Discovering the Tibetan herbal tradition
The Combination of Eastern and Western Herbal Study
The ancient art of herbal therapy has been greatly developed and used by the people of Tibet for thousands of years. Tibetan physicians used hundreds of herbs in their practice to provide basic health care in the Himalayan kingdoms in accordance to the Gyud-shi (Four medical tantras). It still is a living tradition and its benefits are recognized throughout the world. In fact, Tibet is known as “the land of medicine”.
Master Sakya Pandita said in his book on ethics:
“Skillful physician, good horses
Pure gold and wise warriors
Have always been highly in demand
In any country”
A skillful physician, according to the Tibetan medical tradition, means to be a well trained person in knowledge, especially on materia medica, herbs, plants, minerals and their preparations. Tibetan tradition includes the knowledge of herbs and their identification, their collection, cleaning, purifying, and detoxification, to make them easy to digest in order to be easily assimilated by the body. The art of preparing medicine is like an alchemic practice and one of the most precious elements of Tibetan medicine.
In three-day materia medica seminars combined with botanic excursion, Prof. Pasang Arya gave introductions to Tibetan materia medica and shown the herbs, which grow in the European Alps, according to the Tibetan tradition.
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Read also: “The Tibetan medicinal herbs growing in the European Alps” at TME-Tibetan Medicine Education center