青柳診所手記53

剛剛從台灣回來。我們這次去台灣主要是為了參加林勝勤老師舉行的DNPD培訓。DNPD是一種中醫外科深層負壓引流技術。他的創始人是林勝勤博士。我們跟着林老師和他的師父學習了足足兩個星期。

DNPD技術聽起來有些複雜，其實它非常簡單，簡單到可以用一個詞語來介紹，那就是“減法” – 把身體內不需要的廢物給清除出來。

林老師發明的機器，主要是通過深層負壓引流把體內的瘀血、痰濕、毒素釋放出來。通過他多年來的許多臨床病例證明，DNPD不僅可以舒筋通絡、促進人體的新陳代謝和血液循環、減輕炎症和痛症，也還可以調節人體的陰陽平衡，讓人體抵抗病邪的免疫力變得強大。

我們的培訓基地在台南，在一個安靜而乾淨的郊區。那些低矮陳舊的建築物讓人仿佛回到了幾十年前。

林老師笑着說：這個地方正好讓我們在學習DNPD技術之前，體會一下什麼是減法。

林老師不斷向我們強調：要有一個健康的身體，我們必須學會減法。減法是一種智慧，一種高層次的養生。他說許多疾病，都是因為當減不減，當舍不舍而得來的。我們只有去掉體內那些不必要的累贅，才會有輕鬆、快樂、健康的身心。

我們頭幾個晚上都睡在一個幽靜無比的寺廟裡，裡面除了一張床，幾乎什麼都沒有。比起那些豪華的大酒店來，這是不是減法？

早上三點半就起來做早課，晚上九點就早早入眠。比起我們熟悉的那些喧囂的大都市來，這是不是減法？

寺廟裡連Wifi都沒有，早上除了鐘聲與鳥聲，什麼都聽不到。沒有電腦沒有手機沒有電視。大師兄去買東西，還得帶着一張當地的地圖導航。這是不是減法？

每天吃兩餐。除了有機水果和蔬菜，就是喝中藥茶。這是不是減法？

我們去台灣還有另外一個目的，那就是去祭拜馮馮居士的陵墓。馮馮居士是一個著名的佛教居士，他是我的第一個靈修老師，也是曾經預言我會走上行醫這條路的人。他在溫哥華居住時曾經跟我是無話不談的忘年交。他在台灣去世已經差不多二十年了，這麼多年，我一直想去祭拜一下他的陵墓以表達我對他的感恩之情，但因為種種原因卻總是沒有機會成行。

林勝勤老師親自開車送我們去台南的一個偏遠的寺廟拜見馮馮。他不但買了許多新鮮的水果讓我們帶去，甚至還特意陪我們去了一個蓮花山莊挑選了新綻開的蓮花送給馮馮。林老師怎麼知道馮馮生前最愛的花就是蓮花呢？

“現代人之所以不快樂，就是因為他們雜念太多了。要知道：‘一念心清淨，蓮花處處開’啊”，馮馮居士生前不止一次對我這樣說。

少一點雜念，這是不是也是減法？

馮馮居士一生在文學、藝術、宗教等領域都頗有成就，但他卻自始至終過着低調、孤獨而謙卑的生活。這是不是也是一種減法？

當我們回到溫哥華時，我第一件做的事就是去拜訪我們的花園。才離開兩個星期，院子裡的玫瑰花幾乎全開了，紅的黃的紫的橙的競相開放熱鬧極了。阿里醫生正在花園裡忙碌着，他不知道我站在遠處悄悄看着他。阿里醫生對植物們似乎有着一種特別的感情。我看見他跪在地上澆水、施肥、翻土、換盆，忙得不亦樂乎，仿佛除了手下的花草們，他已經忘記了一切。

聖雄甘地曾經說過："忘記如何耕耘就是忘記我們自己."

那麼，一個完全不把俗事放在心上而沉浸在園藝中的人，這是不是也是一種減法，甚至是一種福氣？

減法往往可以豐富我們的生活，這是不是有些奇怪？

Whispering of Willows 53

By Dr. Anna Zhao

We Just returned from Taiwan, where we studied an intensive course in DNPD held by Dr. Lin Shengqin, its founder. DNPD is an innovative technique based in traditional Chinese medicine utilizing deep negative pressure drainage to help patients recover from serious illness. We studied with Dr. Lin and his master for two weeks.

DNPD technology sounds complicated, but it is actually very simple, so simple that it can be introduced in one word, that is, "subtraction" - removing unnecessary waste from the body.

The device, invented by Dr. Lin, releases blood stasis, phlegm and toxins from the body through deep negative pressure drainage. Through Dr. Lin’s many clinical cases over the years, it has been proven that DNPD is beneficial in many ways, such as by relaxing muscles, promoting blood circulation, increasing metabolism, and reducing inflammation and pain. It also regulates the balance of yin and yang in the human body, strengthening the body's immunity against pathogens and diseases.

Our training centre was in Tainan, in a neat and quiet suburb. Those low hanging old buildings may make you feel drawn back a few decades in time.

Dr. Lin smiled and said: “This place is ideal for us to experience what subtraction is before our training even starts.”

Dr. Lin constantly emphasized to us: To have a healthy life, we must learn how to subtract things from our physical body and life. Subtraction is a wisdom, a high-level health preservation. He said that many diseases are caused by not reducing what should be reduced, not giving up what should be given up. According to him, only when we remove those unnecessary burdens in our life can we have a relaxed and sound body and mind. Subtracting the unnecessary “necessities” we fill our lives with, to add to life.

We stayed in a tranquil temple for the first few nights. There was almost nothing in the room except a bed. Compared to a luxurious hotel, is this a subtraction?

We got up at 3:30 in the morning to do morning lessons and went to bed as early as 9 o'clock in the evening. Compared with the noisy metropolises we are familiar with, is this a subtraction?

Sorry, no wifi in the temple. In the morning, all you can hear are the sounds of bells and the chirping of birds. No computers, no mobile phones, and no TVs were seen anywhere. When Dr. Daniel went out shopping, no online maps, he had to take a paper map for his navigation. Is this a subtraction?

Two meals a day, only eating organic vegetables and fruit, plus lots of herbal tea. Is this also a subtraction?

Besides training, we also had another purpose for going to Taiwan, which was to pay homage to the tomb of Mr. Peter Faun. Peter was a reputable Buddhist layman. He was my first spiritual teacher and the one who predicted that I would become a Chinese Medicine doctor someday. When he lived in Vancouver, he and I were close friends. From the time he passed away in Taiwan, almost 20 years had slipped by. For years, I have wanted to pay homage at his tomb to express my gratitude to him, but for various reasons, I have never had the opportunity to do so.

Dr. Lin personally drove us to a remote temple in Tainan where we went to pay our respects at Peter’s tomb. Not only did Dr. Lin get a lot of fresh fruit for us to take, he even accompanied us to a lotus villa where we picked some newly bloomed lotus flowers for Peter. How did Dr. Lin know that Peter's favorite flower was the lotus?

"The reason why modern people are so unhappy is because they have too many distracting thoughts.” Said Peter to me on various occasions, “You know: 'If a single thought is pure, even a lotus flower blooms'."

Having fewer distracting thoughts, is this also a subtraction?

In his life, Peter made great achievements in literature, art, religion and other fields, while living a low-key, solitary and humble life. Is this also a kind of subtraction?

When we returned to Vancouver, the first thing I did was to visit our clinic’s garden. After only two weeks of absence, I was stunned to see the roses in the yard were almost all in full blossom, red, yellow, purple and orange blooming in a lively manner. Dr. Ali was busy in the garden, he didn't know I was standing in the distance watching him quietly. Dr. Ali seemed to have a special eye for the plants. Many times, I watched him kneeling on the ground watering, fertilizing, turning the soil, changing pots, busy and happy like a bee. It is as if he had forgotten everything else in the world except these darling flowers and plants under his care.

Mahatma Gandhi once said: "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves."

So, when a person is completely immersed in his gardening and oblivious about worldly affairs, is this also a kind of subtraction, and perhaps even – a blessing?

While counter-intuitive, we add to our lives by subtraction – who would have thought this?