Thanks to Buddhism, the specialised system of Tibetan monastic education spread in Transbaikalia. In classical Buddhist education the study of medicine is considered to be very important. Tibetan physicians are also called Emchis (Tib. em chi), which is a Mongolian word, used to address the traditional Tibetan doctors in Tibet, Mongolia and Buryatia. They studied under the personal guidance of qualified teachers. The knowledge they acquired depended on the qualification of each teacher.

     In 1712, one hundred and fifty Tibetan and Mongolian monks arrived in Transbaikalia. One of them was the highly educated Tibetan Lama Chokyi Nawang Puntshog (Tib. chos  kyi  ngag dbang phun tsogs). He settled among the Selenginsk Buryats in the southern region of the country. Being a Lama and also an Emchi he played an extremely important role in the introduction of Buddhist philosophy and traditional Tibetan medicine in Buryatia.

     At the beginning of the 18th century, many Buryats underwent the hardships of travelling to Tibet to obtain Buddhist education and the traditional medical training in the most prestigious monastic universities. The Selenginsk Buryat, Damba Dorje Zayaev, spent seven years to study Tibetan medicine in Lhasa. On returning to Buryatia, Damba Dorje Zayaev, became a well-known Buddhist scholar and Emchi. Moreover, he became the first Kenpo Lama (Tib. mkhan po bla ma), the Head of the Buryat Buddhists.

     The Tibetan and Mongolian Lamas who settled in Transbaikalia were
great Buddhist masters and had a large number of Buryat disciples. In 1721, one of the talented Selenginsk Buryats, Agaltayev, journeyed to Urga, the former capital of Mongolia, for training in Buddhism and Tibetan medicine.
 
     By tradition, the Buryat monastic schools or colleges, known as Datsan (Tib. gra tsang), were important centres of education and culture. In 1730, the Tsongolsky Datsan was founded, where Chokyi Nawang Phuntshog assumed the status of the head of the yellow faith. Several philosophical faculties were initiated here, following the tradition of the famous Tibetan Buddhist monastery Drepung, situated west of Lhasa. Hence, Tsongolsky Datsan was named ‘Tsongol Drepung’. In 1741, following the order of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, Buddhism was officially recognised in the Russian empire. In 1991, Buryats celebrated the 250th anniversary of the official recognition of Buddhism in Russia. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was the guest of honour on the occasion.

     The Buryat Datsans that were established in the 18th century are: Sartulsky Datsan (1707), Tsongolsky Datsan (1730) and Gusinoozersky (1741). The latter was the residence of the Kenpo Lama. It remained the main seat of the Kenpo Lama of Buryat Buddhists until the 1930s.

     In 1869, the first Buryat medical faculty was founded by the Mongolian Lama Emchi Chos Menrampa (Tib. em chi chos sman ram pa) at the Tsugolsky Datsan, in the Chita region, bordering China. Emchi Chos Menrampa had been invited by G. Zh. Tuguldurov, the son of Aginsk Taisha, the head of the Aginsk district.
 
    The medical education at Tsugolsky Datsan followed the system of the medical faculty of Labrang monastery in Amdo, Eastern Tibet. The medical students of these Buddhist monastic schools had to memorise a large number of medical texts. To understand and comprehend the fundamental principles of Tibetan medicine, they studied the main medical treatise, Gyushi (Tib. rgyud bzhi), with its various commentaries. They are still of major importance to medical students today, in Tibet, India, Mongolia and Buryatia. These had been written in the different schools of medieval Tibet. Pharmacological and pharmacognostic treatises and medical prescriptions (Tib. sman sbyor) were also incorporated in the curricula of these medical faculties. Visual teaching aids in the form of medical thankas supplemented the study and memorising.

     The medical thanka set, which had been kept at the Atsgatsky Datsan till 1936, before being taken to the Museum of History, named after M. N. Khangalov, in Ulan-Ude, was published, entitled “Atlas of Tibetan Medicine” (Moscow 1994). The same set was also published under the title of “Tibetan Medical Paintings” (London 1992). Special attention had been given to the anatomical plates for the study of the anatomical topography of the inner organs, channels, veins and muscles.

     The students of the Menpa Datsans (Tib. sman pa gra tsang) took part in the yearly herb expeditions to identify and collect the raw materials. All medicines were prepared by hand, and physicians along with their students and assistants were involved in this long process. In Buryatia, only powder and decoctions were used, no pills. Special attention was given to the rules of collecting, drying and storing the herbs. Consequently, only a small amount of fresh medicines was available to the patients, and there was no question of mass production. Unfortunately, nowadays with the increasing popularity of Tibetan medicine all over the world, a mechanical mass production has set in, but on the cost of quality. Traditional Emchis in Buryatia used to keep their hand-made powdered medicines in special air-tight leather bags. When they went to visit a serious patient they took along their entire pharmacy in one bag or container and were able to apply the needed compounds on the spot.

     The death of the Mongolian Emchi Chos Menrampa led to an interruption in the teachings of Tibetan medicine in Buryatia and the Chita region. Only after 1899, one of his students, the highly educated Buryat Buddhist scholar Darma Biliktuyev, continued the medical teachings in the Chita region.

     One of the most distinguished and skilful graduates of the Aginsky Buddhist monastery, situated in the Chita region, was Sultim Badmaev, known under his Christian name Alexander Aleksandrovich. A privately trained skilled Emchi, he was known as one of the chief monks of the Aginsky Datsan.

     In 1857, Sultim Badmaev arrived in St. Petersburg. Thanks to his deep efforts and great activities Tibetan medicine became very popular in the capital of the Russian empire. By 1860, Doctor Badmaev had opened his own private Tibetan clinic and the first Tibetan pharmacy in St. Petersburg.

     Sultim’s youngest brother Zhamsaran (his Christian name was Pyotr Aleksandrovich) also came to St. Petersburg. He graduated from the Irkutsk Gymnasium with the Golden Medal. After his arrival in the capital, he entered St. Petersburg University, Faculty for Oriental studies, and at the same time studied Western medicine at the Imperial Military Medical Surgical Academy. Pyotr began to learn traditional Tibetan medicine under the guidance of his eldest brother Alexander. Apart from practising Tibetan medicine, Pyotr worked on the translation of the fundamental treatise of Tibetan medicine, the Gyushi, into the Russian language, which was published in 1898 and in 1903.(1) After the death of his brother Alexander, Pyotr Alexandrovich entered a period in his life where he dedicated most of his time to the diagnosis and treatment of Tibetan medicine, in St. Petersburg.

     In 1884, a medical school was established at the Aginsky Buddhist monastery, from where Sultim Badmaev had graduated in Buddhist philosophy in the 1850s. Nearly three decades later, in 1913, the medical faculty of the Atsagatsky Datsan was founded by Agvan Dorjiev, the most outstanding great Buryat scholar, politician and teacher. Agvan Dorjiev, who was one of the tutors of the XIIIth Dalai Lama,  played a very important role in the relationship between the Russian Tsar and the XIIIth Dalai Lama. The Atsagatsky Datsan which is situated about 40 km south of Ulan-Ude, was, with almost 60 students, one of the largest medical schools in Buryatia.

     The Datsan was named after a nearby village. The area of the Atsagat village is naturally shaped in the form of a mandala and is extremely powerful and energetic. Within its radiance medicinal grasses and curative plants grow and are used for the composition of  multi-compound formulae of Tibetan medicines. The Emchis of the Atsagatsky Datsan had a great expertise about the local flora. Crystal-clear spring healing water (arshan in the Buryat language) from the Atsagat area is known for its healing effect on many diseases, especially skin disorders.

     Large publishing houses were an integral part of the Buryat Datsans. Many Buddhist treatises including medical texts were published in Tibetan and Mongolian languages. Traditionally, Buryats published the Mongolian and Tibetan texts on Russian paper, which was mainly produced in the Sumkin’s factories. Before the October Revolution of 1917, many Sumkin’s paper factories existed all over Russia. Some of them were located at Irkutsk. They produced very high-quality paper, which was especially suitable for printing xylographs. For example, a large number of the block prints of the Aginsky edition were printed on paper which was manufactured by the Sumkin’s factories number six and seven. Each folio of the block prints shows the special seal of the respective factory. The printing house of the Aginsky Datsan was known all over Transbaikalia for its high-quality paper and clear printing. The most important Tibetan medical treatises were published at the Aginsky Datsan (see Table I).

     A complete catalogue of the books printed at the Aginsky Datsan is kept - as a manuscript as well as a block print - at the Manuscript Department of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of  Social Sciences) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, at Ulan-Ude, as well as in  some private collections.

     The Buryat Emchis had analysed the experiences of traditional Tibetan physicians in great detail, and tried to adapt classical Tibetan medical knowledge to their local conditions. Qualified Buryat Emchis composed several books of medical prescriptions, written in Tibetan. The most wide-spread prescription books were for example “The Large Formulary of the Aginsky Datsan” (2) and “The Formulary” of Ch. Iroltuyev. They were completed with special references to plant substitutes of the Transbaikalian area. Also the Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary of medical terms, composed in 1867 by G. Zh. Tuguldurov, was very popular, because it was extremely useful for translating Tibetan medical texts into the old Mongolian language which uses a vertical script. (3)

     The translation of the main medical texts into the old Mongolian vertical script and Buryat languages show that Buryat Emchis took deep interest in traditional Tibetan medical literature. The Emchis understood that it is not possible to study Tibetan medicine without a thorough knowledge of the original medical treatises, that had been composed by eminent scholars and physicians of medieval Tibet. Thus, some fundamental Tibetan medical treatises and their commentaries were translated into old Mongolian and published at various Buryat Datsans. Those publications played a very important role in spreading the Tibetan medical science in the Transbaikalian region, but most of their translators remained anonymous. The Mongolian translations were easier to comprehend for Buryat Emchis as well as for the students of Menpa Datsans.

     The Mongolian translation of the Gyushi was published at the Aginsky, Egetuisky and Kizhinginsky Datsans. The Manag Lhantab (Tib. man ngag lhan thabs) by Desi Sangye Gyatso (Tib. sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtso; 1653-1705) was printed at the Aginsky and Egetuisky Datsans. The Mongolian translation of Mepoi Shellung (Tib. mes po’i shel lung) by Zurkhar Lodo Gyalpo (Tib. zur mkhar glo gro rgyal po, 1509 - 1579) is available, but unfortunately the place of publication is not mentioned. The majority of the medical treatises in the Tibetan and Mongolian languages were published by the Buryat Datsans from the mid 19th century until the 1930s.

     In 1968, thanks to the active involvement of P. B. Baldanzhapov, research on Tibetan medicine was initiated at the Buryat Scientific Centre of the Siberian Branch of the former USSR Academy of Sciences. Highly educated Buddhist scholars were invited to join the Buryat Scientific Centre. They were able to start scientific investigations in the field of Tibetan medicine. In this regard I would like to mention the names of some outstanding Buddhist scholars and physicians: D. N. Badmaev, L. Ya. Yampilov, B. M. Dashiyev, G. Lenkhoboyev, Zh. Tsibenov, Zh. Zhapov, G. Gombozhapov and B. R. Rinchinov. All of them graduated from the various Buryat Buddhist monasteries and made exceptional efforts in the translation of the medical texts from Tibetan into Mongolian and facilitated the study and research of Tibetan medicine.

     Even nowadays, the tradition of Tibetan medicine is popular in Buryatia. Renowned graduate doctors in Tibetan medicine from the Ganden Buddhist school in Ulan-Bator are the Buryat Emchis Ch. D. Dugarov, D. Ayusheyev, the present Kenpo Lama and others. These Emchis are able to heal many serious and chronic ailments which cannot be cured by allopathic medicine. Emchi Dugarov also received several scholarships from the Swiss firm PADMA AG for teaching Tibetan medicine to physicians who graduated from different medical institutes in Russia. He also attended the International Congress on Tibetan medicine in Washington DC, in November 1998.

     I would like to conclude with the wise words of the most eminent Buryat traditional Tibetan physician, Pyotr Alexandrovich Badmaev. He said, that Tibetan medicine, this wonderful phenomenon in the culture of medieval Tibetan, will be the wealth of the civilised world, when Western educated specialists will start to study and research on it. I feel, the time is now right for the profound study, deep research and applied practice of Tibetan medicine throughout the world.

(1) bdud rtzi snying po yan lag brgyad pa gsangs ba man ngag gyi rgyud. 4 volumes, 401 folios [vol. 1: 1-9a; vol. 2: 1-49a,1 3: 1-272b,3; vol. 4: 1-69b,6; colophon: 69b,6 -70af.]  (printed on paper of Sumkin’s factory No. 7; reprinted from the Grathang edition; Russian translations of the 1st, 2nd, 4th volume as well as 62 chapters of the 3rd volume were prepared from this edition by D. Dashiev.)
(2) gso ba rig pa’i bstan bcos sman bla’i dgangs rgyan rgyud bzhi’i gsal byed baidurya sngon po’i ma li ka;
4 volumes, 1284 folios. vol.1: 43; vol.2: 312; vol.3: 776; vol.4: 251f.
(3) bdud rtzi snying po yan lag brgyad pa man ngag yon tan rgyud kyi lhan thabs zug rngu’i tza gdung sel ba’i ka  dpu ra dus min ‘chi zhags gcod pa’i ral gri;
460 folios.
(4) bdud rtzi sman gyi rnam dbye ngo bo rgyas par bshad pa dri med shel ‘phreng;
238 folios.
(5) lag len gces rin bstus pa sman kun bcud du bsgrub pa’i las kyi kun gsal snang mdzod;
59 folios.
(6) dbyad mchog gtar ba’i gdams pa nyes ‘khrugs rnyog drung ‘byin byed rka rke ta  la ;
22 folios.
(7) me btza’i gdams pa rgyas spros gsal ston shel dkar me long;
10 folios.
(8) dpal ldan rtza rgyud kyi don ma lus dpe don ljon shing gi tsul du bston pa;
8 folios.
(9)lhan thabs kyi zhal she sbyor tsad sogs ma spas lhug pa bshad pa rin chen gser gyi lde mig; 52 folios.
(10) sman sbyor tsad kyi skor rnams che long tsam phyogs gcig tu bkod pa kun phan bdud rtzi’i snying po; 1
51 folios.
(11) sman gzhun bshad pa’i sman rnams kyi mngon brjod rnams bkrol pa (Brief title:  brda yig min don gsal ba’i sgron me;
220 folios. composed in 1867.
 

Notes:
(1) Badmaev, Pyotr Alexandrovich. “On the System of Medical Science of Tibet” (in Russian). St. Petersburg 1898, issue 1, 159p.; and “The main guidance on medical science of Tibet “Gyushi” in the new translation of P.A. Badmaev with an introduction explaining the fundamentals of Tibetan medical science” (in Russian).  St. Petersburg 1903, 156p.
(2) Sumati Prajna (Lobsang Sherab).  sman sbyor tsad kyi skor rnams che long tsam phyogs gcig tu bkod pa kun phan bdud rtzi’i snying po. (The “Large Formulae of the Aginsky Datsan-The Amrita Extract Beneficial for Everybody - Collection of Basic Formulae”.) Xylograph of the Aginsky Datsan, 151 folios, 6.5 x 32 cm.
(3) Galsan Zhimba Tuguldurov. sman gzhun bshad pa’i sman rnams kyi mngon brjod rnams bkrol pa  “Synonymy of the names of the medicinal raw material. Explanation of the synonyms of the medicines described in the medical treatises.” (Brief title: brda yig min don gsal ba’i sgron me  “Dictionary of the synonyms entitled ‘Bright Lamp’ “) Xylograph of the Aginsky Datsan, compiled in 1867. 220 folios.

NATALIA BOLSOKHOEVA, born in Ulan-Ude, graduated form Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) University in 1967. Specialised in Tibetan medieval literature (Ph.D.), she has been a researcher at the Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (former Institute of Social Sciences) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Ulan-Ude. Since 1982, she has been researching Tibetan culture in Nepal with special reference to Tibetan medicine. She authored several books, among them “Introduction to the Studies of Tibetan Medical Sources” (Kathmandu, 1993) and “Tibetan Medicine in Nepal” (St. Petersburg, 1994). She has more than 90 articles to her credit and co-authored the Russian version of “Atlas of Tibetan Medicine” (Moscow, 1994) and “The Buddha’s Art of Healing” (Rizzoli, New York, 1998).

Natalia  Bolsokhoeva
Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 6, Sakhyanovoi Street
Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, Russia
phone: (res.) 007 (3012) 33 43 53
e-mail: ofp at bsc.buriatia.ru
 

Acknowledgment
This paper was prepared with the kind support of the Russian Humanistic Scientific Fund of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with a generous grant for the project “Buddhist Philosophy and Buddhist Civilisation” (97-3-04428).