TIBETAN MEDICINE ~ A Lu Jong New York Learning Series – Part 2

CONTINUING with our exploration of Tibetan Medicine …

When I teach LU JONG I explain the practice has its origins in the merging of three sources of wisdom: Tibetan Medicine, Bon, and Tibetan Buddhism.
I get many questions about Tibetan Medicine so why not, in the spirit of ‘Back to School’, take a brief look at what some of this is all about?
**Before we proceed any further I would like to clarify that I am NOT a doctor of Tibetan Medicine, nor do I diagnose and/or treat people in this area of expertise.

My knowledge comes from what I have learned from my teacher and Root Lama, the venerable Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche, who IS a doctor of Tibetan Medicine in addition to being a high Tantrayana Buddhist master.

TIBETAN MEDICINE – THE CONCEPT OF BODY/MIND
The Tibetan Medical system is a body/mind medicine where the mind is considered to play an essential role in physical health. The mind creates good health and is also the cause of disease.

How can this be possible?  Let’s start by looking at The Mind, The Humors and then The Body.

THE MIND

Unlike Western Medicine, all oriental sciences place their foundations at the level of the mind because the mind is considered to be the Core of everything.
The Natural Mind is the Materia Prima – the  creator of the ‘self’ as well as of the external world as we perceive it.  It is considered to be boundless and without beginning.

The mind is accompanied by an energy which contains the energetic principles of the five elements (earth, water, fire, wind and space). This energy is called the ‘Vehicle of the Mind’.
The elemental process of creation has a specific order originating from the Natural Mind through to completion of the physical Body:

Space > Wind > Fire > Water > Earth (from lightest to heaviest element)

The energetic principles of the five elements also qualify HOW we view the world around us. Their immediate effect is that of illusion, the inability to see things clearly by virtue of our emotions or mental faculties. This disconnect from the original pure state of the Natural Mind is considered to be the Root of the Disease.

THE THREE POISONS

There are three qualities that are like ‘poison’ to the mind:

Attachment – Desire and attachment are the principal causes of happiness and sorrow. Attachment creates a temporary pleasure which inevitably leads to jealousy, dissatisfaction, loss, and creates an imbalance in the heart, lungs, colon and lower part of the body. It is said that attachment is like seawater: It increases thirst instead of solving the suffering from thirst.

Anger – Anger is also the emotion of hatred and a destructive state of mind. It diminishes the peace and happiness of the self and of others. Generally anger manifests itself through pride, ambition, power, jealousy, stupidity, fear, etc. The liver, gall bladder and middle part of the body are the physical organs and areas that produce the body heat and psychological fire elements (anger) that burn happiness and freedom.

Ignorance – ‘Close Mindedness’ or lack of awareness occurs when the human being stops his ability of judgment and his mental state falls into darkness. Closed-mindedness produces doubt, fear, delusion, lack of concentration, and selfish actions. Ignorance is believed to be the root of ALL other afflictions, sufferings, and bad karma.
The head is where the sensory consciousnesses and emotions rise and dissolve. These in turn depend upon brain functions, therefore it is believed that ignorance is  manifested  from  the  brain.

At the center of The Wheel of Life: Attachment (Bird) > Anger (Snake) > Ignorance (Pig)

THE THREE LEVELS & LOCATIONS OF THE MIND

• Gross Mind – Functions from the Crown chakra
  The Gross Mind resides in the brain and depends upon the mechanical duties of the brain cells to function. It is in charge of memory, sleeping,  interests, stress,  tension, sensory perception etc.
• Subtle Mind – Emotions from the Heart chakra
  The Subtle Mind is found in the heart in energy form. Its primary function is to receive data from the Gross Mind.  The Subtle Mind allows us to feel emotions such as fear, anxiety, sadness, love, compassion, and joy. It also produces deep contemplation and dreams.
• The Very Subtle Mind – Located in the Naval chakra
  The Very Subtle Mind receives and stores all experiences from the Gross and Subtle Minds. It is mostly inactive except during the process of dying and conception.  The Very Subtle Mind carries memories for next lives and can only otherwise be reached by deep meditation, shock, or a high spiritual realization.

TIBETAN MEDICINE ~ A Lu Jong New York Learning Series – Part 1

When I teach LU JONG I explain the practice has its origins in the merging of three sources of wisdom: Tibetan Medicine, Bon, and Tibetan Buddhism.
I usually get many questions about Tibetan Medicine so why not, in the spirit of ‘Back To School’, take a brief look at what this is all about?

**Before we proceed any further I would like to clarify that I am NOT a doctor of Tibetan Medicine, nor do I diagnose and/or treat people in this area of expertise.
My knowledge comes from what I have learned from my teacher and Root Lama, the venerable Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche, who IS a doctor of Tibetan Medicine in addition to being a high Buddhist master.

TIBETAN MEDICINE – WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Tibetan Medicine is one of the oldest medical systems practiced in Asia, along with the Indian Ayurveda and Chinese medicines. All of them have several thousands of years of history and practical experiences and offer combined aspects of spirituality, philosophy and psychology.

By the 7th century AD,  Tibet had become the center of cultural, artistic and spiritual development. Tibetan kings specially recognized three foreign medical systems (Persian (Galenic), Indian and Chinese) and allowed them to be practiced and diffused along with the native Bon Medicine. From that historical background and from the Buddhist ‘Four Medical Tantras‘, the Tibetan art of healing developed and shaped its own characteristics, evolving into that which today is called Tibetan Medicine.

Tibetan Medicine is a holistic system that honors the interconnectedness between the body, mind and external environment. Each of these areas must be addressed to live a  healthy life. The basic concept of the cause of disease and its symptoms, or suffering, as being part of life and its evolution; and the method to cure and prevent suffering temporarily and permanently, are the foundation of this system.

The first official training systems were established from the 7th century AD to the 9th century, however until the 17th century, the education offered among the schools in monasteries and those of family traditions were probably not similar.

During the 5th Dalai Lama’s reign, his regent Desid Sangye Gyatsho (1653-1705) built the Chakpori Medical College and made an official curriculum for medical training and certification system. Even if changes in curricula have happened over time, the present Tibetan Medicine trainings in Tibet and India are still made on this basis.

By their practice, based on Buddhist ethics and a doctrine without discrimination of caste, race or wealth, Tibetan physicians quickly won the hearts of the Tibetan people and spread this precious art to the central Asian countries, keeping it alive until now.

Tibetan Medicine explains that everything existing or non-existing in the world derives from the mind and the five elements of space, wind, fire, water and earth.
The mind and the elements manifest particular energetic qualities that, in their densest states, also take on their familiar forms:

• Wind has the quality of movement.
• Fire has the quality of heat and transformation.
• Water has the quality of fluidity and cohesion.
• Earth has the quality of solidity and stability.
• And space is the balance of the other four elements in addition to being responsible for creating separation—space—between things.

 

 

On a more subtle level, the mind and the five elements manifest in the form of energy and gross materials into three aspects – Body, Energy and Mind, which in the human body are reflected in the form of ‘three principles of function’, or three Humors:  Lung (Wind), Tripa (Bile) and Beken (Phlegm).
The three humors are the vital substances of the body and collectively are responsible for all bodily functions. They are the energy that constantly flows in the human body and sustain physical health with mental awareness.
Tibetan Medicine first puts forth a specific definition of health in its theoretical texts:

To have good health, Tibetan medical theory states that it is necessary to maintain balance in the body’s three humors.

 

Building Upon The Five Elements …

Lu Jong is an ancient Tibetan Movement Practice developed for the purpose of self-healing.

This unique Yoga lineage consists of a combination of simple movements coordinated with deep rhythmic breathing.

The Five Elements Movements are a concise method to unclog energetic blocks and restore internal balance via connection with the elements of Space, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.  However, there are many more movements and aspects to this ancient style of yoga:

The Five Body Parts Movements, which work on improving the mobility of the head, joints, spine and hips.

The Five Vital Organs, which work the kidneys, heart, lungs, spleen and liver.

Learn these gentle yet powerful movements which are designed to be accessible to all ages and abilities … no prior knowledge is necessary.

WHERE?   GOOD GROUND YOGA ~ Hampton Bays, NY

WHEN?  THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 – 6:30 TO 7:45 PM

 

Need More Info? Joelle@LuJongNewYork.com

 

Lu Jong in The Hamptons

An Invitation From Lu Jong ~ New York

 

What do you have to lose? …  A little STRESS ?

 

Lu Jong is an ancient Tibetan movement practice from the Tantrayana and Bon traditions with origins dating as far back as 8,000 years.  It is a form of Meditation in Motion.

Join us in the incomparable Hamptons for a special opportunity to learn how this gentle practice can have a positive effect upon your Body and Mind!

Learn the Movements of The Five Elements, a sequence that nurtures the spine in addition to removing energy blockages from your chakras as you focus and calm the mind.

This gentle yet powerful practice is designed to be accessible to all ages and abilities … no prior knowledge is necessary.

 

WHERE?   GOOD GROUND YOGA Hampton Bays, NY

WHEN?  THURSDAY, JULY 28 – 6:30 TO 7:45 PM

 

Need More Info? Joelle@LuJongNewYork.com

Fearless Death with Tantrayana Buddhist Master Tulku Lobsang

Pure Yoga West

Sunday, August 24th

10 am – 5 pm | $70

www.tulkulobsang.org

Death. How does that word make you feel? Logically, we know that we will experience death. No matter who we are or how we have lived our life, this moment will surely come. We know this, yet somehow we forget. Perhaps it is fear of the unknown that keeps us from facing it. But, according to Buddhist philosophy, death is a precious opportunity-if we know how to use it.

On Sunday, August 24th at Pure Yoga West, Tulku Lobsang will reveal the deep wisdom of the Tantric tradition regarding our passing from this world to the next, and exactly how to prepare for it.

Tulku Lobsang is a world-renowned master of the Tantrayana healing arts, a Doctor of Tibetan Medicine and founder of the Nangten Menlang Buddhist Medical Organization. He openly shares these-often traditionally secret-ancient practices. When asked why, he responded that they are too beneficial to be allowed to grow cold. And so, with his characteristic humor and charisma, Tulku Lobsang offers these practices to modern audiences, so they will always remain “warm” teachings.

Death is an internal process. It is an experience of body and mind and Buddhism explains this process exactly. We do not need to fear death. It can be a smooth transition, beautiful even. So if you want to learn to be calm, clear and prepared at death, or to help others do the same, here is your chance!

And learning to have a fearless death means learning to live a fearless life.

Tulku Lobsang teaches “Fearless Death” Sunday, August 24th

at Pure Yoga West, 10 am – 5 pm, $70.

www.tulkulobsang.org