Basic principles of Tibetan medicine

Based upon the observations of natural phenomena and ancient tantric teachings, Tibetan medicine recognizes the philosophical principles of emptiness and oneness of everything. The outside world is generally understood as being composed of five elements, present in all, but varying slightly in strength and therefore in the balance between them. The same division in elements applies on all the aspects of all phenomena appearing in this world.

In the living nature, the five elements are called space, wind, fire, water and earth, although for some purposes also the elements of wood and metal are recognized. Each of these elements represents certain characteristics that are very important to understand. Space has the power of providing space for growth, and is omnipresent. The wind element has the power of growth and increase, has a changing nature and carries the other elements. It is light, ascending and easily changing between hot and cold. The fire element provides the power of transformation and maturation, increases heat, is light, ascending and very hot. The water element holds things together, is heavy, descending and very cold. The earth element provides stability, is still heavier, also descending and cold. The wood and metal elements finally are similar to the fire and earth/water elements, but slightly different in characteristics.

Tibetan medicine is taught through numerous divisions and enumerations, such as the division between a healthy and a malfunctioning body, between the elements and between the so-called humours.

The principle view on the human body is, that it is governed by three humours or life-fluids: wind, bile and phlegm. These correspond to mental states and also maintain the proper functioning of our living body, thus forming the connection between mind and body. Many sub-varieties of these humours are distinguished, each having specific functions in the body.

Wind is the most important of the humours, since it is the medium and force for transport and thereby is capable of controlling the other two humours. It is rough, light, cold, subtle, hard and capable of motion. In our body it is mainly associated with our breathing, our bones and our nervous system, although it has many more functions.

Bile is the heat power of our body, and heat includes everything related to strong motion, such as our heart. Its characteristics are that it is oily, sharp, hot, light, smelling and moist. Bile is important for our digestive process, skin colour and the process of seeing and perceiving.

Phlegm is opposed to bile, mainly being cold and slow. It provides stability and also helps in digestion and experiencing through amongst others taste. Its characteristics are opposite to those of bile, that is, viscous, blunt, cool, heavy, firm, smooth and sticky.

Each of these humours is strongly influenced by environmental factors, such as season and residence, by internal factors such as behaviour and food intake, and mental factors. The root cause of every disease lies in the mind, in afflictive emotions, ultimately based on ignorance. These together with other influences make that accumulation occurs, such that other conditions can cause the disease to manifest. Diseases are generally based on disturbances of one or more of the humours. Understanding their disturbance by observing the outside of the human body is most important in diagnosis.

Diagnosis inTibetan medicine tries to recognize the source of diseases, i.e. the humoural imbalance, by palpation such as pulse reading, by visual examination of the excrements and other characteristics, and only in the end by questioning. This last phase mainly functions to double check the diagnosis that an experienced doctor has already made before asking anything.

Pulse diagnosis is one of the main techniques used in Tibetan medicine. By attentively ‘listening’ to the movement of the pulse in six distinct locations in each arm, an accurate diagnosis of the inner body can be made. Other examination methods are used as a verification and may provide detail information. All diagnosis is made in terms of disturbances of the three humours, that are in fact related to the balance between the five elements.

Treatment can take the form of dietary advices, changes in behavioural patterns and using medicinal products such as herbs. Again, treatment concerns the five elements whose balance is to be restored. Characteristics of medicinal products can best be described in terms of their taste, since taste is most closely related to the balance between the elements in substances. By understanding the taste of medicaments during various stages of digestion, Tibetan medicine explains their effect on our body.

Other types of treatment include Healing Meditation (Tsor-Gom) or Mountain Body Movement (Lu-Jong) that directly work on the energies and channels in our body. To also heal the energies of others, there is an advanced technique called Tsa-Lung or hand-healing.