Tree of physiology
Encyclopedia
The Tree of physiology is a Tibetan Thangka
depicting human physiology
and certain pathological
transformations.
and physiology
, which was acquired from their long-standing experience with human dissection
. Tibetans out of necessity, had long ago adopted the practice of celestial burial (also Sky burial
) because of Tibet
's harsh terrain in most of the year and deficit of wood for cremation
. This form of Sky burial
, still practiced, begins with a ritual dissection
of the deceased, and then followed by the feeding of the parts to Vulture
s on the hill tops. Both the location of the ritual dissection and the place of feeding is understood as the charnel ground
. Over time, anatomical knowledge found its way into Ayurveda
and to a Iesser extent into China
. As result, Tibet
has become a home of the Buddhist medical centers Chogppori and Menchikhang (or Menhang), between the twelfth to sixteenth century A.D., where monks came to study even from foreign countries.
, donated modern copies of a series of seventy-nine Tibetan Buddhist tangkas (religious paintings) that were commissioned in 1687 by the fifth
Dalai Lama
's regent, Sangye Gyamtso (1653-1705). He had the paintings done to elucidate his commentary on the "Four Tantras
" (Tib. Gyushi) - eighth-century Tantric
Buddhist texts that form the foundation of Tibetan medicine and cover physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and cure. With such depictions, the Tantric Buddhist system of healing could, according to Sangye Gyamtso, be "perceived by everybody, from the scholar to the child, as dearly as one would see a myrobalan (the foremost healing plant in the Tibetan tradition) held in the palm of one's hand."
s, which was kept in Lhasa
, was destroyed by the Chinese military
in 1959, but these recent copies, based on three surviving sets, was painted over the course of seven years by Nepalese
atelier Romio Shrestha, who followed religious and artistic conventions in copying the seventeenth-century originals. Shrestha's paintings on cloth, which are filled with astonishing renditions of a variety of physical conditions and illnesses, have been digitally photographed and incorporated into the Museum of Natural History, Division of Anthropology's image database.
Thangka
A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka", "Thanka" or "Tanka" is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting...
depicting human physiology
Human physiology
Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. Physiology focuses principally at the level of organs and systems...
and certain pathological
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
transformations.
Epistemology
Tibetan medicine had developed a rather sophisticated knowledge of anatomyAnatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
and physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, which was acquired from their long-standing experience with human dissection
Dissection
Dissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the functions and relationships of its components....
. Tibetans out of necessity, had long ago adopted the practice of celestial burial (also Sky burial
Sky burial
Sky burial, or ritual dissection, is a funerary practice in Tibet, wherein a human corpse was incised in certain locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements and animals – especially to predatory birds. The locations of preparation and sky burial are understood in the...
) because of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
's harsh terrain in most of the year and deficit of wood for cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
. This form of Sky burial
Sky burial
Sky burial, or ritual dissection, is a funerary practice in Tibet, wherein a human corpse was incised in certain locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements and animals – especially to predatory birds. The locations of preparation and sky burial are understood in the...
, still practiced, begins with a ritual dissection
Dissection
Dissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the functions and relationships of its components....
of the deceased, and then followed by the feeding of the parts to Vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s on the hill tops. Both the location of the ritual dissection and the place of feeding is understood as the charnel ground
Charnel ground
Charnel ground is a very important location for sadhana and ritual activity for Indo-Tibetan traditions of Dharma particularly those traditions iterated by the Tantric view such as Kashmiri Shaivism, Kaula tradition, Esoteric Buddhism, Vajrayana, Mantrayana, Dzogchen, and the sadhana of Chöd, Phowa...
. Over time, anatomical knowledge found its way into Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
and to a Iesser extent into China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. As result, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
has become a home of the Buddhist medical centers Chogppori and Menchikhang (or Menhang), between the twelfth to sixteenth century A.D., where monks came to study even from foreign countries.
Fisher donation
Emily Fisher, a trustee at The American Museum of Natural HistoryAmerican Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, donated modern copies of a series of seventy-nine Tibetan Buddhist tangkas (religious paintings) that were commissioned in 1687 by the fifth
Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama , was a political and religious leader in seventeenth-century Tibet. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen who was responsible for his ordination...
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
's regent, Sangye Gyamtso (1653-1705). He had the paintings done to elucidate his commentary on the "Four Tantras
Tantras
Tantras refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Although Buddhist and Hindu Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. The rest of this article deals with Hindu...
" (Tib. Gyushi) - eighth-century Tantric
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
Buddhist texts that form the foundation of Tibetan medicine and cover physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and cure. With such depictions, the Tantric Buddhist system of healing could, according to Sangye Gyamtso, be "perceived by everybody, from the scholar to the child, as dearly as one would see a myrobalan (the foremost healing plant in the Tibetan tradition) held in the palm of one's hand."
Art history
The original set of these thangkaThangka
A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka", "Thanka" or "Tanka" is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting...
s, which was kept in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, was destroyed by the Chinese military
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
in 1959, but these recent copies, based on three surviving sets, was painted over the course of seven years by Nepalese
Nepali people
Nepali people can refer to:*People of Nepal*Ethnic Nepalis of Indian citizenry residing in Gorkhaland area of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and other parts of India.* Indian Gorkhas*Lhotshampas of Bhutan.*Nepali diaspora the world over....
atelier Romio Shrestha, who followed religious and artistic conventions in copying the seventeenth-century originals. Shrestha's paintings on cloth, which are filled with astonishing renditions of a variety of physical conditions and illnesses, have been digitally photographed and incorporated into the Museum of Natural History, Division of Anthropology's image database.
See also
- AyurvedaAyurvedaAyurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
- Eliot TokarEliot TokarEliot Tokar is an American practitioner of Tibetan medicine, author, and lecturer. He lives and works in New York City.As one of the few Westerners to have apprenticed with Tibetan physicians, Tokar studied with and received private instruction from Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, the former personal physician...
- Sangye Gyamtso
- Tibetan artTibetan artTibetan art refers to the art of Tibet. For more than a thousand years, Tibetan artists have played a key role in the cultural life of Tibet. From designs for painted furniture to elaborate murals in religious buildings, their efforts have permeated virtually every facet of life on the Tibetan...
- Traditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
- Traditional Mongolian medicineTraditional Mongolian medicineTraditional Mongolian medicine developed over many years among the Mongolian people. Many Mongolian doctors became so adept that they became well known in China and among Tibetan lamas.- History :...
- Traditional Tibetan medicineTraditional Tibetan medicineTraditional Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials and physical therapies...