Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine (Fourth Edition)

Download or read book Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine (Fourth Edition) written by Dr. Tsultrim Kalsang, Dr. Rigzin Sangmo, Dr. Namdol Lhamo, Dr. Sonam Dolkar Oshoe and published by Mentseekhang Docpub . This book was released on 2024-11-26 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION The Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine is one of the most popular and widely used publications on Tibetan Medicine available in English so far. This is credited to the contributions of the editorial teams of its successive editions. The first edition of the Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine was published in 1981. It has remained one of the basic learning sources of Tibetan Medicine available in English, and due to an increasing interest in, and demand for, Tibetan Medicine and literature on the subject, in 1995 a second revised edition was published. In 1997 a third revised edition was published based on the existing material content, and the first part of the book was divided into four chapters with the addition of an introductory section on the history of Tibetan Medicine, to make it easier for the readers to understand. With the growing interest, demand and popularity of Tibetan Medicine all over the world, the need for a fourth revised edition was felt. The fifteenth Director of Men-Tsee-Khang, Mr. Tashi Tsering Phuri appointed a 4-member editorial board to revise the book, because we all had our responsibilities in various Departments of Men-Tsee-Khang. Our task was to complete the edition of the book within a scheduled time frame. However, because of the long hours which were needed to be spent on this important project, it took more time. Finally, now we are able to bring this book out with complete support from our Men-Tsee-Khang Director. This fourth edition has more or less retained the original format, but the text has been thoroughly revised to make it more concise and comprehensive. It starts with the history of Tibetan Medicine, followed by Introduction to rgyud bzhi, Understanding of the human body, the three principal energies, Etiology of disease, Diagnostic techniques, and Therapeutic approaches etc. in an orderly format. New information has been added after conscientious research based on rgyud bzhi, the principal text of Tibetan Medicine, and other reference materials and literature (such as Vaedurya ngon po, the most popular commentary on rgyud bzhi). We have also tried to simplify the material while retaining its original and essential points, adding important updated information where necessary. Some key technical terms of Tibetan Medicine have been written in Tibetan transliteration, based on the THL Extended Wylie transliteration scheme, to avoid dilution of the original meaning. The Tibetan terms have been italicized and footnotes have been inserted wherever necessary. We have updated some new colour photographs and also retained some previous photos from the original edition. We have redone the previous section ‘Guide to Pronunciation of Tibetan Medical Terms’ by providing transliteration for the major Tibetan terms in this edition, their equivalent Tibetan Phonetics and their translation. We have endeavoured and given our best efforts to make this fourth edition as trustworthy as possible; however inadvertent errors may certainly have crept in, for which we take sole responsibility. Any useful suggestions, feedback and comments on this edition to improve the quality of the book would be highly appreciated. It is our sincere hope that this book will inspire and encourage readers all over the world to further deepen their understanding of the ancient Tibetan wisdom of healing. May those who read it receive wider benefits to remain healthy, and to provide better health for others. Dr. Tsultrim Kalsang Dr. Rigzin Sangmo Dr. Namdol Lhamo Dr. Sonam Dolkar Oshoe ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are very appreciative of, and indebted to, the Editors of the First edition of Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine, namely Mr. Tsewang Jigme Tsarong, the late Prof. Darkton Jampa Gyaltsen, and late Dr. Lobsang Choephel, for their hard work in laying down the foundations of this book on which the Second, the Third and the Fourth editions are based. We are also very thankful to Dr. Namgyal Qusar, Dr. Thokmey Paljor, Dr. Lobsang Tsultrim Tsona and Dr. Tenzin Dakpa for revising the Second and Third Editions of Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine. We would like to thank Dr. Tsewang Tamdin, Dr. Dawa Dakpa, Dr. Namgyal Tenzin and Dr. (Mrs.) Dhadon Jamling for their valuable suggestions and input into the third edition, and Mr. Drakton Jampa Gyaltsen, the late Professor of Tibetan Astro-Science at Men-Tsee-Khang and Mr. Tashi Tsering, Historian at Amnye Machen Institute, Dharamsala for their valuable suggestions in the history section of the third edition We also thank Mr. Tsering Choedup, Mrs. Tsering Deckyi and Mrs. Lhamo Kyizom for their technical help in the final page layout and publication, and Dr. Dawa for providing pictures of the Allegorical Trees for the third edition In this Fourth edition, we are most thankful to the Director of Men-TseeKhang, Mr. Tashi Tsering Phuri, for his encouragement and invaluable support for this project. Moreover, we would earnestly like to thank the administration of Men-Tsee-Khang for facilitating this important project and its successful completion; Dr. Tsewang Tamdin, the visiting physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his kind guidance and suggestions; and Mr. Sangyal Tendar Naga, Head of the Culture and Research Department of LTWA for confirming the historical dates and events. We sincerely thank Ms. Kerry Wright for proofreading the entire book. Our thanks also go to TASP Mr. Lhawang Tsering (HoD) and Mrs. Lhamo Kyizom Secretary of the Documentation and Publication Department of Men-Tsee-Khang for the page layout and publication-related assistance. Co-Editors Dr. Tsultrim Kalsang, Dr. Rigzin Sangmo, Dr. Namdol Lhamo & Dr. Sonam Dolkar Oshoe