本神/Ben Shen

(The Diseases Caused by Spiritual Activities)

黄帝问于岐伯日:凡刺之法，先必本于神。血、脉、营、气、精神，此五脏之所藏也，至其淫泆，离藏则精失、魂魄飞扬、志意恍乱、智虑去身者，何因而然乎?天之罪与?人之过乎?何谓德气，生精、神、魂、魄、心、意、志、思、智、虑?请问其故。

Yellow Emperor asked Qibo: "Acccording to the principle of acupuncture, one must examine the patient carefully first and then treat according to the conditions of his spiritual activities. As the blood, channel， Ying-energy, vital energy and the essence of life are all stored by the five viscera, when they become abnormal and be divorced from the storing viscus, the refined energy of the fiver viscera will be lost, the soul and the inferior spirit will be rising in the air, the will will be vexed and the patient himself will lose his intelligence and fail to ponder, and why is it so? Is it due to the natural morbidity or due to the artificial fault of man? Besides, what is the original substance? How can it produce the essence of life, spirit, soul, inferior spirit, mind in heart, idea, will, pondering, wisdom and consideration? I hope to hear the reason about it."

岐伯答曰:天之在我者德也，地之在我者气也，德流气薄而生者也。故生之来谓之精，两精相搏谓之神，随神往来者谓之魂，并精而出入者谓之魄，所以任物者谓之心，心有所忆谓之意，意之所存谓之志，因志而存变谓之思，因思而远慕谓之虑，因虑而处物谓之智。

Qibo answered:"The human being comes of existence when receiving the original substance and energy of heaven and earth, and the interflow and the combat of the original substance and energy cause the shaping of man. The original substance which enables the evolution of human body is called the essence of life: when the Yin essence and the Yang essence combine, it produces the activities of life which is called the spirit; the function of consciousness appears along with the spiritual activities is called the soul; the faculty of motion produced along with the coming and going of the refined energy is called the inferior spirit; when one makes a settlement to a matter from outside, it is by the heart (mind); when the heart recalls something and leaves an impression, it is called the idea: when one studies the changing conditions repeatedly according to the understanding, it is calld the pondering : when one has a remote inferring acquired from pondering, it is call the consideration; when one makes a corresponding decision to settle the matter after pondering, it is called wisdom.

故智者之养生也，必须四时而适寒暑，和喜怒而安居处，节阴阳而调刚柔，如是则僻邪不至，长生久视。

"Thus, when a wise man preserves his health, he always adapt himself to the cold and hot weather agreeably with the four seasons, keep the moods of overjoy and anger in harmony to maintain his motion and rest in daily life at case, so that he can control the over abundance of Yin and Yang and regulates the firmness and softness. In this way, the debilitating and thief evil will not invade, and one will not likely to become decrepit and he will live a long life.

是故怵惕思虑者则伤神，神伤则恐惧流淫而不止。因悲哀动中者，竭绝而失生。喜乐者，神惮散而不藏。愁忧者，气闭塞而不行。盛怒者，迷惑而不治。恐惧者，神荡惮而不收。

"Excessive terror and pondering cause the wastage of Yin energy to become unstable of the patient. Excessive sorrow injures the internal viscera, causing the functional activities of vital energy to become exhausted and the death of the patient. Excessive overjoy causes the dispersion of the energy which can no more be stored. Excessive melancholy causes the impediment and stagnation of the functional activities of vital energy. Fury causes mania and the abnormality of the patient. Excessive terror causes the unrestraint of the refined energy due to the unrest of the spirit.

心[心怵惕:《素问。宣明五气篇》王注引无“心”字]怵惕思虑则伤神，神伤则恐惧自失，破胭脱肉，毛悴色夭天，死于冬。

"Excessive terror and pondering will injure the spirit, when the spirit is hurt, one will not be able to control himself, when the condition is protracted, the muscular prominence will become deteriorative and the muscle will be consuming and falling; when the disease developes further to cause the patient's hair to become withered and the complexion to become abnormal, he will die in winter.