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world. We are only now just beginning to tap the knowledge Tibetan Medicine has of the treatment of psychosomatic illnesses.
The Buddhist medical texts state that all disease originates in the mind. A person’s basic cravings, anger, and slothfulness of the mind can have a negative effect on their body. Since the root of all disease, and of all suffering, is the mind, Tibetan doctors always ask themselves first, what is this patient's mood? How is the suffering expressed? Is it anger? Is it sluggishness? Is it constant worrying and craving for something different in life?” This suffering of the mind will affect each organ of the body differently, depending on its quality. Dr. Jamling expressed an important distinction about suffering: In the West . . . suffering is seen as a bad thing . . . But this is not always so. Imbalance in the body/mind is not necessarily a negative thing. A Tibetan doctor may say to a patient that the actual mental affective state itself is fortunate, as it is a milestone of awareness that can help the patient more firmly put their foot on the path of enlightenment, the path to understanding the nature of their own mind. In Tibetan Medicine, suffering is seen as an opportunity to discover more about oneself, to grow and expand one’s consciousness. While attending a Buddhist gathering in a small temple courtyard in Northern India in 1997, a small and frail- looking Lama returning from the United States told an interesting story that has since made its way around Buddhist circles, with varying details:
A medical doctor, a surgeon of known repute, was in a terrible car accident. His car was hit head-on by a drunk driver, and he swerved to the other side of the highway, tipping his car over twice, thus causing a monumental 16-car accident. The man’s car
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