Tibetan Medicine
The fundamental principle of Tibetan medicine is that the body, disease, and treatment, all share common principles and are comprised of the five elements: earth, fire, water, air, and space. This approach recognizes that everything in the universe – plants, animals, and human beings, including all our body tissues, internal organs, skin, skeletal system and even emotions, are composed of these five elements. Each one of them plays a major role, both individually and in combination as aspects of all matter.
When five elements stay in balance, the result is a healthy body, speech, and mind. However, if any one of these elements is out of balance, either excess, deficient, or disturbed, not only does the affected element manifest disharmony, but also it will cause the rest of the elements to lose their balance and manifest particular syndromes or symptoms. Since each individual disease is caused by disharmony or disturbances in one of the five elements, the treatment principle is to balance the elements.
In this article You can find more information about Tibetan medicine.
Three principal energies
In addition to the five elements, another concept in Tibetan medicine is the three Nyepas – Loong, Tripa, and Beken. Nyepa means something harmful and pre-existing in our bodies. When the Nyepas are in balance or harmony, they help each other to promote and create our well-being; however, if any of these Nyepas become disturbed, they all start to lose their balance and deconstruct our health or well-being.
According to the ancient Tibetan medical textbook, Gyushi, the three Nyepas resemble three biological brothers. When all three brothers are healthy, they stay in harmony; however, when any one of the brothers gets injured or attacked, this will automatically influence or affect the other two brothers. Eventually, the disturbances will result in disharmony in the body.
From the Tibetan viewpoint, the root cause of all diseases is the “ignorance” of the individual. It causes an illusion of separation of the human being from his environment. With the perception of “I” and “Mine”, the central three “mind poisons” arise: greed, hatred, and ignorance. They are the proximate cause of the imbalance of Lung, Tripa, and Beken. External factors, like individual conduct, nutrition, environmental influence, and climatic conditions, influence them.
Your Unique Constitution
According to Tibetan medicine, you were born with a constitution that is made up of a unique combination of three primary energies: Lung, Tripa, and Beken. In order to be happy and healthy, you need to make choices that keep your three energies consistent with your innate constitution. This you can do with the help of the right diet and behavior, which is necessary for the prosperous life.
Lung, Tripa, Beken
energies
LUNG
- Element: Air
- Mental poison conforming to the principle: Greed
- Manifestation in the body as movement
- Properties: light, flexible, cold, rough, dry
TRIPA
- Element: Fire
- Mental poison conforming to the principle: Hatred
- Manifestation in the body as heat
- Properties: hot, spicy, dry, rough, light, oily, mobile
BEKEN
- Elements: Earth and Water
- Mental poison conforming to the principle: Ignorance
- Manifestation in the body as coolness, liquid
- Properties: heavy, stable, dull, fine, oily, liquid, cool, heavy, dull, flexible
Diagnosis in Tibetan Medicine
Tibetan doctor firstly asks questions about the behavior and the diet of the patients. After the query, a Tibetan doctor deepens his first impression with a pulse diagnosis. It is the most important method of diagnosis in Tibetan Medicine. The physician can determine which of the three principles of the body are imbalanced and what organ is affected by the different types of pulse. The tongue and urine diagnosis supplements the previous analysis. With these three methods of investigation the doctor receives differentiated information about the general energetic condition of the patient and the state of each organ.
Treatment
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. Therefore, these medicines can have combinations of as little as 3 ingredients or as much as 157. Tibetan medicine also applies many therapies if it is needed. These therapies are: compresses, medicinal baths, application of medicinal oils, Ku-Nye massage and others. According to the patient’s health state Tibetan medicine doctor chooses the best way to reach the root cause of the disease and treat the patient well.
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Medicine Buddha
Mantra of Medicine Buddha:
tayatha om bekandze bekandze
maha bekandze radza samudgate soha
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