| Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old hallowed traditional | | | | aggression and materialism.Tibetan medicine is an art, |
| medical system. This is a fairly complex approach to | | | | science and philosophy that encompasses a holistic |
| diagnosis and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, | | | | approach to health care. It is an art because its |
| natural medicines and physical therapies to treat | | | | diagnostic methods are based on creativity, subtlety, |
| illnesses. Since Tibet is a border country, Tibetan | | | | insight and compassion of the medical practitioner. It is |
| medicine is a synthesis of the Indian (Ayurveda), | | | | a science because it has a systematic and logical |
| Persian (Unani), Chinese, Greek and Tibetan medical | | | | framework that is based on the study of the body and |
| systems. Tibetan medicine is practiced in a wide belt | | | | its relationship with the environment. It is a philosophy |
| of the world including countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, | | | | because it embraces the Buddhist principles of altruism, |
| Ladakh, Siberia, China and Mongolia, in addition to Tibet. | | | | ethics and karma.According to the underlying Buddhist |
| More recently, Tibetan medicine has also started | | | | philosophy that shapes Tibetan medicine, all suffering |
| seeping into the West, invading parts of Europe and | | | | has a reason. According to the Buddha, impermanence |
| America.Since Tibet is the land of monasteries, monks | | | | is the only permanent feature of life. Everything in this |
| and meditation, it is inevitable that Tibetan medicine is a | | | | world is in a state of flux. This is a reality and a |
| fusion of the scientific with the religious. It embraces | | | | necessity of life. This state of constant change brings |
| the traditional Buddhist belief that illness of the body is | | | | with it suffering and it is this suffering that is inflicted on |
| caused by the poisons in the mind, namely ignorance, | | | | man from time to time. Thus suffering is not accidental. |