His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Tibetan Medicine
One of the factors common to all living beings is the basic wish to achieve happiness and avoid suffering. The desire for health, for complete physical and mental well being, is an expression of this, for everyone wants to be well and no one wishes to be sick. When we fall ill we take whatever measures we can to help us recover. When we are unwell we not only feel miserable, but our ability to function normally is impaired. Consequently, health is not a matter of merely personal interest, but a universal concern for which we all share some responsibility.
I believe that the Tibetan medical system can contribute substantially to maintaining a healthy mind and healthy body. Like the traditional Indian and Chinese systems, Tibetan medicine views health as a question of balance. A variety of circumstances such as diet, lifestyles, seasonal and mental conditions can disturb this natural balance, which gives rise to different kinds of disorders.
In diagnosing these disorders the Tibetan physician employs his own senses to examine the patient's pulses, urine, and general appearance. He assesses the individual's general balance of health as a whole. Treatment involves dietary and behavioral advice, medication and accessory therapies. Medicines are obtained from natural sources such as herbs, minerals, and organic products and prepared under controlled conditions. These ingredients are inexpensive and easily available. The medicines themselves have few side effects, are not symptomatic and have a preventive as well as curative effect.
Tibetan medicine is deeply integrated with Buddhist practice and theory which stresses the indivisible interdependence of mind, body and vitality. The ideal doctor is one who combines sound medical understanding with strong realization of wisdom and compassion.
I strongly believe that our medical system is one of the means by which we Tibetans can contribute to the well being of others, even while we ourselves live as refugees.
(Courtesy Tibet Center, Chicago)
 
Brief history of Tibetan medicine
Tibetan medicine is an assimilation of the Ayurvedic medical tradition, which it imported with Buddhism from India; and many forms of Chinese medicine which were gradually incorporated. These layers of medical knowledge and traditions merged with pre-Buddhist shamanic traditions and have continued to develop up to the present as a thriving and highly effective indigenous medical system.
The philosophical basis of Tibetan medicine is rooted in Buddhism. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni, sometimes called the Supreme Physician, is said to have first taught a healing system in India during the 6th century BC. In many of his teachings, the Buddha used disease and healing as metaphors to illustrate his philosophy of the human condition. From the Buddhist perspective, physical illness is inextricably bound with mental, social and spiritual illness. Thus the Buddhist medical system is more than studies of anatomy, physiopathology and pharmacopoeia. It is a guide to 'right living' and involves the spiritual aspects of healing as well.
During the first half of the 7th century, Buddhism was adopted in Tibet by King Songsten Gampo. It was during his reign that physicians from India, China, Nepal, Byzantium and Persia were invited to Tibet for an international medical conference and to translate their medical text into Tibetan. This became the basis for the founding of a sophisticated medical system in Tibet, and led to many years of academic and intellectual exchange.
To this spiritual and philosophical core, based on the unique concept of healing as developed by Buddhist philosophy, (which sees the mind as inextricably linked to all phenomena, including illness and wellness), the Tibetans added a whole array of ideas and concepts along with actual treatments and medications. This original blend created a complex system of healing which interweaves spiritual, magical, and rational healing practices based on the view of health as a harmonious balance between Man's deep relationship with his physical, mental, spiritual and natural worlds.
The Tibetan medical system developed a vast body of medical literature, the oldest surviving written system of medical psychiatry, an enormous herbal pharmacopoeia and a complete system of diagnosis and treatment. The diverse and complex elements that constitute Tibetan medicine -- its highly refined ethical principles, its philosophical and psychological structure -- deserve serious attention, study, documentation and preservation by the international scientific community.
(Courtesy Tibet Center, Chicago)
 
Resources
NBC News Report Tibetan medicine and the treatment of Cancer
NBC Dateline News report with Dr.Yeshe Dhonden on Tibetan Medicine and the treatment of Breast Cancer.