Preserving a Legacy of Healing
— By Barbara de la Torre, MD, FAAMA, AAMA Board Member, Treasurer
Fall in Minneapolis was warmer than expected. We arrived in late September, one week after the bustling tourist season ended. I was visiting my dear friend, Dan Lobash, my acupuncture mentor and one of the most influential teachers in a hand microsystem called Korean Hand Therapy, or Sooji Chim.
We were looking forward to chatting about KHT, planning sightseeing, and having a meal at one of his favorite restaurants near his home. But our plans changed abruptly when he was admitted to the hospital. Instead, we talked about his life and health, went to a chest x-ray appointment, and chatted with his cardiology team and family about the next steps.
I haven’t seen Dan in person for over 15 years, but we have frequently stayed in touch by phone and video chat since he underwent heart surgery several months ago. He is a special person in my life, not just because he is one of my mentors but also because he taught my mother KHT before me. From my family’s perspective, Dan is a “living human treasure,” and I wanted to show my appreciation through this visit and by carrying on the legacy of teaching KHT.
In 2009, the earliest Korean medical classic, Donguibogam, was the first medical textbook added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.1
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, founded by the United Nations in 1945 to promote “knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other’s lives.”2
More notable was UNESCO’s ten-year campaign to preserve intangible cultural heritage through the Living Human Treasures program. “Living Human Treasures grant official recognition to talented tradition bearers and practitioners, thus contributing to the transmission of their knowledge and skills to the younger generations.”3 The program was launched in 1993 to safeguard culturally diverse traditions and practices with increasing globalization.
Last week, I called Dan after giving a successful KHT two-day workshop for physicians. I waited until this year to teach KHT after Dan gave his blessing and when he shared that his health was deteriorating. He told me on this call that his heart was “full” to know that his years of hard work and dedication to teaching KHT will continue.
It’s only human to want to feel valued. Often, a physician’s life is a thankless vocation. The health care system has lost its way of cultivating the healers of tomorrow and honoring the living treasures who serve today. In the halls of Western medicine, it’s easy to pass judgment, dismiss, and lose cultural significance in the name of evidence-based medicine. However, the humanity of medicine holds the key to healing the health care system and motivating more people to pursue a medical career.
You, the medical acupuncturist, are fortunate to have an expanded healing perspective that includes traditional East Asian medicine. Your purpose isn’t just to practice medical acupuncture but also to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of your training. Otherwise, the established Western medical framework will subject it to extinction. AAMA exists, in part like UNESCO, to preserve a valued culture among its members. Your support and active participation, not just your membership, are critical to passing on the medical acupuncture tradition to future generations.
Consider reaching out to at least one acupuncture colleague who made a difference in your life. Give thanks to the living human treasures who guided you to pursue knowledge or skills to make you who you are today.
Thank you for upholding the value of medical acupuncture through your membership in the AAMA. You carry the intangible cultural heritage to preserve a truly noble medical tradition and help it strengthen and grow in the future.
Happy and safe holidays to you and your loved ones.
— Barbara
References:
- Donguibogam, Precious Book of Korean Medicine. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/donguibogam-precious-book-korean-medicine
- UNESCO in brief. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://www.unesco.org/en/brief
- UNESCO: Korean NC. Guidelines for the establishment of Living Human Treasures systems. 2002. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000129520
