The Water Between Heaven and Earth

In light of the fact I was pondering the Law of Floods and Droughts the other day, I thought this passage in my study was rather synchronous.

It is a description of the Kidney organ from a TCM perspective by Zhuang Yuanchen:

"The Kidney is the Ocean of the Human Body. Since oceans are situated on a lower level than the earth's streams and rivers, they draw every one of them to form one large body of water. Oceans may appear vast and inexhaustible, yet they still drain off some of their seemingly unlimited supply. One way of drainage is called "going to ruins", meaning the water drains down into the earth from where it will not return. The other way of drainage is called 'dwelling in the stars' meaning the water steams toward the sky and later rains down to earth again, where it dissipates into rivers and streams and eventually returns to the ocean. This is the water that circulates between heaven and earth, always striving to keep an equilibrium between the extreme states of drought and flooding."

03-10-2008 12:23PM