Living Medicine Buddhas

When I visited India for the first time in 1990-91, I made a point of getting a free diagnosis by a Tibetan doctor at the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute’s clinic in Mcleod Ganj, upper Dharamsala (https://mentseekhang.org). After feeling the pulse in both of my wrists for about ten seconds, the doctor knew more about me than I did, and proceeded to ask if I had pain in my lower back, but only on the left side. I was astonished, and grew more impressed as he told me more. To top it off, his prescription wasn’t for any of the thousands of black or brown, really bitter pills he stocked, but meditation, to calm the “wind element” at the root of my characteristic nervous energy.

Tibetan medicine is rooted in the ancient healing traditions of Tibet, which focus on restoring balance to the body, mind, and spirit. Its effectiveness can vary depending on the individual’s condition, the severity of the illness, and the specific treatment plan prescribed. It was my good luck, or karma, that I first encountered it at the relatively young age of 26.

After I returned to Japan (where I lived 1987-2007), I bought Health Through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine by Dr. Yeshi Dhondhen who, I learned, had a private clinic in Mcleod Ganj. As he was world renowned, I started going to him, from the time of my next visit to Dharamsala until he passed away at age 93. People would wait in line all night to be one of the 50-60 patients he would see every day, including many Tibetans, but also many Indians from near and far, whose conditions had not been cured by Ayurvedic or allopathic medicine—lots of infertility and cancer patients. As I was one of the few Westerners there, with distinctive tattoos on my inner forearms that he couldn’t miss when he checked my pulse, he remembered me.

One time he remarked, through an assistant/interpreter, that my main problem, in Western terms, was a predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis, which made sense, as my muscles were often relatively stiff and painful. I felt so grateful to him for keeping me in good health that, after I brought back some medical ingredients from holy Lake Mansarovar in Tibet in the early 2000s, I presented them to him. I know Tibetans and Westerners who were amazed by his instantaneous understanding and diagnosis of their conditions.

Yeshi Dhonden (15 May 1927 – 26 November 2019) was born into a family of peasants in Namro, a village located in Lhoka, Tibet, south of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. He was sent to Sungrab Ling Monastery at the age of six and took novice vows as a Buddhist monk two years later. At eleven, he joined the Chakpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine, Lhasa, and studied medicine for nine years. At twenty he was recognized as the best in class at the Chakpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine, and was made an honorary doctor of the Dalai Lama. From 1951 onward, he practiced medicine in Tibet in his native region, where he became known for his great efficiency. When the 14th Dalai Lama went into exile in 1959, Dhonden chose to accompany him and help the Tibetan refugees in India. He was one of three Tibetan physicians to escape Tibet, and was requested by the Dalai Lama to reestablish the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute in exile. He served the 14th Dalai Lama from 1961 to 1980, then resigned from the Institute to establish a private clinic in 1969.

Dr. Dhonden was the foremost expert and proponent of Sowa Rigpa, a traditional Tibetan medicine system created as a combination of the ancient healing systems of India and China. He traveled to the West to give lectures on Tibetan medicine, and was renowned for his contribution to cancer treatment. In 2018, the Indian government honored him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India. Dr. Dhonden was often referred to as Sangye Menlha—Medicine Buddha, but commonly known among Indians as “the cancer doctor.”

Besides cancer, he was renowned for his work in healing other chronic diseases ,was an expert in herbal treatments, and had a deep understanding of Tibetan holistic healing practices, which include meditation, diet, and lifestyle modifications. He was particularly famous for treating cancer patients in a way that combines the holistic healing powers of Tibetan medicine with modern approaches. While his methods do not claim to be a replacement for conventional medical treatments like chemotherapy and surgery, many patients have found significant relief from symptoms and improvement in their overall health and well-being. Tibetan medicine aims to treat not just the physical illness but also the mental and emotional imbalances that often accompany serious diseases like cancer.

Diet plays a crucial role in Tibetan medicine, and Dr. Dhonden emphasized the importance of a balanced and nutritious diet for maintaining health and healing illness. Diet in Tibetan medicine is based on the principles of Tibetan Ayurvedic dietary practices, which take into account an individual’s body-type, the seasons, and their current state of health. The body’s three primary energies or “humors” are lung (wind), tripa (bile), and bekan (phlegm). According to Tibetan medical philosophy, illness arises when these energies are out of balance, whether due to external factors like environmental stress, or internal factors like emotional turbulence or poor lifestyle habits. Tibetan medicine focuses on diagnosing the specific imbalance in each patient and tailoring a treatment plan accordingly. Dr. Dhonden’s diet plan typically focused on promoting digestive health and strengthening the immune system. He advocated for a diet that included fresh, whole foods, and herbal teas, for their detoxifying and healing properties.

I was pretty sad when I heard that he’d passed away in 2019, but soon discovered that one of his disciples, Dr Choephel Kalsang, who had assisted him for many years, had established his own clinic several kilometers outside of Dharamsala. He had often been right there with Dr. Dhonden, had felt my pulse, and knew my condition. As had been the case at Dr. Dhonden’s clinic, patients will book rooms in the surrounding hotels so they can wait in line from very early in the morning to be one of the 50-60 patients he sees every day. Luckily or karmically, because he knows me from decades ago, I just show up soon before the clinic opens, and the staff make room for me in the line. Now 60, besides my rheumatoid muscles and joints, I have the prostate swelling common to old dudes but, every three to six months, i visit the greatest living doctor in the world, buy one to three months’ worth of bitter pills (which cost around $13 to $40), and I’m good to go.