MW&SB Exam 3

Which position in baseball does not require magic for success?

Outfielder

Caterpillar weed

a medicinal fungus that grows out of the head of a caterpillar that lives in the high altitudes of the Himalayas

Dr. Livia Kohn argues in “The Daoist Body of Qi” that Daoist practices associated with “The Way” are similar to the experiences associated with

shamans

What best characterizes medical knowledge and practice in ancient Greece?

It involved complex, often invasive forms of surgery that must have been based on extensive, practical experience

“Sacrifice, The Body, and Yoga” makes an argument about the relationship between yoga and ritual forms of fire sacrifice. What is the argument?

Hathayoga involves the internalization and embodiment of sacrifice, thus challenging one of the most important tenets of ritualized religion

What best describes hathayoga?

Forceful yoga

“The Magic of Money” claims that the invention of paper money shows that all forms of money involve

the magic of deception since the value of the dollar bill is not equal to the value of something you can buy with that dollar bill

“Daoism: A Beginner’s Guide” says that Daoism is different from most other religious and philosophical systems because

the body and embodiment are integral features of how one comes to understand the way to be enlightened

Chakras

Nodes of energy where the nadi that channel the flow of pran intersect

Patron diety of pahalwani/akhara

Hanuman

What does Hanuman derive his power from?

Shakti, Bhakri, Brahmacharya

East Asian martial arts allow for the expression of power that transcends sharply defined, binary distinctions of gender; this is clearly embodied by:

Bruce Lee

Qi

Vital force of life, energy of the universe, can be developed and refined

Qi Gong

“Invented” as a modern form of self development in 1949 by Liu Guizhen

* medicine, meditation, and martial art

Neidan

Daoist meditative practice of “internal alchemy”

Xing Qi

ancient meditative practices of “circulating qi”

Zhan Zhuang

standing meditation

Dao yin

slow gymnastic breathing exercises of “guiding and pulling”

Controversy surrounding Qi Gong

* claims of deviation disorder
* claims of supernatural power
* charismatic cults

martial arts practice founded by Zhang Hongbao

Zhong Gong

"China Health Care and Wisdom Enhancement Practice”

* strong emphasis on commercialization
* targeted strategy aimed to build a national commercial organization in China in 1990
* Nationwide network of schools devoted to healing massage and exercise
* High profile, prominent clientele
* “38 million” followers in 1990

Why Zhong Gong was declared illegal

* threat of charismatic power mixed with “supernatural power”
* Fear of “magical power”
* Charismatic power threatens state power

Martial art established by Li Hongzhi

Falun Gong

falun gong

aspires to enable the practitioner to ascend spirituality through moral rectitude and the practice of a set of exercises and meditation

three central tenets of Falun Gong

* Zhen
* Shan
* Ren

regarded together as the fundamental nature of the cosmos, the criterion for differentiating right from wrong, the highest manifestation of the Tao

Zhen

truthfulness

Shan

compassion

Ren

Forbearance

Invention of Tradition

modern ideas about the past create people’s understanding of “traditions”

* thus all traditions are modern

Politics of Culture on Tradition

* cultural traditions are distortions of history
* history invents traditions, and traditions define history
* cultural traditions reflect nationalism and nationalist priorities

Key points in the “history” of marital arts in China

* Origins in the Xia dynasty, 1500 B.C.E.
* 90 C.E.Boxing different from wrestling
* 1368-1644 Ming dynasty: peasant armies trained in hand to hand combat to protect merchants from bandits
* 1561 - First training manual written by General Qi; 32 forms described

Martial Arts in Modern China

* 1900 Boxer Rebellion


* 1919-110 different martial art styles
* 1927 - Central martial arts institute founded

Wudang

internal, soft arts like Tai Chi

External

external, hard arts, like Kung Fu

External vs Internal Martial Arts

an invented distinction, but one reflects Daoist philosophy

* probably as a metaphorical distinction between political strategies rather than a literal characterization of martial arts
* tends to reinforce orientalist stereotypes about the essential, spiritual aspect of the martial arts

Internal martial arts

as well as being fighting systems, these arts are physically and spiritually therapeutic, due to the stimulation of qui

* closely linked to daoist alchemy

external martial arts

associated with the Shaolin monastery

* more closely with Buddhism than Daoist philosophy
* probably more to do with political significance of Buddhist monasteries than Buddhist philosophy

Yin/yang

gender complementary

Yin

female/feminine

Yang

male/masculine

Qi

transgendered power

Princess Pingyang

third daughter or Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty, favorite daughter of the Empress Dou

* true heroine
* her courage and resourcefulness were integral to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty

Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh)

female warrior and professional bodyguard

queer

a term used in gender studies to identify a distinct transgressive subjectively that is non-binary, non-normative and self-consciously “disruptive” of established cultural categories such as male and female

queering

an interpretive act of transformation; turning something that is intended to mean something into something else

* transformation of meaning

Gender and Pahalwani

obsessive masculinity

* deeply embodied theology
* sex and sexuality

the danger of “weakness” in Pahalwani

women seen as dangerous and threatening

* isolate men from women
* establish a fraternity
* embody a “new” kind of masculinity

pahalwani

means “wrestling”, but refers to a broader way of life

* involves a deeply embodied concern with physical fitness, the physiology of sex, sexuality, and masculine self-presentation

Akhara

a gymnasium where men engage in pahalwani

Guru/Chela relationship

relationship between a powerful, master teacher who embodies the ideals of pahalwani and an aspirant, acolyte, or disciple who seeks to embody those ideals

Guru

Master/teacher

Chela

disciple

Shakti

physically embodied power that is supernatural

Bhakti

Devotion that physically connects a person to God

Brahmacharya

embodied practice of celibacy as a moral and ethical virtue of masculinity

* serves to produce a physical connection between contained sexuality, devotion, and supernatural power

jor

sparring in the akhara, when pahalwans develop their strength and skill

* conceptualized as producing shakti

Vyayam

exercise routine associated with pahalwani

* entail dands and bethaks, both of which produce shakti

dands

jackknifing push-ups

bethaks

deep knee-bends

Khurak

specific combo of food that pahalwans consume including

* almonds
* milk
* ghi (clarified butter)

dangal

a wrestling tournament during which pahalwan’s compete, demonstrating their skill and dramatically performing masculinity

* involve risk
* often highly charged with emotional power
* can suddenly appear to be powerless if dramatically defeated by a skilled opponent

How is medicine magical?

death and suffering are inevitable, but medical intervention makes it possible to defer it, up to a point

* provides cures, seducing us into the self-deception that life can be prolonged indefinitely
* the better it gets, the stronger the illusion

kiraghas

caterpillar weed

Hippocrates

first to describe many diseases and medical conditions

Treatise on the so-called sacred disease of epilepsy

critique of the idea that epileptic fits are caused by spirit possession

* finding empirical proof that epileptic fits are symptoms of disease that is based on natural laws of balance and imbalance

Galen’s “Arts of Medicine”

explains mental properties in terms of specific mixtures of the bodily parts and physiological substances

* regarded as authoritative until well into the Middle Ages

Paracelsus

an erratic and abusive innovator who rejected Galen and bookish knowledge, calling for experimental research, with heavy doses of mysticism, alchemy and magic mixed in

Paracelsus’s theories

example of how history is interpreted to produce a linear sequence of logical developments

* history of ideas is always more complicated
* looked for cures in nature
* health in the body relies on the harmony of man and nature
* humans must have certain balances of minerals in their bodies, and certain illnesses of the body have “chemical” remedies that could cure them

\
Andreas Vesalius

leading role in the identification and treatment of diseases and ailments, specializing in autopsies and the inner workings of the body

* intensive study of Galen led to critiques modeled on his own writing
* portrayed the human body as an interdependent system of organ groupings
* triggered great public interest in dissections and caused many other European cities to establish anatomical theatres

Blood

courageous, hopeful, amorous

* hot, moist
* air element
* sanguine temperament

yellow bile

short-tempered, ambitious

* hot, dry
* fire element
* choleric temperament

black bile

introspective sentimental

* cold, dry
* earth element
* melancholy temperament

phlegm

calm, unemotional

* cold, moist
* water element
* phlegmatic

animal substances have medicinal properties that reflect

* flesh
* blood
* bone
* sinew
* organs
* urine/feces

Ayu

life over time

Veda

knowledge that makes it possible to prolong life

atharva veda

2,500 years ago

* food and digestion, ways to increase intellect

ayurveda

from myth to history

brahma

god who creates Ayurveda

Bhardwaj

Mythic sage who gets the knowledge

Atreya

historic figure who gave the knowledge practical value

Agnivesa

wrote the knowledge down

Caraka

refined and systematized the knowledge and composed the carakasamhita: 6th Century BCE

tridosha

3 humors

* vata
* pitta
* kapha

dosha

problem or mistake

* the humors are in a chronic state of fluctuation

the problem of balance

perfect balance is the ideal, but perfect balance is impossible

five elements of Ayurvedic theory

1. Ether
2. Air
3. Fire
4. Water
5. Earth

Humoral Theory

the basic properties of the three humors are similar to the combined elements from which they derive

Key Features of Illness and Health

* humors govern all body functions and sustain
* everything and anything you do or experience affects the balance of humors
* food, weather, climate, time of day, season of the year, your age, etc.
* imbalance of humors causes illness
* humors link individuals to the world and the cosmos

Dosha

“fault” or imperfection

life itself is defined as a chronic illness then what is the goal of therapy?

heal specific problems, aging is regarded as an illness

* prolong life, produce immortality

rasayana

immortality

vajikarana

aphrodisiacs

rasayana therapy

trying to embody pure ojas

* stopping the metabolic process of transformation; the flow of time

Soma

the elixir of life

How can you most directly influence health?

* diet, exercise, lifestyle
* taking “drugs” with clearly identified properties

Ecological system of pharmacology

food chain as a theory of environmental medicine

Yuj

to join or unite

Four yoga paths

1. Jnana yoga - knowledge
2. Bhakti yoga - devotion
3. Karma yoga - action
4. Hatha yoga - compulsion

Mindfulness

* heightened awareness/awareness of the now
* focus on the present
* leads to objectivity