Potala Palace

Tibetan medicine, a shining pearl among the jewels of traditional Chinese medicine, comes from an accumulation of experience that the Tibetans gained during the prolonged course of fighting nature and disease. Many accomplished Tibetan medicine practitioners are responsible for forming the medical system that is unique to Tibet. For historical and social reasons, however, the system developed at a slow pace until the late 20th century.

Tibetan medicine has a history of over 2,000 years. Around 200 BC, when Tubo King Nyitri Tsampo raised six questions concerning Tibetan medicine, a man named Zila Garma Yade answered one of these by saying: "Poison could be used as an antidote to poison.'' In accordance with this theory, Gyaipo Chixi developed a kind of medicinal ball, which was called Tujoinwangrab.

During the 4th century, Lhato Torab summed up his experience in the theory of “treating illness caused by cold factors with medicine of a heat nature, and illness caused by heat factors with medicine of a cold nature.’’ Tonge Tojogyain enriched the theory of Tibetan medicine with his knowledge of Indian medicine learned from his father Gachi Bichi. Tojogyain was so effective that he was able to perform surgery on the eyes of Molung Gunbazha. When Zhonnyi Dewo contracted leprosy, he lived in an underground cell to keep from infecting his relatives. All these examples illustrate a high level of medical knowledge and treatment.