Understanding Ben & Biao is fundamental
In memory of Dr. Dean Cheng-Chui Ren who passed away peacefully on 8/16/23.
My main clinic supervisor in school, Dr. Dean Ren always stressed the importance of Qi transformation, ben and biao rather than cookie-cutter acupuncture prescriptions.
Generally speaking, ben refers to the root and biao refers to the manifestation or symptoms. In chronic conditions, one would focus on the ben, while in acute conditions, the biao would be the focus. In TCM, a diagnosis of LV overacting on SP manifesting with abdominal distention, pain, and emotions the ben would be the LV qi stagnation and the SP qi deficiency would be the biao. In Japanese Meridian Therapy (JMT), the ben would be the SP deficiency with the biao being the LV/GB excess.
Below is a summary of my school clinic supervisors’ approaches to addressing ben and biao.
