The emperor asked: "Whether acupuncture would be effective is fundamentally based on the spirit of a patient. The blood, vessels, nutritive qi, essence and spirit are stored by the five zang-organs. If one experiences excessive emotional frustration, the essence will be lost, and the soul will escape. Absent-mindedness will occur, and wisdom and thoughts will leave the body. Why does this happen? Is it the crime of the heaven? Is it the mistake of the patient? The virtue of the heaven and the benevolence of the earth produce men’s spirit, essence, yang soul, yin soul, mind, idea, resolution, consideration, farsightedness, and wisdom. What about this?"
Qi Bo answered: "The heaven bestows its virtue on people. The earth endows people with its benevolence. The virtue of the heaven descends, and the benevolence of the earth ascends so that people may live. So what is generated before birth is essence. Two essences pair, then the spirit is produced. The yang soul comes and goes with the spirit. The yin soul goes out or come in with the essence. What learns and deals with things is heart. What is immature in the mind is idea. What is determined firmly is resolution. To think about this resolution over and over again is consideration. To ponder things from long distances and many angles is farsightedness. Dealing with all things with farsightedness is wisdom."
Key Words: root spirit, in the divine pivot
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