AyurVijnana Vol. 7, 2000

 

Ordained Nun, Doctor of Tibetan Medicine, opens New Horizons
in Ladakh
 

INTERVIEW WITH THE VENERABLE
DOCTOR TSERING PALMO
 

by Zelda Klapper

This interview was conducted on August 23, 1999 at the Ladakhi Nuns Association office in Leh, Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir State), India with Dr. Tsering Palmo, a doctor of Tibetan medicine. Dr. Palmo is also an ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. She is the only nun out of a total of six Ladakhi doctors with training in Tibetan medicine. Dr. Palmo graduated from the Men-Tsee-Khang [formerly known as Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute, (TMAI)] in Dharamsala, India, in 1992. She interned at Men-Tsee-Khang-affiliated clinics in New Delhi and Kathmandu in 1993, followed by a course in Pharmacology in Dharamsala in 1994. She returned to Ladakh in 1994 and practised medicine at the Yuthok Clinic at Choglamsar, just outside of Leh. She founded the Ladakh Nuns Association in 1996 out of her desire to provide education, medical training and better living conditions for Buddhist nuns in Ladakh. She is now in private practice in Leh.

ZELDA KLAPPER: What is the current status of Tibetan medicine in Ladakh?

TSERING PALMO:  In the last few years, people have taken more of an interest in Tibetan medicine. Even Indian doctors trained in allopathic medicine have become interested. However, currently in Ladakh, there are only six doctors trained in Tibetan medicine: one monk and one other woman who were trained at Men-Tsee-Khang before me and three laymen. Salaries for Tibetan medical doctors are not on a par with allopathic trained doctors.

KLAPPER: Would you describe the traditional system of medical care in Ladakh? PALMO:  In the traditional Ladakhi medical system, there would be an Emchi (Tib. em chi or ‘doctor of Tibetan medicine’; in Ladakh called Amchi) in each village. The Emchi was not paid for services, but the villagers worked for the Emchi in their village. The village Emchis were lineage holders in the Tibetan medical tradition with training received from their parents. Later this system started to decline as patients began turning to Western medicine. Recently, patients have begun to see the disadvantages of Western medicine. As a result, many people are coming back to Tibetan medicine.

 There is an Emchi association that is working to preserve and train more students in the traditional system. There are around 300 lineage holders in Ladakh and Zangskar now. There are two nuns older than myself, Ven. Dr. Thubtan Dolma (of Temisgam) and Ven. Dr. Tsultrim Dolkar (of Taru) who were trained as lineage holders by their fathers.

KLAPPER:  Are there any medicinal plants cultivated in Ladakh?

PALMO:  Currently there is no cultivation of medicinal plants. The Emchis go out and collect herbs and then send them to Dharamsala or Changthang. There is more and more use of herbal medicine now. Large quantities are sent out of Ladakh. There is demand from New Delhi, Dharamsala and Darjeeling for the herbs, but the only areas where they grow are Tibet, Ladakh, Bhutan, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. From my own experience in collecting herbs as a student, I could see that very large quantities are being collected each year.
 I am concerned that some of the plants used in Tibetan traditional herbal medicine may be in danger of extinction. It is important to make sure that there are replacements for these herbs. I would like to see medicinal herbs cultivated in Ladakh and I am in the process of developing a proposal for the future cultivation of medicinal plants.

KLAPPER: Given the very few Ladakhis formally trained in Tibetan medicine, what motivated you to become a doctor?

PALMO: From a very young age, I wanted to be a doctor. At first I wanted to be trained in Western medicine, but when I took the entrance examination for admission to allopathic medical school, I noticed that many animals were being killed in order to teach Western medicine. I did not want to hurt animals who feel pain and cry. This is against my beliefs. So I looked for an alternative and decided to find another way.

KLAPPER:  Please tell us about your medical training.

PALMO:  After my education at the Kashmir Women’s Degree College, I decided to go to the medical college in Dharamsala [The Men-Tsee-Khang is an educational institute of the Tibetan government headquartered in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India. (Z.K.)] because there was no place in Ladakh. I had to wait six months to take the entrance examination. I was admitted to Men-Tsee-Khang in April 1988. I first had to learn the Tibetan language and grammar and worked very hard for six months to do this. All in all, it took me two years to learn to speak and understand Tibetan properly. I graduated in 1992.

 In 1993, I did a six-month internship in New Delhi under Dr. Kunga Gyurme, who is now the personal physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Then I did six more months of internship in Kathmandu under a woman doctor, Dr. Tsering Chokey. I went back to Dharamsala for a three-month course in pharmacology. Then, after completing my studies, I came home for a two-month holiday to Ladakh and met Dr. Pasang Yonten Arya, who was running the Yuthok clinic in Choglamsar. My mother wanted me to stay, so I arranged to work at the clinic and started there in July 1994.

KLAPPER: What got you interested in working with Ladakhi nuns?

PALMO:  The Central Institute of Buddhist Studies held a seminar at Jispa in Himachal Pradesh. There I saw an article discussing the condition of nuns written by an Indian man who is a lecturer at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Choglamsar. I was very shocked. I thought this article must be misleading and not correct. Then, back in Leh, I went to try and speak to the author. I did not meet him but I met a woman librarian who confirmed the truth of this report of the condition of the nuns. Many nuns are exploited by their families and are totally dependent on them. Some nuns are working as road labourers.

 At this same time, there was discussion about organising the Fifth International Buddhist Women’s Conference which was to be held in Ladakh. The Ladakh Planning Committee selected me to talk about the condition of the nuns. I did a survey and confirmed the difficult conditions and decided I wanted to do something about this situation. About 150 nuns from Ladakh attended this conference when I gave my talk. These nuns started to cry because it was the first time anyone had talked about their lives. Their suffering had been invisible; there was nobody they could talk to about their suffering. They are scattered everywhere in Ladakh, with none of their basic needs met. They have no proper living situation and can only come together at a temple on certain auspicious days and they must bring everything they need themselves. The nuns are not respected and are often looked down upon because of their lack of education.

KLAPPER: What did you do?

PALMO:  In 1996, I went to Bodh Gaya for one month to attend a training programme for Western Buddhist Sangha in the Vinaya [monastic rules for monks and nuns]. I realised the need for this kind of training for the nuns in Ladakh. After discussing the situation with a Ladakhi monk in Dharamsala, I went to see the Most Ven. Rizong Sras Jangtse Choje Rinpoche and spoke to him about the difficult conditions of the nuns. I had the vision of organising training for the nuns. Rinpoche advised me to hold a meeting with a number of influential persons to discuss the issue. So I met with scholars and Buddhist practitioners holding important positions in Ladakhi organisations and some Government officials. We agreed that the first requirement was for training the nuns in the Vinaya and then realised it was important to have an association. So the LADAKH NUNS ASSOCIATION was established on April 24, 1996.

KLAPPER: What  are the goals of the LADAKH NUNS ASSOCIATION (LNA)?

PALMO: The LNA wants to raise awareness among the nuns and to provide them with education. We want to help them develop their leadership skills and encourage them to have confidence in their abilities.
In brief, our goals are:
1. To propagate Dharma and preserve the culture and tradition in Ladakh.
2. To provide training opportunities for both monastic and secular education as well as to improve life skills.
3. To benefit their communities as teachers, doctors, nurses and as active social workers.
4. To develop skills in traditional herbal medicine so that nuns can take more responsibility for their own health care and that of others.
5. To renovate old nunneries and to establish new ones.
6. To provide opportunities for lay people to receive teaching.

KLAPPER:  How are you planning to achieve these goals?

PALMO:  We have already renovated one nunnery and opened two new nunneries. Plans for a training centre are underway. Already, an architect has drawn up building plans for the centre. Land has been donated. One plot was donated by the Indian government which we expect to house support facilities for the training centre. We expect other land to be donated in Sabo near Leh where our building will be constructed. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been kind enough to donate Rs. 200,000 for the training centre, so a building fund has been established.

KLAPPER:  Thank you for this interview.

ZELDA KLAPPER, born in New York City, (BA, MA, and doctoral studies in anthropology) has taught and lectured in anthropology at several colleges in the United States. Her work for the City of New York from 1978–1995 included directing the research, construction and administration of large-scale Civil Service examinations, as chief of an examination division. She has a long-standing interest in medicine and cross-cultural healing systems. In 1990, she began studying Tibetan painting and sculpture and Tibetan Buddhism. Widely travelled, she has taught English in China, has visited Tibet and has lived in Nepal and India where she studied Tibetan language and photographed paintings and sculptures in monasteries.

ZELDA KLAPPER
c/o Alison Klapper
1500 Bay Road, #1002
Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
E-mail: zklapper at yahoo.com


 Those who would like further information,
who wish to volunteer their time
and expertise or to make a financial
contribution are invited to write to the
LADAKH NUNS ASSOCIATION, POBox 157,
Leh, Ladakh, 194101, INDIA.

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