丹溪治陈状元弟。因忧病咳唾血。面黧色。药之十日不效。谓其兄曰。此病得之失志伤
肾。必用喜解。乃可愈。即求一足衣食之地处之。于是大喜。实时色退。不药而愈。由是而
言。治病必求其本。虽药中其病。苟不察其得病之因。亦不能愈也。
徐书记有室女。病似劳。医僧法靖诊曰。二寸脉微伏。是忧思致病。请示病因。徐曰。
女子梦吞蛇。渐成此病。靖谓有蛇在腹。用药专下小蛇。其疾遂愈。靖密言非蛇病也。因梦
蛇过忧成疾。当治意而不治病耳。
一富家妇。伤思虑过甚。二年不寐。无药可疗。其夫求戴人诊之。曰。两手脉俱缓。此
脾受之也。脾主思故也。乃与其夫以怒激之。多取其财。饮酒数日。不处一方而去。其妇大
怒。汗出。是夜困眠。如此八九日不寤。自是食进。脉得其平。
一女新嫁后。其夫经商二年不归。因不食。困卧如痴。无他病。多向里床坐。丹溪诊之
肝脉弦出寸口。曰。此思男子不得。气结于脾。药难独治。得喜可解。不然。令其怒。脾
主思。过思则脾气结而不食。怒属肝木。木能克土。怒则气升发而冲。开脾气矣。其父掌
其面。呵责之。号泣大怒。至三时许。令慰解之。与药一服。即索粥食矣。朱曰。思气虽解
必得喜。庶不再结。乃诈以夫有书。旦夕且归。后三月。夫果归而愈。
丹溪曰。一蜀僧出家时。其母在堂。及游浙右。经七年。忽一日。念母之心甚切。欲归
无腰缠。徒尔朝夕西望而泣。以是得病。黄瘦倦怠。时僧年二十五岁。太无罗先生见之。令
其
隔壁泊宿。每日以牛肉猪肚甘肥等。煮糜烂与之。凡经半月余。且时以慰谕之言劳之。又许
钞十锭作路费。曰不望报。但欲救汝之命耳。察其形稍苏。脉稍充。与桃仁承气。一日三帖
下之。皆是血块痰积。方止。次日只与熟菜稀粥将息。又半月。其僧遂如故。又半月有余。
与钞十锭。遂行。
〔附〕有士人观书忘食。一日有紫衣人立前曰。公不可久思。思则我死矣。问其何人
曰。我。谷神也。于是绝思而食如故。
朱丹溪诊治陈状元的弟弟。他因忧愁导致咳嗽并咳血，面色黧黑，服药十日后未见疗效。朱丹溪对其兄长说：“此病源于志向受挫损伤肾脏，必须用喜悦来化解，才能痊愈。”于是为他安排一个足以维持衣食生计的地方安置他。他因此大喜过望，面色随即消退，未再服药便痊愈了。由此而言，治病必须探求根本，即使药物对症，如果不考察致病的原因，也不能治愈。
徐书记的女儿，患病类似虚劳。僧人医生法靖诊察后说：“两手寸脉微弱潜伏，这是忧思导致的疾病。”请示病因，徐某说：“女儿梦见吞食蛇，逐渐形成此病。”法靖说腹中有蛇，用药专门排出小蛇，疾病随即痊愈。法靖私下说并非真有蛇病，而是因为梦见蛇过度忧虑而成疾，应当治疗意念而非治疗疾病本身。
一位富家妇女，因思虑过度，两年无法入睡，无药可治。她的丈夫请求戴人（张从正）诊治。戴人说：“两手脉象都缓弱，这是脾脏受邪所致。因为脾主思虑。”于是利用愤怒来激怒她，向她的丈夫索取了大量钱财，饮酒数日，不处方剂就离开了。这位妇人非常愤怒，出汗，当晚便困倦入睡。如此八九天后不再失眠，从此饮食增加，脉象恢复平和。
一位女子新婚之后，丈夫经商两年未归，因而不愿进食，困倦卧床如痴呆状，没有其他病症，多面向里床坐着。朱丹溪诊察发现其肝脉弦硬且超出寸口部位，说：“这是思念男子而不得，气结于脾脏。药物难以单独治愈，得到喜悦可以化解。否则，让她发怒也可以。脾主思虑，过度思虑则脾气郁结而不进食；怒属肝木，木能克土，发怒则气机升发冲逆，从而开通脾气的郁结。”她的父亲掌掴她的脸并呵责她，她放声大哭并大怒，持续约三个小时，然后让人安慰开导她。服用一剂药后，立即索要粥食。朱丹溪说：“思虑之气虽然解开，但必须得到喜悦，才不会再郁结。”于是谎称丈夫有信来，早晚即将回家。三个月后，丈夫果然回来，疾病痊愈。
朱丹溪说：有一位四川僧人出家时，母亲尚在堂上。后来他去浙西游历，经过七年，忽然有一天，思念母亲的心情非常迫切，想回去却没有路费，只能白白地早晚向西眺望哭泣，因此得病，身体黄瘦倦怠。当时僧人二十五岁。太无罗先生见到他，让他住在隔壁，每天用牛肉、猪肚等甘肥食物，煮得烂熟给他吃。总共经过半个多月，并且时常以安慰劝解的话语宽慰他。又许诺给他十锭钞票作为路费，说：“不指望报答，只想救你的命罢了。”观察他的形体稍微苏醒，脉象稍微充盈，给予桃仁承气汤。一天三帖，服下后排出全是血块和痰积，这才停止。第二天只给熟菜稀粥调养。又过了半个月，这位僧人就恢复了常态。又过了半个多月，给他十锭钞票，他便上路了。
〔附记〕有位读书人看书忘记吃饭。有一天有个穿紫衣的人站在他面前说：“您不能长久思考，思考下去我就会死。”问他是谁，回答说：“我是谷神。”于是停止思虑，饮食恢复正常。
Zhu Danxi treated the younger brother of Scholar Chen. He suffered from coughing and hemoptysis due to melancholy, with a sallow complexion. After ten days of medication, there was no effect. Zhu told his elder brother, "This illness stems from frustration damaging the Kidney. It must be resolved through joy to heal." Therefore, they arranged for him a place sufficient to sustain his livelihood. He became overjoyed, his complexion immediately improved, and he recovered without further medication. From this, we see that treating disease requires seeking its root. Even if the medicine targets the symptoms, if the cause is not investigated, it cannot cure the disease.
The daughter of Secretary Xu was ill, resembling consumptive disease (Lao). The monk physician Fa Jing diagnosed her, saying, "The pulse at both cun positions is faint and hidden; this is an illness caused by worry and rumination." When asked about the cause, Mr. Xu said, "My daughter dreamed of swallowing a snake, which gradually led to this illness." Fa Jing claimed there was a snake in the abdomen and prescribed medicine specifically to expel small snakes, after which the illness healed. Fa Jing privately stated it was not a snake disease, but rather an illness formed by excessive worry due to the dream of a snake. One should treat the mind/intent rather than the physical disease itself.
A wealthy woman suffered from severe over-rumination, unable to sleep for two years, with no medicine effective. Her husband requested Dai Ren (Zhang Congzheng) to diagnose her. Dai Ren said, "The pulses in both hands are slow/weak; this indicates the Spleen is affected, as the Spleen governs rumination." He then used anger to provoke her, taking much money from her husband, drinking for several days, and leaving without prescribing any formula. The woman became extremely angry, sweated, and fell into deep sleep that night. This continued for eight or nine days until she no longer suffered from insomnia. Her appetite increased, and her pulse returned to normal.
A newlywed woman had not eaten since her husband left for business two years prior. She lay listlessly like a fool, with no other ailments, often sitting facing inward toward the bed. Zhu Danxi diagnosed a wiry pulse extending beyond the cun position in the Liver channel, saying, "This is longing for a man unrequited, causing Qi stagnation in the Spleen. Medicine alone is difficult to treat; joy can resolve it. Alternatively, making her angry would work. The Spleen governs rumination; excessive rumination causes Spleen Qi to knot, leading to loss of appetite. Anger belongs to Liver Wood, and Wood controls Earth. Anger causes Qi to rise and rush, thereby opening the knot in Spleen Qi." Her father slapped her face and scolded her. She cried loudly and raged for about three hours, after which she was comforted and persuaded. After taking one dose of medicine, she immediately asked for porridge. Zhu said, "Although the Qi of rumination is resolved, it must be accompanied by joy so it does not knot again." Thus, they falsely claimed her husband had sent a letter and would return soon. Three months later, her husband indeed returned, and she healed.
Zhu Danxi said: A monk from Shu, when he became a monk, his mother was still alive. Later, he traveled west of Zhejiang. After seven years, one day, his heart yearned intensely for his mother. He wanted to return but lacked travel funds, so he vainly gazed westward morning and evening, crying. Consequently, he fell ill, becoming yellow, thin, and fatigued. At that time, the monk was twenty-five years old. Master Taiwu Luo saw him and had him stay in the adjacent room. Every day, he cooked beef and pork stomach, rich and fatty foods, until soft and tender, and fed them to him. This lasted for more than half a month. Meanwhile, he frequently used comforting words to console him. He also promised to give him ten ingots of cash for travel expenses, saying, "I do not expect repayment; I only wish to save your life." Observing that his form slightly revived and his pulse slightly filled out, he administered Tao Ren Cheng Qi Tang. Three doses per day. After defecation, all were blood clots and phlegm accumulations. Only then did he stop. The next day, he only gave cooked vegetables and thin porridge for recuperation. After another half month, the monk returned to normal. More than half a month later, he gave him ten ingots of cash, and he departed.
[Appendix] A scholar was reading books and forgot to eat. One day, a person in purple robes stood before him and said, "You must not think for long; if you continue thinking, I will die." Asked who he was, he replied, "I am the God of Grain (Gushen)." Thereafter, he ceased excessive thinking, and his eating habits returned to normal.