The humoral theory and models of optimal physical and mental health in traditional Tibetan Medicine
Format:
Miscellaneous
Publication Date:
Nov 30, 1999
Publisher:
University [Media Production Services, Clinical Engineering, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center]
Place of Publication:
Charlottesville, Va.
Sources ID:
101866
Collection:
Himalayan and Tibetan Medicine
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Abstract:
(Show)
B. Alan Wallace, Ph. D. (Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara) presented a case for the complimentarity of Tibetan medicine with Western medicine. Dr. Wallace traced the history and foundational principles of Tibetan medicine including contemplative practice, mental perception, and the balancing of the three humors (wind, bile, and phlegm which also resemble the humors in Indian Ayurvedic medicine). Leslie J. Blackhall, M.D., M.T.S. (Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California) focused on a few areas (such as explaining the "Why me?" of a cancer patient) where Western medical system has great difficulty. Dr. Blackhall discussed how Tibetan medicine's desire to physically heal is to allow the person to obtain a mental state conducive to obtaining "enlightenment."