Medicine in Tibet

Abstract

Traditional medicine has been practiced in Tibet since the seventh century A.D., with the first hospital built at Melung in southeast Tibet between 708-833 A.D. Medical clinics were formed in the large monasteries, and the first medical college was built on the Chakpori (Iron Hill) in 1696 opposite the Potala in Lhasa. In 1916, the Mendzekhang (House of Medicine and Astronomy) was constructed near the Jhokang and remains the main centre for teaching traditional medicine in Tibet. Western medicine, introduced by the Chinese, is practiced in regional hospitals and by teams of traveling doctors which visit remote areas. High altitude studies are centered at the High Altitude Medical Research Institute in Xining and the Institute of Medical Science in Lhasa, whilst groups from the Academia Sinica Institute of Physiology in Shanghai have carried out fundamental work in association with Chinese expeditions to Tibet. Medicine in Tibet has followed traditional and western paths. Traditional medicine is closely linked to Buddhism, and contains many elements of the traditional medicine of India, whilst Chinese medicine has also had a considerable influence [1,2]. In the seventh century A.D., the Queen of Tibet, a Chinese Princess, brought with her from China to Lhasa a medical text. Three doctors, from India, China, and Persia, were invited to the court of the King of Tibet to translate the book into Tibetan. After the completion of their individual translations, a final version was agreed upon and named 'the weapon of the fearless one'. The final version consisted of seven chapters and became the standard medical text which was presented to the king. The Indian and Chinese doctors left Lhasa, but the Persian physician, Dr Galenos (either a Persian translation or pen name adopted by the doctor) remained and became Court Physician. He settled in Lhasa and had three sons, each of whom became a physician. The eldest was sent to the province of Tsang, whose capital is Shigatse, the middl.e one to south Tibet, and the youngest remained with his father in Lhasa. Each continued to practice medicine, as did an increasing number of Tibetans. Over the years, other medical texts were written and a code of conduct evolved, with one Court Physician, Champashila, acting as Regent of Tibet for a period. By the eighth century, an increasing number of non-Tibetan medical texts were being used, and doctors from different countries were again invited to Lhasa to produce individual translations. They came from India, Kashmir, China, Persia, Guze, Dolpo and Nepal, and their final work was used as the basis for training Tibetan doctors. Emphasis was placed on medicine. Except for minor procedures, surgery was banished following the death of the mother of one of Tibet's kings after an operation to lessen a 'water swelling' around the heart. It was during this period that Tibet had an outstanding physician, Yutok Yontan Gonpo, now considered to be the founder of traditional Tibe­ tan medicine.