(2 credits) Tibetan Medicine (bod kyi gso ba rig pa, or Sowa Rigpa) is one of the oldest known traditional medicine systems in the world. It is a unique tradition based on medical knowledge from multiple ancient cultures, including India, China, Afghanistan, Persia, and the Bon tradition of Tibet, on the basis of the four medical tantras taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. The Tibetan Medical system is deeply intertwined with Buddhist thought and holds the philosophical basis of the three poisons and the four noble truths as its framework.
This course will provide an overview of Tibetan medicine with a focus on the wind element (rlung), which, according to this system, is one of the three principal energies of the human body, responsible for all movement internal and external to the body, from the circulation of blood to the movement of limbs. Most importantly, in the context of this class, is the relationship between the wind and the mind (sems), and the understanding of how working with one affects the other. For this reason, this course is being offered in conjunction with the Advanced Meditation Class, MDT412. These courses are advanced-level courses and should be taken together.
