The 4-year Tibetan medicine course
Since 1977, The New Yuthok Institute has trained many students through a 4-year Tibetan Medicine course
The course is given in English (international classes) on seven weekends per year, or in English with an italian translation (Italian class), on 8 weekends a year. You can find its detailed curriculum here below.
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New Yuthok Institute course curriculum
Basic Treatises used in the course
• Medicine Buddha and Yuthok’s ‘Gyud-shi’ the Four Tantras
• Desid Sangye Gyatso’s Gyud-shi’ commentary ‘Vaidurya sngon po malika’ the Blue beryl, and ‘Mang ngag lhan thabs’
• Troru Tsenam’s Gyud-shi’I grel chen’, Four Tantra commentary
• Pasang Y. Arya’s ‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ (9 textbooks)
First year
Subjects: First and second Tantras: Short history, basic theory and practices
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-1
1. An overview of Tibetan medicine and its history
2. Buddhism and medicine
3. The Medicine Buddha and Gyud-shi
4. Four medical Tantras
5. Content of Four Medical Tantras
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-2
Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine: theory
1. Buddhist Psychology and Tibetan Medicine: the concept of mind and disease
2. Three humors general and specific functions
3. Seven body constitutions
4. Digestion process
5. Physical body constituents
6. Waste products
7. Concept of positive and negative health
The Medicine trees of the first Tantra
1. Healthy and unhealthy trees
2. Diagnostic tree
3. Treatment tree
4. Nutrition and behavior
5. Materia medica and medicines
6. External therapy
7. Tibetan physicians’ code of conduct
General Practice teaching
1. Pulse reading
2. Tongue examinations
3. Urine analyses
4. Anamnesis
External therapy Practice
1. General Hor-me therapy
Examination
Second year
Subjects: From the second and fourth Tantras: theory and practice:
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-3
The body: theory
1. Embryology
2. Vital organs and hollow organs
3. Channels and chakras
4. Dream, death and dying
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-4
1. General etiology
2. Buddhist concept on disease
3. Tibetan Medicine concept on disease
4. General pathology
5. Detail on four immediate factors of the diseases
General diagnostic methods: detail theory and practice
1. Pulse reading
2. Urine analysis
3. Tongue diagnosis
4. Ear vein reading
5. Eye vein reading
6. Constitution examination
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-5
1. Materia Medica
2. Traditional Tibetan Medicine products
3. Western Tibetan herbal products
General Practical teaching
1. Pulse reading
2. Tongue and eye examinations
3. Urine analyses
4. Constitution examination
External therapy Practice
1. General Moxibustion Practice Part-1 (back and front)
Examination
Third year
Subjects: Preventive medicine theory and practice
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-6
1. Lifestyles and guidelines
2. Seasonal behavior and advice
3. Diet and nutrition
4. Cooking and spices use
5. General food items (from the East and West)
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-7
External therapy: theory practice
1. Tibetan moxibustion (me btsa’) part-2
2. Hor-me therapy
3. Tibetan massage Ku-nye (bsku-mnye) part-1
4. Oil therapy Num choe (snum ‘chos)
5. Cupping therapy mebum
6. Fomentation therapy dug (dugs)
7. Tibetan body/mind cleansing
8. Jam-tsi therapy (‘jam rtsi)
9. Meditation and visualization
Examination
Fourth year
Subjects: Third Tantra, Pathology: theory and practice
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-8
Three humors disorders
1. Wind disorder
Pathogenesis, pathology, classification, diagnosis and therapies
17 Specific Wind disorders
2. Bile disorder
Pathogenesis, pathology, classification, diagnosis and therapies
11 Specific Bile disorders
3. Phlegm disorder
Pathogenesis, pathology, classification, diagnosis and therapies
12 Specific Phlegm disorders
4. Brown Phlegm disorder
‘Essentials of Gyud-shi’ – Textbook-9
Five vital organ disorders
1. Heart disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Four specific heart disorders
2. Lungs disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Four specific lungs disorders
3. Liver disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Five specific liver disorders
4. Spleen disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Three specific spleen disorders
5. Kidney disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Five specific kidney disorders
Six hollow organ disorders
1. Stomach disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies
Five specific stomach disorders
2. Small intestine disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Four specific small intestine disorders
3. Large intestine disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
New colon diseases
Five specific large intestine disorders
Chronic large intestine diseases in modern developing countries
Two specific chronic large intestine diseases
4. Gall bladder disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Three specific gall bladder disorders
5. Bladder disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Three specific bladder strain and obstruction disorders
Two specific frequent urination and prostate gland disorders
6. Reproductive organs disorder: physiology, pathology, diagnosis and therapies.
Two specific disorders
Course review, examination and certification