[Roy Collins]

Androcentric (male-centered)Thinking:

HM: You think that macrobiotic philosophy over emphasizes androcentric thinking because the 12 Principles says that all things are yang at the center. You are completely wrong. These words “all things are yang at he center” cames from Lao Tzu’s Tao The Ching, Chapter 42:

“One creates Two
Two creates Three
Three creates all things
All things hold yin on the outside,
yang in their center.”

This concept is quite similar to the modern concept of the atomic structure. In 1913 Neils Bohr, a Danish scientist, suggested an atomic model which serves chemists well to the present day. He pictured the atom as consisting of three basic particles: electron, protons, and neutrons. The electron is a particle possessing a negative electrical charge. The proton is a particle consisting of a a positive electrical charge equal in magnitude to the charge of the electron. The neutron is a particle with no electrical charge.

Proton and neutron are at the center of the atom that from the weight whereas the electrons circulate around the neucleus by maintaining definite average distances fro the nucleus.

This modern theory of atomic structure illustrates quite well what Lao Tzu said thousands of years ago.

You claim that macrobiotic teaching is male-centered and female is on the peripheral, superficial and seemingly second rate. This is completely opposite in reality. In macrobiotic practice, center is yang as in the case of the material world – such as demonstrated by the atomic model. However, in the case of the spiritual world, the center is yin, feminine.

I summarized George Ohsawa’s talk on his mother which was recorded on June 16, 1964 in Kaleidoscope. The following shows you how much he admired his mother:

“When George Ohsawa was 6 years old his father ran off with another woman. Caring for George and his younger brother and younger sister was difficult for his mother and she began to lose the battle for survival. However she had a strong mind and soon overcame depression. She first studied nursing in a medical school and then got licensed as a nurse and a midwife.

“She worked hard helping sick and pregnant women. She offerd free help to thosae who could not afford to pay. However she soon became overworked wich weakened her immune system and she became infected with tuberculosis germs from one of her patients. Soon her two sisters became infected with tuberculosis and died. As her illness progressed she became unable to work and soon fell into poverty. Knowing that she was going to die made her worry about her children’s future. But she never complained about her bad luck and hardships. Ohswa said in a tape that his mother knew that death was nearby and called George and younger brother to her bedside. She told George to become a scholar because she knew he was yin and told the brother to become a soldier because he was yang type. Soon after this discussion with the two boys she died at age 32 (1903).”

Ohsawa said on the tape that his biggest lesson in life was given to him by his mother through her wordless teaching, who never complained about her sadness, impovershed circumstances, her illness, etc. Ohswa told us that his mother was his greatest teacher because she taught that happiness comes as a result of NO COMPLAINING. Ohsawa followed this wordless teaching and studied always how to cure the sick and teaching how to be happy. Therefore macrobiotic teaching is centered around motherhood, feminity, endurance, patience, and not complaining (appreciate life).

Ohsawa loved his mother and respected her. Therefore he was a feminist as well. Most of his male students left him but females students stayed a longer time. Some female students devoted their lives to his work and went without marrying their entire lives because they repected and worshipped him as a teacher and as their life’s savior with devotion and royalty. Therefore it is not true that macrobiotics neglect the impoirtance of pregnancy and lactation. If there is such a person that is the result of misunderstanding macrobiotics. There is a teaching of pregnant woment to study called TAIKYO in the orient which states that pregnant women must follow a good diet and avoid animal foods, nerve stimulating foods, nerve distorting alcoholic drink and watching violent movies or TV or reading emotional novels. This makes one more peaceful and helps to make baby sound of body and mind.

Practical Application of Macrobiotic Theory:

I agree with you that some unfortunate circumstances that occurred among macrobiotic followers and counselors. To me, this did not come from macrobiotic theory but rather arrogance of some macrobiotic teachers and counselors who were more or less self-appointed. Macrobiotic teaching began only 35 years ago by George Ohsawa. Since then he lived only for 6 years and during that time came to America only a few times to conduct summer camps in New York and California. He gave only a few lectures in New York City and Los Angeles.

After his death macrobiotics were taught by unexperienced and arrogant students like me. Furthermore, arrogant Americans started teaching and counseling sick people after less than one year of studying macrobiotics. This is the cause of miss-treatment and miss-advice. Therefore it is not macrobiotic theory that is wrong but rather people’s attitudes and wrong understanding about macrobiotics.

To avoid this happening we have to follow Ohsawa’s footsteps when he told us that we could counsel the sick only after we can cure our own sickness, maintain family health and happiness and after help thousands of sick people toward health and happiness.

Conclusion:

You claim that the term yin and yang belong to the Chinese language and Chinese Medicine. The 20th century was a period of mass communication – there is no one word that belongs to one culture or one language. The term yin and yang belongs to humanity. As president FD Roosevelt said on Jan 6 1941, we have freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world.

According to Random House dictionary, yin and yang is defined as follows: [In Chinese philosophy and religion] two principles, one negative, dark, and feminine (yin) and one positive, bright, and masculine (yang) whose interaction influences the destinies of creatures and things. This means the term yin and yang are not the words of the Chinese alone any more than Bohr’s atomic theory belongs to the Danish._

You claim that No individual or group should be allowed to change the ancient meanings without consensus of the Chinese language experts and the Chinese medical community, etc. This is the most arrogant and exclusive words I ever heard. This is not a sane mentality. No Chinese people dare to claim such a thing, because they know that any explanation of truth is no longer truth once it is expressed, just as Lao Tzu said in the Tao Te Ching (chapter 1):

Tao, as the absolute Way of the universe
cannot be conveyed with words,
That which can be conveyed with words is
merely relative conception.
Although names have been applied to it,
the absolute Truth is indescribable.
One may designate Nothingness [nothingness is yin]
as the origin of the universe,
And Beingness [Beingness is yang] as the mother
of the myriad things….

etc.

My last advice to Don Matesz is: You better call your center: “ANTIMACROBIOTIC LEARNING CENTER” if you wish to be a wise man.