A lineage is Qi, a living thread that weaves through space and time, connecting us not only to Heaven and Earth, but also to a common history and community. In this sense, we all are part of this pattern that is being created, a pattern with its own rhythm and flow, ever-changing and ever-living.
Honouring the tradition and legacy of Dr. van Buren is not just an act of remembrance, but a living commitment to the study of the philosophy and its practical application through treatment and the conduct of our own lives that comes from understanding and insight.
As with any tradition, to know the history and background of essential individuals is important to be able to understand the philosophical concepts and their context.
The tradition we follow is a practical, living tradition and to be alive and reach people, it must adjust to the current times without losing its essence. We, as individuals, face the same challenge as the tradition and its philosophy lives and expresses itself through each one of us, and yet we also should not lose the essence of who we are in the process.
Traditions require both leadership and community. In traditions, such as our Western culture, where individuality and the development of the self and the psyche are central, conflict is inevitable. Hierarchies (top-down leadership) bring structure through clear authority, defined roles, guidance, and responsibility, while egalitarian elements nurture shared voice, mutual respect, collaboration, and inclusiveness. A strictly hierarchical system can constrain the free development of the psyche, making egalitarian principles essential for fostering personal growth, dialogue, and self-understanding. At the same time, greater personal freedom can create social tensions, as self-discovery often reshapes one’s social identity. In such contexts, hierarchical approaches with clear agreements and defined structures can be indispensable, providing guidance, stability, and a shared framework that helps individuals navigate complex interpersonal and communal dynamics. Navigating this process is both challenging and rewarding, requiring deep self-reflection and adaptability. In each individual’s development, it is essential that they be given the space to find their own balance between hierarchical and egalitarian principles.
At the origins of our medicine, hierarchy was widely accepted, far more than it is today. Yet we cannot, and should not, abandon it entirely, for the cosmic hierarchy (Heaven–Earth–Humanity) lies at the very heart of our medicine. We now live in an era where equality and egalitarianism play a far greater role than in earlier times, such as during the Confucian period. Across the centuries, the interplay of hierarchy and equality has continually shifted, reflecting wider cultural and social transformations. In a sense, cultural evolution shows us how we can adapt to changing social circumstances by constantly seeking balance between the two. Again and again, history reveals this tension as a driving force of human development.
When we are guided by listening, curiosity, openness, compassion, respect, and authenticity, conflict, both inner and outer, can be transformed into a catalyst for growth. Rooted in humanity and honouring both hierarchy and equality, limitation and freedom, tradition can lead us towards deeper understanding and love.
The Art of Stems & Branches Acupuncture
Stems & Branches Acupuncture is deeply rooted in philosophy, yet in Dr van Buren’s approach, it was never abstract or rigid. Guided by the pulses, he responded to what each patient truly needed, while his treatment remained firmly grounded in philosophy.
From our own experience, learning to work with Constitutional Acupuncture requires patience, perseverance, compassion, and guidance, especially since most of us were raised in a Western culture dominated by scientific, linear thinking. This differs from the worldview in which the cosmic, earthly and human realms influence one another, a perspective that integrates analogical thinking rather than relying solely on cause-and-effect logic.
All the more reason to share and show how the approach of this lineage is both deeply philosophical and profoundly practical. That is why we believe it is important to keep this approach available for anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding and explore it further.
Stems & Branches is a metaphysical system that describes how the interaction of space and time establish limitations through which the boundless Tao reveals itself to create life. The essence of being human is the unification with Love. In this sacred union we are vessels for the subtle Qi of Heaven and Earth, receiving, transforming, and walking the path laid before us.
Dr van Buren dedicated his professional life making these profound metaphysical concepts practical and applicable in clinic. By embracing the spirit of his legacy, we may find guidance and inspiration for ourselves and our patients, as together we journey toward wholeness and health.
Dr J.D. Van Buren
Dr van Buren was born in November 1921 in Java to Dutch parents and lived in Jakarta for a few years before being sent to boarding school to the Netherlands. During his childhood, he lived and moved several times between the Netherlands, and England before moving to India aged 14, where he attended High School.
Dr van Buren’s parents were Theosophists, and they lived near the Theosophical Society’s headquarters near Madras. From a young age, Dr van Buren was immersed in Eastern Philosophy and was taught its practical application like yoga.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Dr van Buren was called to join the Dutch Forces in Java. After the Japanese Invasion in 1941, only a few of his battalion survived and they were held as prisoners of war for almost 4 years.
During this time, many fell ill with dysentery and died. Dr van Buren got cured and survived the illness with the help of natural medicine made up from local plants. Not only did he learn a lot about the healing power of herbs and plants during his captivity, but also about the immense innate healing power of the body.
After his release, Dr van Buren returned to England, where he first studied and worked in nursing and later continued to study naturopathy, osteopathy and homeopathy.
After receiving and reading the “Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine”, he suddenly realised what had been missing so far: Medicine that was based on philosophy. Acupuncture and its philosophy brought everything he had learned together into one, giving him tools to understand human nature and illness.
This was the beginning of his life-long passion and dedication to study and practice Acupuncture. For many years, he learned only by carefully observing patients in his osteopathic clinic, before starting a more formal training with his first teacher Jacques Lavier in 1966, followed by studies in Taiwan under Wu Wei Ping in 1968, where he also received his doctorate.
It was in 1971 that he was asked to teach a group of students in England and soon after, another group in the Netherlands followed. This led to the establishment of ICOM, the International College of Oriental Medicine, and teaching engagements in several Scandinavian countries and countries as far as Australia. Dr van Buren was one of the leading figures in his time to advance and spread the education and practice of Acupuncture and its philosophy.
In 1974, Dr van Buren visited the Oriental Medicine Faculty of Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea to further his education. He received the book “System of A New Philosophy by Dualistic Monism” by Chang Bin Lee, director of the medical school, which introduced him to the traditional teachings of Stems and Branches.
Again, it was the reception of a book that inspired him, and he made it his life-long mission to make this very theoretical philosophical material applicable in Acupuncture practice. His core believes were that Acupuncture theory and practice must be based on and linked in with philosophy and that we all carry Heaven within us, so we have a responsibility to take care of the quality of Heaven through our own conduct and development.
Dr van Buren was a master of Pulse Diagnosis and for him, Pulse Diagnosis was the important link between the patient and the philosophy and the deciding factor for treatment.
Acupuncture, when practiced in this spirit, becomes more than a method of treating illness. It transforms into a profound pathway for aligning Heaven Earth Human, aligning spirit, mind and body with the natural order of Heaven and Earth. In this way, it supports the healing of physical and emotional imbalances and nurtures the unfolding of human potential. It guides the cultivation of the self in harmony with the universal principles that sustain life.
Pauline van Buren
Pauline van Buren, wife of the late Dr. van Buren, is an esteemed acupuncturist and dedicated guardian of his legacy. Born in the Netherlands, she moved to the United Kingdom after completing her schooling in Amstelveen. Following several years of work in Germany and England, she began her studies at the International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM) in East Grinstead in 1974. She graduated in 1977 and has since practiced full-time as an acupuncturist in both England and the Netherlands.
From the very beginning of her career, Pauline played a vital role in the development of ICOM. In 1978 she became secretary of the Dutch program, coordinating teaching material and lectures, and in the same year she joined the Board of Governors of ICOM (UK), where she has continued to advise on matters related to both the school and the profession of acupuncture. Over the following decade she held several leadership positions, culminating in her appointment as Principal of ICOM in 1990. Under her direction the course was expanded into a four-year program, and she contributed actively to the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board (BAAB), serving for a time as its chair. In 1995 ICOM received its first accreditation, and in 1997 the University of Brighton validated the program, granting graduates a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Oriental Medicine–Acupuncture.
Dedicated to deepening her knowledge, Pauline travelled to China in 1984, 1990, and 1992, undertaking advanced training at the Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai. These experiences further enriched her clinical practice and shaped her approach to acupuncture education.
For more than 25 years, Pauline worked side by side with Dr. van Buren, not only as his wife but also as his professional colleague, observing and participating in his clinical work, working alongside him in adjacent rooms, receiving his guidance and insight, and contributing to the ongoing development of the college. Her dedication to him and his work was crucial and indispensable. Since his passing in 2003, Pauline has continued to carry forward his vision. Today, through her clinic in the Netherlands and her lifelong commitment to acupuncture, she remains a central figure in preserving and transmitting Dr. van Buren’s unique contribution to Oriental medicine: the practical application of the Stems and Branches theory, an ancient system that offers profound insight into the origins of disease at its most fundamental level. Pauline continues to embody and transmit this teaching, ensuring that patients benefit from this wisdom and that it remains alive in clinical practice.
Joan Duveen
Joan Duveen grew up in a family where philosophy and the study of Theosophy, Psychological Astrology and other spiritual traditions were part of everyday life.
He began studying Chinese Medicine in 1975, graduating from the Dutch Society for Acupuncture in 1982, after which he continued his study of Chinese Medicine at ICOM Holland, graduating in 1986 with a B.Ac. It was during this time that Joan was inspired by Dr van Buren’s teaching and clinical work, and his study with him continued until Dr van Buren’s passing in 2003.
He travelled to China with Dr van Buren and his wife Pauline to visit colleges and hospitals of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Shanghai to further his education.
In 1986, Joan Duveen received a rare invitation from Dr van Buren to continue his Master studies at ICOM, England, where he completed a masterclass with thesis and clinical examinations. Part of his Master studies was to develop a programme for Stems & Branches that could be taught at ICOM. The curriculum he developed has been taught at ICOM until recently and formed the foundation for the practice of Stems & Branches Acupuncture.
Joan Duveen made it his life-long mission to preserve and continue Dr van Buren’s legacy. He believes that acupuncture should be grounded in philosophy, and that each person carries the inner seed of Love, bearing the possibility and maybe even the responsibility, to cultivate it through self-development, conduct, and understanding.
For sixteen years, he taught the Stems & Branches curriculum at ICOM, England, and he co-founded the Study Centre PaKua, Netherlands, which organizes post-graduate courses in Philosophical Chinese Medicine. He has lectured internationally since 1987 in Europe, Israel, and Australia. For many years, he has also guided mentor groups, helping to ensure that this lineage of Chinese Medicine continues. This website forms part of that vision.
Joan has published articles on the philosophy and practice of Stems & Branches and is the author of Applying Stems and Branches Acupuncture in Clinical Practice: Dynamic Dualities in Classical Chinese Medicine.
Through his teaching, writing, and clinical practice, he continues to integrate psychology, philosophy and medicine, guiding practitioners and patients alike toward a deeper understanding of health and the human potential.
Apart from his own clinical work, Joan Duveen’s unique contribution to the legacy of Dr van Buren was the development of the teaching material. His immense experience in teaching and practice, his own inner work and the study and research of classical texts, have been a constant inspiration for developing and evolving the curriculum, not only in the field of Stems & Branches but also in Pulse Diagnosis to the benefit of many colleagues and students over many years and many years to come.
Tae Hunn Lee
Tae Hunn Lee started his study of Chinese Medicine while at Medical School in Heidelberg, Germany, and in 1999, he started the 4-year course at ICOM, England.
He has been in full-time practice since graduating in 2003 and a few years later, he was asked by Pauline and Dr van Buren to teach at ICOM, where he taught various subjects for the next 10 years.
Tae Hunn Lee was taught Stems & Branches in year 3 and 4 at ICOM by Joan Duveen and though inspired and intrigued by the philosophy and its practical application that he witnessed in clinical observation at ICOM, he saw the need for further study and guidance to be able to work effectively with this profound medicine himself.
This led him to travel to the Netherlands regularly to study closely under the guidance of Joan Duveen, attending his lectures, mentor groups and clinical observations. This relationship has grown and deepened over the many years, and he has been privileged not only to learn but also to work closely with Joan Duveen who opened his clinic, his home and his heart to him which made learning so much more personal and meaningful.
Tae Hunn Lee was able to witness the development and evolution of the teaching material and clinical practice over the past 25 years, and the important role that self-development and cultivation have in this process.
Stems & Branches is truly a philosophy that must be lived and experienced through the self to become applicable in clinical practice.
Tae Hunn Lee has been teaching courses on Stems & Branches Philosophy and Pulse Diagnosis alongside Joan Duveen and has been teaching himself on Point Energetics, Stems & Branches Philosophy and Pulse Diagnosis in Holland, Poland, Germany and Finland.
Guided by his own experience and to give back to the community what he has been given so generously, he has established small group teachings in many countries where the practical integration of philosophy, pulse diagnosis and treatment strategies can be practiced in a safe environment. In his experience, this is essential to becoming a practitioner of Stems & Branches and Constitutional Acupuncture.
Continuation
Through working with Stems & Branches, something within may awaken, an inner knowing that this is meant to be shared in its purity and essence. For those who feel a genuine calling, it opens a path for growth and healing, for sharing, and for deepening both their inner development and the care they offer to their patients.
Over the years, many colleagues have been drawn to study Stems & Branches Philosophy and Constitutional Acupuncture with Joan Duveen, and some, after many years of working with it and with the approval of Joan Duveen, have become respected teachers in this tradition.
Amongst those are Rani Ayal (Israel), Radimé Farhumand (Germany), Tae Hunn Lee (England) and Pawel Skrzypczak (Poland).