The Triple Burner and the Master Heart in TCM
THE TRIPLE WARMER AND THE TEACHER OF HEART IN TCM
THE TRIPLE WARMER AND THE TEACHER OF HEART IN TCM
By Acupuncture Wu Wei Posted March 20, 2019
Here is an extract from a book that I found very interesting about the role of Triple Burner (or San Jiao) and the Master of the Heart in traditional Chinese medicine. Those (as the author describes well) possessing names, but lacking in form, that still have me so intrigued after years of reflection and avid reading. I have decided to translate this part (the book is in English) because I have found the reflection and the usefulness of its approach great, both from an academic and therapeutic point of view. I hope you enjoy it
THE ROLE OF THE TRIPLE WARMER AND HEART TEACHER
Energy production on the "human" level takes place in the three jiaos. The triple heater (or San Jiao) facilitates the production of energy to all three jiaos. Both the triple warmer and the heart teacher are intimately related to the qi of the later Heaven and therefore only come into play from the moment of childbirth.
“The source points (Yuan) are the starting points of the meridians. It is at these points where the energy of the triple heater resides. The moving energy of the Kidneys below the navel (in Shimen Ren 5) is the root of human life, and it is also the root of the 12 master meridians. That is why it is called the starting (original) energy. The space of the triple heater is a separate channel of the original energy, and is in charge of the flow of the three energies (ying qi, wei qi and blood) so that they are distributed between the 5 organs and the 6 entrails. The word start (or original) is an honorary title for the triple heater, and that is why, the places where the energy of the triple heater resides are also called starting points. When the 5 organs and the 6 entrails suffer a dysfunction, the starting points (original / Yuan) can be used for treatment "
Nan Jing-Difficulty 66 ″
This passage from the Nan Jing clearly associates the Triple Burner with the kidneys. The triple warmer and its yin counterpart, the Master of Heart, both "name-bearing but formless" are problematic, as they are associated with both the fire element and the Kidney. Its relationship with Kidney is doubly reinforced by the link of the Triple Burner and Master Heart pulses with the Kidney Yang pulse on the right wrist, and in fact there is no distinction between them. It is left to the practitioner to choose, master heart / triple warmer or kidney yang?
However, if we understand the special function of carrying yuan qi to all organs through the yuan points on the meridians, then the association becomes much clearer. Yuan is THE power of transformation in the body and therefore the yang aspect of the kidney qi, in contrast to jing, the yin aspect; and the triple heater is a special channel for the yuan qi, just as the text says. The source-yuan points in the yin meridians belong to the earth element, and therefore the connection of the triple heater with the earth element in the production of energy (man level) provides a route to the viscera, because the earth resides in the center and connects with the other elements. The main points for directly toning an organ are their respective toning points, according to the law of the five elements and their source-yuan points.
Yuan points should never be scattered. for example, 7C (Shenmen) is the source-yuan point of heart and is therefore an earth point; but since heart is a fire meridian, the earth point should also be the dispersion point. The heart should never be scattered and, in fact, it was traditionally treated with so much respect that practitioners commonly treated it through their minister, the teacher of the heart, so there was no question of even considering scattering the heart by scattering their point. source-yuan. The source-yuan point of the master of heart is also your scattering point but the same respect and caution should be applied. One should never disperse the original qi of a viscera through its source-yuan point, they are points that should only be toned. Similarly, dispersing B3 (Taibai) would undermine all energy production because it would dissipate the yuan qi at the very beginning of its creation process. This could have the effect of slowing down the metabolism and leading to a build-up of fluids as energy production transforms wet matter (Gu Qi).
Ren Mai 5 (Shimen) represents the moving qi under the kidneys and is also the mu point of the Triple Burner, and therefore it is from this point that the yuan qi rises. Since yuan qi is the catalyst for all energy conversions in the three jiaos, it is easy to understand how the production of blood and ying qi (nourishing Qi), which forms the basis of our energy to keep us healthy, is under the jurisdiction of the triple heater. The triple heater is not simply a series of waterways. It provides the regulation of fluids only because the work that takes place in the three jiaos is focused on transforming impure material into refined fluids and Qi; and in each step the triple heater facilitates this transformation by supplying yuan to the organs involved. It also facilitates the movement of water between the small intestine, the bladder and the kidneys as well as the colon; and then it assists the kidneys to send fluids and Qi to the lungs, from where it will be distributed throughout the body. The triple heater knows no limits on the man level, and it moves easily between the lower and upper jiaos.
It is said that the triple warmer is the father of Qi because it supplies yuan qi, and that the master of heart is the mother of blood. The teacher of heart holds a special position with respect to the heart, he is called the minister of heart. The minister notifies the orders of the emperor, which is the heart, to the rest of the viscera through the blood. The heart teacher is punctuated when the heart organ is sick, because it moves the blood, it also facilitates the storage of blood in chong mai, since it is an even point of this meridian. The heart teacher is also strongly linked to the kidney yin as well as the yuan and, through yin wei mai, is connected to R9 (Zhubin) which is said to provide the basis of life.
It is these two organs, both "possessors of name, but lacking in form" that keep the engine of our body running.
Excerpt from chapter 5 of the book The Complete Stems and Brances, by Roisin Golding. Editorial Moondance
Translated by Xavier Jordà Díaz
Heart Master, Triple Burner, Yuan Qi
