There are some similarities, but also a lot of differences between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and India’s Ayurveda. For simplicity’s sake, this is merely a very surface-level overview of some commonalities and distinctions between the two health traditions. The idea behind this post to help you, who may be familiar with one but not the other, better understand both, and also assess which might be the better or more relevant health approach for you.
Basic Concepts
- Both understand 5 Elements, but
- TCM: metal, wood, water, fire, earth
- Ayurveda: ether, air, water, fire, earth
- Tastes, as of materia medica and foods
- TCM, 5 tastes: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent
- Ayurveda, 6 tastes (rasa): Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, astringent
- Effective temperature, as of materia medica and foods
- TCM (nature): hot, warm, neutral, cool, cold; these are fixed corresponding to taste and effect on the body.
- Ayurveda (potency – veerya): warm or cool; can change according to mixing, mouth feeling versus stomach feeling, does not have have fixed correspondence to taste or effect on body. Going further, Ayurveda also has the concept of vipaka or post-digestive effect and prabhava or specific unexplainable action (both of which would merit a separate post).
- Both assign and assess people according to constitution, but Ayurveda gives far greater weight to this concept.
- Both have concept of life essence or immunity that sustains life, in TCM known as congenital essence (原气or 精气) and in Ayurveda as Ojus.
- Both understand channels exist within the body and aid in flow of energy, or else become blocked and inhibit normal flow.
Diagnoses
- Tongue – Both, but TCM gives greater emphasis and assesses a wider range of manifestations on the tongue.
- Pulse – Both, but finger placement, interpretation, and understanding of pulse movements are different: Ayurveda primarily uses for constitution assessment and which dosha may be vitiating, while TCM uses it for very time-sensitive diagnosis.
- Looking – Both.
- Asking – Both.
- Use of modern technology (MRI, blood or urine tests, etc) – Far more commonly used in Ayurveda than TCM.
Diet/Nutrition
- Both consider dietary therapy to be the first method of healing, but often assume this is merely at-home self-remedy.
- Ayurveda takes into greater consideration dietary patterns than TCM for diagnosis and treatment, generally speaking.
- Ayurveda advises fasting and other dietary regimens for seasonal, health-keeping, and post-treatment prescriptions; this is given less emphasis in TCM.
- Ayurveda has a heavy use of dairy, ghee (oil), and variety of spices, unlike TCM which tends to focus more on fruits, greens, and only 1-2 spices (namely ginger). This is a reflection of the native agriculture in each health system’s homeland.
Treatments – Internal
- Ayurveda uses internal oleation (consumption of large quantities of ghee). Not in TCM.
- TCM herbs are always processed and then converted into decoctions, pastes, or patent medicines.
- Ayurveda may use fresh herbs, simple dried, processed, or other methods before converting them into powders, ingestible oils/ghee, decoctions, pastes, fermented preparations, or patent medicines.
- Both use many parts of plants and animals, including leaves, flowers, bark, roots, shells, bone, venom, etc, as well as minerals and stones.
- I will not comment further on the materia medica as I’m not familiar with the extent of Ayurveda’s pharmacopoeia.
Treatments – External
- Both use vital points (points of greater energy or life essence or, in TCM, Qi concentration) in treatment, and both apply acupressure (acupuncture) on the points that they recognize as important.
- Both use massage, but unlike in TCM’s tuina, medicated oils are key to Ayurvedic massage’s success.
- Both have a medicated paste or plaster that can be applied, typically on arthritic or otherwise painful joints.
- Differing treatment modalities:
- TCM: acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, guasha, auricular acupuncture with seeds
- Ayurveda: pouring of medicated oil, fermented liquid, or medicated buttermilk over the body or head; retaining of medicated oil or ghee on head, eyes, ears, nose, or local area; medicated smoking; sweating; etc.
And I could go on and on, but there is a point beyond which they can’t be compared. Both have long histories and their unique strengths and weaknesses, but more importantly, are highly regarded and effective approaches for health.
If anything is unclear or you want to add something, feel free to comment below.
Interesting comparison indeed!
Ayurvedic pulse however follows more than doshic imbalances, including the acute stages of organs at various sites / locations of organs, as also the mind, noting specific diseases at sites which gives specific analysis as to mental issues (depression, anxiety, insomnia, insanity etc.) and which dosha and organ is causing it (or which dosha has ‘entered’ the organs, dhatus or tissues or sub-doshas etc.).
Traditionally, there are seven levels of the pulse, not two alone and in addition, at each site of each level (making 42 ‘pulses’ – 21 on each side) in the deeper system.
The more simplified system is 6 pulses on each side (3 deep and three superficial pulses).
At each finger, a certain area of the finger also denotes V, P and K not only the fingers themselves representing V, P and K which is at a more superficial level; the overall quality of the Pulse can be used to determine certain specific disorders in the pulse also.
Some practitioners (advanced) however can read the Prana in the pulse and detect everything about the patient, without even having known such. For example, state that they had asthma between ages of 5 and 12 or car injury on the left leg at 20 years of age and such also – let alone the current imbalances.
Such is called ‘Nadi siddhi’ and is the siddhi or mystic power of reading the pulse that we may find in traditional doctors in India (Vaidyas), as in the school of Siddha medicine of the south.
Just a note here, as the system commonly taught is quite a simplified system, as BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic medicine and Surgery) in India, which modern ‘Ayurvedic Doctors’ are trained in actually doesn’t give training in Ayurvedic pulse of tradition – it trains in allopathic pulse mainly, as also mainly allopathic methods of examination over the traditional Ayurvedic.
To learn the deeper aspects they have to train specifically in this line.
Thus, most use the pulse for Constitution alone, and of that they often fail to get it correct, as various changes affect the pulse, as also not only the site and rate, but the quality of the Pulse is most important for constitution, not the finger placement alone, althoigh important.
The guna (qualities) of the pulse, especially with regards to sites and organ correspondences are what helps detect various disorders in the pulse. A ‘Vata’ pulse at the site of the kidney for example denotes a weak kidney, renal failure etc. Likewise a ‘Pitta’ pulse in the location of the heart denotes hypertension, anger etc.
At the Pericardium pulse (third position on superficial pulse of RHS), one can detect the mental states of the individual by assessing the points of Vata (anxiety, insomnia, stress); Pitta (anger, repressed fiery emotions) and Kapha (depression, lethargy etc.) in a more basic manner.
Just a note as the traditional Pulse is often not taught which gives a different light to Ayurvedic pulse analysis.
Ayurveda also has an in-depth system of tongue diagnosis that shows the tongue corresponding to organ-sites, as also the face, nails etc.
Some Ayurvedic practitioners can thus look at a person’s face alone, or take the pulse alone, or even tongue and read not only the constitution – but also all disorders relative to the organs, tissues etc. from these alone (of course such are more specialised advanced Practitioners).
In my own experience of years of pulse-reading, even before studying Ayurveda, one comes to know by direct insight and experience, the various issues of the individual in the pulse – even Astrological imbalances in one’s chart can be noted in the pulse and herbal remedies adjusted accordingly when one has the Nadi siddhi.
Ayurvedic face-reading and palmistry or Medical-Physiognomy and Medical-Palmistry also forms a part of these traditional examinations with these regards, as it does an integral part of mainstream Astrology (Samudrika shastra branch of Vedic Astrology) – such as the Gypsies from India took to the West.
That’s very interesting. Thank you.
I wish there would be more comments to enrich the discussion. I am a bit more familiar with the Chinese system when it comes to astrology, but more familiar with the Indic system when it comes to medicine and inner spirituality. As I practice Tibetan Buddhism, which uses both traditions while never merging them, I was always puzzled by the difference.
This is very interesting.
I know TCM is big on acupuncture, but is needle acupuncture also part of Ayurveda?
Thanks for sharing it