A PROPOSAL FOR MEDICINE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Author: Obitsu Ryoichi MD Affiliation: Obitsu-Sankei Hospital, Kawagoe City, Saitama, Japan Conference/Journal: 3rd World Conf Acad Exch Med Qigong Date published: 1996 Other: Pages: 168 , Special Notes: Some tables are only in Chinese abstracts. , Word Count: 259 Although the solid concept of 'holistic medicine' has not yet been established at the present time, the Obitsu-Sankei hospital has been introducing not only conventional Western medicine but also holistic approaches over this thirteen years. The purpose of this proposal is to state my personal views on holistic medicine and its relationship to Chinese qigong. As well as the electric field and the gravity field, it is assumed that there could be something called 'the field of life' which is a reflection of the principles of life. There are three approaches which represent holistic medicine laying stress on 'the field of life': immunology, psychology, and Eastern traditional medicine, especially Chinese qigong. Immunology, one of the current interests of modern Western medicine, is now investigating 'the field of life' by exploring the structure and function of the immune system. Psychology is also a study of 'the field of life' when we define the human mind as the field expressed through the cerebrum. In addition, Chinese qigong originally considers the human existence as 'the field of life' and aims to adjust the field for proper functioning. I recognize that among three of them Chinese qigong would particularly play a significant role in promoting holistic medicine toward the twenty-first century. The methodology of qigong could prove the theory of 'the field of life' and it should be placed into the medical science as a practical approach. As a whole, I believe it promises that Chinese qigong can reveal the truth of life phenomena through prompting medicine of 'the field of life.'