Topics Menu
|
I first became aware of Tibetan Medicine through some obscure documentaries over the last year. It is fascinating the diseases and illnesses that are cured by these physicians. Hopefully by including the following in this site more awareness will be brought to this type of healing. Tibetan medicine is a traditional system of medicine which has been practiced for over 2500 years and is still practiced today although Tibetans are now in exile. The headquarters of the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute, also known as Men-Tsee-Khang (Men = medicine, Tsee = Astrology, Khang = House/Centre) are now based in Dharamsala, North India. It is here that all the Tibetan doctors now receive their training, and it is also where the medicines are manufactured. The period of training before one qualifies as a Tibetan doctor is for a minimum of seven years. For the student to understand the medical texts, a knowledge of Tibetan linguistics, grammar and poetry is required. The first four years of training are taken up with studying the four main medical tantras, or rGyud-bzhi; they are the root tantra, the exegetical tantra, the oral tradition tantra containing methods and instructions, and finally the subsequent tantra. In the fifth year students take exams both oral and written on these four tantras. For the sixth and seventh years students are sent for practical training under a senior and experienced doctor at one of the branches of the Tibetan Medical and Astrological institute. At present there are over 30 branches in India and Nepal, and in addition to this there are a number of private clinics. Tibetan medicine still survives in Tibet where the Chinese have destroyed so much of the Tibetan tradition and culture. It has survived because it is of great practical help for them. Tibetan medicine is one of the five major sciences, and it is called Soba Rig-pa, the science of healing. It uses different kinds of ingredients such as herbs, trees, rocks, resins, soils, precious metals, saps etc. However, 95% of Tibetan medicine is based on herbs, and precious metals are used for the seven kinds of precious pills known as Rinchen rilpo. If the physician is able to make the right diagnosis and administer the right medicine, then Tibetan medicine is good for all kinds of illness. However, it has been particularly successful in its treatment of chronic diseases such as rheumatism, arthritis, ulcers, chronic digestive problems, asthma, hepatitis, eczema, liver problems, sinus problems, anxiety and problems connected with the nervous system. The preceding excerpt was provided by the-south-asian.com Additional Web Resources for Tibetan Medicine: |
|
|
|
