Written By Jun Heo(許浚, 1539~1615), Translated by Namil Kim, Wung Seok Cha et al., Published by Ministry of Health & Welfare (Korea)
『Dongui Bogam-Internal Bodily Elements(동의보감-내경편』 Ⅰ. Body(신형 身形)
① Quxian (臞仙) said: “Wise doctors of ancient times treated the minds of people and led them to avoid diseases. Doctors in the present day, however, only know how to treat the diseases and not the minds of people. This is throwing away the fundamentals and pursuing the terminals; not investigating the origin and running after the flow and hoping for the disease to be cured. This is such an absurd act. Of course, the disease might be cured by chance, but it is something a foolish doctor of the mundane world would do, which must not be the model for others. A hermit named Taebaek said, ‘One must treat the mind to treat the disease; relying on the Tao is only possible when the mind is in the right condition.’ If the patient is led to get rid of all the doubts, thoughts, delusions, complaints, and discriminations, and is reminded to reflect on one’s faults, he or she would be able to empty the body and mind, and correspond to the outside world. When this state continues, the spirit gathers, and the mind becomes serene and temperament becomes peaceful. At last, one realizes that all the mundane is nothing but empty, all the things done are delusions, the body is nothing but a ghost, fortune and misfortune are not reality, and life and death are nothing but a dream. Knowing for sure and solving everything will lead the mind to be cleared at once and the disease will be cured. When this happens, the disease will vanish even before any medicine is taken. This is the fundamental law of the wise man who treats the mind with Tao to cure diseases.”
② Also, he said: “Wise doctors treat diseases before they occur, and ordinary doctors treat them after they occur. Ways of treating diseases before they occur are controlling and training the mind. Ways of treating diseases after they occur are medicines, acupuncture, and moxibustion. The treatments differ but the origin of diseases is only one; it cannot be denied that diseases originate from the mind.”
