Our conversations aim to build bridges: between oral lineage and written text, between lived experience and historical fact, between research and practice, between the scholar and the healer, between ancient China and contemporary West....

The treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine is bigger than any single person's expertise, no matter how vast. We actively pursue and embrace a diversity of opinions so that we can collectively deepen our understanding.

Translation, from the past to the present, from Chinese to English, from texts to clinical application,..., invariably involves an alteration and adaptation of the original message. How do we stay as true as possible to the insights expressed in the ancient Chinese texts while still making sense to our listeners?

Meditation sickness; the difference between responsibility and fault; Daoist and Confucian perspectives on humanity's role between Heaven and Earth; the creation, development, and transmission of medical knowledge; the dangers and benefits of lineage; Buddhist perspectives on reality and Expedient Means; the heart of Daoism...

L ike most meaningful collaborative projects, the Pebble in the Pond Podcast began with a conversation. This one took place between Leo Lok and myself in the Rabbit Month of the Rabbit Year, i.e., early March, 2023, and was centered around the following question: How do we respond more meaningfully and effectively to what we both perceive as an urgent need in the profession of Chinese medicine to rise to the challenges of the moment while staying true to its ancient roots?

In my case, I was exhausted after years of writing, translating, mentoring, and teaching, publishing books, writing blogs, running mentorships, and organizing courses. In response to the pandemic, I had been forced, definitely against my will, to embrace online teaching and thus had created regular "Tea Time Talks" for my Imperial Tutor mentorship. These were casual conversations with leading voices on Chinese medicine, presented on Zoom with audience participation, to deliver information, explore questions collectively, and approximate the heart-to-heart connection that happens with such ease in real life interactions. As much as I continue to look forward to these monthly virtual gatherings, with the return of real life, my gratitude for this tool of connection is increasingly counterbalanced by what is appropriately named "Zoom fatigue," as I feel these virtual live events almost literally sucking the life blood out of me. I knew that it was time to once again shift gears, and when my wise friend Leo suggested a podcast, that was the match that lit the fire under my behind....

So here we offer you a collaborative podcast as a record of intimate and playful, meaningful and focused, inspiring and inquisitive conversations among friends and colleagues, as a post-pandemic compromise that allows us to still connect with each other while not having to be glued to screens. While we are most definitely nowhere close to the cultivation level of "worthies" or "virtuous persons" (賢 xián), our interactions in this podcast are inspired by the practice of "pure talk" （清談 qīng tán) that the famous "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" (竹林七賢 zhúlín qī xián) engaged in during the traumatic historical period after the collapse of the great Hàn empire in the third century CE. I have thus chosen to call our group the "Seven Fools of the Bamboo Grove," hoping that my wise conversation partners here won't be offended by this title.