夫四欲之中，惟色最甚，虽圣贤不能无此。故孔氏曰∶吾未见好德如好色者也。孟氏亦
养心莫善于寡欲。又曰∶血气未定，戒之在色。若此观之，则色亦人所难制者。今之膏粱逸
士，昼夜荒淫，以此为乐，若悦刍豢嗜而无厌，必待精竭髓枯，气匮力乏而后已，昧而失调
，安能免于死哉？悲夫。
觉者，岂如是乎？迨夫真水既亏，则火炎痰聚，而痨瘵之症成矣。当此之际，法宜存精
水，奈火伏水沸，心神浮越，虚阳妄动，竟不能制而复泄其精，则犹源将涸而流将息，而复
导之，宁不竭乎！噫，病至于此，非医者之神手，凝神定虑，以治病者之欲心，割情绝爱，
病者亦宜割情绝爱，以副医者之心，庶几可治耳！
夫诸欲之内，惟财则利益人多，盖人非财则无以治其生。故谚云∶财与命相连，然财固
必用，但轻重较之，则财又轻于命也。何则？人既病火，则危如累卵，善调则生，失调则死
，岂常病之可例视乎？必静心寡欲，凝神定虑，毋以纤物烦扰心君，庶火息水恬，病或可瘳
。于此而孜孜汲汲，终日营营，致天君失泰，而相火擅权，势必燎原矣，利可趋乎。
夫气贵顺而不贵逆，顺则百脉畅利，逆则四体愆和。若以火病而复增一怒，则犹敝舰而
波涛，鲜有不覆者也。何则？以虚其虚，则阴阳乖戾，脏腑隔绝，其不危者鲜矣。且今之昧
，但知怒能害人，殊知贼人心气者有九，曰∶怒则气上，喜则气缓，悲则气消，思则气结，
恐则气下，惊则气乱，劳则气耗，寒则气收，热则气泄。若此诸气，实人所自致者也。况痰火
之病，始于真气劳伤，肾阴亏损，而邪热乘
，非真气之有余，谓真气病而邪火相协，
阳愈亢而阴愈消。所谓阴虚生内热者以
火司权，熏烁肺金之意耳！况七情
气逆于上。动极生火，火载血上
皆自无而有，实动极之所致也
在人的四种欲望中，唯独色欲最为强烈，即使是圣贤也不能完全免除这种欲望。所以孔子说：“我没有见过喜爱道德像喜爱美色那样的人。”孟子也说：“修养心性没有比减少欲望更好的了。”他又说：“青年人气血尚未稳定，应当戒除色欲。”从这些观点来看，色欲也是人们难以控制的。现在的富贵闲人，日夜荒淫无度，以此为乐，就像喜欢吃肉一样不知满足，一定要等到精气耗尽、骨髓枯竭、气力匮乏才停止，愚昧而不加调摄，怎么能避免死亡呢？可悲啊。
觉悟的人，难道会像这样吗？等到真水（肾阴）亏损之后，虚火就会上炎，痰浊聚集，于是劳瘵（肺结核等慢性消耗性疾病）的病症就形成了。在这个时候，治疗方法应当是保存精水，无奈此时火伏于内而水沸腾，心神浮越，虚阳妄动，竟然不能控制自己而再次泄精，这就好比水源将要干涸、水流将要停止时，反而又去引导它，难道不是让它彻底枯竭吗！唉，病情到了这个地步，如果不是医生有神奇的手腕，能够凝神定虑，消除病人的贪欲之心，病人自己也应当割舍情感、断绝爱欲，以配合医生的治疗意图，或许还可以治愈！
在各种欲望之中，唯独财富利益人多，因为人没有钱财就无法维持生活。所以谚语说：“财与命相连”，然而钱财固然必须使用，但比较轻重而言，钱财又轻于生命。为什么呢？人既然患上了火病，情况就危险得像堆叠起来的蛋一样（极易破碎），善于调摄就能生存，不调摄就会死亡，这怎么能用一般的疾病来类比看待呢？必须静心寡欲，凝神定虑，不要用细微的事物扰乱心君（心脏/心神），这样火势平息、肾水恬静，病或许可以痊愈。如果在此时还孜孜不倦、急急忙忙，整天奔波忙碌，导致天君（心）失去安宁，而相火（肝肾之火）擅自掌权，势必会像大火燎原一样严重，哪里还能追求利益呢。
气贵在顺达而不在逆乱，顺则百脉通畅流利，逆则四肢失和。如果患有火病而又增加一次愤怒，那就如同破旧的船遇到波涛，很少有不翻覆的。为什么呢？因为这是“虚其虚”（使虚者更虚），导致阴阳乖戾，脏腑隔绝，不危险的很少了。而且现在那些愚昧的人，只知道发怒能害人，却不知道伤害人心气的有九种情况，分别是：怒则气上逆，喜则气缓散，悲则气消减，思则气结聚，恐则气下陷，惊则气紊乱，劳则气耗损，寒则气收敛，热则气外泄。像这样的各种气机变化，实际上都是人自己造成的。况且痰火之病，始于真气劳伤，肾阴亏损，而邪热趁机侵袭，并不是真气有余，而是真气生病而邪火协同作乱，阳气愈亢奋而阴液愈消亡。所谓阴虚生内热，就是指在这种火气当权的情况下，熏灼肺金的意思！何况七情导致气逆于上。动极生火，火载血上行，这些都是从无到有的，实际上是动极所致。
Among the four desires, lust is the most intense; even sages cannot be entirely free from it. Thus, Confucius said, "I have never seen one who loves virtue as much as they love beauty." Mencius also stated, "There is no better way to cultivate the mind than to reduce desires." He further said, "When blood and qi are not yet settled, one must guard against lust." From this perspective, lust is indeed difficult for people to control. Today's wealthy and idle individuals indulge in licentiousness day and night, finding pleasure in it, much like those who crave meat without satiety. They will not stop until their essence is exhausted, marrow dried up, and qi and strength depleted. Being ignorant and failing to regulate themselves, how can they avoid death? How tragic!
Those who are awakened, would they act thus? Once the True Water (Kidney Yin) is depleted, fire flares upward and phlegm accumulates, leading to the formation of consumption (chronic wasting diseases such as tuberculosis). At this juncture, the treatment principle should be to preserve essence and water. However, with fire lurking within and water boiling, the spirit floats and wanders, and deficient yang moves recklessly. One fails to exert control and leaks essence again. This is akin to guiding water when the source is nearly dry and the flow is about to cease; would this not lead to complete exhaustion? Alas, when the disease reaches this stage, unless the physician possesses miraculous skill, calming their own mind and thoughts to address the patient's desire, and if the patient also cuts off emotional attachments and severs love to align with the physician's intent, there may be a chance of cure.
Among all desires, only wealth benefits many people, as humans cannot sustain life without money. Hence, the proverb says, "Wealth is linked to life." Although wealth is certainly necessary, comparing its weight to that of life, wealth is lighter. Why? Because once a person suffers from fire disease, their condition is as precarious as stacked eggs. Proper regulation leads to survival, while neglect leads to death. How can such a case be treated as an ordinary illness? One must calm the mind, reduce desires, focus the spirit, and steady the thoughts, avoiding letting trivial matters disturb the Heart Monarch (Heart/Shen). Only then will the fire subside, the water become tranquil, and the illness perhaps heal. If one remains diligent and anxious, busy all day long, causing the Heavenly Monarch (Heart) to lose peace and allowing Minister Fire (Liver/Kidney Fire) to usurp authority, the situation will inevitably spread like a prairie fire. How can profit be pursued then?
Qi values smoothness over reversal; smoothness ensures the unimpeded flow of all vessels, while reversal causes disharmony in the four limbs. If one suffers from fire disease and adds anger, it is like a dilapidated ship encountering waves; few escape capsizing. Why? Because this constitutes "making deficiency more deficient," leading to yin-yang discordance and separation of the zang-fu organs. Few remain safe. Moreover, today's ignorant people only know that anger harms others, but do not realize that there are nine ways anger damages the heart's qi: Anger causes qi to ascend, joy causes qi to slacken, grief causes qi to dissipate, worry causes qi to knot, fear causes qi to descend, shock causes qi to scatter, labor causes qi to consume, cold causes qi to contract, and heat causes qi to leak. These various qi alterations are actually self-inflicted. Furthermore, phlegm-fire disease originates from the injury of true qi due to overexertion and the depletion of Kidney Yin, allowing pathogenic heat to take advantage. It is not that true qi is excessive, but rather that true qi is diseased and collaborates with pathogenic fire, causing yang to hyperactive and yin to diminish. The concept of "yin deficiency generating internal heat" refers to the scorching of Lung Metal by fire when fire holds power. Additionally, the seven emotions cause qi to reverse upwards. Extreme movement generates fire; fire carries blood upward. All these arise from nothingness and are truly caused by extreme activity.