Health Through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine

Rating:
Summary: A Medieval World View of Body and Soul
Review: At the age of eleven, Yeshi Donden was sent to study at the Medical College of Hla-sa, in the capital of Tibet. In 1951, he began his medical practices near his home, in the district of Hlo-ga. He was appointed as personal physician to the Dalai Lama, then living in exile in Dharamsala, India, in the year of 1959. This was a position he retained for some twenty one years.

"Health Through Balance" is a transcription of a series of lectures given by Dr. Donden at the University of Virginia, in 1980, under the auspices of the Center for South Asian Studies.

The lectures speak of the causes and conditions that give rise to disease and also outline the standard course of Tibetan medical studies. Dr. Donden describes the human body as being composed of the three rather poetic properties of wind, bile and phlegm. Illness is described as being related to an imbalance of these three fundamentally active principles.

Some sixty pages of the text describe a medical diagnosis as being performed through a general questioning of the patient, a special analysis of the patient's pulse, and finally by a process of urinalysis. The text works to describe the treatment of illness through a modification of both behavior and diet.

Dr. Donden's lectures end with an analysis of selected medical topics, including the condition of diabetes and thoughts on the manifestation of tumors.

One may find that the Tibetan attempt, to integrate the experience of illness into the philosophical system of Buddhism, may help to provide a sense of personal meaning for many of those who suffer from a range of disease. This is probably even more true in Tibet itself, where the philosophies of Buddhism are widely accepted.

Western medical practices, however, for much of the rest of the world, are probably more effective at relieving physical suffering, when their sometimes significant costs can be afforded, or are available to the particular individual in question.

Rating:
Summary: A Medieval World View of Body and Soul
Review: At the age of eleven, Yeshi Donden was sent to study at the Medical College of Hla-sa, in the capital of Tibet. In 1951, he began his medical practices near his home, in the district of Hlo-ga. He was appointed as personal physician to the Dalai Lama, then living in exile in Dharamsala, India, in the year of 1959. This was a position he retained for some twenty one years.

"Health Through Balance" is a transcription of a series of lectures given by Dr. Donden at the University of Virginia, in 1980, under the auspices of the Center for South Asian Studies.

The lectures speak of the causes and conditions that give rise to disease and also outline the standard course of Tibetan medical studies. Dr. Donden describes the human body as being composed of the three rather poetic properties of wind, bile and phlegm. Illness is described as being related to an imbalance of these three fundamentally active principles.

Some sixty pages of the text describe a medical diagnosis as being performed through a general questioning of the patient, a special analysis of the patient's pulse, and finally by a process of urinalysis. The text works to describe the treatment of illness through a modification of both behavior and diet.

Dr. Donden's lectures end with an analysis of selected medical topics, including the condition of diabetes and thoughts on the manifestation of tumors.

One may find that the Tibetan attempt, to integrate the experience of illness into the philosophical system of Buddhism, may help to provide a sense of personal meaning for many of those who suffer from a range of disease. This is probably even more true in Tibet itself, where the philosophies of Buddhism are widely accepted.

Western medical practices, however, for much of the rest of the world, are probably more effective at relieving physical suffering, when their sometimes significant costs can be afforded, or are available to the particular individual in question.

Rating:
Summary: Not as applicable as it seems
Review: If you are truly planning on pursuing the study of Tibetan medicine as a vocation, this book is for you. If you are hoping to glean a few practical tidbits to apply toward a healthy life, it is possible...however, few is the key word. Chapter 11 was the most informative chapter in the book, talking about behavior. It's a great book explaining Tibetan medicine, not applying it.

Rating:
Summary: great basics
Review: when I was iving in kathmandu and studying tibetan medicine, the first book my amchi (doctor) recommended was this one... and you know, it really is a great book for introducing the subject... fantastic overview and great layout...