October 25, Narrow Defile

Narrow Defile, (liè quē), IX - 7


     Liè Quē is a narrowing, dividing, arranging and partaking. It also means lightening. Liè is drawn as to divide and place in order. It means to arrange to enumerate, to separate and to classify. Quē is drawn as earthenware and to partake. It means to defile, deficiency, vacancy and broken. Here is a place where the energy is concentrated and gathered together to be clarified and divided. Here is the real place of separation where that which we need can be recognized and that which we no longer need is let go.

Explanation of Point Name: The name of this point may be understood in terms of the path of the lung channel. At LU-7 the path splits to join the large intestine channel at LI-14. This splitting can be seen as a break in the sequence of points on the lung channel. This argument may also be understood as a break in the general sequence of the channel system. In most cases, qi is transferred from the last point of one channel to the first point of the following channel. Here LU-7, and not the last lung channel point LU-11, is the issue point of the lung channel.


The Noble Eightfold Path
1. Right View
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration