扁鹊为什么叫“神医”（下）Bian Que the "Miracle Doctor" (Part 2 of 2)
扁鹊经过虢国时正逢太子“病死”。扁鹊听了喜好方术的中庶子介绍太子的情形，知道太子的病就是所谓的“尸蹶”，扁鹊说能让太子活过来。中庶子说：“我听说上古的时候有位名医叫俞跗，治病不用汤药酒剂等，一查看就能发现疾病的所在，顺着五脏的腧穴，就能剖开肌肉，通导经脉、结扎筋腱、疏理隔膜、洗涤五脏、炼精气、换形体。先生的医术能这样，太子就可复活了；否则，要让太子复活，那简直连婴儿都骗不了。”扁鹊听了中庶子的话仰天长叹，说：“先生说的那些医疗方法，就像从竹管里看天，从缝隙里看花纹。我秦越人的医疗方法，不需切脉理、看气色、听声音、察形态，就能讲出病症之所在。知道疾病的外表就能推之内在的原因，知道疾病的内在原因就能推知外在表现。人体有病会从外表反映出来，据此可以诊断一千里外的人。我决断的方法很多，不只停留在一个角度看问题。”扁鹊让弟子针刺太子经络的穴位，一会儿太子就醒了。天下人都认为扁鹊是一位能起死回生的神医。
扁鹊拜见蔡桓公时，告诉蔡桓公疾病在他的皮肉之间；五天后又告诉他病在血脉里；过了五天扁鹊看到病在蔡桓公的肠胃之间；又过了五天病已经进入蔡桓公的膏肓之间。此时就是掌管生命的神也无能为力了。扁鹊只好逃离。蔡桓公病发时想要找扁鹊，可是已经找不到了，他因一再漠视扁鹊的劝告而丧命。
从以上史实中我们可以看到，扁鹊是用他的“功能”在看病，而且能看到疾病的原因所在，而诊脉只是做做样子罢了。古时的大医学家，像华佗、孙思邈、李时珍等都有这种本事，他们很多人本来就是修道之人，非常讲医德，淡泊名利。扁鹊用功能治病，立刻就能看到病的根本原因，当然能对症下药，妙手回春了，所以人们就把扁鹊叫做“神医”。
On one occasion, Bian Que traveled to the Guo Kingdom where the prince lay, apparently dead from illness. After listening to a doctor named Zhong Shuzi describing the prince's symptom, Bian Que knew that the prince was not dead; his symptom was called "Shi Jue" (false death). Bian Que told Zhong Shuzi that the prince could recover. Zhong Shuzi said, "I heard that a long time ago, a famous doctor named Yu Fu had used no regular medicines in his practice. He could see the diseases by observation only. He would follow the energy meridians in people's internal organs, dissect the tissues, unclog the meridians, stitch the tendons, clean up the membranes, wash the organs, cultivate the spirit and change the body. If you could do all these, then the prince could recover. Otherwise, you couldn't even convince an infant that the prince could come back alive."
After he heard Zhong Shuzi's comments, Bian Que sighed deeply and said, "What you have just described was only a tiny portion of the medical diagnosis; it's like watching the sky through a bamboo pipe and observing patterns via a narrow slit. My treatment has no need to take the pulse, no need to watch the energy flow, no need to listen to the voice or even see his physical condition. Without all those techniques I could tell the root cause of his illness. If I see the outside symptoms, I can deduce the internal cause. On the other hand, if I know the internal cause, then I can predict the outside symptoms. When people get sick it shows on the surface. Based on this I can diagnose people a thousand miles away. I have many ways to diagnose and treat illness. You can't just look at things from one angle." After that, Bian Que told one of his students to perform acupuncture on the prince. Soon the prince woke up from death. This incident earned Bian Que a great reputation. People called him a miracle doctor who could bring dead people back to life.
Another time Bian Que met with Cai Huangong, the king of the Cai Kingdom, in whose body he detected a serious illness. Bian Que told Cai Huangong that his disease was within his flesh, but Cai Huangong ignored him. Five days later, Bian Que told Cai Huangong that the disease was now in his blood vessels. His advice was ignored again. Another five days later, Bian Que saw that Cai Huangong's disease had progressed to his internal organs, and yet another five days later it had entered his bone marrow. Even a god in charge of life and death could no longer reverse the disease. Bian Que escaped right away. When Cai Huangong's disease became serious his people were looking for Bian Que to treat the king, but it was too late. Bian Que had left. Having ignored Bian Que's early warnings, Cai Huangong died of the disease.
The above-cited historical accounts tell us that Bian Que was using his "supernormal power" to treat patients. He could see the root cause of the diseases. His diagnostic practice such as checking the pulse was only an act, to comfort people. Other famous doctors such as Hua Tuo, Sun Simiao and Li Shizhen all possessed this ability. Many of them were Taoist cultivators themselves who placed special emphasis on virtue and took fame and money very lightly. Bian Que used his ability to treat patients. He could immediately see the root cause, apply the right treatment and achieve the ideal results; therefore, people called him the "Miracle Doctor."