A periodical on
Indo-Tibetan and allied medical cultures
FOREWORD
By O. Nyamdavaa
Ambassador of Mongolia to India
I am very
pleased to learn that the INTERNATIONAL Trust FOR
Traditional Medicine [ITTM] has decided to dedicate this
eight volume of AyurVijnana to traditional
Mongolian medicine.
Mongolia
has very ancient ties and contacts with India, which
date back more than 2700 years. Our ties commenced long
before Buddhism spread to Mongolia from India through
Central Asia, Kashmir and the Ladakh territories.
According to Indian sources, about 30 million people of
the Mongolian race still live in India. Their ancestors
emigrated to India not as invaders, but to settle in the
region.
The first
Mongols in India were the Huns, (Hunnu, Hiung-nu,
Xiong-nu, or Hsiung-nu), a strong military nomad tribe
that expanded throughout Central Asia after the 5th
century BC. Later on they also migrated to Europe. Their
preferred destination, however, was the Indian
subcontinent. This fact, together with the spread of
Buddhism into Mongolia, are the evidence of our ancient
ties and contacts with India.
Mongolians made several distinctive contributions to
world civilization. Among them are the postal system,
military organizational structure and its equipment, and
democratization (Temujin, 1162-1227, was elected
Genghis Khan in the 13th century AD).
Even
today, traditional Mongolian medicine, with its
diagnostic methods and indigenous herbs, could be of
great value to the rest of the world. Unfortunately,
this great traditional folk medicine has not been
developed to a great extent over the last several
decades in Mongolia. On the contrary, it has been
criticized as unscientific. However, times have changed
and many Mongols now understand its value and prefer
traditional medical treatment to modern Western
medicine. Traditional Mongolian medicines are now also
used in European countries due to their harmless
ingredients, mostly based on natural herbs, which are
available in Mongolia in abundance.
The
history of traditional Mongolian medicine and its
achievements were known only among Asians and were
forgotten for many decades during the 20th
century. Since the 1990s, the people of Mongolia have
tried to reintroduce this venerable practice, referring
to the old sutras that were written in the Mongolian,
Tibetan and Sanskrit languages. Based on the same roots,
these traditions all developed in different ways among
various Asian countries, according to their respective
climatic conditions and ways of life.
As a
Mongol, I am thankful to Ms. Barbara Gerke for her
collections of sutras and other materials and articles
on traditional Mongolian medicine at the ITTM Library.
She visited many physicians in Mongolia, some of whom
have real encyclopaedic knowledge of Mongolian
traditional medicine.
Here, I
wish to emphasise Ms. Barbara Gerke’s initiative and her
dedication to spread new awareness of Asian traditional
medical systems. A glossary database of Tibetan and
Sanskrit medical terms based on the Astangahrdayasamhita
is being prepared at ITTM with English and German
equivalents. I do hope that the Mongolian version of the
text will be included in the database in future (see
page 98).
My
sincere gratitude goes to my old friend and colleague,
Lama Chimpa, who is a Trustee of ITTM, and who has
inspired the study of traditional Mongolian medicine at
ITTM through sharing his diary notes on Mongolian
Bariache bone setters and their different types of home
remedies. His article refers to his personal experiences
in Mongolia during the 1940s and was published in
AyurVijnana, Vol.6, 1999.
New
Delhi, January 6, 2002
O.
Nyamdavaa, Ambassador of Mongolia to India
AyurVijnana Vol 8,
2002, p28-31
Some Sources of Ancient Mongolian Medicine
Prof. D. Tserensodnom (Ph.D., Dr.Sc.)
Translated from Mongolian by S. Demberel
Historically, the Mongolian people recognized the usage
of new medicinal herbs by observing their flora and
fauna during the changing seasons. Legends and folklore
had a strong impact on preserving information for the
treatment of disease.
One
legend states that medicinal water was discovered when a
lame deer miraculously recovered after his hooves
touched spring water while taking a drink. Another good
example occurs in the great Mongolian national epic
Jangyar, the Mongolian equivalent of India’s Mahabharata
and Ramayana. In this fable, the hero and warrior
Jangyar is seriously wounded in a battle and falls into
a hole. While lying there injured, he is irritated by a
mouse that runs all over his body. Jangyar says to
himself, “Even when I am weak, this mouse is troubling
me.” In a fit of anger, Jangyar hits the mouse which
then collapses injured by his side. After a short while,
a she-mouse appears carrying medicinal herbs. The
injured mouse eats the herbs and gradually recovers.
Impressed by the mouse’s recovery, Jangyar eats the
herbs and is also restored to health.
These
examples beautifully illustrate the true knowledge of
the ancient people acquired through observing the
interdependence of natural phenomena. From studying
nature and remembering the folklore and indigenous laws,
the ancient Mongols found many new herbs which were of
therapeutic use and applicable in their daily lives.
Such
concepts of ancient Mongolian medicine were not only
narrated in the ancient folk traditions, but were also
documented in manuscripts. Around the 13th
century AD, a remarkable and memorable historical
writing, The Secret History of the Mongols,
described how wounded warriors, suffering from
haemorrhage and severe dehydration, were advised to eat
curd and fresh whey. For cases of blood loss from
injuries, the book advised to first suck out some of the
blood and then cauterize the area to stop the bleeding
and prevent infection.
The 14th
century text, The Golden Summary, describes how
King Batmunkh Dayan Khan of Mongolia (1464-1543) was
treated for an abdominal tumour in his childhood. The
King was cured by the thick sour milk from camels or
clabber, and by having the affected area massaged with
the bottom of silver cups until they perforated. The
treatment continued till three silver cups were
completely used.
Other
historical writings describe how the warriors of Chengis
Khan (died 1227) took medicines like Acorus calamus
(Tib. shu dag) to stop bleeding. The herb relieves
pain and detoxifies the organism after consumption of
contaminated food. During times of war, senior generals
made their troops collect Acorus calamus when the
army camped near rivers. They used the herb to purify
water by placing it in the river, upstream of the camp.
Musk was
also used to treat water. The Mongolians soaked musk in
their wooden water carriers to provide flavour and
purify the water. Aconitum richardsonianum lavener (Tib.
sman chen) was used in the distillation of liquor. The
herb was placed below the barrel of liquor as a
precautionary measure. Garuda-5 or Khyunga (Tib.
Khyung lnga), which prevents infectious diseases and
relieves pain, is also very popular in oriental medical
traditions. In this way, Mongolians have used different
kinds of medicinal herbs to cure and prevent human and
animal ailments.
From the
documented examples presented above, it is clear that
the Mongols used different medicinal herbs in their
daily lives. The present corpus of knowledge on
treatment using traditional medicine was passed on from
generation to generation through oral instructions.
Unfortunately, some secret formulae were lost when
physicians passed away before being able to transmit
them to a suitable student. At times, knowledge was
preserved in manuscripts, such as the Manuscript of
Black Dom2 and The Note of Black Dom,
which have survived till today. Unfortunately, many more
were destroyed during wars and social changes. For
example, there are rumours that the so-called
manuscripts Dom of Black Ox and Dom of White
Ram contain important medical texts for human and
animal disorders, but we are unable to find anyone who
has read them.
Our
medical centre, named “Light of the Dharma” was
established for the purpose of restoration and research
on traditional Mongolian medicine. We are undertaking
great efforts to collect and re-print important, ancient
Mongolian medical texts, such as the Manuscript of
Black Dom. There is a large variety of material
medica in Mongolia which are mentioned in the
Manuscript of Black Dom, including herbal plants,
trees, mineral stones, medicinal water and animal
products. Regarding medicinal raw materials, this text
is considered more valuable than other manuscripts with
less emphasis on the Mongolian meteria medica.
From the
early 14th century onwards, during the second
spread of Buddhism in Mongolia, when Pundit Choekyi Oser
(Tib. chos kyi ‘odzer) and many other contemporary
translators were translating texts of Sutrayana (Tib.
mdo’I theg pa) and Tantrayana (Tib. rgyud Kyi theg pa),
Mongolians probably came to realize the depth of Indian
Ayurvedic medicine for the first time. There is clear
information about the Sanskrit medical text
Astangahrdayasamhita being translated into Mongolian.3
There is
no proof as yet whether Choekyi Oser translated “The
Four Tantras”, or Gyushi (Tib. rgyud bzhi), into
Mongolian, though some scholars attribute the
translation to him. It is known, however, that the
Gyushi were translated into Mongolian several times.4
Among the famous translators of that period were the
historian Jaya Pandita Lobsang thinle (blo bzan ‘phrin
las, born in Mongolia in 1642), Namkai Gyatso (Tib. nam
mkha’I rgya mtso, 1599-f1662) and Urad Guush Mergen
Gegeen Luvsandambiijalsan, i.e. Lobsang Tenpa Gyalstan
(Tib. blo bzang bstan pa’I rgyal mtsan, 1717-1766).
These
pundits not only translated texts from Sanskrit and
Tibetan into Mongolian, but they also had attained a
higher level of consciousness and were able to give
lectures and write on Buddhism. There are bibliographies
of beautiful biographies on Lord Buddha composed by
Mongolian scholars. Moreover, there are many Mongolian
commentaries on the works of Indian and Tibetan
scholars. During the last three hundred years, about two
hundred scholastic Mongolian monks wrote many
manuscripts in Tibetan, mostly on Buddhism. Apart from
writing on Buddhism they also wrote texts on traditional
medicine.
Numerous
resources of material medica in Mongolia has led to the
wide-spread influence of Indian Ayurveda via Tibet.
Mongolians did not imitate Indian or Tibetan medicine
blindly. They extracted only those parts useful for
Mongolians and omitted what was not suitable to their
own environment and climate.
Although
Tibetan and Mongolian traditional medicine have their
own distinct features and methods, they inherited the
same basic concepts from Indian Ayurveda. Finally, I
think that scholars and scientists of modern medical
science would benefit science at large and might advance
the field of Mongolian medicine considerably by
conducting research into the unique features of each of
the ancient systems.
(1)In Tibetan medicine khyung Inga (Garuda 5)
is a compounded medicine made of Terminalia chebula,
Saussurea Iappa, Acorus calamus, musk, and
Aconitum balfourii (Tsarong T.J. 1986: Handbook
of Traditional Tibetan Drugs: Their Nomenclature,
Composition, Use and Dosage. Kalimpong: Tibetan
Medical Publications: 46.) [ed.]
(2)Charles Bawden (1993:108) mentions that “the
Mongolian term dom has a range of meanings, from popular
medicine…to magic ritual. … it can be replaced by tusa
meaning ‘help’ and even by the word nom, which
normally means a Buddhist religious book, but can also,
by extension, refer to a substitute ritual.” (Bawden C.
1993: “Written and printed sources for the study of
Mongolian Medicine” Bulletin of Tibetology: Aspects
of Classical Tibetan Medicine. Gangtok: Sikkim
Research Institute of Tibetology: 97-127.)[ed.]
(3)For Unkrig’s comments on Vagbhata and the
Gyushi see pp.9-27 of this issue.[ed.]
(4)A Mongolian version of the Gyushi (Hohhot,
1959) states in its introduction that the Gyushi
reached Mongolia during the Yuan Dynasty, also called
Mongol Dynasty (1206-1368), and were translated into
Mongolian and printed during the Ch’ing or Manchu
Dynasty (1644-1911/12). (Bawden op.cit. 1993:116. Also
cf.note 2 on p.11.) [ed.]
Academician Tsend Haidav-Innovator of Traditional
Mongolian Medicine
Yumjir Munkh-Amgalan (Ph.D., Dr.Sc.)
Gund Tsend-Ayush (MD)
Tsend Haidav (Ph.D., Dr.Sc.) has been a leading scholar
and researcher in the field of traditional Mongolian
medicine since 1959. He was the first scientific
research worker to study Mongolian folk medicine. He was
also the first to receive a Ph.D. and a Doctor of
Science degree in traditional Mongolian medicine and has
written more t han 299 research publications, which
cover most of the main branches of traditional Mongolian
medicine. He has been a member of the Mongolian Academy
of Sciences since 1982. In 1997, he was awarded the
title of D. Sc. (Honoris Causa) by the Open
Internationla University for Complementary Medicines,
Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2001, he received the highest
award “Merited Worker of Science” by the decree of the
President of Mongolia.
Haidav’s
success can partially be attributed to his important
efforts to rationalize and scientifically understand
traditional medical practices. During the period of his
collaboration with his colleagues and followers, he
defined 27 new standards and created new technological
methods for manufacturing medicines. Haidav’s team also
designed six innovative medicines, and suggested a
number of methodologies for improving the production
methods of known medicines.
Until the
end of the 1930s, when religion was forcefully repressed
and temples were closed, lama doctors skilled in
traditional medicine, as well as healers educated in the
five medical arts (bloodletting, moxibustion,
hydrotherapy, massage and acupuncture), were the
original providers of medical services to Mongols. At
the Manba Datsans of the Lamiin Gegeen Monastery, Yaruu
Monastery, Tariat Monastery, Van Monastery and Ih Huree,
along with many other major schools famous throughout
Mongolia, traditional medical arts were taught and
practiced over a long period of time.
In these
Manba Datsans, which were founded at the end of the 16th
century AD, worked such famous and learned Manrambas as
Danzanjantsan, Lungregdandar, Choijamts, Ishbaljir,
Jambal Dorje, Luvsanvanjil, Luvsanchultem, Yondon and
many others. In the history of Mongolia, Manramba
Danzanjantsan laid the foundation of the first Manba
Datsan in the Lamiin Gegeen Monastery (now called Ulziit
Sum), which is located in Bayanhongor Aimag.
Even
after 1921, with the assistance of the Soviet Union,
when the government initially founded free medical
facilities, doctors trained in Western medicine were
allowed to work side-by-side with traditional doctors.
From the 1930s, while encouraging and supporting
Western-style medicine in every way possible, the
Mongolian government, by radically refecting and
repressing traditional medicine, caused this precious
wealth of tradition to be forgotten for over 30 years.
The study
of traditionally used plant, animal, and mineral
medicinal substanced began only in the 1950s and
included areas such as the stockpiling and dissemination
of medicinal plants, the comparison of Mongolian,
Tibetan, and Latin plant names, the botanical traits and
specific nature of those traditional components, their
chemical composition, structure, and medical
applications and effects.
In
bringing the plant, animal, and mineral substanced used
in traditional medicine under medical scrutiny, the
Medical Studies Laboratory, founded in 1959 on the
initiative of Haidav, played an important role
(Gonchigdorkj, Enhtuvshin 200:525).
Commencing in 1959, the government again allowed
research and investigation of astrology and traditional
Mongolian medicine, and so began scientific studies,
especially the preparation of plan catalogues used in
folk medicine. With the goal of improving pharmaceutical
manufacturing and founding specialized departments in
the Academy of Sciences and institutions of higher
learning, Haidav, together with A. Ulziihutag, began to
work with the 87-year-old Manramba Luvsantheren in
Undur-Ulaan Sum (county), Arhangai Aimag (province). In
the same year, they traveled for t here months through
the seven western provinces of Tuv (Central), Bulgan,
Huvsgul, Zavhan, Uvs, Hovd, and Arhangai, conducted
field research with living traditional practitioners and
collected medicinal books and manuals.
Apart
from native traditional doctors and pharmacists, like
Lama D. Dorjjantsan (Ganden Monestery), Manramba
Baasajav from Avzaga Sum, Bulgan Aimag, and Z.
Sanjaajav, disciple of Manramba Adarsuren from Yaruu Sum
and Zavhan Aimag, three scholars from China were invited
to participate in the research. In the basic research,
traditional doctors and practitioners, such as Manramba
Luvsantseren from Arhangai Aimag, and Luvsan and Magsar
from Huvsgul Aimag, helped enthusiastically despite
their advanced age, and instructed the researchers in
their native area’s medicinal plants, leaving their
knowledge for the generations to come.
Haidav
also organized two more field expeditions: one in 1960
to Hentii and Dornod Aimags and one in 1961 to Umnugobi
and Selenge Aimags to enrich further the collective
wealth of medicinal plants. During these expeditions
Haidav and his colleagues gathered approximately 700
different medicinal plants. They also found a large
number of old manuscripts and rare sutras on traditional
Mongolian and Tibetan medicine in these remote areas and
were given additional documents by the rural people they
encountered.
At the
same time, Haidav began studying Tibetan with the noted
Tibetologist Prof. Ts. Dorj and the learned Lama Gevsh
Dugar. Since 1961, he, along with D. Dorjjantsan, D.
Choijamts, Z. Sanzaajav and Ch. Baavgai, who also speak
Tibetan, started to translate sutras and prescriptions
from Tibetan into Mongolian. When the Academy of
Sciences was founded in 1961, and the Folk Medicine
Laboratory was established at the Medical Institute,
Mongolian academic researchers looked everywhere for the
remnants of traditional indigenous medicine.
As
traditional medicine again began to flourish, medicines
produced from indigenous raw plant materials were
discovered and the first works investigating and giving
great importance to pharmaceutical production were
published. One important work was Haidav’s monograph
Some Historical Features of Oriental and Medical Plants
used in Mongolian Folk Medicine (1965). This
historical survey discussed selected, major medicinal
plants and investigated their traditional uses. It
clearly resulted, on one hand, in the revived interest
in developing traditional medical studies and, on the
other hand, became an important part of the field
itself.
In the
1950s, Haidav began the study of phytochemisty,
standardization, and technology used in traditional
medicine. Haidav produced dozens of standardized
pharmaceuticals and, in order to determine the chemical
structure of their active medicinal ingredients,
scientists have since been studying the chemical
interactions of plan components used in complex
prescriptions in traditional medicine (Gonchigdorj,
Enhtuvshin, 2000:530).
Another
vital element in the development of traditional
Mongolian medicine, initiated by Haidav and his
colleagues, is the domestication of animals and
cultivation of very rare plants used in traditional
medicine. Recently, numerous plants and animal resources
have decreased in number in their natural habitats.
Mongolian scientists are working to study and implement
agricultural technologies for acclimatizing plants to
different soil, water and climatic conditions, for
extracting and preserving their active biochemical
components, and for planting and raising them, as well.
Methods for breeding, raising and domesticating
extremely rare animals, such as musk deer, in captivity,
and removing musk from them without causing harm to the
deer, were also being improved.
The
Laboratory for the Study of Mongolian Traditional
Medicine, founded in 1959 in Ulaanbaatar, again at the
initiative of Haidav, laid the foundations for the
present research centre, the Technological-Manufacturing
Corporation of Traditional Medical Science, which
conducts scientific research on traditional Mongolian
medicine. The centre pursues various goals, including
the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and the
methodology of traditional medicine, and it has revived
more than 40 forms of traditional treatment.
Among the
staff of this institution are four Ph.D. and Doctor of
Science degree holders, 11 physicians and 12 researchers
with Masters Degrees. They have produced several hundred
research papers, books, and brochures on traditional
medicine. The centre has its own pharmacy which produces
more than 120 different medicines, valued at 30 million
Mongolian tugrugs a year. More than 3,000 patients
undergo treatment every year in the centre, and 16,000
people visit yearly for examination and diagnosis.
Traditional Mongolian medicine has attracted the
attention of doctors at home and abroad. Business
cooperations have been established with similar
organizations in Russia, China, Japan, Poland, Germany
and Korea. Haidav has traveled extensively in Europe and
Asia and has made numerous research visits to Russia
(including most of the states of the former USSR:
Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and areas
such as Buryatia, Yakutia and others), Germany, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland,
Romania, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Sri
Lanka, India, Japan, and the USA. Each visit brought new
ideas and increased his enthusiasm to do more.
On his
third visit to India in 1986, he traveled from New Delhi
to Ranikhet, Varanasi, Hyderbad, Bombay, and back to New
Delhi, a route resembling the circumambulation
Mongolians make at sacred places of worship. As a direct
result of this visit, where he met with many traditional
Indian physicians, Haidav developed a new plan for
domesticating musk deer for research purposes. This
project is still successfully operating in Mongolia and
was approved by the Ministry of Health.1
Thanks to
the democratic changes and transmission from centrally
planeed economy to market-oriented economy since the
1990s, Mongolia today enjoys democratic freedom. Haidav
worked under more difficult conditions and, from 1959,
was striving for the revival of so-called ‘lamaist or
feudalsit’ Mongolian medicine within Socialist
structures. During this difficult period he really
‘battled’ for modern Mongolian folk medicine. Haidav was
completely alone in his field, as other researchers were
nervous in the political climate of the time. It
shouldbe noted that the General Secretary of the
Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party and the Chairman
of the Presidium of the People’s Great Hural of the MPR,
Yu. Tsedenbal, who was the head of the Mongolian Party
and State for over 40 years, and the First Lady A. I.
Filatova supported Haidav on various occasions to revive
traditional Mongolian medicine. Haidav says that without
their encouragement and support, his work would not have
been possible.
LIST OF
PUBLICATIONS BY TS. HAIDAV
Research
Monographs
1.1965: “Some Historical Features of Oriental
Medicine and Medical Plants used in Mongolian Folk
Medicine”, Dissertation for a Ph.D.Degree. Chemovtsi.
2.1972: “Pharmacological Study of Adonis
Mongolica”, The-sis for obtaining the degree of Doctor
of Science (Medicine). Moscow.
Books,
Monographs and Booklets
3.Haidav Ts. Tsognemeh J. Badam B. 1962: Mongol
ornii emiin zarim urgamal (The Medical Plants of the
Mongolian People’s Republic) Ulaanbaatar.
4.Haidav Ts. Choijamts D. 1965: Mongol anagaah
uhaand hereglegddeg emiin urgamliin ner tomiyo
(oros-mongol-tuvd-latin) (Rassian – Mongolian – Tibetan
– Latin Dictionary of Medical Plants of the Mongolian
People’s Republic) Ulaanbaatar: State Terminological
Commission No. 61.
5.Haidav Ts. Zakrividoroga S P. 1965: Kratkaya
Istoriya Mongolskoi Meditsini (Brief History of the
Mongolian Medicine) Ulaanbaatar.
6.Haidav Ts. Sherhan O. 1975: Mongol ardiin
emnelegt hereglegdej baisan erdsuud (Minerals used in
Mongolian Folk Medicine) Ulaanbaatar.
7.Haidav Ts. 1975: Dorno dahinii anagaah uhaanii
sudar bichgiin toim (Survey of Sutras on Oriental
Medicine) Ulaanbaatar.
8.Hadav Ts. Yondonravtsag D. 1976: Anagaah uhaan ba
shashin (Science and Religion) Ulaanbaatar.
9.Haidav Ts. 1977: Ardiin emnelegt hereglegdej
baisan amitnii garaltai em (Drugs of Animal Origin used
in Mongolian Folk Medicine) Ulaanbaatar: Vol.1.
10.Haidav Ts. Menishikava T. A. 1977: Lekarstvenniye
rasteniya v Mongolskoi Meditsine (Medicinal Plants in
Mongolian Medicine) Ulaanbaatar.
11.Haidav Ts. 1982: Ardiin emnelegt hereglegdej
baisan amitnii garaltai em (Drugs of Animal Origin used
in Mongolian Folk Medicine) Ulaanbaatar: Vol.2.
12.Haidav Ts. Varlamova T. S. Altanchimeg B. 1985:
Lekarstvenniye rasteniya v Mongolskoi Meditsine
(Medicinal Plants in the Mongolina Medicine)
Ulaanbaatar.
13.Haidav Ts. 1988: Ardiin emnelgiin ulamjlal,
shinjleh uhaanii undeslel (The Tradition of Folk
Medicine and its Scientific Basis) Ulaanbaatar.
14.Haidav Ts. Tumurbaatar N. Tsend-Ayush G. 1996:
Mongol, tuvd anagaah uhaand hereglegddeg mod uriin emiin
zuils (The Medical Plants and Seeds used in Mongolian
and Tibetan Medicine) Ulaanbaatar: Vol.1.
15.Haidav Ts. 1998: Mongol emnelgiin uusel hugjil,
undsen uye shatuud (the origin of Mongolian Medicine and
Main Stages of its development) Ulaanbaatar.
References
1.Gonchigdorj R. and Enhtuvshin B. (eds.) 2000:
Mongol ulsiin shinjleh uhaan (Science of Mongolia)
Ulaanbaatar: (2): 523-34.
2.Haidav Ts. J. Hatanbaatar J. 2000: “Diffusion of
Ancient Indian Ayurveda in Mongolia” in: Nyamdavaa O.
and Singh G. (eds.) Mongolia and India: Spiritual
neighbours. New Delhi: Himala Publishers: 171-90.
3.Chuluunbaatar Do. 2001: On tsagiin toos buyu hun
sudriin duuli (Dust over the Ages, or the Ballad of the
Human Sutra) Ulaanbaatar.
RESEARCH
ARTICLES – 154
POPULAR
ARTICLES – 30
RESEARCH
REPORTS – 44
RESEARCH
PROJECTS – 27
NEW
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY OF MEDICINE PREPARATION
(with
co-authors) – 27
INNOVATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING PRODUCTION
METHODS – 6
DOMESTIC
AND INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS – 4
BOOKS AND
BOOKLETS edited by Ts. Haidav – 6
THESES
AND DISSERTATIONS (B.Sc., MD, PhD., Doctor of Science)
guided by Ts. Haidav – 22 REFERENCES OF RESEARCH WORKS
(B. Sc.,
MD, Ph.D., Doctor of Science and others) – 50
About the
Authors
Yumjir
Munkh-Amgalan (Ph.D., Doctor of Science in Linquistics).
Since 1979, he has worked as a lecturer on the Mongolian
language at the National University of Mongolia where he
received his degrees. From 1985-1988 he worked as
Visiting Professor of Mongolian Language at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has
written 14 books and about 100 research articles. He has
been Chairman of the Department of Mongolian Linquistics
and Leading Professor of the National University of
Mongolia since 1997. He is currently working as Visiting
Professor at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
Gund
Tsend-Ayush (MD) is a Ph.D. candidate in traditional
Mongolian medicine. After graduating from the Medical
University in 1993, she began to work at the institure
of Folk Medicine. Together with Ts. Haidav and N.
tumurbaatar, she co-authored the book, The Medical
Plants and Seeds used in Mongolian and Tibetan Medicine
(Ulaanbaatar, 1996). In addition, she has published
several research articles and reports. Currently, she is
working as an expert in traditional Mongolian medicine
at the Medical Centre in Chicago, USA.
PART V:
EDUCATION IN MONGOLIAN MEDICINE
“Light
of Dharma” Centre of Traditional Mongolian Medical
Studies in Ulaanbaatar
During
the repression of the 1930s, traditional Mongolian
medicine was disregarded and denigrated as the remains
of an old feudal society. Only since the earl6y 1990s,
the government put itself to the task of reviving
traditional Mongolian medicine. This revival is not only
of importance to Mongolia, but also to other countries.
There is a palpable interest among Western countries in
Oriental medicine and the plant, mineral and animal
medicinal substances used in those traditions.
AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES
The
centre aims to develop, reintroduce and offer
traditional Mongolian medical treatment to the Mongolian
people. Most people are no longer familiar with the
knowledge of traditional medicine, and it is difficult
to restore the traditional ways of Mongolian treatment
in the city of Ulaanbaatar.
WORK
PROGRESS
The idea
of establishing this Centre of Traditional Mongolian
Medical Studies occurred to me ten years ago. Since
then, I have been working towards its manifestation. I
have been collecting raw materials of animal and plant
origin to produce traditional medicines based on
original Mongolian prescriptions published in the old
Tibetan and Mongolian texts, as well as books,
manuscripts, sutras and other articles related to
traditional medicine. A ger museum (a traditional
Mongolian nomad tent with all material that traditional
doctor used to have in his tent) will house those
artifacts. Also Buddhist thankas and other artifacts
will be exhibited in the museum.
The
Centre consists of three basic units: exhibition halls,
the Ger Museum, and a library with ancient manuscripts
and texts on traditional medicine of Mongolia, Inner
Mongolia, Tibet, Buryatia, and other countries.
1000
square metres of land have already been provided for the
centre. Construction of the first storey began in
September 2000. The author requests the support of the
international community to develop the museum.
FOR
DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
Prof.
Dalantain Tserensodnom (Ph.D., Dr. of Science in
Philology), since 1998 a member of the Mongolian Academy
of Science, where he worked at the institute for
Language and Literature for 37 years, specialized in
ancient Mongolian poetry at Humboldt University Berlin
(former DDR). He has written more than 20 books and 100
articles. Together with Manfred Taube, he worked on the
Berliner Turfansammlung in 1993. In 1998, he was awarded
the State Prize of Mongolia for his literary
contributions in civil and Buddhist literature. Deeply
interested in traditional Mongolian medicine,
Tserensodnom has collected medical artifacts for many
years to form a part of his newly established Centre of
Traditional Mongolian Medical Studies and the Ger Museum
in Ulaanbaatar.
ACTIVITIES AT THE “LIGHT OF DHARMA”
Centre of Traditional Mongolian Medical Studies
·carry out activities of research and
teaching on traditional Mongolian medicine.
·provide in-depth explanation of methods
and principles of traditional Mongolian medicine to
interested Mongolians and foreigners.
·produce traditional Mongolian medicines
for treating various types of illness, including
malignant tumors, gone diseases and all kinds of blood
disorders.
·Carry out and promote scientific
research on the effectiveness of traditional Mongolian
medicines.
·Revive old Mongolian methods of
manufacturing medicines
·Publish traditional sutras on medical
treatments and ‘hara dom’ (folk and natural
medicine), written by well qualified lamas and scholars
in the Mongolian and Tibetan languages. In the form of
an ongoing series.
·Present the ancient ways of Mongolian
medicine through and exhibition of medical artifacts in
the Ger Museum.
THE MANBA DATSAN
Clinic and Training Centre for Traditional Mongolian
Medicine in Ulaanbaatar
BRIEF HISTORY
The Mongolian nation has
a long history of indigenous medical traditions covering
several thousand years, Mongols developed their own
medical system which was deeply connected with the
economic, cultural and political life of Mongolia. Based
on empirical medical knowledge, the Mongolian medical
system has been enriched by related systems of Buddhist
and Oriental medicine of neighboring countries.
Traditional Mongolian medical
knowledge was transmitted over generations in various
ways: through private practitioners who inherited their
medical knowledge from the elders and through
educational and faculty systems. The educational
development reached its peak with the introduction of
the Manba Datsans in the 16the century AD.
Manba Datsan (Mon. Emchiin hiid,
Tit, sman pa groa tshang) is the general name for
Buddhist monastic school of traditional medicine, which
developed over the past four hundred years. There were
numerous Manba Datsans all over Mongolia offering
various qualifications, mostly designed to educate
physicians and also to provide scientific degree studies
for scholars of various subjects. Unfortunately, most of
them perished during historical upheavals.
One of the Manba Datshans was known
as “Monastery of Medicine to Help People” (Mon. Busdad
tuslahui anagaah uhaanii hiid, Tib. Gso rig gzhan phan
gling) and was established in the city centre of the
former capital Da Khure, which in 1924 became known as
Ulaanbaatar.1
It served the population till its
destruction in 1937, when Buddhism in Mongolia was
almost wiped out during the Stalinist purges. However,
this monastery was restored during the 1990s as the
present Manba Datsan, a Clinic and Training Center for
Traditional Mongolian Medicine in Ulaanbaatar.
Commencing in 1990, the state
policy of the new Mongolian government focused on the
revival of Buddhism and traditional Mongolian medicine.
This led to the foundation of the new Manba Datsan,
including a clinic, hospital and training centre with
the aim to restore traditional Mongolian medicine in the
country. The Otoch Manramba Medical College was
established under the Datsan. Another focus was to
reconnect the endangered link between the ancient
heritage of medical science in Mongolia and the new
generation of medical practitioners. The initiative also
promotes the further development of government
programmes in national health care, culture, religion
and education.
THE DATSAN
The monks of the Datsan recite
daily prayers, meditate, perform ceremonies, bestow
blessings and serve the worshippers with healing rituals
to repel misfortune and sickness. Astrologica,l
calculations are also made. The Manba Datsan’s blessing
and chanting procedures are different from those
practiced in other monasteries. Blessings are directed
mostly to create physical, emotional and mental harmony.
They help to relieve stress, depression, emotional
upsets and negative states of mind. Negative life
experiences, feelings of grief, divorce, difficulties at
work, frustrations, the 101 kinds of evil causing mental
diseases, as well as miscarriage and infertility can be
treated by tantra and mantra healing. These healing
methods are also available for children.
All the monks have been trained at
the Buddhist University of the Ganden Monastery in
Ulaanbatar. At the Manba Datsan, they refine their
knowledge through ritual practice and prayers. There are
about 40 monks who are only involved in religious
activities. Their curriculum differs from the medical
students.
MEDICAL TREATMENT
Diagnosis is conducted in an
out-patient clinic as well in the hospital of the Datsan.
Where required, modern laboratory tests are used in the
diagnostic process. Therapies utilize both drug and
drugless methods. Drugs administered are decoctions of
medicinal herbs, powders and precious pills, and
external application of heating ointments. Additional
therapies include acupuncture, moxibustion, cranio-therapy,
whole body massages with herbs and oils, bloodletting,
cupping and spiritual therapies using methods of
Buddhist rituals and meditation.
