Tibetan Medicine
Have you ever wondered about Tibetan medicine? According to the ancient tradition of Tibetan medicine, the key to well-being is balance. Three aspects of the human being must be in perfect accord to maintain the best possible health.
Mkhris-pa involves a properly functioning liver, a healthy metabolism, and the ability to discriminate intellectually.
Bad-kan has to do with joint health, general mental sanity, and proper digestion.
Lung deals with our thoughts, the circulation of blood, and the nervous system.
Tibetan medicine maintains that the root causes of all disease are aversion, attachment, and ignorance. These are called the three poisons, and coincide with the three humors. Attachment is related to Lung, aggression is associated with Mkhris-pa, and ignorance with the Bad-kan.
Tibetan medical treatment often involves either physical therapy, herbal remedies, the adjustment of regular diet, or a combination of two or all of these things. Tibetan medicine incorporates the practices of the Chinese, Greek, Persians, and Indians, and continues to be practiced to this very day.
So how would Tibetan medicine treat the common cold? Believed to be caused by aggression, as well as seasonal factors and poor diet, the common cold is sweated out of the patient and treated with a variety of natural remedies, such as Jiu wei quing peng powder. Radish juice may be used to help clear out the nasal cavity.
It's clear that the Tibetans take a more spiritual and natural approach to medicine than western medicine, which mostly demands a strict adherence to modern science and technological advancements with little to no room for improvisation. Western medicine tends to frown on what they deem to be alternative treatments, but it may behoove us to open our minds and entertain other possibilities, especially when they come from a spiritually sound group like the Tibetans.
