Pulse diagnosis touches upon the river of life streaming from the heart. When the diagnostician provides a space for ‘no doing’ to occur, the patient’s processes and structures in the realms of spirit, mind and body become apparent. It is not enough to articulate the various phenomena that occur within and around the vessels whether they are texture, shape, volume or features of time such as waves, rhythm and rate. As a living being sensitive and compassionate, we receive the patient in a spacious place that is free of our own fears and hopes, a place that is free of our attachments to clinical outcomes. This attitude or approach to the process of pulse taking must be predicated upon a life of committed study and discipline.

Meditation can assist the deeper cultivation of the physician. In the words of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, “Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss or tranquility, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose or undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes. We provide space through the simple discipline of doing nothing.”