Just my point: REN 7

Just my point REN 5

Peter Firebrace

BAcC Fellow: Denmark

‘There was a rock that since the creation of the world had been worked upon by the pure essences of Heaven and the fine savours of Earth, the vigour of sunshine and the grace of moonlight, till at last it became magically pregnant and one day split open, giving birth to a stone egg, about as big as a playing ball. Fructified by the wind, it developed into a stone monkey, complete with every organ and limb. At once this monkey learned to climb and run…’ So begins the life of China’s exuberant and irreverent Monkey King in the famous 16th century novel Journey to the West (Arthur Waley translation). It is hard to imagine a more vital and irrepressible character than Monkey and yet he is born from a still stone egg.

Here we see the concept of stone as a rich accumulation of essences, just as we do in the point REN 5 shi men 石 門 Stone Gate, where the concentrating power of yin gathers the rich, fertile juices of life in the lower abdomen in preparation for the possibility of a child. In contrast, and somewhat cruelly, the term shi nü 石 奴, ‘stone woman’, was used for those unable to have children, stone in this case indicating the infertility of the soil. Stone then is a term used for both extremes, inert and lifeless on the one hand and filled with essential power on the other. In the other stone point, KID 18 shi guan 石 關, Stone Pass, where we see the relation between the kidneys and the stomach, stone shi 石 represents the richness of food, the concentrated substance of earth. The pathology of both points is of blockage, where an area that should be for the distribution of richness turns to stagnation and obstruction. In many ways this is the dilemma of REN 5 Stone Gate. Can the blockage be removed and the gate opened?

Overshadowed by its winning celebrity sisters, REN 4 guan yuan 關 元 Gateway to the Origin and REN 6 qi hai 氣 海 Sea of Qi, the former reconnecting to the source of life itself, the latter expanding to distribute qi around the body, REN 5 Stone Gate tends to be the acupuncturist’s also ran. Yet, like REN 4, it is also called dan tian 丹 田 Cinnabar Field and ming men 命 門 Gate of Destiny, powerful names that are not lightly given. We are clearly here in the region of the lower cinnabar field, so important for the nourishment of the embryo, tai 胎, whether actual or the sheng tai 聖 胎 immortal embryo of internal alchemists.

That REN 5 is also known as jing lü 精 露Essential Dew, the sustenance of divine immortals, may allude to this potential for nourishing the embryo. I have certainly used it with success to help women unable to conceive, where the cause is stagnation, rather than depletion. In amenorrhoea for example, REN 5 is perfectly complemented by such points as REN 4 guan yuan, SP 6 san yin jiao, LI 4 he gu and ST 29 gui lai. Perhaps the warnings against its use in many classical books for fear of injuring the essences, thereby causing infertility, stem from too frequent use and/or heavy needling. Other sources indicate that it can be used for women, but lightly, without deep or strong needling, with which I would agree. Like fine wine, this is a point for special occasions, not every day and its appropriate use can give extraordinary results, particularly in the treatment of infertility. It is interesting to note that at the same level as REN 5 we have KID 14 si man 四 滿 Fourfold Fullness with the same indication of fertility or infertility, rich essences or blockage. Again, using the point to unblock stagnation can allow the deep and delicate process of fertilisation to occur.

As mu 募 collecting point of the triple heater, that controls the water passages, REN 5 is intimately connected to the movement of fluids, and therefore, in pathology, the lack of it. Hence this point treats shi shui 石 水 ‘stone water’, various concretions, condensations and blockages, especially in the abdomen, causing painful and hard swellings. It is for dysuria as well as enuresis and an important point for regulating the uterus and menstruation, from amenorrhoea, as mentioned above, to uterine haemorrhage, post-partum haemorrhage and vaginal discharges. Interestingly, with its links to jing 精 essences, it is also an important point for treating men in impotence and premature ejaculation.

Reinforcing the yang, regulating the qi, clearing heat and eliminating dampness, REN 5 is a good point to re-establish normal liquid circulation and to stop pain. A powerful and under-used point, perhaps for many even an unused point, it is a point for both deep stagnation and uncontrolled loss of essences, blood and fluids.

The normal pulse in winter is described as being like a stone shi 石 . Winter locks life away deep underground, where the darkness and cold are its preservation. It waits only for spring to open the door. REN 5 shi men 石 門 Stone Gate offers us access to these depths where life is waiting. Sometimes we can open the gate and a new life begins.

Monkey rests in a tree in the Queen Mother of the West’s garden, about to feast on the giant, juicy peaches that confer immortality: from a papercut in the author’s collection