Simple Questions — Autumn

The Huang di Nei jing, or the “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic,” is Chinese Medicine’s oldest textbook and often considered Taoism’s most important scripture.

Around 400BCE in China, philosophers began to perceive regularities in the daily workings of the universe that appeared to be governed by natural laws. The assumption that such laws existed became closely tied to a vision of patterned relationships among all phenomena in the world, be they tangible or not. These theories eventually served as the basis for interpreting and manipulating health and illness of the human organism. There are medical diagnoses and treatments presented in the Nei Jing that are still applied in the clinic today, supported by both millennia of clinical experience as well as increasing modern, scientific based evidence. The fundamental theories of the Nei Jing are simple. In this way, one can personally integrate with the wisdom of the Nei Jing on any level.

The essence of the Nei Jing is revealed in its first chapter:

Now, the Yellow Emperor asked the Heavenly Teacher,

“I have heard that people of high antiquity all exceeded 100 years?

Is this because times are different? Or is it that people have lost this ability?”

Qi Bo responded,

“The people of high antiquity,

Those who knew the Way,

They modeled their behavior on yin and yang and

They complied with the arts and the calculations.”

To live long and die happy, one must harmonize with the Way. One way to harmonize with the Way is to sync with Nature.

Modeling the seasons is one way we can sync with Nature. Our human experience, both internally and externally, is a microcosm that mirrors a macrocosm. Our organs, our emotions, our thoughts, our decisions, and our relationships all correspond with Nature.

The following teachings on Autumn are from the second chapter of the Simple Questions (part I of the Nei Jing), “Comprehensive Discourse on Regulating the spirit [in accordance with] the Qi of the Four [seasons].”

Settle!

When you think of Nature in Fall, what comes to mind? I think of crisp air and still mornings. I think of coming down from Summer and starting to settle. According to the Five Phases, Autumn corresponds with Metal. Metal is controlled by Fire. As the Flame of Summer cools, our form is solidified. The outward, high energy of summer begins to turn inwards — yin within yang. Autumn is Nature’s “nighttime routine,” the ritual before bed. We take off our clothes, we wash off our day, we shift our gaze from the external world to the internal world, we settle our movement and find stillness. Go outside. Can you feel it?

Wake Up!

“One wishes to establish peace and tranquility. Hence, one rises early” — Wang Bing, 762ce

How are you feeling now that the sun has started to set earlier? Bring awareness to how your internal and external nature is also starting to shift with the season.

Autumn is reminds us that Winter is coming… the end of the year! Already! How did you your vision for the year match your reality?

We rise early in Autumn to finish what remains undone. Time is running out. There is only so much Sun for the rest of year. Now is the moment to be sharp and precise. Autumn is not the time for more, but for less — a time to celebrate what IS.

Within the Five Phases, Autumn corresponds with the Metal Element. Lung is the Yin Organ of Metal and Large Intestine is the Yang Organ. A part of integrating with the wisdom of autumn is recognizing what needs to be breathed in ( LUNG ) and what needs to be let go ( LARGE INTESTINE ).

Ok, great! Wake up! I heard this interesting thing in a book I read this year about Time Management. In it, there is a story where Steven Covey said to write down the top 15 things you want to do in your life. He said that the first 5 things on the list should be our obsession, that we should absolutely immerse ourselves into these things. The other 10, he said, should be avoided at all cost, as they are what will have the most power to distract you from what you want most. Metal!!

In Christian mythology, Truth is a Sword. Perhaps Autumn is the time to cut through illusions and delusions.

What can be done, really?

Procrastinate BETTER! “Getting everything crossed of the list” is a trap.

Get up early and find stillness. With a peaceful mind, get done what gets done.

Punishment?

What are the punishments of Autumn? Throughout the years, scholars have to connect this verse to both the “sharp winds” of Autumn as well as a reference to the “Killing Season” of ancient china, in which all of the criminals who would be receiving capital punishment were executed in Fall!

I’ve been contemplating on the “punishments” of Autumn. What comes to mind is the consequence of unanchored Yang Energy.

Autumn is when Yang within Yang transitions into Yin within Yang. The outward heads inward. Yin is receiving and grounding. If there is no Yin to settle the Yang, the Yang will continue to rise. If we do not find peace and tranquility, we will get caught up in our mind. With our head in the clouds, we will Fall.

Clear!

We get out of our head and into the body ( into Nature ) through our breath. Following the breath sinks us into the present moment.

Breathing In, Breathing Out.

Anytime we see “Qi” following a word, it refers to the vital material and processes of whatever it follows. Spirit Qi could then be understood as the “vital material and processes of the Spirit, or Mind.”

To “Collect the spirit qi” is to calm the Mind. If we want to follow the council of Autumn, we can settle our thinking by detangling ourselves from thoughts.

My favorite way to decipher skillful thinking is by the acronym “TH*NK”

T: is the thought true?

H: is it Here and Happening now?

N: is it Necessary to think about?

K : is it Kind?

* no “i” included because any thoughts with “i” are unnecessary

Inside!

“Do not direct your mind to the outside” has really stuck with me. It’s one of those lines I keep reading over and over. What does it mean? How do you receive it? I appreciate the context provided council by Wang Bing ( 762 CE ) stated below.

“When the spirit is agitated, one’s desires may be set aflame.”

In Theravada Buddhism, Desire is one of the Five Hinderances of mindfulness. This idea teaches that the mind only has 5 different flavors of distraction: Desire, Aversion, Restlessness, Slothfulness, and Doubt.

The five hinderances are Outside Influences… they are thoughts! We are not our thoughts. “Do not direct your mind to the outside…”

Protect!

Metal is both our sword and our armor. It is how we defend and attack, it is how we protect.

What have you gathered? How are you nourishing it? What are you protecting? How are you protecting it?

Questions are infinite, answers are finite. We do not need to figure it all out. Instead, we can follow the path that is already known.

Maybe this year sucked.

Give it a hug, bring it close to your heart. Defend your intentions and your efforts!

At least it’s time for bed.