THE TAO OF

CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE

DAVID MAINENTI, C.A., L.AC., DIPL. O.M.

 2002-2008 Eco-Med LLC

(Second Edition)
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Introduction
Hawaii is a land of healing for it contains so many different
plant species found in nature. Other places in the world also
contain pristine natural specimens that can be used for
medicine, but the majority of mankind has forgotten how to
forage for them. As a professional herbalist, one must learn to
collect primal energy from these living and breathing
botanical varieties no matter where you reside. Today, most
herbalists order dried herbs via mail and lack a true
understanding of the plants they prescribe to clients in a
clinical setting. To become a true Daoist healer, one must
connect with nature to ensure that the transfer of primal Qi
take place, resulting in powerful healing for both patient and
practitioner alike.

Understanding Herbal Medicine

When beginning your studies in Chinese herbal medicine, the
first area to be cultivated is ones general understanding of
principles in the field itself; the true Daoist healer must know
how to utilize the medicine in a professional manner, since it is
what you have selected to pursue as a discipline and career.
Unfortunately, herbal medicine requires great training and
skill in order to understand the nuances of its vast universe.
Since so many people in the modern world are brought up in
a way that is often out of touch with nature, deciding to
study herbal medicine requires the understanding that there
are millions of plants in the wilderness that you will not be able
to identify at the onset. Every different hike in the mountains
has a specific Feng Shui quality or qualities, based on its
location in time and space, which results in a unique
ecosystem of plant foliage and primal energy. Regardless of
how long one studies in the field, whether for one or one
hundred years, it can never be completely mastered. There
are so many simultaneous changes happening within natural
life that new plants and strains are constantly being
discovered. Thus, one must be content with knowing nothing
at all, working instead towards a general understanding of
nature and its basic complexities.
To begin, learn how the individual herbs are classified by
taste and temperature; various combinations of these
elements produce different qualities that result in specific
effects and actions on the human body and its general
surroundings. The natural colors and parts of each species
are also important, for they symbolize the quality and
personality of the plant, representing its individual specialty.
Preparation of herbs should be reviewed as well because of

their impact on bodily effects; for example, one must cook

the taro root before consuming it, while a sweet potato can
be eaten raw or cooked. To firmly understand these basic
traditional medical concepts is the first step towards
becoming a professional herbalist, allowing one to navigate
through the oceans, mountains, and rivers of life.

In todays world, students are expected to know, at a

minimum: 300 herbs; 150 classical formulas; individual herb
identification of tastes and temperature; herbal combination
theories; contraindications; and methods of preparation.
However, the accrediting bodies fail to cover the softer, more
spiritual side of herbal medicine, where it becomes essential
to go hiking often, collecting herbs based on what you know
at your particular level.
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When walking in the mountains, the question of how to

properly collect primal energy quickly arises.
As an
introduction, it is important to realize that differently
presenting plants have specific purposes when analyzed in a
medical context:
Fragrant, Flowering Plants
Herbs that are fragrant and smell good are very effective in
treating depression and other psychological problems due to
the pharmacological content of their particular essential oils.
These plants, such as the Gardenia flower, clear away and
heal emotional disorders.
Thorny Plants
Plants that have sharp points, such as stinging nettles or
thorny spinach, are able to treat primal and chronic diseases,
often inherited from ones ancestors, parents, or through
karmic means.
Hairy Plants
These plants, such as Pi Pa Ye (Loquat Leaf), connect to the
Lung and effectively drain mucous and phlegm. The body
must be trained to ingest hairy plants, for their energy is very
primal in nature; otherwise, allergies will result. One can use
them, with practice; just be aware of your particular space
and time and proceed at a slow, steady pace.
Fragrant, Leafy Plants
Plants that possess fragrant leaves (such as big leaf
Eucalyptus) can be used to treat pain from arthritis, winddampness, and bone or joint deterioration. Their tree stumps
can be used to increase medicinal effects, but a chipper is
needed to process such dense wood.

Spiritual Plants
These plants, such as Sandalwood (Tan Xiang), are used to
enhance enlightenment. One must seek these plants out
and communicate with them to learn about their missions.
Usually you do not ingest these varieties; instead put them in
important places, such in a waiting room, on an altar, or
within the treatment space. One must learn how to collect
primal energy from these plants in order to perform high levels
of diagnosis and healing, particularly of the self.

Soft plants
These varieties are often used to treat the skin, as they are
soothing in nature. They can be crushed prior to use or
quickly steamed and applied directly on the superficial layers
of the body.
Milky Plants
These botanical species, like the Pencil Plant, are very toxic
and poisonous; if used incorrectly, their strong actions can
cause the skin or Intestines to rot and decay. Be sure to only
use these plants topically and with extreme caution; apply a
small quantity of the remedy directly over a specific, often
viral, ailment (e.g., a wart). Once applied, wrap or tape up
the local area to seal in the dangerous properties of the
substance.
There are many more categories of plants that can be
analyzed; for instance, plants that grow across large regions
of space in the forest, such as Eucalyptus, are effective in
treating problems with flexibility, as they promote movement
in the body. Overall, remember that when you begin your
studies, you must tread carefully, building up a knowledge
base over time until such characteristics become second
nature to you like the palm of your hand.

Communicating with Plants

Understanding how to communicate with plants is the
second key aspect that must be cultivated in a professional
herbal medical practitioner. There is a highly technical
spiritual connection between human beings and plant life, a
link that stems from ones own heart. Plants love to talk to
people, so long as one learns how to listen, using your heart

as a guide. That is why chanting in the mountains is so much

more effective than near town; the plants act as a choir to
support the overall flow of sound waves through the air. Thus,
one must make contact with plants and learn how to get in
touch with them; each has its own individual nature waiting
to be discovered. One must look for the specific features of
plants, such as the hair, face, and teeth that can be seen on
a coconut, along with their delicate inner composition of Hun
and Po, which correspond to red and white blood cells in
human beings, respectively. Plants can be dressed up, taken
out, fed, and enjoyed in ways that go beyond nutrition. Using
a methodology that comes from the heart, one can develop
the ability to communicate with plants in a manner similar to
the Daoist sages of long ago.

When speaking with plants, it is important to treat them very

preciously, like newborn infants, being sure to provide them
with lots of love and care. Yet, in the same way as children,
plants can be very active and entertaining; the idea that
must be understood is that ones connection with plants must
go deeper than just through their physical use in a
prescription. All plants contain the spirits of immortals and
fairies (similar to the human construct), each embodying a
particular quality of primal energy that can be used for
healing or enlightenment purposes. When herbal medicine is
practiced in accordance with the traditional Daoist system of
natural living, the sage uses the understanding gained
through plant communication to create patient remedies
that are beyond the standard treatment strategies discussed
in medical textbooks. One must realize that herbal medicine,
being a part of the Daoist tradition, is alive; as such, it is
natural to think that plants can almost speak to humans,
albeit in a way that transcends academia. Thus, be sure to
remain empty inside so that the 10,000 things can grow and
take life in the body landscape.
Once you have emptied the self, it becomes natural to look
inward so that one can begin to cultivate your internal
garden; this is why the Daoist master always travels to the
mountains before they perform a healing ritual or write a
prescription in the clinic. Every plant is so full of life that it has
all the same components within as people do - they are living
things in nature, just like us.
When one learns to communicate with plant beings, they will
soon be singing to you in the forest, helping you write
prescriptions, and providing influence as to which remedies
should be selected for inclusion in a patient formula. It is
always important to consider that plants have individual
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personalities and qualities, often working together as teams.

Substances ranging from small, tiny flowers to tall, vast trees
are used because of their corresponding spirits and qualities.
To write a prescription, one must have more than just a piece
of paper (e.g., license) herbs work differently than other
modalities in that you must feel nature to understand and
utilize their intricate properties. One must learn to spiritually
download information from the leaves and branches of
plants in order to understand and receive fresh, primal
energy. As one grows up with plants, they become a part of
you and your practice; in fact, they walk alongside you
because their spirits connect to places deep within ones
heart. When the art is mastered and one hikes in the forest, it
is like walking with immortals because the Dao lives inside of
you. Because of the hearts connection with god and nature
through the spirit or Shen, different parts of the body develop
in ways that are similar to nature, ranging from the sun and
moon to oceans, rivers, stones, etc.
The points and
articulations of the body even correspond to the days of the
year to connect with the universe.
In the ancient times of old
Hawaii, the heiau (image,
left)
represented
the
healing
hospital
and
sacred altar; the ancient
Polynesian voyagers knew
that all under the sky was
available and willing to
engage in some type of
primal
communication.
One can follow the advice
of Dao de Jing, Chapter 33, and use plant communication as
a means of self-therapy, looking inward instead of outward to
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strengthen ones connection with nature. Once mastered,

this energy can act as your inner guide through the twists and
turns of life here on earth. Because nature is so vast, it can be
quite overwhelming when you realize truly how hard it is to
master herbal medicine; as such, one must take it seriously
and understand that things go far beyond textbooks and
academic pursuits. It is truly a spiritual practice.
Since it is impossible to catch up with the ever changing
qualities of nature, one must keep the self changeable and
fresh, ensuring that one remains empty, for it is through
emptiness that one can allow the 10,000 things in life to
flourish. This is especially important when it pertains to
Americans and other human beings from industrialized
nations, because many of these individuals have lost their
connection to nature. However, by not knowing anything
about herbs when at the onset of ones studies, the mind is
empty in a way that can allow for a person to learn a great
deal about plants and primal energy. Even if you do not
know the difference between a mango (big seed) and a
papaya (tiny seeds), by remaining empty, one can connect
to the primal energy of the universe by strengthening ones
personal bond with nature. Plant communication is a vitally
important practice that links ones inner emptiness with the
emptiness of the universe, allowing for one to see far in life. It
is because of this far-reaching principle that traditional
healing modalities are now resurfacing in the modern world
and may one day become everyday medicine, with western
medicine being used only on an as-needed basis or in
emergency situations.
Natural traditional remedies can
powerfully restore harmony and balance to a patient, similar
to the way in which the roots of large trees grow through the
earth in patterns that follow the flow of the meridians in the
human body.
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Once the body is empty and one has weeded the garden, it
will be possible to see where your spiritual body stands in the
construct of universal space and time. Through plants, one
can learn about age and how old one is, for certain plants
live forever, while others have a short lifespan. Because of
the measurable lifecycles of plants, the perspective of time
and space actually revolves around the botanical and
animal kingdoms, containing the records of the many sages
who have walked the earth. One can pretend to transcend
time and space by eating the pages of an herbal textbook,
but it will not provide you with the essence of what is being
discussed here. The idea to grasp is that ones life, and its
position in time and space, is connected to herbal medicine
because plants remember your spirit and past lives. Thus,
when one walks in the mountains, sit back and think about
how long certain plants have been present in certain sections
of the forest. The ancient sages would stay up in the
mountains for so long with the plants that when they returned
to their villages, no one was alive that remembered them;
however, the plants still remained, escaping the grasp of time
and space.
All things in life happen for a reason; it is like when one has a
difficult neighbor, such as one who has a rooster that crows
loudly at the crack of dawn each morning. One must ask
why the universe would send such a neighbor and
contemplate the deeper meaning of the situation, using
theories developed by Sun Tzu and General Quan. This
contemplative nature of the Daoist stands in opposition to
modern warfare, where innocent states are bombed until
they surrender or are destroyed. General Quan, for instance,
sees his enemy and himself; thus, a good battle means one
wins both wars, representing the internal and external natures
of a situation. One must also think about what will happen
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after the war is over to ensure that the people can continue
to go about their business. To conduct such types of
combat, soldiers must be strong and meditate for long
periods of time to reach enlightened states. In this way,
during combat one can watch how the leaves fall in the
river, along with the density of dirt near the shores, to
calculate where the enemy is, based solely on ones ability to
observe the natural surroundings. In the same way, one can
select specific days for classes or treatments as a means to
maximize ones connection with time and space and to
accommodate healing or learning. Through self-realization,
one can truly empty the self, allowing for new things to come
in that produce positive results in ones life and internal body
landscape.

The Path of Enlightenment

Although the discussion above has detailed a number of
areas to study, to become a professional herbalist one is still
not yet cooked.
The final component to ones inner
development as a Daoist herbal medical practitioner is to
learn that by combining emptiness and awareness, one can
develop a symphony of understanding that transcends
physical life. The first level that one must attain is to obtain a
general wisdom about nature, which must contain everything
between heaven and earth. To develop inner wisdom, one
must first hone the senses of ones whiskers, which spring from
Ren Zhong (DU-26) and correspond to the expressions of the
Du Mai (Governor Vessel), which represents the Dragon-like
aspects of a human beings internal spirit. One can use these
whiskers to study herbs; be sure not to use ones horn,
because it is important to be delicate with herbs and their
primal energies, as noted above. If one does not use their

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special senses, as manifested in the whiskers, plants will laugh

at you as you walk through the mountains, swim through the
oceans, and turn with the rivers of life. You see, plants
observe you throughout your journey through time and space
in life; in this way, when one does not know how to use ones
innate senses, other natural beings, like plants, will tease you.
For instance, while some plants are used for healing, others
are poisonous; the trick is that many may look the same (e.g.,
taro leaf and elephant ear). In order to distinguish between
life and death, one must have wisdom to understand the
manifestations of nature.
In the early days of China, Qing Su Wan was able to
accomplish the extraordinary feat of uniting China;
understand that at the time, China consisted of more than
100 countries, each with a specific languages and standards
of measurement. Qing Su Wan wanted to standardize China,
so he entered into war and defeated his enemies by killing
everyone who stood in his way, including doctors, teachers,
and spiritual leaders. All the ancient books were burned as
well in the Great Wall, except for the Yi Jing, and a single
unified system of measurements was adopted. Once Qing Su
Wan accomplished his external desires, he looked internally
and decided that he wanted to live forever. In order to
accomplish this, he sent herbalists and soldiers to scour the
entire land for the precious Ling Zhi, which is the symbol for
immortality or life after death, due to its ability to grow from
dead trees in pristine, moist conditions. While searching for
the Ling Zhi across China, Japan, and Korea, Qing Su Wan
tried to make other people, including children, eat the
foraged mushrooms first to determine their effects, for
collecting mushrooms is a very dangerous endeavor, unless
one is highly trained in the field. In the Tian Shih tradition at
Long Hu Shan, the Master is permitted to teach everything
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but mushrooms, since they killed both Qing Su Wan and

Buddha himself. When walking through the forests of nature,
do not mind these precious fairies and immortals simply
leave them alone.
In the ancient times of mushroom
gathering, many people were killed while tasting various
types of wild mushrooms. The effects of some mushrooms do
not become active until years after eating them, developing
as large viruses inside the body.
Thus, the most important aspect of developing herbal
awareness is to learn information with wisdom attained
through the use of ones whiskers; however, this type of inner
development should not be confused with enlightenment,
which is a higher level of practice that should be pursued as
well. As one develops the spirit, wisdom will unfold naturally
along with it.
Thus, wisdom is the Daoist adept who
understands that he or she will not gather celery varieties or
mushrooms in the wild, due to the potential dangers
associated with these botanical varieties. When one has
reached enlightenment, one can pick wild celery and
mushrooms because such a person is a sage who embodies
the concept of Dao, living in accordance with the laws of the
natural universe. These people know which varieties are
edible and which ones are poisonous. The development of
ones whiskers is an important step towards enlightenment
because they represent the connection with reality,
representing ones experience in life. When using ones
whiskers, the body often proceeds with caution, using its
sensitivity as a way to develop awareness of the universe,
creating an attentiveness and creativeness that embodies
the qualities of primal energy. One can use the whiskers to
determine herbal toxicity without ever ingesting the botanical
species itself, using ones primal and innate abilities to
develop a wisdom that goes beyond time and space.
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Once the whiskers of the internal Dragon are developed, the

inner world will experience a rebirth with life springing forth
from inside the emptiness of the bodys landscape, linking to
a dimension in which one can easily move through time and
space. This phenomenon occurs in nature as well; after an
earthquake or forest fire, over time, rain will allow for
botanical species to rise from the ashes and return to their
glorious form. Thus, even though plants can be destroyed,
they can return unscathed. How is something like this
possible? The rationale is that primal energy exists in nature,
connecting to the source, e,g, the Dao, which transcends
human existence. Thus, the textbook for Daoist herbal
medicine is nature itself, consisting of its many elements and
lifecycles. Remember that there are immortal spirits living in
plants; such beings cannot be harmed in physical ways.
Thus, one must experience rebirth inside the body to connect
with the constant rebirth of plant life in the natural
environment; its essence is contained within Chapter 25 of
the Dao De Jing:

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Something is born before Heaven and Earth,

In the silence and the void,
Impenetrable and everlasting, silent and undisturbed, alone and unchanging;
It moves gently and inexhaustibly in all directions.
It is the mother of the 10,000 things.
I do not know its name,
So for lack of a better word I call it Dao.
I do not know what it is,
So I am forced to call it Great.
Being great, it extends itself without limit.
Being able to extend without limit, it is far-reaching.
Being far-reaching, it ultimately returns.
Hence, Dao is great.
Heaven is great.
Earth is great.
All living things are great.
All living things follow Earth.
Earth follows Heaven.
Heaven follows Dao.
Dao follows that which is natural.
When one goes into the mountains on a routine basis and
becomes familiar with plant life, one can actually gather
primal energy for use inside the body landscape. Then, one
can study the many varieties and types of plants; for
instance, some plants only live for a year, coming up each
year in the springtime. From an elemental perspective,
growth is induced by a combination of rain/thunder (C),
wind (G), and sunlight (H), which coincidentally happen to
represent the first three trigrams in the cycle of elemental
energy in the post-heaven arrangement of the Ba Gua
(Wood to Fire). The question thus becomes what the human
body needs to experience rebirth: in laymans terms, it means
allowing things living to continue to live and removing things
that are dying, much like how one tends a garden.

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It is interesting to note that as an herbalist, taking trips to the

mountain will help you achieve rebirth, even though it is not
necessarily a religion. This is because nature is renewing to
the body for it is a way in which to ingest primal energy from
the universe. What is so wonderful is that the ability to
achieve a rebirth within the self occurs regardless of ones
social status, monetary wealth, or degree of study. One does
not need to have a Ph.D. to be reborn in the natural beauty
that is the integration of heaven and earth.

The last aspect that one must focus on, as a professional

herbalist, is ones mission in life. In nature, different plants
have different missions; some bloom each year, while others,
like Jiang Huang/Yu Jin, sleep underneath the soil, only
coming up occasionally, often in grandiose fashion. These
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plants are very different from the pine, which stays evergreen
and is a constant, always standing, whether you are or not.
Banyan trees have a unique mission in life; their roots travel
miles to accumulate energy, growing beards that descend to
the ground, forming yet another plant, which then sends out
whiskers, ultimately creating a new colony of plants. The
Eucalyptus family has over 200 relatives; the Hibiscus family is
also very large. Thus, one can see that the forest is a symbol
of many things happening simultaneously, just like life itself;
however, it represents natural existence, which is contrary to
modern living. One must discover his or her inner mission in
life and strive to accomplish what can be attained,
remembering that, as an herbalist, your main mission will be
to heal people medically. As a Daoist practitioner, however,
one understands that plants are alive; each has a particular
mission that allows for the Dao to achieve its greatness; how
else could one explain how both a rabbit and cow eat grass,
yet one becomes small and the other very large? Everyone
has a mission in life; the question is, as an herbalist, do you
hike enough? If you go into the mountains many times, you
will soon understand that it is like notes to a musical piece; by
learning about different ranges, one can soon create
harmonious music. However, without practice, it will never
sound very good at all. Like the Er Hu, a Chinese wooden
vertical fiddle, from only two strings in life (Yin and Yang), a
symphony of music can spring forth when ones innate
creativity is channeled into a mission.

Conclusion
As a medical practitioner, one can elevate his or her status
by becoming not only a traditional Chinese medical scholar,
but also an individual who can transcend past, present, and

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future events, along with understanding the connection

between past, present, and future lives.
In order to
accomplish such a subtle understanding of the nature of
human beings, one must travel into the mountains and hear
the plants, like celery, laughing at you. However, after a
while, the plants will soon respect you and hide their poisons.
This is why in China, in the early morning, there are many
people in the parks hugging trees and other plants found
naturally in their particular region; it is a method to
understand about ones mission in life.
To effectively treat disease, one must learn to collect plants
that enhance the body and primal energies within it; this
secret is one of the wonders of natural living. To find such
plants, one must be aware of nature, using its vast resources
to develop enlightenment, which will allow one to vividly see
his or her personal mission or vision. Every healer can
become a miracle worker though the use of plants via
natural botanical medicine. When the primal energy resides
inside you, it is shared with the patient the minute you touch
them with your palm. Similar to the plants, the palm carries
with it the primal energy of communication. Thus, one must
touch trees and feel dirt in order to gather primal energy;
nature is very invasive, so, if you are empty, it is going to
invade the body (in a good way) and fill you up with primal
energy, which brings about enlightenment, wisdom,
enhanced mental functioning, and emotional happiness. By
communicating with plants, one can become great at
traditional Chinese medicine, understanding that nature is
potent medicine so use it. One must study the elements
above to go far in a professional herbal medical practice.

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About Us
ECO-MED LLC is a consulting group that unites medicine with
environmental sustainability by designing and delivering
world class integrative medical programs, products, and
services that respect the natural state of the earth and its
inhabitants. Our staff brings decades of experience in natural
approaches to health and well-being, having successfully
designed and directed complementary and alternative
medical programs for colleges, clinics, retreats, treatment
facilities, and individual clients worldwide.
If you are
interested in helping your customers or clients achieve
optimal health, peak performance levels, and an improved
quality of life, contact Eco-Med today at ecomed@lava.net.

David Mainenti, C.A. (NJ), L.Ac. (HI), Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM),

President and CEO of Eco-Med, LLC, is a Board-Certified
Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist, and Oriental Medicine
practitioner who combines over 15 years experience in
international business and integrative health. Mr. Mainenti is
a scholar of Taoist philosophy and a highly-trained
practitioner in classical Chinese medical arts including
acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, aromatherapy,
nutritional analysis, reflexology, massage, bodywork, Qi Gong
, meditation, Feng Shui, Yi Jing, palmistry, and medical
astrology. David holds a BS from Villanova University, cum
laude, and an MS from Tai Hsuan College in Honolulu,
Hawai`i, with honors. The author would like to give special
thanks to Dr. Chang Yi Hsiang, 64th Generation Heavenly
Master from the Mountain of the Dragon and Tiger, for
passing on key elements of the Tian Shi Dao lineage.
Mahalo!
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