Jan M a Van Der Valk

The New Light on Tibetan Medicine series brings together Dr. Pasang Yonten's extensive educational materials for the first time. Building on five decades of study, clinical practice, and teaching, this set of comprehensive textbooks aims to provide a unique contemporary overview of the science of healing known as "Sowa Rigpa." No English-language publication of comparable scope has appeared so far. This series is therefore an essential guide and reference for students of Tibetan, Asian, and Buddhist medical traditions, as well as for health professionals, therapists, and researchers.Foundations is the first textbook of the New Light series. This beautifully illustrated volume introduces the Buddhist roots and historical development of Sowa Rigpa, as well as the structure of the most important Tibetan medical text: the Four Tantras (Gy zhi). Based on this classic yet adding novel insights, the main focus of the book is the systematic explanation of the three humors, metabolism, embryology, and the functions of the organs, channels, and chakras. Summarized in the form of metaphorical tree diagrams and placed in the context of the physician's ethical code, these chapters provide a solid theoretical foundation for understanding the gross and subtle physiology of the body-mind. New Light on Tibetan Medicine: Volume I - Foundations is clearly structured, packed with insightful figures and tables, and backed up by an extensive glossary of Tibetan terms, making this pioneering work easily accessible.

Manual of Common Illnesses and Their Cures is a facsimile of a rare Tibetan medical text, first printed in 1990 to support the healing work of young amchi in Ladakh. A concise and highly practical guidebook, it covers the diagnosis and treatment of more than eighty diseases and presents more than two hundred formula names, also giving special attention to high altitude disorders and pediatrics based on the author's extensive clinical experience. An emphasis on self-sufficiency and small herbal remedies ensures that these precious pith instructions continue to be relevant for traditional physicians and therapists in the Himalayan and Tibetan regions as well as for Sowa Rigpa health professionals worldwide.