Traditional Tibetan medicine

Traditional Tibetan medicine (Tibetan: བོད་ཀྱི་གསོ་བ་རིག་པ་, Wylie: bod kyi gso ba rig pa), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials (e.g., herbs and minerals) and physical therapies (e.g. Tibetan acupuncture, moxibustion, etc.) to treat illness.

Quotes

• The Dalai Lama expressed this about Tibetan medicine: "It is an extremely coherent system, which has provided many services to Tibetans over the last ten centuries and which, I believe, can provide benefits to all humanity today. However, a different mental approach is required to be treated and cured by Tibetan medicine. »
  • Dalai Lama, quoted from François Gautier - Les mots du dernier Dalaï-lama (2018, Flammarion)

• For Claude Arpi, Tibet specialist: “Tibetan medicine took off in the 7th and 8th centuries, when kings began to sponsor the first lines of doctors. At that time, many of the best-known doctors from neighboring countries were invited to Tibet to share their knowledge with their Tibetan colleagues. The contribution of Indian Ayurvedic medicine, in particular, has been decisive. »The father of Tibetan medicine was Yuthog Tonten Gonpo, and he concocted a system that synthesized medical science and Buddhist spirituality. “It is,” explains Claude Arpi, “a science that seeks to prevent disease through a holistic approach, in which the patient is considered as a human being who must be taken care of rather than as a malfunctioning organ. It seeks to restore and maintain the dynamic balance between mind and body, primarily through diet and lifestyle and the use of herbs and other complementary therapies. »
  • Claude Arpi, quoted from François Gautier - Les mots du dernier Dalaï-lama (2018, Flammarion)