Spreading the word

Tibetan medicine is not expensive. There are usually no fixed medical fees a patient needs to pay a Tibetan doctor who is not registered with regular hospitals in Tibetan communities.

Patients pay according to their financial capacity, and the doctor will still treat them even if a patient cannot afford to pay anything.

In Tibetan culture, if you can donate herbal medicines to a traditional doctor to help others, it is considered a meritorious act that will bring you future benefits.

"A reputable Tibetan doctor is a symbol of kindness in the community who can attract donations of herbal medicine that help reduce the medical costs of other patients," said Nimajiangcai.

While Tibetan medicine still retains an air of mysticism in China, it is gradually shedding this image in Europe. Recently, at the University of Madrid in Spain, European medical students welcomed a group of Tibetologists who gave lectures on Tibetan medical culture, the Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

As the leading Tibetan medicine research institute in China, the Beijing Tibetan Hospital issued completion certificates to 29 foreign students in May after providing a 10-day training program as part of the campaign to promote Tibetan medicine worldwide, the report said.

"Tibetan medicine is not just designed for Tibetans, but to benefit people around the world without national boundaries," said Lexinjake.

Unlike ancient times, when Tibetan medicine knowledge was passed down among a restricted circle of elites in monasteries, students nowadays are able to study Tibetan medicine in leading academies such as the Tibetan Traditional Medical College and Qinghai University Medical School.

(china.org.cn November 21, 2010)