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Medicine and Memory in Tibet: Amchi Physicians in an Age of Reform: Glossary

Medicine and Memory in Tibet: Amchi Physicians in an Age of Reform

Glossary

GLOSSARY

Phonetic spelling is followed, in parentheses, by the Wylie (1959) transliteration. Terms are Tibetan unless otherwise indicated: (C) Chinese, (Skt) Sanskrit.

ach a (a ce) older sister; wife; respectful term for a woman in Tsang

agar gonyön (A gar go snyon) Cinchona sp.

amchi (a mchi) Mongolian-derived word for medical doctors widely used in Tibet and across the Himalayas

amchi kangjenma (a mchi [sman pa] rkang rjen ma) barefoot doctor

arak (a rag) distilled grain alcohol

arura (a ru ra) “king of medicines”; Terminalia chebula

barché (bar che) obstacles

bardo (bar rdo) realm between death and rebirth

béken (bad kan) “phlegm”; one of the three nyépa or “humors” in Tibetan medicine

Bö (Bod) Tibet

bömen (bod sman) Tibetan medicine

Bon (Bon chos) collective term for pre-Buddhist religious traditions in Tibet; today acknowledged as one of the main schools of Tibetan Buddhism

bongkar (bong dkar) Aconitum spp.

Bonpo (bon po) a practitioner of the Bon religion

bu (bu’) bug, microorganism, insect

Bumshi (Bum bzhi) Bon medical text, equivalent to the Buddhist Gyüshi

cham (’cham) Tibetan religious dance form

chang (chang) fermented barley beer

chijiao yisheng 赤脚医生 (C) barefoot doctor

Chijiao yisheng shouce 赤脚医生手册 (C) The Barefoot Doctor’s Manual

chikgyel (phyi rgyal) foreigner; stranger; outsider

Chikhyap Khenpo (spyi khyab mkhan po) “chief abbot”; head of the ecclesiastical branch of the Tibetan government in Lhasa

Chimagyü (Phyi ma rgyud) Last Treatise, the fourth volume of the Four Treatises

chimen (phyi sman) “outsider medicine”; Chinese-style biomedicine; also called tangmen, gyamen/jermen

chitsok nyingpa (spyi tshogs rnying pa) “Old Society”; term introduced by the Communists to refer to pre-1950/59 Tibetan society and way of life

chiyi (phyi dbyi) “outsider medicine”; combining “foreign” in Tibetan with the phonetic pronunciation of yi 艺 for “medicine” in Chinese

chö (chos) religion; Buddhism; Skt. Dharma

chödzé (chos mdzad) member of a family of medical practitioners; one of the tripartite social and professional categorization of chödzé shabdrung jedrung in Tsang, prior to 1959

chödzé household (chos mdzad khyim tshang) term used in pre-1959 Tibetan society to denote a medical family

chökhang (chos khang) Buddhist chapel; altar room

chökyi khorlo (chos kyi ’khor lo) Dharma wheel; Skt. Dharma cakra

chöten (chos rten) Buddhist reliquary; Skt. stupa

chöyon (mchod yon) patron and recipient

chu (chu) water; river; one of the five elements

chuba (phyu pa) Tibetan style dress

chuser (chu gser) “yellow water”; term used to denote various fluids in Tibetan medical ideas about the body; a waste product from the transformation of nutrition into the seven bodily constituents

dépa (dad pa) faith

dikpa (sdig pa) sin

dön (gdon) nefarious spirit

döndre (gdon dre) nefarious spirit

dotsé (rdo tshad) traditional currency of Tibet

drelpa (’grel pa) commentary; explanation

drelrimgyi taptsö (gral rim gyi ’thab rtsod) class struggle

drib (grib) “shadow”; spiritual defilement and pollution

drö (drod) medicine with warming character

drumbu (’grum bu) joint pain and condition, often associated with rheumatoid arthritis

drumné (’brum nad) smallpox

duksum (dug gsum) “three poisons”; the nyépa sum; Skt. kleśa; attachment/desire (’dod chags), hatred/aversion (zhe sdang), and ignorance (gti mug)

dunggyü (gdung rgyud) bone lineage; family transmission; descent

dürapa (bsdus ra pa) degree in Tibetan medicine; comparable to a bachelor’s degree in the modern Tibetan medical education system

dütsi (bdud rtsi) nectar; divine nectar; associated with production of medicine

dzong (rdzong) district capital; fortress; citadel

gangla métok (gangs lha me tog) Saussurea medusa/laniceps

Gelug (Dge lugs) “the virtuous ones”; one of the main schools in Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa

gen/gen la (rgan lags) “sir/madam” or “teacher”; honorific form of personal address

gerpa (sger pa) a category of former Tibetan nobility

guanxi 关系(C) connections, relations, social networks

gyamen (rgya sman) Chinese medicine; synonym for biomedicine and Western medicine

Gyenlok (gyen log) “rebels”; one of two major political groups that formed in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution

gyü (rgyud) tantric treatise; thread; string; character; consciousness and life; continuity, connection, lineage

Gyüshi (Rgyud bzhi) Four Treatises; core texts of Tibetan medicine

hormen (hor sman) “Mongolian medicine”; a remedy in Tibetan medicine made up of a small cotton bag filled with spices and tsampa that is warmed and applied to specified points on the body

Janglug (byang lugs) school of medicine that originated in [La-stod] Byang, also known as the Northern School or Northern Tradition

jedrung (rje drung) members of aristocratic families in pre-1959 central Tibet

jindak (sbyin bdag) master of the gift; patron; sponsor

jinlap (sbyin slab) ritual blessing

jungwa nga (byung ba lnga) “five elements”; earth, water, air/wind, fire, and space

kachupa (bka’ bcu pa) a degree in Tibetan medicine, comparable to a master’s degree in the modern Tibetan medical education system

Kagyü (Bka’ brgyud) one of the schools in Tibetan Buddhism

kathag (kha btags) offering scarf

khandro (mkha’ ’gro) sky dancer; Skt. dakini, female tantric deity; personal name

khuwa (khu ba) white and red reproductive substances

khyimgyü (khyim rgyud) a lineage of the household; a family lineage; short for kyimtsang gyü (khyim tshang rgyud)

kjama (rgya ma) half kilogram, equivalent to the Chinese jin measure

kora (skor ba) circumambulation

kutra (sku drag) lay Tibetan nobility

ladzi (gla rdzi) musk

laklén (lag lan) practice; experience

lama (bla ma) spiritual teacher or mentor; Skt. Guru

lamenpa (bla sman / bla sman pa) personal physician

lé (las) “action”; the law of cause and effect; Skt. karma

lha (lha) god; deity

lha jé (lha rje) honorific term for Tibetan medical doctor

lobgyü (slob gryud) teaching lineage

logyü (lo rgyus) “the running of the years”; history

lokchöpa (log spyod pa) reactionary

lu (klu) serpent spirit; Skt. naga

lü (lus) the physical body

lum (lums) medicinal bath

lung (rlung) air; wind; one of the “five elements”; one of the three nyépa; oral instruction

lungné (rlung nad) wind disorder

magpa (mag pa) a husband who moves into his wife’s family home and resides there

mangdag (dmangs bdag) “owner of many”; Communist term for “exploiters” and land owners

Mangtso Chögyur (dmangs gtso bcos bsgyur) Democratic Reforms; a series of reforms implemented in central Tibet after the Dalai Lama escaped to India, crucially including the redistribution of land, which began in Tsang in 1960

mani rilbu (ma ni ril bu) pills empowered by prayers

marsuma (dmar srung dmag) Red Guard army; Red Guards

mé (me) fire; flame; one of the five elements

métsa (me btsa’) cauterization therapy; moxibustion

men (sman) medicine

mendrup (sman grub) medical empowerment ritual

Menngakgyü (Man ngag rgyud) Oral Instruction Treatise, the third volume of the Four Treatises

mengyü / menpé gyü (sman rgyud / sman pa’i rgyud) doctor’s lineage; medical lineage

menjor (sman sbyor) compounding medicines

menkhang (sman khang) medical house; clinic, hospital, or pharmacy; a named medical house; room in a medical house where medicines are kept

Menla (Sman bla) Medicine Buddha

menngak (man ngag) “secret oral” knowledge and transmission thereof

menpa (sman pa) physician, doctor; equivalent to amchi

menrampa (sman ra ba) medical degree awarded at Chakpori Medical College after nine years of study

Mentrong (sman grong) village or hamlet of doctors/medicine; medical house

Mentrong (sman ’khrungs) honorific term for a place where a doctor is born

Mentsikhang (Sman rtsi khang) Institute of Medicine and Astrology; the original building of this institution is in Lhasa dating to 1916; Men-Tsee-Khang is the roman spelling of the 1961 foundation in Dharamsala, North India; used in general for Tibetan medicine hospitals in Tibet

mimang künhré (mi dmangs kun hre) people’s communes (term derived from Chinese)

minzu 民族 (C) minority nationality; ethnic group in the PRC

miser (mi ser) common people; used widely in Tibet’s pre-1959 society to refer to people of low social class; still sometimes used to refer to rural Tibetans

mo (mo) divination; prophecy

moné (mo nad) women’s illness

namkha (nam mkha’) sky; space; one of the five elements

namthar (rnam thar) hagiography; biography

natsa taya (na tsha bltas) “look at illness”; to examine and review an illness

nepa taya (na pa bltas) seeing patients

ngakpa (sngags pa) “someone practicing mantra”; tantric practitioner

ngojor (sngo sbyor) medical compounding of herbs

ngomen (sngo sman) simple herbal medicines

ngönma (sngon ma) before; earlier; in the past

nüpa (nus pa) potency, effect; sometimes a gloss for the strength of a medicine

Nyamdre (mnyam ’brel) one of two major political groups formed in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution

nyelwa (dmyal ba) underworld; hell

nyépa / nyépa sum (nyes pa gsum) commonly translated as three humors; the three faults or dynamics corresponding to wind, bile, and phlegm; three forces

nying (snying) heart

nyingjé (snying rje) compassion

Nyingma (rnying ma) School of the Elders; one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism

nyingné (snying nad) disease/illness of the heart; heart distress

nyom (snyoms) medicine of neutral character

nyomba (snyom ba) crazy; mentally unstable

peja (dpe cha) Tibetan-style book in which loose pages are held together between two boards made of wood or paper, wrapped in a piece of cloth

pennü (phan nus) benefit

pentok (phen thogs) benefit

Pökar 10 (pos dkar 10) name of a Tibetan medicine

polha (pho lha) deity of the patrilateral kin group

putsé (pu tse) quality

rangzhin (rang bzhin) inherently existing; natural; spontaneous

rapjampa (rabs ’byams pa) an advanced degree in Tibetan medicine

rigné chu (rig gnas bcu) tenfold system of the Tibetan sciences derived from the Indian system of the (Skt) vidyāsthāna

rik (rigs) kind, category, hereditary social status

rik thopo (rigs mtho po) high rank

rikgyü dzinpa (rigs rgyud ’dzin pa) lineage holder

rilbu (ril bu) Tibetan medical pill

rinchen rilbu (rin chen ril bu) precious pills

Rinchen Tsotru Dashel (Rin chen btso bkru zla shel) a particular type of “precious jewel” pill

rinpoche (rin po che) precious jewel; honorific title given to religious teachers; precious and semiprecious gems used in Tibetan medicinal compounds

ro druk (ro drug) six tastes

rogré (rogs res) mutual aid teams

rü (rus) bone; the father’s side of one’s lineage or biological inheritance

rügyü (rus rgyud) patrilineage

sa (sa) earth; soil; land; a categories of ingredients used in Tibetan medical compounds; one of the “five elements”

Sakya (Sa skya) one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism; a place in central Tibet

sang (srang) 1 ounce (28.35 grams)

sangbo druk / sang druk (bzang po drug / bzang drug) “six excellent ones”; six medicines, including bamboo pith, saffron/safflower, green and black cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg

Sangyé Menla (Sangs rgyas sman bla) “master of remedies”; Medicine Buddha; Skt. Bhaisajyaguru

Seljé 25 (gsal byad 25) name of a Tibetan medicine

sem (sems) heart/mind

sem sangpo (sems bzang po) a pure heart/mind

Sendu nyikhyil (sendu nyi kyil) name of a Tibetan medicine

ser khab (gser khab) Tibetan medical golden needle therapy

sha (sha) flesh

shabden (zhabs rten) longlife prayer; blessing

shabdrung (zhabs drung) a type of lay tantric family in Tsang

Shégyü (Bshad rgyud) Explanatory Treatise, the second volume of the Four Treatises

sil (bsil) medicine of cooling character

sok lung (srog rlung) “life-force wind”; a type of disease in Tibetan medicine

solo marpo (sro lo dmar po) rhodiola crenulata

sorig dang menrig (gso rig dang sman rigs) “healing and types of medicines/pharmaceuticals”; Tibetan translation of yiyao 医药 (C) “medicine and pharmacology”

Sowa Rigpa (gso ba rig pa) “science or art of healing”; one of the five “major Tibetan sciences”; Tibetan medicine

suku 诉苦 (C) “speaking of bitterness” (the hardship in pre-Communist China)

ta rek dri (bltas reg dris) the main three Tibetan medical diagnostic methods: visual observation, feeling the pulse, and questioning the patient

tangmen (tang sman) Communist medicines; Chinese-style biomedicine; the term combines the Chinese term for “Communist [Party]” with the Tibetan word for “medicine”

terma (gter ma) “treasure”; hidden texts that are revealed at later times and under more favorable conditions

thamzing (’thab ’dzing) struggle sessions; fighting

thanka (thang kha) Tibetan Buddhist scroll painting

thob wang (thob dbang) rights; sovereignty

torma (tor ma) ritual barley cake offering

trak (khrag) blood, female reproductive substance

trakshé thopo (khrag tshad mtho po) high blood pressure

trelpa (khral pa) “taxpayer”; landholders in the pre-1959 Tibetan sociopolitical organization

trenpa (dren pa) memory

Trinsel 25 (mgril tshal 25) a medicine to treat drumbu

tripa (mkhris pa) bile; one of the three nyépas or humors

trungpé (’khrungs dpe) medical simple; single medical raw ingredient

trungyi (khrung dbyi) Tibetanized compound word rendering the Chinese term zhong yi 中医 (Chinese medicine). Trung was the new, politically correct term for the PRC, in contrast to Gyanag (China), while yi was imported from Chinese and spelled phonetically as dbyi (yi) in Tibetan

tsa (rtsa) channels; roots; often translated as veins, arteries, and nerves, depending on context

tsab (mtshabs) substitute; used to refer to medical materials that replace an original in a recipe or formula

tsadrum (rtsa ’grum) medical condition that affects bodily channels; conventionally translated as “rheumatism” or “arthritis”

Tsagyü (Rtsa rgyud) Root Treatise, the first volume of the Four Treatises

tsakar (rtsa dkar) white channels in the body

tsampa (tsam pa) roasted barley flour; Tibetan staple food

tsatsa (tsa tsa) small clay icon of a deity

tshek (tsheg) intersyllabic punctuation mark in written Tibetan

tsön, ken, chak (mtshon kan chag) three points at the radial arteries where the pulse is felt in a Tibetan medical diagnosis, when the index, middle, and ring fingers are pressed at different levels and at three points; the general pulse qualities, specific organs pulses, and the upper, middle and lower parts of the body are examined through palpation by the different fingers

tsotel (btso thal) mercury-sulfide powder; purified mercury for use in medicines

tulku (sprul sku) reincarnated lama

tursel lung (thur sel rlung) downward cleansing wind; a physiological function in the body

uchen (dbu can) Tibetan print letters

Ü-Tsang (Dbus gtsang) central Tibet

wang (dbang) empowerment; consecration

xiang 乡 (C) township

Xizang 西藏 (C) “western treasure”; Tibet

yartsa gunbu (dbyar rtswa dgun ’bu) “summer grass-winter insect”; Ophiocordyceps sinensis; valuable medicinal plant exported from the Tibetan plateau to China proper

yenlak dün (yan lag bdun) seven-limb procedure for preparing medicines, described in the Four Treatises

yiku sitian 忆苦思甜 (C) recalling of bitterness (of the past) and thinking of sweetness (of the present)

yiyao 医药 (C) medicine and pharmacology

yokpo (gyog po) servants; landless laborer; in Communist parlance, “serf”

yonten (yon tan) good qualities; aptitude; virtue; a personal Tibetan name

zang yi 藏医 (C) Tibetan medicine

Zhijé 6 or Zhijé 11 (Zhi byed 6 or 11) two kinds of Tibetan medical formulas

zhong yi 中医 (C) Chinese medicine

zukpo (gzugs po) the corporeal body

Zurlug (zur lugs) major medical tradition, the Southern School, founded by Zurkhar Nyamnyi Dorjé (fifteenth century)

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