Virudhaka, a Buddhist Deity, Might Be Dizzy

The chief priest was lying alone on the futon mat at one corner of the large main hall of the temple. With his bright red face, he addressed us, "Suddenly, everything went pitch black for me, and I couldn't stand by myself."

The wooden statues of Ksitigarbha and Kannon were lined up against wall. A fire was burning at the homa-mandala (fire altar).

It would have been awesome if Buddha's blessings could cure the illness of the chief priest, but until then there was not any sign of that happening.

The doctor was waving his hands from side to side in front of the young priest. His bloodshot eyes followed his movements.

"It looks like now you can see properly."

"Yes, I can. After lying down for a while, I regained my vision. But whenever I try to stand up, my head wobbles making me slump back to the ground."

"I see. First, let me check your pulse."

While at it, my sensei told me, "Nisuke, get some acupuncture needles ready, please."

"Right away, sir."

I took out a box of needles from the tool bag. Seeing that, the young priest commented, "Wow! Dr. Tokuhon, your knowledge is not limited to herbal medicine, but you also do acupuncture."

"I do both acupuncture and moxibustion. In this case, acupuncture is the most convenient for you."

My sensei took out some needles which were thinner than his hair and said, "In technical terms, these are called gōshin (filiform needles). By the way, Nisuke, please check his pulse."

"Yes, doctor."

The young priest's pulse beat seven times in one breath. It was quite fast. In medicine, such a pulse is called saku (rapid). When you check it, it feels taut like the strings of a zither. A phenomenon called gen (string tension).

"That's saku and gen. Are you following me?"

"Yes, I am."

"Examine his mouth, as well."

"Right!"

His tongue was red crimson. There was a yellow moss-like substance on the surface of it. Those were symptoms of a fever disease.

Without looking at it, my sensei correctly stated, "His tongue is red crimson and it's partially covered with a yellow moss-like substance. Now check the pulse on his right hand, please. You should be able to feel the pulse change when the acupuncture takes effect."

"Will do!"

I did as I was told. The doctor applied a needle on the yīngǔ (literally: yīn valley, also known as KI-10) acupoint, which is located inside of the knee of the left leg.

Strangely enough, the pulse changed immediately, and the feeling of tension was gone. The doctor left that needle as it was.

Then, he proceeded to insert and remove other needles at the shǎofǔ (literally: lesser mansion, the base of the little finger on the palm side of left hand).

After repeating the procedure several times, the chief priest's pulse gradually slowed down to six beats per breath.

"Nisuke, how is he progressing?"

"Gen is gone. But it has a little bit of saku."

"Okay, let's leave the needle on yīngǔ for a while longer to replenish the yīn energy. Let me know when the pulse reaches five beats per breath."

"Yes."

The young priest, who may or may not have been listening to our conversation, closed his eyes and seemed to be at peace. The doctor called out to him.

"How do you feel?"

"Well, thanks to you, my head doesn't feel so heavy anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that. By the way, you seem to be troubled about the high priest."

"Oh, how did you know?" the young priest cried out while opening his eyes.

"In medical terms, this symptom is called "kanka jōen," (syndrome of the upward flaming of the liver fire) which tends to occur when a person is worried stiff about something. The worries cause the ki in the liver to become stagnant, it takes on the characteristics of the fire and goes up to the head. As a result, it causes dizziness."

"You're right. I almost haven't had a rest since the high priest got sick."

"I understand your situation."

"I have to continue taking care of him, but I can't neglect the training of the little monks and the visits of the families who support this temple. I also have to take care of the pruning of trees and plants and the maintenance of Buddhist altars, which used to be done by the high priest. I don't mean to be rude, but it would have been a little bit easier if he had just passed away peacefully."

"I get your point, but about that, it's just a matter of time."

"What do you mean?"

"He won't be living much longer."

"Oh no..."

The young priest let out a single sigh with a mixed feeling of surprise, sadness and relief.

I told the doctor about the chief priest's pulse, "Five times in one breath."

"Good."

My sensei confirmed my information and removed the needles.

"Well, this is the end of the treatment. You should be able to stand up now, but don't push yourself too hard."

"I'll give it a try. Thank you very much."

The patient stood up with a sense of trepidation.

"I don't feel dizzy. My head and shoulders feel much better."

"Awesome to know."

"Oh, I need to pay you 16 mon."

The young priest reached into the coin purse beside him and handed the money to the doctor one by one.

"… 13, 14, 15, 16."

"Additionally, we'll check the high priest's health."

"Thank you."

It was a great relief that my sensei was the one who informed the young priest about the dying patient.

The young priest left the main hall in a hurry. As I watched his broad back, I suddenly felt a gaze behind me.

When I turned around, I saw one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Virudhaka, looking down at me.

Its red face and eyes resembled the chief priest's, and the halo was carved with a blazing flame. Like the young priest, I wondered if this Virudhaka was also suffering from kanka jōen (upward flaming of the liver fire).

I said to him in my heart, "please, don't push yourself too hard either; otherwise, you'll also become dizzy but we won't be able to insert needles into hard wooden statues."