NPR is doing a series on Tibetan medicine. It’s interesting as they talk to the local munks and others to hear their thoughts on the medicine. My impression was that the munks and buddhists in the area believe the healing power in the medicine is just as much spiritual as it is medicinal.
At the Kunming Institute of Botany, scientists analyze and synthesize the chemical compounds of China’s wealth of medicinal plants. The institute’s deputy director, Yang Yongping, says the government’s goal is to develop a profitable pharmaceutical industry in Yunnan Province — and that leads to a firm commitment to conservation, to protect the source of potential new medicines.
“We have a moral responsibility to keep those species in our earth village,” he says.
Conservation is already built in to Tibetan culture, where plants are considered both medicinal and spiritual. There is a revival of Tibetan culture in China, and that’s led to a renewed interest in traditional medicine rooted in Buddhism.
I have to wonder, in my doubt, which is it more of. I’ve seen God work do many wonderful things and I’ve seen medicine clear my headache in seconds. The munks were quoted as believing they were getting Buddha’s power into the medicine by burning it in the temple. Wouldn’t the same chemical changes happen if they burned it in a Texas Baptist Church as well?
