In the time of King Khri-srong Dehutsán, in the eighth or ninth century after Christ, a Tibetan interpreter, during his residence in Kashmir, with the assistance of a pandit who was himself a physician, made the translation into his native tongue, and presented the work to the said king. The treatise was subsequently revised and augmented by other learned men, and generally accepted as an authority. It is stated that besides this there are about forty other works on medicine in Tibet, not counting the five volumes embodied in the great encyclopædia, the Stangyur.
The principal medical school of Tibet is in Chák-phuri, a monastery near Lassa. Two smaller ones, called Chák-Zúr, are in the interior of the country.
A. The First Part
is called the root or basis of the medical treatise, and is divided into six chapters.
I. The first chapter describes how, in a forest abounding in medicinal plants, Shakya transformed himself into a chief physician, and there, in a magnificent palace, delivered his instructions, having for his pupils the gods, the sages, and a large number of orthodox men and also heretics.
II. In the second chapter Shakya speaks thus:—
Friends! be it known to you that every human creature who wishes to remain in health, and such also as desire to cure disease and to prolong life, must be instructed in the science of medicine. So also he that seeks after morality, [[202]]virtue, wealth or happiness, and seeks to be delivered from the miseries of sickness, as also such a one as wishes to be honoured and respected by others, must be taught the art of healing. He must be instructed on the four parts of the medical science, which are as follows:—
The theory, the explanation, the instruction, and the manual operation requisite for the practice. He must likewise be specially instructed in the eight branches of healing, namely:—
- 1. The treatment of the body as a whole.
- 2. The treatment of diseases of childhood.
- 3. Of diseases of women.
- 4. Of diseases caused by evil spirits (mental diseases).
- 5. Of wounds inflicted with a knife or spear.
- 6. Of venomous or poisonous infections.
- 7. Of the infirmities of old age.
- 8. How to increase the power of manhood.
The number of chapters in the whole treatise amounts to 156.