I n t r o d u c t i o n

      The Tibetan medical science, in Tibetan known as Soba Rigpa (Tib. gso ba rig pa),  or in brief, Sorig (Tib. gso rig), was for about two hundred years predominated by two medical traditions. These had developed from the 15th century onwards and were known as the Northern School, or Janglug (Tib. byang lugs, lit. ‘the Northern tradition’) and the Southern School, or Zurlug (Tib. zur lugs, lit. ‘the Southern tradition’).(1) This paper describes their development, decline and transformation along with their historical background.

H i s t o r i c a l   B a c k g r o u n d

The two medical schools Janglug and Zurlug developed as a result of eight hundred years of documented medical history in Tibet, beginning with the first Tibetan medical school at the time of King Srongtsan Ganpo (Tib. srong btsan sgam po; 619-650) in the 7th century AD, which was known as “Old Medical School”. The school was created by foreign physicians, foremost from China, India and Persia, with the initiative of King Srongtsan Ganpo. At that time, the available medical literature was translated from the various languages into Tibetan. This school existed until the reign of King Meagsom (Tib. me ‘ag tsom; full name: mes chen po khri lde ag tsom) also known as Tride Tsugtsen (Tib. khri lde gtsug btsan; 705-755). The King’s Chinese wife was accompanied by her personal physicians, who translated numerous medical works, which they had brought along from China, into Tibetan. But the foreign medical texts were of no practical use in the climatic and geographical conditions of Tibet, and the school died out. The Buddhist culture, however, which had been introduced from India, was adopted by the Tibetans, and Buddhism was recognised as the state religion of Tibet in 787 AD. Tibetan indigenous folk medicine existed in continuous oral traditions.

In the  8th century, Yuthog Yontan Gonpo the Elder (Tib. gyu thog yon tan mgon po snying ma; 708-833) was heading the “New Medical School” as one of the nine private court physicians (Tib. rgyal po’i bla sman dgu) (2) of King Trisong Deutsen (Tib. khri srong lde’u btsan; 755-797). He received the teachings of the Gyushi (Tib. rgyud bzhi), which later became the main medical treatise of Tibetan medicine, from the Indian master Vairocana. This period was called the ‘golden age of Tibetan medicine’ and led to a wide-spread dissemination of Tibetan medical literature and clinical experience. In central Tibet, the entire heritage of the Dharma kings was destroyed when Langdarma (Tib. glang dar ma;  838-842) became King of Tibet, and no medical literature survived from that time.

But in Western Tibet, the tradition continued. During the 11th century, the King of Guge, Yesheod (Tib. ye shes ‘od), was closely related with the renowned Buddhist scholar, translator and editor, Rinchen Zangpo (Tib. rin chen bzang po; 958-1055). Rinchen Zangpo gave new inspiration to the most influential medical school at the monastery of Tholing (Tib. mtho lding). Because of the geographical proximity to Western Tibet and the Centres of Higher Studies in North India, where Buddhism was still flourishing, Rinchen Zangpo concentrated on the translation and editing of Indian texts in collaboration with other scholars and translators. In total they translated and edited 158 texts, including medical works, such as Vagbhata’s Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita.

  From the 12th to 15th century, the main medical tradition that existed in Tibet was the school of Yuthog Yontan Gonpo the Younger (Tib. gyu thog yon tan mgon po gsar ma; 1112- 1203). It basically spread in Central Tibet. Other principalities followed different medical tradition; some of them were quite developed, such as in Western Tibet and in Sakya (Tib. sa skya), some of them were only based on oral sources and transmitted in family lineages. The Janglug and Zurlug developed during a period where new commentaries on the Gyushi were created. Differences in interpretation were reflected in the formation of the two schools, who in course of time also developed further sub-schools.

As the literal meaning suggests, the division of the two schools refer to the different regions of their dissemination or to the place of birth of their founders. The available English, German and Russian literature on this subject is indifferent. W. A. Unkrig placed the development of the two schools at the second half of the 17th century in Mongolia. (3) But the two schools never spread in Mongolia or Buryatia, as Tibetan medicine was introduced only later, at the time when both schools had already been unified by Desi Sangye Gyatso (Tib. sde srid sangs rgyas rgya msto; 1653-1705). P.A. Badmaev erroneously placed the beginning of Janglug with the birth of its founder in 1671 and Zurlug with the birth of its founder in 1679; he mentions that both schools were practised at monasteries in Amdo, Eastern Tibet.(4) Terry Clifford dated the origin of the two schools in the 14th century referring to the names of the two founder physicians Jangpa (Tib. byang pa) and Zurkhapa (Tib. zur mkhar pa).(5) She must have meant Jangdag Namgyal Trazang (Tib. byang bdag rnam rgyal grags bzang; 1395-1475) and Zurkha Nyamnyi Dorjee (Tib. zur mkar mnyam nyid rdo rje; 1439-1475), both of them active physicians and scholars, but of the early and mid 15th century. In the “Blue Annals” the terms byang and zur appear in names of families that were introduced to Buddhist Tantra in the 11th and 13th century respectively.(6)
 

 T h e   J  a n g l u g   S c h o o l

  Presumably named the ‘Northern Tradition’ (byang lugs) after the region, Janglug was also known as the ‘Upper Tradition’ (stod lugs). (7) The founder of this school was Jangdag Namgyal Trazang who lived from 1395 to 1475.  He was born into the family lineage of King Se’u Gyalpo of Minyag (Tib. mi nyag se’u rgyal po’i gdung brgyud). During his eighty years of life, he authored many treatises on Tibetan medicine, mainly commentaries on the four volumes of the Gyushi (Tib. rgyud bzhi). The Janglug lineage was transmitted from teacher to disciple, which at times was a father-son relation, and can be traced back through seven generations down to the Regent of the Vth Dalai Lama, Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705).(8) Another famous representative of the Janglug lineage was Tashi Palsang (Tib. bkra shis dpal bzang). He was the son of Namgyal Tragzangs’ student and medical lineage-holder Minyima Tongwa (Tib. gso rig ‘dzin pa mi’i nyi ma mthong ba), who authored twelve works on Tibetan medicine. (9) Tashi Palsang followed the footsteps of his father and wrote five extensive commentaries on the Gyushi. (10)
The beginning of the Janglug can be placed about half a century earlier than the Zurlug and is usually mentioned first (Tib. byang zur). But the Janglug did not last longer than the 17th century. And Sangye Gyatso seemed to have played a significant role in this development.

The regent was unbiased towards any of the schools and studied both traditions.(11) The Janglug lineage tree of Pasang Yonten places Sangye Gyatso into the seventh generation after its founder, Jangdag Namgyal Trazang (see table I) and in the ninth generation after Zurkha Nyamnyi Dorjee (see table II). The regent’s most famous medical treatises Vaidurya Ngonpo, Khog ‘bugs and Lhan thabs quote Janglug literature on several occasions but also criticise them.(12) From the information available, Sangye Gyatso must have studied both traditions critically, but his judgement and influence must have been strong enough to prevent Janglug medical literature from being published or reprinted.
Manfred Taube states that, “It seems that after Sangye Gyatso the teaching of the Janglug turned more and more into the background whereas the treatises of the Zurlug continued to be published after the 17th century and were still of some importance in the medical classes.”(13)  Consequently, also historical accounts of the 17th century, for example the thob yig by the Mongolian Lama Jaya Pandita (born 1642) do not even mention Janglug physicians, nor their medical works.(14) However, two centuries later, Akhu Rinpoche Sherab Gyatso (Tib. a khu rin po che shes rab rgya mtso; 1803-1875) in the medical section of his “Accounts of rare Literature”(15) mentions thirteen works of the Janglug founder Namgyal Trazang.

Another reason for the decline of the Janglug around the 17th century, might have been that the last two representatives mentioned in the lineage tree(16) are not carrying the name Janglug anymore. They are known as physicians of a sub-school of Janglug, called Nyapa Hlunding (Tib. gnya’ pa lhun sdings, lit. ‘mountain-plateau sub-school’), and are the direct predecessors of Sangye Gyatso. In fact, Sangye Gyatso in his own writings mentions the Hlunding tradition more often than the Janglug.(17) He studied the second and third Tantra of the Gyushi with Hlunding Namgyal Dorjee (Tib. lhun sdings rnam rgyal rdo rje),(18) who was a great physician as well as thanka painter. He painted the sixth and seventh plates of the “Tibetan Medical Thankas” (Lhasa Version).(19)

T h e   Z u r l u g   S c h o o l

The medical school Zurlug was founded about half a century after the Janglug school by Zurkha Nyamnyi Dorjee (Tib. zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje). Nyamnyi Dorjee  was born in 1439 into the lineage of the Gyekar physicians (Tib. gyer dkar gyi sman pa’i rigs) who were known to have emanated from the Gods, at Zurkha of Lathog (Tib. zur mkhar kyi  la thog), a place in East Dagpo(20) which lies in the south-east of the province ‘Ü’ (Tib. dbus). Zurkha literally means ‘the citadel on the edge’ (of a mountain) and Lathog ‘mountain pass summit’.(21)

From the age of ten, Zurkha Nyamnyi Dorjee, who also became well known as Abo Choje (Tib. a bo chos rje), felt very close to the spiritual medical teachings of the Yuthog Nyingthig (Tib. gyu thog snying thig). In his dreams he received a message that the sacred medical texts of the Gyushi were filled with impurities through secondary interpolations. He understood his mission as to revise and correct them. Being thus deeply motivated, he composed various medical commentaries correcting previous mistakes. He even went back to use ancient Indian sources, such as a commentary on the Kalachakra Tantra (Tib. dpal dus kyi ‘khor lo’i ‘grel bshad). The Kalachakra Tantra had entered Tibet in 1027 AD. Zurkha Nyamnyi Dorjee also organised national medical seminars inviting doctors from different regions to teach and discuss practical aspects of medicine.(22)  Through him a door opened to the following generations to receive the transmission of the medical tradition again in a more refined way. Three of his works were incorporated into the sixth section of the Damkor (Tib. dams skor) of the Yuthog Nyingthig.(23) His most famous work is the Jeba Ringsel (Tib. bye ba ring bsrel). He died in 1475 at the young age of 36.

C o - e x i s t e n c e   o f   b o t h
m e d i c a l   s c h o o l s

It does not seem that both schools were only “competitive medical systems”.(24) The division was on one hand of regional character. On the other hand, many physicians received teachings from both schools and they followed the same main textbooks, e.g. the Gyushi, even though they differed in the interpretation of the root texts. Generally, commentaries written by Janglug physicians stayed within this tradition. Most students did not study the commentaries from the other tradition.(25)  But some physicians received teachings from both schools. For example: Zurkha Lodo Gyalpo (Tib. zur mkhar glo gros rgyal po; 1509-1579), author of the important commentary on the Gyushi, entitled “Oral Instruction of the Ancestor” (Tib. mes po’i zhal lung), was born into the fourth generation after Nyamnyi Dorjee. Though he was born and educated in Zurlug, he was also taught by Janglug physicians such as ‘the Jangpa brother(s)’ (Tib. byang pa sku mched).(26) Thus, during the 16th century there must have been some considerable exchange between both traditions.

According to Fernand Meyer, there were not so many differences between the two schools when it came to the textual basis but there were divergences at the level of ordinary physicians in details of practice and in the identification of certain medicinal plants.(27)

Wang Lei, author of the introductory research article and co-translator and co-compiler of the “Tibetan Medical Thangka of the Four Medical Tantras” mentions that “the Northern school was good at portraying medical figures while the Southern school, good at portraying medicaments.” In spite of their differences in art styles, both schools produced a large amount of medical thankas.(28)

Until today in the prevailing discussion on the origin of the Gyushi, the Janglug accepted the view that they were the authentic teachings of the Buddha (Tib. bka’) whereas the majority of the Zurlug supported the statement that the Gyushi belonged to later commentaries of Tibetan origin (Tib. bsten bcos), though they did not deny their strong Indian influence.(29)

Sangye Gyatso was the first who unified the two schools after two hundred years of their peaceful co-existence. Even though in the 16th century, the main representative of the Zurlug, Zurkha Lodo Gyalpo, received the initiations of both traditions, he did not attempt to unify the two schools. He also did not have the political power to do so, as Tibet was split into many principalities. At the time of Sangye Gyatso, Tibet was a feudal-theocratic state, established by the Vth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (Tib. ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtso; 1617-1682). Centrally ruled from Lhasa, the regent had the power, means and governmental support to unify both schools by establishing the first central medical institution in 1696, called Chakpori (Tib. lcag po ri). Monks and lay men from all over Tibet were admitted to Chakpori and over the next two hundred years it remained the stronghold of medical science in Tibet.

As each century demands innovations for serving the evolutionary process of its own time, Tibetan medicine also needed to be adjusted to the 20th century. The initiative of the XIIIth Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso (Tib. thub bstan rgya mtso; 1876-1933) and the broad-minded writings and administrative qualities of the renowned physician Kyenrab Norbu (Tib. mkhyen rab nor bu; 1883-1962), who himself graduated from Chakpori, led to the foundation of Men-Tsee-Khang (Tib. sman rtzi khang) in Lhasa, in 1916.

Occasionally, family traditions carried on the Janglug and Zurlug. Today, Dr. Yeshe Donden (born 1929), who is continuing the practice of several generations of his family tradition, is the most famous representative of Zurlug. Alongside his own lineage, he received his medical training at Men-Tsee-Khang in Lhasa from 1939-1947 and was the personal physician to His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (Tib. bstan ‘dzin rgya tso;  born 1935)  from 1960 to 1980.(30)

C o n c l u s i o n

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the two medical schools of Jang and Zur held a significant position in the medical culture of Tibet. Both schools, in their peaceful co-existence, had an important impact on the development of Sorig in Tibet because their representatives were exceptional physicians with critical approaches towards their contemporary medical science. They held different views in revising the then available medical literature and compiling various commentaries on the Gyushi. Despite their differences in interpretation of the Gyushi, practical techniques, styles of thanka painting and preparation of medical compounds, the schools equally influenced Tibetan medical science for about two hundred years. As Manfred Taube puts it, “The fact that in the Tibetan literature both traditions are often mentioned together as byang zur, leads to the assumption that both of them existed with an equal status next to each other, for a longer period of time”.(31)  Both schools were united by Sangye Gyatso at the end of the 17th century, ushering their accumulated knowledge into a new period of the history of medicine in Tibet. Privately, some physicians continued to receive teachings and lineages from the two schools, which thus have survived till today in some family traditions.
 
 

1.   byang bdag rnam rgyal grags bzang
2.   mi’i nyi ma mthong ba don ldan
3.   byang pa bkra shis dpal bzang
4.   gnya’ rigs bstan pa dar rgyas
5.   bsod nams chos ‘phel
6.   lhun ldings bdud rtzi ‘gyur med
7.   lhun ldings smra ba’i dbang po rnam rgyal rdo rje
8.   sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtso

1.   zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje
2.   gyer rigs bkra shis dbang phyug
3.   bsod nams bzang po
4.   rdzogs chen bsod nams rin chen
5.  ‘phrin las don yod
6.   snying phu ba rig ‘dzin snying po
7.   gsungs sprul tsul khrims rdo rje
8.   rig ‘dzin ‘phrin las lhun grub
9.   bee ro’i yang srid khyab bdag ‘gyur med rdo rje
10. sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtso

Notes

(1) Gyatso, Sangye. gso rig sman gyi kgog ‘bugs. Dharamsala 1994. p329.
(2) Thinle Jampa. gangs ldzong gso rig bstan pa’i nyin byed rim byon gyi rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs zhes bya ba. Tibetan Medical Institute, Dharamsala, 1991. p34.
(3) Unkrig, Wilhelm Alexander. Introduction, Die Tibetische Medizinphilosophie by Korvin-Krasinsky, Origo Verlag, Zuerich 1953.
(4) Badmaev, Pyotr. The Fundamentals of the medical science of Tibet; Gyushi. Moscow 1991, p56. which is a reprint of: Glavnoe rukovodstvo po vrachebnoy nauke Tibeta Zhud-shi v novom perevode P.A. Badmayeva s ego vvedeniem, raz’yasnyajuscim osnovy tibetskoy vracebnoy nauki (The main guidance of medical science of Tibet Gyushi in the new translation by P.A. Badmaev with his introduction to clarify the fundamentals of Tibetan medical science) St. Petersburg, 1903.
(5) Clifford, Terry. Tibetische Heilkunst. O. W. Barth Verlag. Bern, München, Wien 1989. p88.
(6) Roerich, George. The Blue Annals. Delhi 1995.
(7) Yonten, Pasang. bod gyi gso ba rig pa’i lo rgyus kyi bang mdzod gyu thog bla ma dran pa’i pho nya, Leh 1986, p107, writes: “yul gyi sgo nas byang lugs sam stod lugs zhes”.
(8) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p107.
(9) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p99.
(10) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p100.
(11) Meyer, Fernand. Introduction. Tibetan Medical Paintings. Serindia, London 1992. p6.
(12) Taube, Manfred. Beiträge zur Geschichte der medizinischen Literatur Tibets. (Contributions to the History of Tibetan Medical Literature) St. Augustin Verlag, 1981, p53.
(13) Taube, Manfred. op.cit. p53.
(14) Taube, Manfred. op.cit. p53.
(15) Tibetan title: dpe rgyun dkon pa ‘ga zhig gi tho yig don gnyer yid kyi kunda bzhad pa’i zla ‘od ‘bum gyi snye ma, edited by Lokesh Chandra, New-Delhi 1963, III, 503-601.
(16) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p107.
(17) Taube, Manfred. op.cit. p52.
(18) Thinle Jampa. op.cit. p317.
(19) Tibetan Medical Thangka of the Four Medical Tantras. People’s Publishing House of Tibet, 1988, p3-4; p91.
(20) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. pp 108, mentions: shar dwags po sa’i cha la thog zur mkhar.
  Compare also Taube, op.cit. p56.
(21) Taube, Manfred. op.cit. p51.
(22) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p109-110.
(23) Taube, Manfred. op.cit. p57.
(24) Clifford, Terry. op.cit. p88.
(25) Bolsokhoeva, Natalia. The Medical Schools in Medieval Tibet (based on the Material of the Text on the Histroy of Tibetan Medicine “Khog-’bugs”.) in: Tibetan Medicine. History, Methodology of the Studies and the Perspective of its Use (in Russian) Ulan-Ude, 1989. pp63-68.
(26) Thinle, Jampa. op.cit. p218. Note: Pasang Yonten suggests this being the main Janglug representative Tashi Palsang (Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p112) who according to my calculations above was born around 1459 and could have taught Lodo Gyalpo (born 1509) as an experienced teacher in old age. But Jampa Thinle mentions both names seperately, stating that the Jangpa brother(s) were Lodo Gyalpo’s teachers, following the direct lineage of Tashi Palsang.
(27) Meyer, Fernand. op.cit. p6.
(28) Wang Lei. Introduction. Tibetan Medical Thangka of the Four Medical Tantras. People’s Publishing House of Tibet, 1988, p6.
(29) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. pp65.
(30) Hopkins, Jeffrey. (ed.) Preface. Health through Balance. Ithaca, New York. 1986.p10.
(31) Taube, Manfred. op.cit. p52.
(32) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p107.
(33) Yonten, Pasang. op.cit. p124.
 

BARBARA GERKE, German, first came to India in 1988. She went to Dharamsala and studied the Tibetan language and Tibetan medicine, first with Dr. Barry Clark, later with Dr. Lama Trogawa Rinpoche at the Chakpori Medical Institute in Darjeeling. Furthermore, she pursued her Tibetan studies at Visva Bharati and North Bengal University, from where she obtained a diploma and degree in Tibetan Language and Literature. Since 1995, she has been mainly living in Kalimpong where she founded the International Trust for Traditional Medicine (ITTM). Presently she is co-ordinating ITTM research projects  and pursuing her own research on Tibetan medical literature. She is editor of AyurVijnana.
 

Barbara Gerke
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