Author: Tsewang J Tsarong
Publisher: Tibetan Medical Publications
Year: 1994
Language: multilingual
Pages: 132
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8190048902
Description
This handy pocketbook on the medicinal plants of Tibet is the first of its kind to be published in English. It contains 96 color photographs of Tibetan medicinal plants along with their native and botanical names.
High in the Land of Snows, amidst melting snow-bed steep screes, and glacial moraines grow some of the loveliest and most colorful flowers in the world. Many of these wild and exotic plants were used for centuries as ritual offerings and healing drugs by the lama-physicians of Tibet. These healers (popularly known as amchis or menpas). Through painstaking trial , error, and observation, have identified these plants and documented their therapeutic action and uses in herbals that date as far back as 8th century C.E.
The aim of this book is to draw attention to the above herbal legacy and to generate an interest in one of the most fascinating branches of Tibetan medicine. The photos in this book are the result of innumerable treks the author undertook during the past decade or so to various regions of the Himalayas.
The specific information on the pharmacodynamics of these plants is taken from the rGyud-bZhi and the Shelgong Shel-Preng. The rGyund-bZhi is the most important Tibetan medical text and provides the names and therapeutic action of the 111 different plants. On the other hand, the Shel-gong Shel-preng, written in 1727 C.E. by Greshe Tenzin Phuntsog, is the best known Tibetan pharmacopoeia. It lists 2294 drugs from plants, animal extracts, rocks, salts, and minerals. The plant section provides different names and therapeutic action of 312 herbs.
Furthermore, it gives information on plant taste, potency, action, and use - directly translated from ancient medical texts such as the rGyud-bZhi and the Shel-gong Shelpreng - providing thereby, an invaluable insight into a selection of medicinal herbs that have played such a vital role in the healthcare of Tibetans for so many centuries.
Contents
Preface
Medicinal Plants
Notes
Glossary
References
Index of Latin Names
Index of Tibetan Phonetics
Index of Tibetan Names