Through the boundaries of time, language and culture East Asian medicine has found its way into the West. But there is a cultural component that we often don’t consider. And that can make a difference in the effectiveness of our clinical work. Furthermore, our modern culture disportionately values curing over healing, and sometimes there is no cure. But the whole-person aspect of our medicine gives us a unique perspective on illness, suffering and bearing witness. In this conversation Jonathan Bluestein and Stephen Jackowicz discuss the unique potential in our medicine, and the challenges of practice in the modern Western world.