By now you are aware that Traditional Chinese Medicine has many concepts that are alien to our Western culture, one of them is Shen which is translated as Spirit. The Spirit in Traditional Chinese Medicine does not talk about what we think when we hear spirit (the ethereal immortal part of the self, or something ghost-like). In the case of TCM, Spirit has a vast extent that goes from enjoying hobbies to cultivating virtue and revering people from the past.
Spirit (Shen) in Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to the conjunction of the psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our existence. According to the traditional view, Shen is divided into five smaller Shen residing within the Yin Organs (Zhang) and the Blood. Shen is responsible for the person’s psychological, moral, social, and spiritual growth. It fuels your good deeds, clear thinking, passions, meaning, and attitude towards others and the self.
Although many people refer to Shen as just the mind or the psyche, the truth is that Shen includes and involves much more than just one’s psychology. Referring to the Spirit as the mind is a great try at looking at a Western counterpart for the classical Chinese concept. After all, one can only cultivate virtue, and grow emotionally, and spiritually by the use of the mind.
But since the use of mind to refer to the Spirit can sometimes create confusion or leave some aspects untouched, in this article, I’m going to try and explain Shen talking about the full extent of the concept.
The Spirit in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Spirit is the translation for the Chinese word Shen which is why these two words are used interchangeably. Shen is one of the vital substances of the body along with Qi, Blood, Essence/Jing, and Fluids. However, it is a vital substance that is unique to humans, it separates us from other animals.
Together with Qi, and Essence, Shen is also one of the so-called Three Treasures or Three Jewels in TCM and Chinese culture alike.
Shen can be defined as the combination of your psychological, spiritual, moral, and social functions and skills.
Shen is the vital substance in charge of many metaphysical aspects of life, from living a life of meaning to the process of self-actualization, and following ideals and legacies, thus cultivating relationships not limited by time or space. It is what allows people to worship ancestors, to revere celebrated personalities from the past, and to follow traditions.
Your Shen is what makes your life lively, worth living, and enjoyable. It is what allows you to strive to be a better version of yourself, to get to new heights, and to contribute to society. It is because of your Shen that you can enjoy your hobbies, that you can develop a vision for the future and chase your dreams. Your spirit is what will let you be empathetic towards others and help them, it will make sure you can grow socially by keeping you grounded, and it will give you Wisdom as you go through life and encounter new experiences.
While some of the connotations of the term have a religious component, Shen in Traditional Chinese Medicine is not related to any kind of religion or religiosity. Although it draws from the spiritual and religious vocabulary for better explanations.
When Shen is healthy it allows you to introduce your authentic self into every endeavor, it provides the possibility to pursue deep and meaningful things like leaving a legacy, becoming a virtuous person, or planting trees. Shen is the ultimate decider of your inner world and how it interacts with the outer world positively and constructively.
How Does Shen Work?
Shen, like every other substance in Traditional Chinese Medicine, flows through the body. The medium of the Spirit is the Blood which is why entities like Blood Deficiency will take a toll on your Spirit and show emotional, and psychological disturbances. The Shen is divided into five smaller Shen that reside in the Yin Organs: The Heart, the Spleen, the Lungs, The Kidneys, and the Liver according to the Five Elements Theory. Each one has a specific function and role and makes sure the person has an adequate and rich life.
You can live an apparently ‘healthy’ life, and your body works well, but Shen ensures your life is rich and fulfilling. Without a healthy Shen, you cannot be healthy.
Shen is created and nourished by the same process the other substances are: through proper nutrition, breathing, and adequate functioning of the Organs. Any damage to the Organ Networks will impact any of the Five Smaller Shen.
The relationship between the Organs and the Shen is another example of the mind-body unity that is deeply emphasized in Traditional Chinese Medicine. If the Organs are being strained or damaged, their Shen will also suffer the impact, giving rise to different levels of Shen disturbances.
Let’s now analyze each one of them…
The Five Smaller Shen
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shen is considered as being divisible into five smaller Shen, each of them in charge of a particular virtue. They are located within and related to the Yin Organs of the Body. Any damage to the Organs will also affect their Shen.
Spleen Shen: Yi
Yi has been translated using many words and terms. The most common ones are intent, consciousness, thought, and Consciousness of Potentials according to Ted Kaptchuk. It resides in the Spleen and is deeply attached to its functioning.
This is the Shen responsible for clear thinking, being insightful, pondering possibilities, deliberating and deciding, and also for discerning. It is the Spirit in charge of motivation, allurement, and creativity.
The Yi fosters and is responsible for the virtues of loyalty, faithfulness, and sincerity. Yi can understand others, and see what can be done and what needs to be done.
It is linked with having a vision, and the motivation to get to it.
When Yi is damaged, the person will suffer from worry, rumination, and exaggerated sympathy, and like in a damp environment, it will provide for and help others to the point of self-neglecting. It can also manifest boredom and lack of motivation.
Liver Shen: Hun
The Hun is the Shen residing in and related to the Liver. It is often called the Non-Corporeal Soul as it refers to the part of the person that is not attached to their body and continues to exist after the person’s passing. You can think of this as legacy and memory, the name you made for yourself that people remember you for.
The Hun is responsible for the acts of kindness and benevolence towards others and oneself. When Hun is healthy, the person does acts of kindness and benevolence. The specific virtue of the Hun is ‘Human Kindness’. When the Hun is well, there will be good deeds and empathy. If the Hun is damaged, it can cause you to be unkind towards others like being belligerent, envious, or inappropriately hateful; or towards oneself like having poor self-esteem, or being unable to feel self-worth.
This capacity of the Hun for kindness and empathy stems from its ability to endure pain and suffering. In the body, the Hun is capable of creating room for more pain and suffering and thus diminishing its negative effects on you. This doesn’t mean that the Hun makes you love pain but rather it modifies your relationship to pain and suffering. It lets you understand that suffering is a necessary part of being a human, and with a healthy Hun you come to terms with it, you no longer wish and complain for things to be other than they are.
From this capacity to understand, and endure pain, the Hun makes you understand other people’s pain and suffering, it allows you to be empathetic, and kind towards others.
Kidney Shen: Zhi
Zhi is also called the Will, it is the Shen residing in the Kidneys and it has two aspects: a Yang and a Yin one.
The Yang Will is related to the basic volition of a person. It is related to self-determination, effort, and assertiveness. It is the one related to our understanding of willpower, of locking into a goal and working for it.
The Yin Will is referred to as a ‘will that cannot be willed’. A willingness to follow a certain path. The Yin will, like the Essence, can only be properly seen when looking back. It is linked to the sense of destiny, it moves you toward a destination delving into uncharted areas. The Yin Will is the force that propels us towards a goal even though it is not in our conscious mind, it is the deep-down feeling of moving towards a goal, it is perseverance and trust in the process.
The virtue of the Zhi is Wisdom. This type of wisdom cannot be rushed or obtained, it comes on its own and accumulates. This Wisdom means learning to have a relationship with what’s beyond our understanding and reach, it is developing mental tranquility about what comes next, knowing that in the end it will be revealed. Facing aging and death with equanimity and grace is an example.
When the Yang Will is unbalanced the person will suffer from a lack of assertiveness and profound passiveness. When the Yin Will is unbalanced the person will experience a lack of tranquility and restlessness.
Lung Shen: Po
This Shen resides in the Lungs and is related to the emotional reactivity of a person. It is called Animal Soul or Corporeal Soul because it is deeply linked to the body as it disappears as the person passes. The nature of this Shen is reactive and momentary.
It is linked with the reactive responses one does that are based on transitory feelings. This is the Shen that explains how humans have such sudden and bursting reactions to events. When Po is healthy, the reactions are brief, and assertive but controlled.
The Po’s virtue has two manifestations. The first one is called justice which allows the person to be impartial and not be easily influenced by others. If this Shen is damaged it can behave arrogantly or aggressively.
The second manifestation is called preciousness and this is the one that provides the person with the capacity to enjoy the completion of a single moment. It is the one in charge of grasping the beauty in the fugacity of life, it is capable of enjoying every aspect of something that has happened. When Po is disrupted, feelings like grief and nostalgia arise, impeding the appreciation of something that has passed.
Heart Shen: Shen
This is the Spirit of the Heart and has the same name as the Shen in all its totality. This Shen is often called the small Heart Shen to differentiate it from the larger Shen.
This Spirit is the one in charge of ‘keeping your feet on the ground’. It makes sure that the larger Shen connects properly with the world of time and space. This Shen makes sure that your inner world (your Smaller Shen) acts according to the situation presented to you. A healthy Heart Shen will make sure you behave correctly at every moment, that you say the right words, look people in the eyes, and answer correctly when asked questions, it is the Shen of communication.
The virtue of this Shen is called propriety. This one ensures proper social skills like the ones listed above.
When Shen is disturbed, the person becomes socially awkward, behaving socially incorrectly, and can even lead to delusions.
Final Thoughts
As you have seen, Shen gathers more than just your mind and your psychology. It is the substance that makes sure your life is a rich one, that allows you to develop a vision, to have a legacy, to build something, to be good to yourself and to others.
Each one of the Five Smaller Shen develops a virtue that is vital for your spiritual well-being. Knowing their relationship with the Zhang-Fu Organs will help you understand how they can be affected.
Make sure to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
See you in the next post!
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