Principles of Tibetan Medicine
Tibetan medicine teaches that all living things are made of energy and that every human being is born with a unique constitution or nature, consisting of three primary energies: Loong, Tripa and Baekan. These three aspects, or humors, of the body must be in balance.
Loong
is the source of the body’s ability to circulate physical substances (e.g. blood), energy (e.g. impulses from the nervous system), and the non-physical, such as thoughts.Bad-can
is characterized by the characteristics of cold and is the source of many functions, such as aspects of digestion, the maintenance of our physical structure, joint health and mental stability.
Tripa
is characterized by heat and is the source of many functions such as thermoregulation, metabolism, liver function and discerning intellect.
The Tibetan system of medicine is an art and science of keeping these primary energies in balance with your constitution. Each of us has a unique constitution with both strengths and weaknesses, and by understanding this makeup we can strengthen our strengths and transform our weaknesses.
Tibetan medicine shares that there are four basic principles: karma, suffering, healing and happiness. It works to balance body and mind.
The influence of Buddhism
Tibetan medicine is deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy and psychology. It is a very spiritual, yet powerful physical healing practice. This holistic system is steeped in the teachings and practices of Buddhism. Life and evolution are considered the fundamental cause of disease and the symptoms of disease. Tibetan Medicine, through its Buddhist principles, aims to heal and prevent suffering temporarily and permanently through its thorough methods. Tibetan medicine dates back to the time of the Buddha, and historically the Buddha taught medicine to his Sangha.
Tibetan medicine focuses on the direct healing of the patient’s body/mind using appropriate medications, diet, behavior and therapies to calm the result of mental negative passions. Physical medicine was not considered sufficient to eradicate the causes of disease; therefore, Buddha taught the method of becoming aware of and calming negative emotions.
Physical illness, from the Buddhist perspective, is closely linked to mental, social, and spiritual illness. Distressing emotions, such as the three mental poisons of attachment, anger and closedness, are said to cause disharmony in the bodily energies and can cause disease. For Buddhists, when the mind is freed from ignorance and delusion, it is considered “free from disease.”
Bodhisattvas should learn the art of healing to help others and free them from suffering – the Buddha
It is inspiring to understand that Tibetan physicians are being called upon to express the perfection of the Bodhisattva in their medical practice. The Medicine Buddha is seen as the source of medical teachings and the inspiration for good medical practice. Yet His Holiness emphasizes that you don’t need to know anything about Buddhism to benefit from Tibetan medicine.
How it works
There are three main techniques used by Tibetan doctors to diagnose clients. These include pulse measurements, urine analysis and questioning the client about his condition.
Tibetan medicine was practiced in the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas and Central Asia. Today it is practiced throughout Asia and the West. The Chinese often refer to Tibetan medicine as the Tibetan branch of Chinese medicine, but it is a unique and distinct system. Despite the Cultural Revolution, censorship and persecution of practitioners, Tibetan medicine is said to have remarkably remained relatively intact. As Tibetans have left their homeland in search of freedom, this amazing healing system has spread far and wide.
There is a strong base of Tibetan medicine in Dharamsala, where His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama founded the Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute) in 1961. This medical college trains post-high school students through a six-year intensive course. program to become a doctor of Tibetan medicine. Tibetan medical knowledge is summarized in the Four Medical Tantras, a book first formalized in the 7th century and still taught today. According to the ancient treatise of Tibetan Medical Knowledge, the Tibetan concept of health and disease is illustrated as a tree with two stems.
Tibetan medicine was practiced in the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas and Central Asia.
“The first tribe is about the healthy body. It has three branches, 25 leaves, two flowers and three fruits. The first branch bears 15 leaves representing the three humors and their five types. These are depicted in the three different colors blue, yellow and white, which can represent the humors long, mkhris-pa and bad respectively.
“The second branch has seven leaves representing the seven parts of the body. The third branch bears three leaves, which represent the three body secretions.
The two flowers represent a healthy and long life and ultimately serve as the basis for obtaining the three fruits: spiritual achievement, wealth and happiness.
“The second tribe is about the sick body. It consists of nine branches and 63 leaves. The first branch has three leaves, which represent the three specific remote causes of disorder: attachment, hatred and closedness. The second branch bears four leaves that represent the four conditions that cause disturbances: seasonal changes, influences of evil spirits, diet and behavior. The third branch has six leaves that represent the six areas where diseases originate. The fourth branch has three leaves showing the major locations of the three humors. The fifth branch has 15 leaves, which illustrate the paths of the humours. The sixth branch has nine leaves representing the humoral diseases in relation to age, place of occurrence, ripening period and seasonal changes. The seventh branch has nine leaves signifying the nine fatal ailments. The eighth branch shows twelve leaves with the twelve contraindications due to inappropriate treatment. The ninth and final branch has two leaves, representing hot or cold conditions. – Men-Tsee-Khang Institute, Dharmsala
How does Tibetan medicine differ from Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yoga?
In principle and in practice, Tibetan Medicine is closest to Ayurveda. All three traditions teach that it is essential to live a balanced life and each healing tradition describes the physical world and physiology in terms of energy.
Tibetan medicine and Ayurveda both view the energy system as having three primary energies, while Chinese medicine (TCM) has only two energies, hot (yang) and cold (yin). Tibetan medicine and Ayurveda use different terminology, but their understanding of the three primary energies is similar.
Tibetan medicine, like Ayurveda, explains how to create and maintain a healthy body and mind so you can live a yogic lifestyle. Yogis in Tibet developed Tibetan Yoga, a form of yoga that focuses on breathing, purifying practices and healing the mind.
Tibetan medicine has had great success in chronic diseases considered incurable by the West. Karl Lutz, a Swiss drug manufacturer, founded Padma AG, a company that produces Tibetan healing formulas, in 1969 and began producing Padma 28, developed from the traditional Tibetan formula Gabur 25. The formula contains a complex mixture of botanicals active substances. In Switzerland, where there is a strong Tibetan community of exiled Tibetans, it is registered as a medicine and is used to treat circulatory disorders. Clinical trials of Tibetan herbal formulas using Padma 28 have been conducted in Europe since 1970.
Various studies also show a positive effect of PADMA 28 in other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific research shows that Padma 28 is immunoregulatory, anti-inflammatory, cell protective, antioxidant, antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, antimicrobial and has an effect on blood clotting and platelet aggregation.
Tibetan medicine has had great success in chronic diseases considered incurable by the West.
“In short, the multi-target concept of Tibetan medicine uses complex herbal multi-compounds with many active components in a very low dosage that act simultaneously on several metabolic processes, thus contributing synergistically to the therapeutic effect.” – Alternative Medicine Foundation.
Physicist and Tibetan medicine researcher Hebert Schwabl collaborates with Padma.
“Tibetan medicine brings back to us one of these lost memories of a time when people had another contact with nature, another contact with the herbal material. So this knowledge of Tibetan medicine, which is so finely tuned to the energetic principles of Tibetan medicine, offers many benefits, especially in complex diseases, in diseases that have many causes, chronic diseases, and in the prevention of diseases that people suffer from. will suffer. from the moment they get older.”
Tibetan medicine is an enlightened healing system that can help us maintain vibrant well-being and health by treating the whole person and protecting us from the causes of illness through understanding the spiritual principles of illness. This medicine gift from the high mountains carries the scent of that special unbroken spiritual lineage of peace and wisdom from the land of the snow lion.