Tibetan Medicine

I

N

D

I

A

N

M

E

D

I

C

I

N

A

L

P

L

A

N

T

S

        The Tibetan system seems to have originated in folk cures of over 3,000 years ago, as for example, yak butter to stop bleeding and Tibetan barley beer to cleanse external wounds (Jayasuriya, 1997). Tibetan medicine is considered as more complex than even acupuncture and the system relates disease directly to astronomical changes, with the result the local medicine and astrology developed hand in hand (Jayasuriya, 1997).

        The Tibetan system is closely allied to the Indian system. With a large number of people of Tibetan origin now residing in various parts of the country, the system is gaining some popularity in India.

        The origin and development of the Tibetan medicine were reviewed by Changbhar (1993) and Jayasuriya (1997), a summary of which is given here.

        The origin of the Tibetan system was traced thousands of years before Christ. Chebur Trishe, the second son of Shenrab Meo, the founder of the Bon religion (long before Buddhism), found a medical text at Shanshung, near mount Kailash. The Buddhists believed that Buddha (567 BCE) taught this medicine to one and all, in the Royal Palace at Odiyana, in India, when it was compiled in samskrit from the original Marying or Shanshung Yiggen language, different from the present Tibetan language.

        In 233 CE, the 28th King of Tibet, Lhathothori Nyantsen introduced the medical science along with Buddhism by inviting two Indian physicians, Vijay Gajay and Billa Gazema from Bodh Gaya, in Bihar. A son of Vijay Gajay, Dungyi Tharchok, learnt the system from his father and became the first personal physician of the King. This established the medical practice based on Buddhist teachings.

        Emperor Songtsen Gonpo (617-650 CE), the most powerful ruler of Tibet, invited three famous medical scholars: Rishi Bharadwaj from India, Hsuan-Yuan Huang-ti from China and Galenos from Rome. They jointly compiled seven volumes of a medical treatise, Mijigpe Tson-ja, that combined the vast scholarship of all the three.

        The Great King, Trisong Dentsen (742-798 CE) extended royal patronage to the medical science and provided inspiration by convening an International Conference on Medicine participated by scholars from India, China, Persia, Rome, Schigchang and Nepal, besides those from Tibet.

        Yuthok Yonten Gonpo (729-854 CE), the foremost Tibetan physician of his time, visited India on three occasions and learnt the ancient Buddhist system of medicine known as So-wa-Rigpa. He sought the best out of the Indian-Buddhist, Chinese, Greco-Arabic and the Tibetan systems. He also founded the first Medical University at Kongpo, in Eastern Tibet. Yuthok is regarded as the Father of Tibetan medicine.

        Desi Sangyae Gyasto (1652-1705 CE), the regent of the 5th Dalai Lama, wrote detailed commentaries on the Tibetan medicine. He wrote a treatise on contagious diseases, edited a book on anatomical drawings, and founded the Chokporihill Tibetan Medical Institution in Lhasa, which soon gained international reputation.

        The Lhasa Institute of Astro-Medical Science was founded in 1916 on the wish of the 13th Dalai Lama.

        The Tibetan medical practice is based on the Tripod theory of humours. Rlung (wind), mkhrispa (bile) and badkan (phlegm) are the essential humours that regulate the normal functioning of the body. Changbhar (1993) comments that rlung actually refers to all functions of the central nervous system and other functions of the body and not wind. Similarly, mkhrispa does not mean bile but the metabolism and heat production, various secretions and excretions of the body. Badkan implies various functions of the digestive system, glandular secretions, hormones and other body fluids such as mucus, synovia, etc.

        Tibetan medicine holds that the human body is composed of seven materials: chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and the reproductive organs (Jayasuriya, 1997). These materials work together to produce vital energy, internal heat and mucous for the body to function. A balance of these is essential for good health, a concept parallel with Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems.

        The Tibetan medical literature indicates that the innumerable diseases are caused by a change in human mind and the environment. About a thousand curable diseases are designated in the system. Claims of curing chronic diseases, long term illnesses, cancer, etc., that were not cured by other systems of medicine, are made (Changbhar, 1993).

        The Tibetan medicine uses observation, palpation and interrogation as diagnostic tools. All parts of the body are subjected to observation. Urine examination is an important aspect in the diagnosis of several diseases. The origin of Urinotherapy, now widely practised in India, is attributed to the Tibetans (Jayasuriya, 1997). Reading the pulse is believed to help both in diagnosis and prognosis.

        Herbs are an important ingredient of the Tibetan system. Great emphasis is laid on the part used and methods of identification, collection, preservation and extraction. Minerals are another important part of the medication. The medicine is administered in the form of decoction, powder, pills, syrups, oils, wine, buttery form, ashy form, etc. Medicine may constitute a single herb or a hundred of them. For example, a medicine called A=gar 35 (Agar sonya) has 35 different kinds of herbs. The physician is expected to be knowledgeable in the herbs, their characters, potent effects, their synergy, etc.

        The Tibetan medicine is considered to be virtually free from any side effects and toxicity.

        The geographic location and climate of Tibet are vastly different from those of most parts of the Indian subcontinent. The herbs and minerals available in Tibet, form the main basis of Tibetan medicine, as all systems of medicine naturally include mostly the locally available material. But for the differences in the material used, the basic philosophy of the Tibetan medicine appears to be similar to that of Ayurveda. The Buddhist influence has taken from India to Tibet, both religion and medicine. Outside Tibet, now the system has to find substitutes to the Tibetan material that is not available outside.

REFERENCES

Changbhar, S.W. 1993. Brief introduction of Tibetan traditional medicine. In Traditional medicine. (ed.) Mukherjee, B. Oxford-IBH, New Delhi.

Jayasuriya, A. 1997. The future of complementary medicines. Medicina Alternativa International,Colombo.