Currents of Tradition in Sowa Rigpa Pharmacy

Blaikie, Calum

doi:10.1215/18752160-2332223

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Dolma Tsering clarifies today that the money earned during her travels has been partly used to buy two machines for the production of medicines. From her point of view, she thus contributes to the preservation of traditional pharmaceutical knowledge, which not all amchi can be said to retain (Blaikie 2013). This position allows her to distinguish herself from other therapists whose practice is limited to diagnosis and treatment.…”

Section: Fame Money and Their Social Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

Pordié¹

2016

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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Studies of the international diffusion of Asian medicine tend to overlook the social mechanisms involved in the transnational circulation of therapists. This article, built around the biography of a female practitioner of Tibetan medicine, demonstrates that upward social mobility gained through individual involvement in the NGO sector allows for the mobilization of transnational networks which sometimes offer travel opportunities in return. In the Himalayan region of Ladakh, the main reason that practitioners travel the world is through projects aiming to improve the local conditions of Tibetan medicine. Contrary to common assumptions, these journeys abroad do not primarily consolidate social status, economic capital and medical legitimacy for Asian medical practitioners; they also bring in their wake ambivalence in individual status.This is because, in the cultural context of Ladakh, gaining fame and money too rapidly or too visibly is seen as deeply problematic. This article examines these tensions and opens up research paths on the social logics and local implications of both regional development and therapeutic globalization.

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Section: Fame Money and Their Social Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

Pordié¹

2016

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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“…11 MS Kathmandu, Triten Norbutse monastery (containing 'Od zer 'khyil ba bdud rtsi sman gyi gzhung lags s+ho); dKar ru Grub dbang sprul sku bstan pa 'i nyi ma 1998a: v. 168, text 1, 1998b: v. 230, text 22; dPon slob Rin po che tshangs pa bstan 'dzin et al 2014. For a discussion of the expression and concept of "nectar" in Buddhist mendrup contexts, see Garrett 2009Garrett , 2010 12 On mendrup as a small yearly rite for the enhancement of drug efficacy in medical clinics, see Craig 2011Craig , 2012; in other institutions producing medicines, see Blaikie 2013Blaikie , 2014Blaikie et al 2015. Kind (2002 provides an example of mendrup as an irregular village event from Dolpo, Nepal.…”

Section: T He B O N P O M E N D Ru P Ri T Ua L P R Ac T I C Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 On the meditative and spiritual element of mendrup in the Nyingma context see Cantwell 2015 andCantwell 2017 (in this volume) and Garrett 2009. 7 Bentor 1996 On mendrup, see Cantwell 2015 andCantwell 2017 (in this volume); Donden and Hopkins 1997;Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho et al 2007;Garrett 2009Garrett , 2010Craig 2011Craig , 2012Blaikie 2013Blaikie , 2014Blaikie et al 2015. On chülen (bcud len), see Gerke 2013;Parfionovitch, Dorje, and Meyer 1992: I, 119-22 and II, 275-78;Oliphant 2015Oliphant , 2016 (for a chülen close to the mendrup described here). On mani rilbu (ma ṇi ril bu), see Kohn 1988.…”

Section: Introduction T He Present Issue Of History Of Sciementioning

confidence: 99%

“…On mani rilbu (ma ṇi ril bu), see Kohn 1988. On the processing of precious pills (rin chen ril bu), see Aschoff andTashigang 2001, 2004;Gerke 2012;Czaja 2013;Gerke 2013;Blaikie 2015;Czaja 2015;Gerke 2017 (in this volume) and Millard unpublished. On these and other comparable practices, see Samuel 2010and Schaeffer 2002.…”

Section: Introduction T He Present Issue Of History Of Sciementioning

confidence: 99%

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Tibetan Bonpo Mendrup: The Precious Formula’s Transmission

Sehnalova

2017

Hist. Sci. South Asia

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The article presents the traceable history of the Tibetan Bonpo mendrup ritual practice in textual sources, as it has been recorded by the Bonpos themselves. These records are put into context with the current performance of the practice by the Bonpo exile community. The study aims to embrace all the relevant Bonpo historical material accessible, and thus deals with documents of a wide time spam, from the eleventh or twelfth century onwards until the early twentieth century. The Bonpo mendrup is a healing, longevity, rejuvenation and enlightenment-seeking contemplative meditational practice of the Tibetan tantric tradition with a strong emphasis on its medicinal component. It embodies various spheres of knowledge and their principles, as the Indian tantrism, a strong Buddhist cosmological organisational and soteriological framework, the Tibetan medical tradition, with embedded elements of alchemy and Tibetan indigenous religious notions. As the studied sources reveal, its origin can be traced to the intellectually vibrant times in Tibet of around the twelfth century, where all these fields of expertise came together. Thus the case provides an example of such a complex composed of tantra, medicine and alchemic influences specific for Tibet. Since then, the Bonpo mendrup can be followed by varied records in a number of Bonpo literary sources of different genres. These are compared with the present form of the ritual. The sources support the ritual’s anticipated transmission and practice throughout the history. They show that different ideas apply to its origin, and particularly its revelation as a treasure text, and that the ritual existed in varied forms, and was shared and imparted among different lineages of Bon. The most important finding is that the practice is actually traceable throughout the history, and likely have never ceased to be active over the centuries from the very early times until today.

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“…In seeking to present a homogeneous and professional medical system, both elite Ladakhis and Tibetans adopted arguments -such as the urgent need for training and the regulation of medicine production -that undermined the legitimacy of unqualified practitioners, effectively placing them outside the bounds of modern acceptability and excluding them from the recognition discourse. Although some attempts were made to equivocate, notably Tsering Phuntsog's speech in Delhi, the dominant image projected at both events denied the plurality of locally adapted 'currents of medical tradition' (Blaikie 2013;Scheid 2007) in favour of presenting a homogeneous and professional medical system. From their lofty vantage point, Indian officials saw pale reflections of Ayurveda in the Himalayan snow.…”

Section: Recognition and Professionalisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positioning Sowa Rigpa in India

Blaikie¹

2016

MAT

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The years leading up to the recognition of Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medicine) by the Government of India in 2010 saw unprecedented interaction between various branches of the tradition and the state apparatus. These interactions grew particularly intense during March 2008, when two conferences focusing on related issues took place. The first referred to 'Tibetan medicine' and was organised by Tibetan exile institutions, while the second spoke of 'Sowa Rigpa' and was hosted by a coalition of Himalayan Indian associations. Through detailed ethnography of these events, this article examines the way in which a medical system was discursively constructed and positioned on the brink of state enfranchisement. It shows how 'discourse coalitions' and antagonisms formed during these events, and enquires as to the implications of these for the balance of power in Sowa Rigpa and for its positioning in relation to the Indian state, technoscience, and the growing market for traditional medicines.

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Currents of Tradition in Sowa Rigpa Pharmacy

Cited by 26 publications

References 31 publications

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

Tibetan Bonpo Mendrup: The Precious Formula’s Transmission

Positioning Sowa Rigpa in India

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