Introduction to Tibetan Medicine

gSo-ba Rig-pa – The Science of Healing

Tibetan medicine is a complete medical system, it is one of the oldest surviving forms of ancient medicine and it has been in use for over 2500 years. It originated in the Bon era of Tibet. For many centuries Tibetan medicine has been successfully practised in Tibetan, Mongolia, Buddhist regions of Russia and Central Asia, and the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Ladakh and Northern India.

It is called gSo-ba rig-pa or the science of healing and it is based on the four medical tantras called rGyud-bzhi; these are the root tantra, explanatory tantra, instructional tantra and the subsequent tantra. The root tantra which contains six chapters gives an overall view of the other three tantras; the explanatory tantra contains thirty one chapters which explain and describe in detail the human body, including embryology, anatomy and physiology; the instructional tantra which contains ninety two chapters dealing with the causes, symptoms and treatment of many different kinds of diseases; the subsequent tantra contains twenty five chapters which deal with diagnosis and pharmacology. In addition to the four tantras there are two concluding chapters which condense all the preceding information. This gives a total of 156 chapters with 5900 verses.

To be a fully qualified Tibetan physician we have to study these four medical tantras for a minimum of seven years.

The uniqueness of Tibetan medicine is that it is based on Buddhist philosophical principles, the close relationship between the mind and body. The basic principle of Tibetan medicine is balancing the three principal energies or Nyipa sum. The three principal energies are Loong, mKhris-pa and Bad-Kan.

Loong (pronounced as loong) is the subtle flow of energy which circulates throughout our body and aids all movements and activities connected with mind, speech and body. MKhris-pa (pronounced as tree –pa )is heat energy which circulates throughout our body and balances bodily temperature, digestion and vitality. Bad-Kan (pronounced as Bad – kan) is a fluid energy which circulates throughout our body and keeps our joints flexible and aids the functioning of the bodily stability and lymphatic system.

When the three principal energies are in balance we are healthy, when they are unbalanced we are sick. In the Tibetan medical texts the main long term causes of illnesses and suffering is ma-rig-pa, or ignorance. This ignorance generates in turn the three poisons of desire, anger and close mindedness. The short term causes are improper diet, unwholesome lifestyle and seasonal factors. A combination of these causes makes us sick and the physician has to diagnose the illness through questioning and listening with a sympathetic ear. The physician observes the patient overall, especially through tongue diagnosis and urinalysis which looks at the colour, smell, bubbles, steam and sediments of the urine. Finally the physician reads the pulse of the patient and for the Tibetan physician pulse reading is a great source of information.

Once diagnosis is made treatment has to begin. The main aim of the treatment is to balance and correct the three principal energies, for example if one of the energies is in excess treatment is given to decrease it, or if one of the energies is deficient treatment is given to increase it.

The Tibetan physician aims to treat the patient first of all through dietary advice according to each individual body constitution, and through advice on leading a wholesome lifestyle. If this is not enough, medicine is prescribed. Tibetan pharmacology is extremely rich in both depth and variety. It makes use of gems, minerals, metals, soils, saps, woods and herbal plants ; medicines can have combinations of as little as 3 ingredients or as much as 157. At present there are around 250 different types of medicine. One of these preparations is a medicine called Padma 28 and this is now commercially available. Middlesex hospital in London has performed clinical trials on it and it is proven to be effective for vascular diseases (a condition caused by hardening of the arteries in the legs) and there is the possibility it will help in the treatment of hepatitis B and C. This gives great hope for the potential of Tibetan medicine to help as many people as possible when you consider there are 250 other forms of Tibetan medicines to be explored.

Tibetan medicine is beneficial for chronic diseases such as digestive problems, arthritis, asthma, skin problems, problems related to the kidneys and liver, sinus problems, insomnia, anxiety, heart disease, problems related to the central nervous system.

If a person is suffering from a chronic disease and expects a quick solution through taking Tibetan medicine, this will not be possible. The patient has to be prepared to take the medicine over a period of time before its positive results will show.

In the West there are many people at present who wish to study Tibetan medicine, but unfortunately the four medical tantras have not been translated into English. This problem is no doubt exacerbated by the fact that Tibetans no longer have their own country where the proper facilities for such works would have existed. Their content is extremely condensed and just one sentence could take pages to be fully explained. To be successfully and accurately translated will require a group of people who have studied the four medical tantras and who also have perfect knowledge of English. It is vital there is no misunderstanding of the medical terms and that the meaning of the four medical tantras are not diluted in any way.

Tibetan medical knowledge is not just for the benefit of Tibetans but for the rest of the world. There is no doubt that practitioners of Tibetan medicine can learn great deal from allopathic forms of medicine, and similarly Western medical practitioners can learn and benefit from gSo-ba Rig-pa. Both medicines are based on the same concepts of healing and the relief of suffering.