Page 636 - Total War on PTSD

imbalanced. This has been the foundation for great advances in our understanding of both consciousness and psychology—knowledge we are only now beginning to appreciate in the West. Tibetan Medicine provides a more holistic approach to healing the cause of the symptoms, not just the symptoms themselves. What is unique about Tibetan Medicine is that its roots are in Buddhism. Buddhist monks found that by directing the flow of their rLung, or their vital force, they were able to feel calmer. Their minds were more at peace. It has been over two thousand years since Buddha walked the earth. The religious documents of those times describe his concrete practices for a calmer mind, which later grew into larger tractates that became recipes for treating mental health. Buddhist monks often acted as the doctors in their communities, and thus evolved one of the greatest medical systems in the 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
636 of 1085