"Health and Harmony Through Tibetan Medicine"
(By Friends of Tibet, Kalamassery, November 18-21, 2010)

Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar (CMO, Men-Tsee-Khang) speaks on "Health and Harmony Through Tibetan Medicine" at Kalamassery. Sethu Das (President, Friends of Tibet) next to him. (Photos: Roy Cletus)

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Kalamassery: "This is an opportunity we were waiting for several years — to come to Kerala with Tibetan medical camps and to speak to those in suffering. We are happy to be here finally," said Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Chief Medical Officer of Bangalore Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Dr Dorjee was speaking at a programme jointly organised by Friends of Tibet and Changampuzha Nagar Elders Forum at the Changampuzha Nagar School Building, Kalamassery on November 20, 2010.

Dr Dorjee, who escaped to India with his family in 1969 following the Chinese occupation of Tibet was introduced to the gathering by Sethu Das, Founder President of Friends of Tibet (India). Sethu Das acknowledged the re-establishment of the Men-Tsee-Khang at a rented house in India in 1961 as one of the greatest contributions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the entire world. "Tibet lost its temporal and spiritual leader. But in some way Tibet's loss has benefited the rest of the world. Probably it was our destiny that one day Tibet would bring Buddhism and traditional healing systems back to modern India which is slowly losing several of its ancient knowledge and practices," said Das.

Delivering a lecture on 'Health and Harmony Through Tibetan Medicine', Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar spoke in length about the power of ancient Tibetan healing practices of the mind and body. "There is nothing new about Tibetan medical system as they are synthesis of Ayurveda, Unani and other ancient systems that already exist. At the same time they are unique or different in some sense from the rest of the practices. The Tibetan medical system is much beyond just treating people. It is more about truth, existence and the meaning of human life," he said.

While speaking, Dr Dorjee Rapten expressed his concerns about the commercialisation of our ancient medical systems. "People do not look at the effect and the essence of medicines once taught to us by the Medicine Buddha, but how the medicines are packaged and marketed these days," he continued: "We are responsible for the fall and commercialisation of many of our ancient practices. We are even losing faith in our own medicine systems and distancing ourselves from the participation in the process," he said. "With the present commercialisation of medicines, the authenticity of medical practices and treatment are lost," said the concerned medical practitioner from Tibet.

Dr Dorjee who received his medical training at the Tibetan Medical College in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh where he completed intensive study in the Tibetan Medical System shared his knowledge by saying: "Names of the diseases are not important, but understanding the disease. Because of our ignorance of not understanding the selflessness we tend to undergo more and more negative mental affections or factors such as hatred, lust, anger, attachment, desire, and illusions. These mental factors influence the energy flow which eventually affects our mind and finally the body condition."

The 'Health and Harmony Through Tibetan Medicine' talk by Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar was followed by a question and answer session and the screening of the Men-Tsee-Khang documentary film on Compassionate Tibetan Holistic Healing.

The lecture was a part of the 3rd traditional Tibetan medical camp held from November 18-21, 2010 and was meant to interact face to face with the patients and the well-wishers of the Tibetan medicines of the Kochi city. The first Men-Tsee-Khang-Friends of Tibet camp was held on September 04, 2010, the day His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Cochin city for the first time. The medical camps of Men-Tsee-Khang are conducted regularly in Cochin, Kerala by Friends of Tibet with the support of local organisations and institutions.