In October 2016, 400 Traditional Tibetan Medicine practitioners, scholars and experts conferred in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city. They came together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Men-Tsee-Khang, also known as the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute, a Tibetan hospital that was pivotal in the development and preservation of Traditional Tibetan Medicine throughout the ages.
Since the 1950’s, Tibet, or Xizhang in Mandarin Chinese, has been a provincial autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Tibet’s history, practices and prosperity of its healthcare system today are worth studying for all who are interested in mind-body-emotion-spirit health and wellness and integrative medicine.
A Brief History of Tibet and Traditional Tibetan Medicine
Host of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, at 29,029 feet above sea level, Tibet is also the highest plateau region of the world sitting approximately 16,000 feet above sea level. In this harsh, mountainous climate, the Tibetan Empire rose around the 7th century and fell around the late 9th century, due to civil war. Along the way, Tibet’s medicine developed amid mixing with ancient healing practices of India, China and Persia. The region remained mostly independent even when ruled by the ancient Mongols and Chinese rulers, likely because of its remote location and harsh conditions. It was at the Battle of Chamdo that Tibet fell finally under modern Chinese rule and is now a provincial PRC region.
Tibet’s medical science is said to have begun during the reigns of king Song Tibetananbu and Chisongdezan. And, according to tales dating back to 300 BCE, legendary King Niecizanbu asks the fabled sage Zila about poison, and is told that poison is medicine. This brings about the development of uses of plant, animal and mineral as components to detoxify illnesses and disease, as told in historical texts.
From the Namye Valley, it is told that Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM) was born. In this lush region of the Tibetan plateau, the famous TTM doctor, Yuthok Nyingma Yonten Gonpo, lived, treated patients and taught TTM to new doctors. In the 8th century, Gonpo himself travels to India to study medicine and brings back an expansive knowledge of Indian and Chinese traditional medicines, which in kind expanded Traditional Tibetan Medicine.
So, while Traditional Tibetan Medicine has influences from others outside of Tibet, it considers itself a unique and independent medical system because it developed around the diseases and medical needs of the Tibetan region. Its herbalism, the way that Tibetan healers diagnose and treat, and its tailored structure to the culture and environment, Traditional Tibetan Medicine is known as one of the five great inventions of the Tibetan people.
Traditional Tibetan Medicine, in Brief
Traditional Tibetan Medicine, as known as Sowa-Rigpa, comprises of herbal, animal and mineral treatments with thorough diagnosis techniques. Diagnosis can include observing, touching, listening, smelling, questioning, and feeling (the pulse and pained areas of) patients, along with urinalysis and other illness-specific testing by TTM doctors.
TTM treatment uses 400 wild herbs most commonly of the some 1,000 documented plant medicines as part of its overall herbal doctrine, local to the Tibetan plateau. This includes the infamous “Viagra of the Himalayas,” Caterpillar fungus, or Yarsagumba, but include many plants and fungi from the region. These herbal remedies are known to treat well digestive, cardiovascular and rheumatic disorders and illnesses.
Most of Traditional Tibetan Medicine is practiced by monks of high esteem, or what is considered noble character, in Tibet, because the medicine developed and refined in regional monasteries over the past several thousand years.
According to FactandDetail.com, “diseases and health problems are believed to be caused imbalances involving the ‘three humors’ (the physical manifestations of the Three Poisons)—Lung (wind), mKris-pa (bile) and Bad-kan (phlegm)—‘the seven body sustainers’ and ‘three eliminators,’ and the [effect] of 360 harmful male influences, 360 harmful female influences, and 360 harmful influences related to bad karma from the past. By one count there are 404 basic orders and 84,000 illnesses.”
Traditional Tibetan Medicine Today
The growth of Traditional Tibetan Medicine comes from the meticulous detail given by Tibetan Buddhist monks. They chronicle medical knowledge in texts such as the Four Medical Tantras, which allowed the passage of this medical wisdom to future practitioners and scholars.
Fast forward to today, and Traditional Tibetan Medicine continues to develop alongside modern medicine for two reasons. As born out of its history, it’s a mixture of medical practices that work. As it learns new practices from modern medicine, it selects what works culturally for Tibetans. And, the government has provided support politically and financially to the translation of medical texts like the Four Medical Tantras.
Thanks to the well-preserved, millennia-old medical treatises that are embraced by the people and government, and its inherent openness to mixing together old and new medical science, Traditional Tibetan Medicine is poised to be a strong force in Tibetan and global healthcare for years to come.