Tibetan Medicine Learning Resources (TMLR)
Developed in collaboration with the Lhasa Hospital of Tibetan Medicine (Mentsikhang) and the University of Virginia's Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies, TMLR is a set of instructional materials for the study and teaching of Tibetan medicine that draw on video materials recorded in Lhasa in 2001.
This resource will benefit those interested in alternative medical traditions and in clinical research on these traditions, as it provides an intimate view of Tibetan medical professionals in practice.
Translations of discussions about medical and pharma- cological practice by Tibetan professionals can improve the quality of training both in clinical research and in Tibetan medical studies, as well as stimulate new research in complementary and alternative medicines.
This resource will also be valuable to language students who are beginning to learn about Tibetan medicine in Tibetan; no such resource for these students exists to date.
An Introduction to Tibetan Medical Practice
This TMLR unit includes examples of doctors in Lhasa's Hospital of Tibetan Medicine examining patients and commenting in detail on their disorders. It also includes interviews on certain types of disease in general, on the prevalence of those diseases in the hospital, and on the general operations of the hospital. A section on Tibetan pharmacy based on videos shot at Lhasa's Factory of Tibetan Medicines outlines the process of making medicines.
Menu: Clinical Practice:
The Human Body | Nosology | Diagnosis | Therapeutics | Pharmacy
Getting Started
Most aspects of TMLR can be viewed with any standard Web browser. However, viewing translated videos within our software requires several "plugins", free programs that enhance your Web browser. Special fonts necessary to see Tibetan script must also be installed on your computer. To prepare your computer for accessing the videos in TMLR's lessons, follow steps 5 and 6 at What You Need to View THDL, and also download and install Tibetan fonts.
Because video files are very large, they are difficult to deliver over the Web and typically require a high-speed internet connection. To read more about videos on the web, see Audio-video Introduction and Help. In the TMLR Lessons, linked videos are all automatically routed to the highest quality version of the video. If you need a smaller video file for a slower internet connection, you will have to search for the video, using the full or partial title, in the video search box on the left-side column of each lesson page. On your search results page, you will be able to select the version most suitable for your internet connection.
Resources
Videos: View the list or search for titles (full or partial titles accepted):
Images: Coming soon.
Glossaries: Tibetan medicine | Materia medica | Tibetan-English | Translation Tool
Learning More: Publications on Tibetan Medicine | Pharmacy References | External Web Links
Credits
This project has been created by Frances Garrett. It was supported by grant T32 AT00052 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Therapies (NCCAM), U.S. National Institutes of Health, and by THDL. Additional supporters and participants are acknowledged on the Medicine Collections' Participants page.
Procedures
Links to TMLR pages are available from the "Lessons Menu" box on the left column of each page. Each TMLR page will refer to a reading list of recommended texts for additional study of the given topic. These books can be obtained from libraries or purchased from online booksellers.
Readings
The following texts are recommended for the study of this topic:
Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine According to the rgyud bzhi (Dharamsala: Men-Tsee-Khang, 1997).
Barry Clark, trans., The Quintessence Tantras of Tibetan Medicine (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1995).
Donden and Hopkins, Health Through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1986).
Dorje and Meyer, eds., Tibetan Medical Paintings (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1992), Volume 1.
Christa Kletter and Monika Kriechbaum, eds., Tibetan Medicinal Plants (Stuttgart: medpharm Scientific Publishers, 2001).
Pasang Yonten Arya, Dictionary of Tibetan Materia Medica (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1998).
Tsewang J. Tsarong, Tibetan Medicinal Plants (Kalimpong: Tibetan Medical Publications, 1994).
Additional articles will be recommended as needed.