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Introduction |
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Introduction |
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History
Tibetan medicine (so.ba rigpa) is an ancient system of medicine taught (it is said) by an emanation of the historical Buddha and practiced extensively during the reign of King Ashoka ( ). Elements of medicine from ancient Greece, Persia, India and China were incorporated into what is now the Tibetan system, spread by the movement of people and knowledge along what is known as the Silk Road. As Buddhism declined in the Indian sub-continent and was transmitted to Tibet, the 4 Medical Tantras (gyu-zhi) were propagated and translated there by the Indian pandit Chandrananda and the Tibetan translator Vairochana in the 8th century, in the reign of King Tri-song Detsen (755-97). Yuthog Yontan Gonpo the Elder edited the text and added eighteen supplements. Later his emanation Yuthog Yontan Gonpo the Younger re-edited it. Additional texts were added, most importantly by Nagajuna, the Buddhist sage and intellectual ( ) and even by the great Indian master Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), who is said to have hidden the texts as 'terma' in a pillar at Samye Monastry, to be revealed at a later date. The first school of medicine was established by the 5th Dalai Lama at Ganden Monastry. Later a medical college and hospital was built near Lhasa on the hill at Chagpori. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution both were destroyed and many texts lost, but today the science of Tibetan Medicine is stronger and more wide-spread than ever before. |
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Three
Humours
The elements of the world - the elements of medicine: Body - Earth Blood - Water Heat - Fire Breath - Wind Lung: Lung is Air, the subtle flow of energy, like a horse with mind as the rider ('wind-horse'). It pervades every part of our body, going everywhere. Lung is the fan which moves dis-ease around the body. It is described as rough, light, cool, thin and hard. Its general function is to carry the movements of mind, speech and body. It can be either cold or hot, but is more generally cold. Tipa: Tipa is Bile, the hot nature within our body, not simply bile from the gall-bladder. Its nature is Fire and is properties are: oily, sharp, hot, light, pungent and moist. It helps with the digestion of food and controls feelings of hunger and thirst. It is responsible for the body's vitality and the complexion's radiance. Badken: Badkhen is Phelgm, not just that on the chest but all the cold-natured diseases of the body. Its nature is Water and Earth and its properties are: oily, cool, heavy, blunt, smooth, steady and sticky. Badken sustains the body's fluids, mixes food in the stomach, steadies the mind and helps to keep joints flexible. Its nature is cold, like the moon, or water. |
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The Art
of Healing
"Only the best art can order the chaotic tumble
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