The Dongui Bogam is not only a medical text for the treatment of disease, but also a guide to a desirable human life. It contains the East Asian know-how on how to maintain a healthy life without disease, know-how that has been accumulated over thousands of years. This chapter systematically introduces the relevant contents on the preservation of health and public health methods to improve the quality of human life.



1. Live in Harmony with Nature.

Few people are aware of how much nature influences the human body in this highly advanced society, especially those living in the bustling city. The Dongui Bogam maintains that human beings live under the influence of nature because they resemble nature in their appearance. ‘Living in accordance with nature’, mentioned in the Dongui Bogam, however, does not mean living a life in the wild. Rather it means living in accordance with the principles of nature.

The most important change within nature is the change of day and night and that of the four seasons. Although all humans are homoiothermic animals who can maintain lives regardless of the change of the seasons, the core of the East Asian health-care methods is that living in accordance with the change of day and night as well as that of the seasons allows human bodies to use energy more efficiently without strain. At night, we should save energy through proper rest and sleep and at daytime, we should raise our metabolic rate by increasing the amount of activity we do. Even though energy is produced through food ingestion, food itself does not guarantee the maintenance of a healthy life. It is not possible to be in good health without increasing the amount of activity after ingesting food. The Dongui Bogam recommends that we match our pattern of activity with the change of day and night and that of the seasons. While there are daytime and nighttime in each day, there is the change of warmth and coldness in a year. Of the four seasons, especially summer is the season when it is difficult to maintain our health. We enjoy cold food and beverages in hot weather; however, the Dongui Bogam says that warm food is sometimes more beneficial to health in such hot weather. Eating warm food in the hottest day of the summer is the custom of East Asian food culture based on the principle mentioned above. We should keep in mind that human bodies continue to be influenced by the change of the seasons even while we are oblivious to it.

2. Control Your Mind (心).

Few people can control the mind. We often see people ruining themselves, blinded by their greediness. Aside from the extreme case of losing everything by gambling, it is common to spoil one’s own work due the one’s mood in daily life, which even can lead to diseases such as headache, insomnolence, and anxiety neurosis. The Dongui Bogam therefore says "before treating one's body, we should treat one's mind first. We should ask our patients to discard suspicions, worries, grudges, greediness, complaints, and all such futile thoughts and also repent all their past wrong-doings. They will eventually have peace of mind and body, and live daily life in harmony with nature. If they practice this lifestyle long enough, they can control their mind and become more harmonious and peaceful, which will eventually help cure their illnesses. The important keyword throughout the whole text is that all physical illnesses are caused by the mind. Of course, however, cultivating the mind does not lead to the cure of all diseases. Nevertheless, most of the minor ailments in our daily lives are not irrelevant to such psychological changes. Sometimes, for example, the stress caused by human relations in the surrounding world can lead to the start of a headache, and an anxious state of mind can be the cause of binge drinking. When curing a disease, the case of a patient who controls his or her mind has a greater therapeutic effect and shorter therapeutic period than the case of a patient who does not.

3. Control the Appetite and Sexual Desires.

The appetite and sexual desires are basic to human desires. Human beings continuously ingest food in order to maintain individuals and constantly pursue sex in order to preserve the species. Since maintaining individuals and preserving the species are the roots of life, pleasure accompanies them. Evolutional psychologists contend that if there was no pleasure in those activities, the roots of life would have been severed. It is part of human nature to be anxious to satisfy such desires; however, it can cause problems if they become excessive. In the Dongui Bogam, two matters of advice are suggested to control both excessive appetites and sexual desires, i.e., The Appetite Advice (飮食箴) and The Sexual Desire Advice (色慾箴).

The Appetite Advice is a message to help maintain health by controlling the appetite.

“The human body is precious since one's parents gave it. To harm one's body by excessive eating is contrary to the gratitude of parents. If one feels thirst or hunger one eats to preserve one's life. But fools eat as they desire and get many different diseases due to the excessive tastes. At the beginning of a disease, the symptom is very slight, however, if one eats too much and as much as one desires, one becomes ill. And then one cannot consume food, which then worries parents and concerns doctors. Although the poor people in the mountains eat little food, their movements do not weaken and they feel comfortable. Why does one individual have so many diseases although everyone is born with the same strength? The mystery will be cleared once one starts to regret[MH1] . The Book of Changes says, 'Control the appetite'. And Mencius says, 'If one pursues a smaller thing, he will lose the bigger one.' One can get diseases and one’s virtue can be destroyed through one’s mouth. So keep your mouth prudently.”

Next, The Sexual Desire Advice says to control the sexual desire.

“The human life is related to the heaven and earth. The Gondo (坤道 ‘The Earthly-Feminine Way’) makes a woman and Gundo (乾道 ‘The Heavenly-Masculine Way’) makes a man. They become a couple and so growth and development are related to their interaction. When the blood and qi are very active, that is the recommended moment to have sexual intercourse. The core virtue of intercourse depends on how sincerely they stick to the rules, and when and where they should or shouldn’t do it. For example, they should avoid it when they drink and eat too much, after they finish hard labor, or in locations where people used not to live[MH2] . The ignorant people pursue only sexual desires and worry about unsuccessful intercourse, and so get help with erectile dysfunction with dry poisonous drugs. The qi as the Yang and the blood as the Yin are the spirits of the human body; the body is stable when the Yin aspect of it is stable and the Yang aspects of it are kept in order. Why does one waste one’s blood and qi for nothing? Succumbing to basic instincts leads to disastrous results. A woman's room must be kept prudent. The excessive sexual desire of a family leader destroys his family, virtue and body.”

4. Advice on Drinking Alcohol

The Dongui Bogam suggests the following precautions about drinking alcohol.

First, drinkers should avoid all kinds of sweets.
Second, do not eat noodles after drinking rice wine. It might block the pores.
Third, those with fair skin should never drink too much. They tend to be affected in health more easily than those with dark skin.
Fourth, do not drink more than three glasses. Drinking excessively harms the body, and confuses the mind.
Fifth, do not drink excessively, if so, vomit as soon as possible.
Sixth, do not overeat after becoming drunk.
Seventh, do not lie in the cold wind after being drunk. You could catch a cold and get a hoarse voice.
Eighth, do not move long distances or run after being drunk.
Ninth, do not have sexual intercourse while drunk. It shortens one’s life span.
Tenth, do not drink after eating too much.
Eleventh, do not drink too fast. This could harm the lungs.
Twelfth, do not drink tea when you feel thirsty while drunk.

Although the Dongui Bogam introduces alcohol as a good medicine that cures many illnesses and relieves human’s anxiety, it also indicates the problems caused by heavy drinking. Alcohol, which has shared joys and sorrows among humans since the genesis of humanity, thus has no less evil than positive aspects.



*This series of articles about the Dongui Bogam has been made possible through the cooperation of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.