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Whenever a person falls into the net of disease and remains bedridden for a long time, their mental state and temperament are almost ground down to an unbearable extent. To invite a skilled physician and administer good medicines is merely the secondary aspect (the secondary measure). One must first make the mind and body idle and relaxed, forget emotional desires and thoughts, maintain tranquility without impatience, speak and act with composure, remain indifferent to all affairs and deaf to them, regulate daily life properly, choose exquisite food, adjust clothing according to the season, avoid approaching beauties, do not indulge in entertainment, nor seek excessive seclusion. Fire qi also easily arises. Once the power of preservation and nourishment is obtained, then assist it with good prescriptions taken diligently without cessation. There will naturally be a time of revival; why worry that the "two ministers" (metaphor for pathogenic factors) will not leap out from the heart and be resolved? Among hundred diseases, only deficiency and internal injury are the most severe; unless treated over years, no effect can be seen. If one's qi becomes violent and uncalm, and nature becomes licentious and uncontrolled, even if taking a thousand doses of divine elixirs, although they may resist a bit of reckless fire, one must strictly observe taboos. One should choose what is beneficial oneself, screen off all worldly ties, and regard this body as if it were already dead; only then can there be a day of avoiding death. If even a slight thought of clinging to life exists, one cannot escape the disaster of losing life. This lies in the patient's need to cherish themselves.

The spirits and ghosts control the power of creation and transformation; sincerity can move them. This principle is very subtle. As for relying on demons to cause harm, it is passed down that there are mountain spirits and monsters. These often occur in families lacking virtue, women of licentious behavior, or men with bad luck, where evil qi easily enters and takes advantage of deficiency to summon感应 (influence). The method to resist them is discussed in another treatise. However, when a person suffers from illness and sees ghosts in their eyes, in strange shapes, causing the whole family to be terrified, believing it to be real ghosts leading to certain death, and thus inviting wizards to pray and exorcise, confusing people, this is extremely foolish. Such symptoms have several types: First, when disease transmits from the Three Yang channels into the Stomach Fu, heat confuses the Heart Jing, causing spiritual chaos and unrest, resulting in seeing ghosts. Spirit (Shen) is the master of the Heart; ghosts are the division of spirit. When Qi is complete, it is spirit; when spirit divides, ghosts are seen; when scattered, it becomes ghost. Second, during the transition between Spring and Summer, contracting epidemic heat, if it strikes the Heart directly, death occurs; if it injures the Heart Jing, confusion occurs, and ghosts are also seen. Another type is when the constitution is weak, accumulated labor leads to sudden Jue (syncope), Yang Qi rises upward, false heat disturbs the Heart, and ghosts are also seen. Also, when stagnant phlegm obstructs upwards, or food retention in the middle generates heat attacking the Heart, ghosts are also seen. All result from spiritual chaos. Administering agents to clear heat, absorb Qi, eliminate phlegm, and remove accumulation will cure the disease. If the disease is prolonged and near death, seeing ghosts is because Yuan Qi has completely escaped outward, causing Shen to scatter and not gather, not due to spiritual chaos. Examining the *Su Wen* (Basic Questions), specifically the chapter on Five Corpse Ghosts, states that when the five Zang organs are deficient and coincide with a year of insufficient climate fortune, killer ghosts appear, causing sudden death. Ultimately, heaven's deficiency meets human deficiency; deficiency leads to seeing ghosts, not real ghosts. Only by pre-emptively applying treatment to tonify True Yin and assist Yuan Qi, making the Heart Shen solid and no longer scattered, will evil ghosts retreat. The Classics say: Those who obtain Shen prosper; those who lose Shen perish. Those who maintain [their Shen] live; those who lose [it] die. It also says: Those bound by ghosts and spirits cannot be spoken to regarding the highest Virtue. This is what is meant.