cell cause cancer by itself ?
All diseases are nothing . Therefore, all diseases are a temporary phenomenon and the act of medical care will work.
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Modern civilization and its medicine that haven`t caught the original relation and emptiness opened up strongly “the being field” and gave us rich lives. However”the being field” is always accompanied by “the emptiness field”. Being is based on emptiness. Being cannot exist without emptiness.
Being is emptiness; emptiness is being at the same time.
Most of us have forgotten” the emptiness field”, and have come to solely rely on “the being field”. This is the original aspect of the agony and deadlock of modern civilization and its medicine.
I put the precept of emptiness of Buddha, the philosophy of relations of M.Buber（Ich und Du.1923), the epistemology of I.Kant and Nagarjuna and the phenomenon study of E.Husser as the base and I also put Western and Eastern medicine on top along with many studies associated with both approaches to medicine.
I would like to summarize the above by poems and music, as I try to open a new field of medicine. The above epistemology excludes ｍy narrow dogma and has cleaned my critical eye. Poems and music give me hope and consolation.
“Why is not our existence nothing but being?” (M.Heidegger. Was ist Metaphysik? 1950 )
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Buddha said, “living , aging, getting sick, and dying is emptiness”. But he passed away by eating poisoned mushrooms which a beliaver of his offered him. I would not ask him ” Why did you die? Could not you stop death ?” Instead , I would like to ask him “Why did you die of food poisoning ? Did not you get over the disease by your precept? You would have gotten over the disease if you had built the pathology and the medical care which is based on your precept of emptiness”.
I think it is natural that Buddha or his pupils should have established the pathology and its medical care which are based on Buddha`s precept of emptiness. But they did not. We also haven`t managed it for 2500 years.
The thought of diseases in “Yakushigyo” (a Buddhistic sutra) have the main theme that all people become “a Buddha”(a person who realizes buddhistic truth). It is worthy of notice that the precept of Yakushigyo shows the salvation of the entire human race and attempts to overcome all diseases. Only the medicine of physical cure does not realize real medical care. Real medicine should realize the salvation of human. That is the both salvation of body and spirit.
Shotokutaishi ( a japanese prince 574～622 ) devoted his life to build a beautiful buddhistic country in Japan. It is said that he built a “hidenin”(a Buddhistic temple) and saved many patients and the poor. I feel mercy in his action, but I cannot find the thought of the medical care of emptiness that is based on the precept of emptiness.
A.Schweitzer (he won the Nobel peace prize.1875-1965) studied Buddhism as well as Christianity and preached “the awe of lives”. He conducted medical care in Africa. But his medical care concept was not based on emptiness but on German Medicine.
The research of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi( a Japanese bacteria scholar.1876-1928 ) was also based on modern Western pathology . His effort and ability have a high reputation. But his thought about diseases is not deep.
Needless to say, modern Western pathology has gotten good results. But we must put the past pathology in “the pathology of original relation”and “the medical care of emptiness”. Actually the conception of today`s Japanese medicine is different from the one before. Nowadays there is a tendency among the Japanese to check health in one`s bad habits; smoking, drinking, taking too much fat , etc.
The establishment of “the pathology of original relation” and “the medical care of emptiness” are urgently requird.
( 1990. revised in 2010 )
