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"Ayurvedic medicine is one of the major traditional medicine systems of the world, second only to Chinese medicine in terms of the extent to which it is used today. It has influenced Chinese medicine by virtue of the transfer of several herbs native to India to China for incorporation into the Chinese system. Much of that transfer was accomplished over a thousand years ago. Chinese medicine and India's medicine have been combined into Tibetan medicine to help produce yet another major traditional medical system. India's tradition has also combined with that of the Greeks to help form the modern Unani medicine as practiced in Pakistan and surrounding areas"--The author's introduction.
"Tibetan medicine has a rich heritage and is currently practiced not only in Tibet, but also in the adjacent Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan, and in the neighboring kingdoms of Bhutan, Nepal, Ladakh, and Sikkim, where communities of Tibetan people have long been established. Many non-Tibetans also seek out treatment by this traditional system because of its good reputation. As a result of the flood of refugees from the Chinese military occupation of Tibet, Tibetan medicine extended to India, and, from there, to many countries of the world (especially in Europe and North America) under the guidance of a small number of refugee physicians. One of the most famous of the refugee doctors is Dr. Yeshe Donden, who was the personal physician of the Dalai Lama in exile from 1961-1969. Dr. Donden has spent much time in the U.S., where he has diagnosed and treated patients, given teachings to doctors and laypersons, written books and articles, and answered numerous questions about the Tibetan system of health care. Tibetan medicine has also been popularized by a lineage of the Badmajev family that originated in Russia, near Mongolia; members of the family traveled West during the 20th century. Tibetan herbal formulas they brought with them have been available as pharmaceutical products in Europe since 1980"--The author's introduction.
(Producer) The Tibetans have devoted much of their medical efforts towards dealing with the spiritual aspects of health and disease. This program explores the elements of Tibetan medicine that might influence the way in which practitioners conduct their diagnostic sessions and select therapies.
"Bhutan is a small country of 750,000 people in the Himalayan range between India (Assam and West Bengal) and Tibet, to the east of Sikkim and Nepal. It has been largely isolated from the rest of the world, until recently; today, only about 5,000 tourists per year venture to this kingdom. Bhutan shares many cultural aspects with Tibet, including the Buddhist religion as the dominant influence (the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, with emphasis on Tantric Buddhism), and Tibetan traditional medicine as the basis for much of its health care until the introduction of modern medicine in the 1970s. As with Tibetan medicine, the main methods of diagnosis are feeling the pulse, checking urine, and examining the eyes and tongue, as well as interviewing the patient. Therapeutically, the Bhutanese rely on herbal combinations, limited acupuncture therapy (including use of the golden needle), applications of heat (usually with metal rods), and minor surgical interventions, all done in the context of Buddhist ritual. There is a hospital for modern medicine relied upon mainly for treatment of acute and severe diseases. Bhutanese herbal medicine is also similar to that of Tibet. Originally, herbal powders were swallowed down with warm water, but with the introduction of modern equipment, the herb mixtures are now produced as pills. The specific formulas used in Bhutan differ somewhat from their Tibetan counterparts in that there are local influences on the selection of herbs, but most of the key herbs are the same, as the altitude and climate conditions are similar to that of Tibet. A substantial amount of herbal materials-perhaps 30% of the total used-are imported from India and Nepal "--The author's introduction.