Interconnections in Himalayan Medicine.key
Transcription
Interconnections in Himalayan Medicine.key
Interconnections in Himalayan Medicine Past, Present & Future Eric Rosenbush, L.Ac. SHARING KNOWLEDGE Interconnections in • Space - between regions & cultures • Time - three times • Fields of Knowledge - interdisciplinary study Himalayan • Himalayan ecology and medicinal herbs Medicine • Traditions of medical knowledge ! !"#$%"&'(')#*"%$"+"#$"#*',%-.-#/01# !"# !"#$""#$%&%'$%'(#""#&)*+(,*# $%"&#%&"'$""#-.''%-/.'0-.1*)232'4#""#3*56(&*$* 7 Bhāva Cakra :: Wheel of Existence 8 Karma Vip!ka • Ripening of global, group, and personal karmas • Cycles of time • Navigation in the degenerate age. • Pure vision The Universe Within • As above so below • Vajra Body principle • loka puru!a sāmya siddhānta Spiritual Ecology We classify other animals and living beings as nature, acting as if we ourselves are not part of it. Then we pose the question ‘How should we deal with Nature?’ We should deal with nature the way we should deal with ourselves! We should not harm ourselves; we should not harm nature . . . Human beings and nature are inseparable. — Thich Nhat Hanh e rivers were her blood vessels. To gain power over the land the Tibetan kings and d use the art of Sa Che. Sa Che: Tibetan Geomancy !"#$#% 9: Tanadug Pure Land Garden Dimension of the Medicine Buddha ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 9! Himalaya & the Tibetan Plateau Kailash - our Sumeru Geological Formation Tibetan Plateau Roof of the World Himalayan Rainshadow Climatic Zones • Elevation • Rainfall Patterns • Mineral Composition The Third Pole The Himalayan region has the third largest deposit of frozen water on earth, after the two poles. There are around 15,000 glaciers holding somewhere around 12,000 cubic kilometers of water, and feeding most of the rivers of Asia. Biodiversity • Variety of life, species richness • Importance - economic, political, ecological, ethical, conservational Rebkong, Amdo Alpine Ecology • Unique ‘islands’ of endemic species • Varies with climatic patterns • Centuries of low usage due to inaccessibility • Sensitive and very medicinally potent plants • Vulnerable due to limited suitable distribution range Aconitum hetrophy"um bong dkar Fundamentals: Past ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 @A Interconnections in Ancient Peoples • Zeitgeist, astrological cycles • Trade routes • Buddhism • Local & global - References to medicines traded, widespread species in medical texts Ancient Trade Networks ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 :B Context Relation to historical developments (dynasties, texts) Lack and need for this study. Multidisciplinary approach Holistic- seeing the larger picture beyond borders and language Ancient Tibet Origins ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 :: Nomadic Culture ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 Agriculture Ngakpa Vi"age - Rebkong :! Shamanic Tradition :C Zhang Zhung Kingdom ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 :8 ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 Tonpa Shenrab Miwo :A Greek Medicine Galen & Hippocarates ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 DB Indian Medicine V!r!"as# - India’s center of knowledge for over 3000 years on the banks of the river Gang! Sowa Rigpa in the Human World Abhassaras - Aggañña Sutta Manu and Brahma Drang Song &'"!('"% "#i Tradition • Original Himalayan medical conference - Caraka Samhitā Sū 1 Indian Buddhist Medicine J$vaka Kum!ra • Studied at Takshashila University under Atreya • Doctor for Shakyamuni Buddha and Sangha. • Patriarch of Thai Medicine Ancient Indian Educational Centers • Takshashila • Nalanda • Varanasi Sunrise on the Ganges - Varanasi Highlights of Buddhist Medicine • • • King Ashoka (3rd Century BC) • Built hospitals and established many philanthropic projects. • Medicine spread to neighboring countries with Buddhism. Gupta Era (4th-6th Century) • Vagbhat - Astanga Hrdaya Samhita • Varahamihira Nagarjuna’s commentary on Susruta Samhita End of Indian Buddhism • Muslim Invasions (10th-12th Century) • Diaspora of texts and masters to the north. • Nepal • Northwest • Tibet North West • • Kashmir Chandranandana Guge • Oddiyana • Rinchen Zangpo • Ladhak Nep!l Himalayan crossroads Newar culture Other ethnic groups and regions Chinese Medicine Interactions Between Chinese and Tibetan Medical Traditions Need for deeper scholarship Massive diversity in Chinese medical traditions due to the phases and dynamics of Chinese medical history. Need to place TCM theory according to the times and regions. What was the Chinese Medicine that was encountered at different phases in Tibet? Early Developments • Origins • Wu Tai Shan & Manjushri • Han Dynasty • Huang Di Nei Jing • Shang Han Lun • Hua Tuo • Buddhism • Tao Hong Jing & Shen Nong Bencao ࿔ச Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) ྑ ◞ڽSun Simiao aka ࣼ Yao Wang Јӆस Xin Xiu Ben Cao “Newly Revised Matera Medica aka Tang Materia Medica Princess Wenchang & her entourage Later Developments Song (10-13c) Yuan (13-14c) Ming (14-17c) Qing (17-20c) Tibetan Medicine Tibetan Buddhism Terma )*+,"-% First TTM Conference • 33rd Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo .('"/01"2-"3(% (617-650) First TTM Conference • Galeno from Persia • Han Wang Hang De from China • Bharadvaja from India Eighth Century Conference at Samye • King Trisong Detsen 45".('"6+7"/81% (790-844) • Doctors from India, Kashmir, Nepal, China, Iran, Central Asia Guru Padmasambhava /9#":5";5'"3(% Nectar Essence ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 Elder Yuthog Yonten Gompo 708-833 C: ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 Younger Yuthog Yonten Gompo 1126-1202 CD Important Lotsawas • Vairotsana • Rinchen Zangpo Important Masters Orgyan Rinchen Pal 1230-1309 Jang School — Namgyal Dagsang 1395-1475 Zur School —Zurkar Namnyid Dorje 1439-1475 —Lodro Gyalpo 1509-1572 Chakpori School —Fifth Dalai Lama 1617-1682 —Desi Sangye Gyatso 1653-1706 De’umar Tenzin Puntsok 1672-? Khenpo Troru Tsenam (1926-2004) Important Trade Routes Silk Road Tea & Horse Road Salt & Herb Traders Nepal Present Earth :: 2014 Interface with Modernity Asian Medical Traditions Meet Industrialization Western example - from folk traditions of the middle ages to industrialization. West to East How Indian, Chinese and other traditional medicines fared within colonial and communist times Bias & prejudice based on political and economic interests East to West Fascination with Asian wisdom and cultures. Maintaining the View ▪ Allopathic influence ▪ Educational standardization, homogenization ▪ Disease definitions ▪ Herbal research biases Rural Challenges Loss of folk and classical medicines Lack of access to medical care Brain and human drain to cities Adoption of global capitalism & currency Modern Challenges Loss of connection Stress Overstimulation Artificial foods and lifestyle Lack of exercise Climate Change Glacial Loss Deforestation Adaptation to temperature and seasonal changes Massive species loss Human Influences Sorig Perspective Causes & Conditions Symptoms Diagnosis Prognosis Therapeutic Principle & Treatment Future Homeostasis Our challenge: to find a symbiosis How to accommodate our massive exploding human population, preserve the natural world and habitats. Healing our global health care system. Possibilities ◦ Species loss > substitutions ◦ Sustainability Maintaining Diversity Biodiversity as a model, tendrel Examples: languages, foods, traditional medicines Celebrating diversity in local traditions ▪ Recipes, khatsar and substitution herbs ▪ Preserving texts and transmissions ▪ Lineages of clinical practice, oral instructions Education Correct Understanding & Right Livelihood Education Translating universal principles within the essence of Sowa Rigpa, which can apply anywhere, any time. Educating the public Training practitioners Creation of a conscious market for sustainable herbs. Research Not only medicinal substances, but the view. Disease definitions, pathology, treatment principles. Preservation of Knowledge Traditional herbal and medicinal preparations Family and lineage teachings that continue to die out Local uses of medicines, variant species Diagnostic techniques Texts and textual interpretation Sustainable Herbal Medicine Medicine plant nursery and research garden. Ramani, Uttarakhand Symbiosis Farmer/Collector User / Patient Conservationist Medicine Producer Medical Practitioner Herbal Cultivation Hong Len farmer - Uttarakhand Threatened Plant Species • • Mistakes: • Yew tree • Ginseng Successful Species: • Picrorhiza kurroa - hong len • Saussurea costus - ru rta • Inula helenum - manu • Current Challenges: • Aconitum hetrophylum bong dkar • Dactylorhiza hatagirea dbang lag • Nordostachys jatamansi spang spos Taxus sp. :: Yew tree An example of the potential problems faced with mismanagement of medicinal plants. Taxol - a chemotherapy agent - is derived from its bark First extracted from the Pacific Yew (T. brevifolia) Currently some regions of southern Nepal have begun to cultivate it. Tending the Wild ‘Wild-simulated’ or ‘semiwild’ cultivation Sustainable management of land, wildcrafting Reseeding, replanting Forest Farming “Forest farming is the intentional cultivation of edible, medicinal or decorative specialty crops beneath native or planted woodlands that are managed for both wood and understory crop production. It does not include the gathering of naturally-occurring plants from native forests, also known as wildcrafting. Forest farming can provide profitable opportunities for forest and woodland owners, nut growers, sugar maple growers, and herb growers.” — Association for Temperate Agroforestry GACP © Ben Heron GACP - Good Agricultural and Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants • Practices for quality and cleanliness in drying, washing, harvesting, package, and storage of medicinal plants. • This can produce raw materials that will have the most medicinal value, free from contaminants. Modern Influences • Botanical and ecological understandings • Analysis, understanding of active constituents • Species mapping • Medical research Allies • Community Groups: HIMCON, Himalaya Seva Sangha • Local Sustainable Businesses: SOS Organics • Community Groups: Uttaranchal Youth And Rural Development Centre • Sustainable Farming Groups: Indian Permaculture Institutes Means of Transformation • Government policy • Ethical standards of producers • Knowledge of practitioners • Patient education Delicate Balance Between conservation methods and access to species between environmentalists and medicine producers Between traditional and modern forms of knowledge between modern research methods and traditional understanding Between short and long term needs between immediate profit and stable livelihood Between poverty alleviation and sustainable development between economic stimulation and cultural preservation ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 9BB Balance ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 9B9 Rigdzin Rabpel Ling Ngakpa Temple - Rebkong, Amdo Ngakmang Projects • Shitro and other rituals • Retreat Cabins • Sowa Rigpa Clinic • Classroom/Library • Education and Medical Projects Orgyen Menla @ Khyung Gon Ngakpa Temple - Rebkong ;<2-=#(.#%$2(#>*3(%)#(%?(#3(,<%3 9BD Conclusion Thank You! www.soriginstitute.org