Introduction: Challenges of Translating Tibetan Medical Texts and Medical Histories Barbara Gerke Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Noam Chomsky This publication is a German translation of the first two of the Four Tantras,1 in Tibetan called Gyüschi (rgyud bzhi). This bi-lingual presentation (Tibetan-German) comprises an important step towards a complete translation of all Four Tantras, which to date has not appeared in any European language, which is surprising.2 After all, Tibetan medicine is recognised along with Ayurveda and Chinese medicine as one of the seminal Asian medical systems with vast amounts of medical literature drawing scholarly interest around the world. Why is the standard work of Tibetan medicine appearing in English and German only at the turn of the twenty-first century, despite Westerners having studied Tibetan medicine since the early nineteenth century (Körös 1835)? In this brief introduction,3 I want to provide some answers to this question by highlighting some of the issues that make its translation a task so daunting that most scholars in the past have avoided it. A few have limited themselves to the translation of the first two tantras or a few chapters.4 I hope that by providing this introduction the reader will be able to engage adequately with this seminal Tibetan medical treatise, including all its intricacies and at times apparently strange use of language. 1 Gyüschi is also translated as Four Treatises, which avoids misunderstandings on the ‘tantric’ nature of this medical texts among non-Tibetan readers. Here, in accordance with the rest of the book the translation Four Tantras has been used. The earliest translation of the Four Tantras into Russian by Pyotr Badmaev (Badmaev 1903) does not include the Third Tantra, which Badmaev apparently translated but never published (Aschoff 1996: 30–31). The first complete translation of the Four Tantras was into Chinese (Li Yongnian 李永年 et al. 1983). I want to thank Olaf Czaja, Jude Carroll, Afia Joy Adu-Sanyah, and Dr. Sonam Dolma for their helpful comments. To date, only parts of the Four Tantras have actually been translated into English or German. In the following list, the Roman numeral refers to the four parts of the Four Tantras and the Arabic numeral to the chapter. For example, [III: 49] refers to the 49th chapter of the third Tantra. If no chapter is mentioned, the entire part has been translated: Badaraev et al. 1981 [III: 49]; Clark 1995 [I; II]; Clifford 1984 [III: 77–79]; Donden 1977 [I, II: 1–15]; Donden and Hopkins 1986 [IV: 1–8] (This is not a literal translation, but is based on lectures and translations of various chapters of the Four Tantras, Donden and Hopkins 1986: 9); Dorje and Richards 1981 [I: 1–2]; Emmerick 1975 [I: 3], 1990 [III: 90]; Jäger 1999 [III: 71–72]; Kelsang 1977 [I; II: 1–15]; Meyer 1990 [IV,1]; MTK 2008 [I; II], MTK 2011 [IV]; Seitelberger 2010 [I]. Vaidya Bhagwan Dash reconstructed a Sanskrit version of the Four Tantras, from which he translated and annotated parts I, II and III 1–11 in English (Dash VB. 1994–2001). 17 2 3 4 5 One entire chapter in the second of the Four Tantras is dedicated to the spiritual qualities a physician should develop. such as the compassionate attitude of a physician. joy. and understand its content. often only the teacher had a hand-written or printed copy of the text.5 Moreover. Even today. Second. Detailed commentaries and directly received oral instructions from a lama (spiritual teacher) or a qualified medical teacher are regarded as critical in the understanding of the root text. Any reader having seen biomedical literature filled with Latin technical terms can empathise with the students of Tibetan medicine. or entire medical terms are at times represented by only one syllable. In early Tibet. It is also considered ideal for the teacher to embody to a certain extent the medical-religious qualities that are described in the text. These six frameworks are: ‘four tantras. Even Tibetans with a good knowledge of literary Tibetan have difficulty accessing the full meaning of the Four Tantras independently.’ ‘eight branches. Memorisation and the recitation of a ‘root text’ were then elaborated on through oral instructions. The very design of the Four Tantras facilitates their memorisation in several ways. Therefore.’ ‘four compendia. but the popular technique of wooden block-prints was introduced from China only in the fifteenth century and was expensive. memorisation was not only a key feature of oral literacy. as well as through written commentaries.’ and ‘156 chapters’ (see Table 1). even more so if Latin terms were to be sometimes presented in one syllable to fit the poetic meter of a sentence. The 5. of which I want to point out two. who ideally has received oral instructions— some of which are considered secret and never written down. compassion. despite understanding the literal meaning of each word in the root text. reciting them during oral exams and writing them down from memory along with explanations during written exams.Introduction by Dr. 18 . Tibetan medical students typically spend several years memorising at least three of the Four Tantras.’ ‘fifteen categories. which helps the students memorise. and equanimity. along with hand-written copies that were much in use.’ ‘eleven sections. First. largely consisting of lines of nine mono-syllables each. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) Characteristic ways of learning in Tibet (as in many parts of Asia) included and still include the memorisation of large amounts of texts. such as love. Tibetan works have been printed since at least the mid-twelfth century CE (Schaeffer 2009: 9). words are often omitted.900 verses are partly encrypted and cannot be understood without explanation by a qualified teacher. but also a practical way to carry one’s library in one’s head at all times. and the students learnt by memorising the orally transmitted text. memorisation is enhanced through having six main organisational frameworks along which the chapters of the Four Tantras are structured. recite. Modern Tibetan education and the availability of Tibetan medical texts in print and electronic forms have so far not replaced the oral traditions of memorising the ‘root text’ (see Millard 2002). These frameworks give the text a very clear structure. most of the text is written in a poetic meter. in order to keep with the poetic meter. […] This syllabic structure affords tremendous flexibility with respect to both expression of new ideas and concepts and the expression of old ones in new and original ways” (Goldstein 1984: xi). Tibetans implicitly assumed that “the literal translation of a text will ipso facto be a faithful representation of the original text” (Gaffney 2000: 11). dictionaries of uniform Sanskrit and Tibetan terms were created. this re-translation. have acquired a technical meaning in Tibetan medical contexts. however. These terms were often originally taken from colloquial Tibetan. and meaning is basically syllabic. over time. This language characteristic enabled Tibetan and Indian translators to use loan translation words from the Sanskrit. Emmerick 1977. Tibetans have a history of adopting and creating technical terms from different languages and cultural backgrounds (Gaffney 2000). Most of the syllables “have meaning independent of the compound word (morpheme) in which they are found.Introduction by Dr. the methods used were “creating calques. Further. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) One can easily imagine that the poetic feature of the Four Tantras makes a translation into a European language a challenging task. Karmay 1989. 9th to 10th and 11th to 12th centuries CE). and their literal translations would make no sense to the reader. The Tibetan language is mono-syllabic in nature. the translator has to deal with classical Tibetan—which is quite different from spoken colloquial Tibetan—with textual styles dating as far back as the twelfth century. the translator also has to make decisions on how to translate the numerous technical terms that. the translation presented in this book is based on a revised edition of 1892 from the Chakpori Medical College in Lhasa. The methods used to translate Sanskrit Indian Buddhist texts were also used to translate medical texts. According to Gaffney. during which it was mainly Buddhist texts that were translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan by teams of translators. This happened chiefly during the two main historical translation periods (approx. For the most part. their translations were done so accurately that lost Sanskrit versions can be re-constructed from their Tibetan versions. The aim of this method was “to present as accurate and faithful a translation of the original source text as possible” (Gaffney 2000: 11). editors. and redactors. we have to look at how medical terms were (and still are) created in the Tibetan language. The text definitely went through later editions and reprints. Soon. does not prove the historical 6 It is still debated whether the early version of the Four Tantras was compiled in the eighth or twelfth century (e. Such high translation accuracy was achieved that “within 200 years of its creation. or loan translation words. 19 .g. the Tibetan language had become the medium for translating some of the most refined and complex concepts and ideas of Indian Buddhism” (Gaffney 2000: 5). quite different from colloquial Tibetan. only for similes and metaphors was some kind of paraphrasing employed. This was done by creating a specialised form of Tibetan language. To understand this transformation from colloquial to technical meanings. forthcoming) or whether it is even based on a lost Sanskrit original (Dash 1994–2001). Yang Ga 2010.6 Moreover. to convey the precise meaning of the original Indian term without importing any presuppositions or connotations from the Tibetan language” (Gaffney 2000: 11). The Indian Āyurvedic physician Bhagwan Dash spent many years reconstructing what he believes is the ‘lost’ Sanskrit version of the Tibetan Four Tantras (Dash 1994–2001). medical texts were apparently also translated from Greco-Arabic. In fact. see also Yoeli-Tlalim et al. practices. particularly since a strictly philological approach often fails to include living oral traditions (1989 [1935]: 15). for example. there might be further discoveries from the Dunhuang texts in the future that might help to understand the methods used in early translations. forthcoming). and texts from neighbouring countries. Central Asian. Since Tibetans have been in contact with Western science and biomedicine. as the examples below will show. 2011. 2011. Taube 1980. Czaja 2011. but it has also been the case recently. Modern anatomical charts with Tibetan terms for anatomical details previously unknown in Tibetan medicine is an example of this process (Wangdu 1982). when Tibetan medicine was enriched by medical knowledge. the mono-syllabic language character has offered Tibetan doctors the opportunity to create an array of new scientific and medical terms in modern Tibetan and thus incorporate biomedical concepts into their pool of medical knowledge. the literal translation ‘fire-warmth’ would make little sense in a sentence on the digestive process or a kidney disease involving the digestive heat. Tibetans often used simple colloquial expressions that became technical terms to describe complex therapeutic processes: for example. ‘to press something against’ (dugs pa) became a technical term for a therapeutic method of applying hot compresses. with this general focus on Sanskrit translations we should not forget that in the history of Tibetan medicine. Prost 2006. Garrett 2009.8 This mono-syllabic language feature that makes it so easy to create new terms in Tibetan. and Chinese sources—albeit none of them survived (see Beckwith 1979. 7 8 Tibetan medicine in the Dunhuang manuscripts and links between Tibetan medicine and the Arab world are currently studied by Yoeli-Tlalim (2010. However. is also one of the main reasons why translating classical Tibetan medical texts into modern languages is extremely difficult. Adams 2007. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) existence of an early Sanskrit version of the Four Tantras. This problem was already described by Eugène Obermiller in the 1930s. and ‘mild fluid’ (’jam rtsi) received the medical meaning of a purgative. Gerke 2011. This was the case not only in the past. which has so far not been found (see Yang Ga.Introduction by Dr. However. He argued that the underlying epistemologies on which the meaning of Tibetan medical terms are based might get lost in a literal translation process. How exactly were medical words created by compounding monosyllables in Tibetan? Let us look at some examples. facilitating the creation of contemporary medical terms. the technical term for ‘digestive heat’ is compounded of the monosyllables me meaning ‘fire’ and drod meaning ‘warmth’ However. Me drod. 1981). literal translation efforts have at times resulted in the adoption of terms that make the meaning of the original medical Tibetan terms ambiguous (Obermiller 1989 [1935]: 16–17). For debates on the creation of such new medical terms see. 20 .7 What is certain is that the mono-syllabic character of the Tibetan language itself has facilitated both the translation and creation of medical terms. forthcoming). In compounding words. including Tibetan medicine. editors. To be trained in classical Tibetan and philology as well as in Tibetan medicine is albeit rare. She argues that “the meaning of the technical terms that evolved in those scholarly medical traditions9 is notoriously polysemous and dependent on the context in which they occur” (Hsu 2000: 219). or are in constant communication with practising Tibetan doctors (which is the case with the editor and translator of this German edition). can be considered ‘scholarly medical traditions. in order to preserve the living oral traditions that might easily be ignored in a literal translation. rtsa has to be translated accordingly. A relevant example from Tibetan medicine is the term rtsa. and interdisciplinary team work is necessary. and redactors. Furthermore. when the translation team consisted of the Indian panditas (scholars) and ācāryas (teachers) and Tibetan translators (lo tsa ba). rtsa refers to all kinds of ‘channels’ transporting blood (khrag). such as mchin pa for liver. since they are not practised anymore. 21 . and water (chu. wind/respiration (rlung). but also the mind (sems). it is advantageous if the translators are either trained in Tibetan medicine themselves (which is the case with all Tibetan doctors who worked on the translation of this MenTsee-Khang publication). and waste products (Gerke. have many meanings. in pharmacology rtsa refers to the root of a plant. certain aspects of the Four Tantras might not make sense today. It is a characteristic of scholarly medical traditions that there are different interpretations of medical terms in texts and in practice (Hsu 2000: 217). The main Asian medical traditions. it is a characteristic of Asian scholarly medical systems that technical terms often have a polysemous nature. are mostly taught in institutions.’ since they all constitute a literate tradition of medical theory and practice. in press). in a diagnostic context rtsa refers to the ‘pulse’ that is being felt at the radial artery. The first documented mention of rtsa in a medical context is in the eighth to tenth century Tibetan medical texts from Dunhuang. with ‘scholarly medical traditions’ Hsu refers to Bates 1995. Its meaning also changed during history. Literal translations of basic medical terms.e. chu’i rtsa are often translated as ‘nerves’). Hsu shows in a Chinese context that the meaning of one and the same medical term can differ in institutional and private clinical settings. Moreover. Even for Tibetan doctors themselves. oral traditions change over time. 9 Here.Introduction by Dr. are common and accurate. even though the understanding of the physiology and function of an organ might differ significantly between biomedicine and Tibetan medicine. In the context of anatomy. Depending on the context. or—in the case of materia medica—are known under a different name and are used differently than they were in early Tibet. i. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) This ambiguity is mostly found in complex medical terms. and evolved in highly stratified societies. nutrients. where rtsa relates mainly to the practice of blood-letting (Yan 2007: 302). How can translators of Tibetan medical texts deal with these issues effectively and sensitively? Apart from the issue of the polysemy of many medical terms. as it was during the centuries of Tibet’s peak translation activities. the rendering of the text into German was not simply an act of translating it from the English. The translators working on this project have contributed the best of their abilities. Their English translations—wind. the translators have opted to keep the common reader in mind while at the same time aiming at a correct translation of the meaning—admittedly often at the expense of literal accuracy. their collective translation erupted into heated debates and discussions over a single word or phrase. Negotiating the differences between accuracy and readability is not an easy task. whether to keep the Tibetan term as it is or to translate it into English. balancing between literally accurate translations and sentences that include some form of commentary (to fill in for missing syllables or words) and thus make sense to the common reader. rather than translate them literally. but also required going back to the Tibetan ‘root text’ and comparing and re-translating it with great care. for it is negotiable. Sometimes. tripa (mkhris pa = ‘bile’). cannot be taken literally. but a term to denote all aspects of the body that are governed by the elements water and earth. which have been rendered in Tibetan as loong (rlung = ‘wind’). for example is not the ‘phlegm’ coughed up from the lungs. I visited the team at the Translation Department at the Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharamsala several times while they were working on this project. This method. Literal translations of the three nyepa tend to be eurocentric since they miss the polysemous nature of the Tibetan terms and would make readers associate the terms with their own cultural-related medical perceptions and bodily associations that would limit their understanding of the Tibetan meaning. keeping the readers in mind. thus having a nature of cooling stickiness. Likewise. This makes this text more readable than what it would be with complete philological and grammatical exactness. translators employed “an almost artificial use of the English language and newly-created English terminology” (Gaffney 2000: 12). as well as moisture. bile.Introduction by Dr. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) A simple and common example of how medical meaning can easily get lost in a literal translation are the three nyepa (nyes pa). a compromise. while literally accurate. A translator of Tibetan medical texts is then confronted with a constant decisionmaking process. giving the body firmness. We find that many translators and scholars writing on Tibetan medicine have started developing more nuanced solutions and choose to use the untranslated Tibetan words for technical medical terms and describe their meaning. baekan (bad kan = ‘phlegm’). Despite creating good literal translations. whether to opt for a literal translation of the term or rather of its medical meaning. Here. The result can never be perfect. clearly excludes non-specialist readers. the reader has to basically first learn the English Buddhist terminology to understand the often odd-looking texts. Could translations of Tibetan medical texts potentially meet with a similar fate as technical Buddhist texts did over the past few decades? While translating Tibetan Buddhist texts into English. who 22 . The three nyepa are broad concepts that cannot be pinned down by any single word in a European language. and phlegm—while apt. or even find a biomedical equivalent for it. It made me aware of the difficulties involved in translation and the necessity of doing this as a team. Phlegm. as a negotiation of differences as well as a difficult process of transformation” (BachmannMedick 2006: 33). This has been done at times in an effort to show that Tibetan medicine is ‘scientific’ (Adams 2007. biomedical equivalents for Tibetan medical terms. described in the preface of this book. Sangye Gyatso 1994). This preface is an example of cultural encounters in translation. The preface to the first English edition. Academic scholarship of Tibetan medical history continues to develop from its relatively recent beginnings and is not yet at a stage to verify the historic accuracy of most of what Tibetans accept as their authentic medical history. One recent method has been to find. where I discuss how translations of Tibetan medical texts are not only a matter of vagueness versus accuracy but are also embedded in larger political and economic structures. which is linked to the Tibetan term gcin snyi’i nad (lit. we might like to consider recent insights from Translation Studies. and cultures. Another move has been to keep Tibetan medical terms in the Tibetan language and even to render English biomedical terms phonetically. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) will largely be from outside the Tibetan cultural area. the term ‘translation’ can also be defined as “a dynamic term of cultural encounter. Prost 2006). For example. different chronological time. transcribing them into the Tibetan script using Sanskritic letters (Men-Tsee-Khang 1998). While translating challenging texts. Tibetans have opted for several methods to bridge these epistemological gaps. translated here into German. and cancer. transcribed as D’a ya sbe T’is. The sources used in writing the Four Tantras and its commentaries are just beginning 10 I describe this in detail in another paper using the example of diabetes. such negotiations of differences are at the core of this work in an attempt to bring its medical wealth and meaning to a wider audience.10 These efforts and debates are different in Tibetan areas in China and in exile. It is up to the reader to decide whether this has been a risk worth taking. Perhaps at the cost of some philological accuracy.Introduction by Dr. Along with quotations from other sources (for example. In the past. Prost 2006) The current translation of the Four Tantras show that there is no single answer when it comes to Tibetan medical translation methodology. offers a summary of key Tibetan medical historical narratives from the perspective of a Tibetan medical historian (Tsomdrig Yuyon Lhankhang 1990). Lhankhang’s text was translated and summarised by the translation department team at the Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharamsla (MTK 2008). 23 . or even create. which is related to the Tibetan term ’bras nad (Gerke 2011: 137). such as the Four Tantras. “the disease of urinating profusely”). which I describe in another article (Gerke 2011). and that translation methods fluctuate and are negotiable. transcribed as kan sar. The issues at stake raise questions of conformity as well as self-confidence: should Tibetan doctors in their translations conform to the requirements of standard biomedical terminology used in clinical trials or should they retain Tibetan terms and express confidence in their own medical system? (Gerke 2011. into modern languages for a Western audience. A translation of the Four Tantras for such a readership is therefore also a translation of medical meanings across different medical epistemologies. even within one translation project. Karmay 1989. Writing Tibetan histories involves certain ideas of authority and texts. 11 One of these medical histories has recently been translated into English and provides accessible material for further analysis (Kilty 2009). which influence their contemporary use and interpretations. it is important to understand the background from which many Tibetans write and understand history. Tibetan histories often acquire additional meanings involving ideas of authority. which points to the heterogeneous nature of Tibetan medicine. since “innovation if not actual deviation from the authoritative was always a risky business in Tibetan literary culture” (Gyatso 2004: 86). Gyatso 2004. Garrett emphasises “the need to understand Tibetan medical knowledge and practice as being as widely diverse as we know religious traditions in Tibet to be” (Garrett. historical questioning has often been met with resentment. To contextualise existing Tibetan medical histories written in Tibetan and/or by Tibetans. The way innovations were introduced into existing texts was often by simply copying and inserting entire sections from older texts. Yang Ga 2010. and three percent of the Subsequent Tantra are based on this āyurvedic compendium (Yang Ga. but there are regional variations. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) to be critically analysed (Czaja 2007. we know. Western scholars in the past have assumed that this āyurvedic work had a much greater influence on the compilation of the Four Tantras (Emmerick 1977). The Tibetan physician and scholar Yan Ga. forthcoming). that the eleventh century Tibetan translation of the Aṣṭāṅgahṛidayasaṃhitā was the most influential medical text until the Four Tantras took prominence during the course of the thirteenth century (Martin 2007: 312). such as the Four Tantras. forthcoming). For example. Large compendia. Garrett’s study (forthcoming) of the Situ Panchen (1700–1774) tradition of medicine in eastern Tibet in the eighteenth century questions the dominant role of the Four Tantras. seven percent of the Oral Instruction Tantra. We know little about the importance held by the Four Tantras throughout Tibetan history in its various regions of practice.Introduction by Dr. in fact. but that approximately only fifteen percent of the Explanatory Tantra.11 Apart from conveying specialised knowledge. This heterogeneity of Tibetan medical histories and practices is only slowly emerging (see also Gerke 2012: 89 and Hofer 2012). See Czaja 2005/2006 for an analysis of a Tibetan perspective on medical history. forthcoming). convincingly argues that the Four Tantras were written only after the Aṣṭāṅgahṛidayasaṃhitā was translated into Tibetan in the eleventh century. and standardise medical knowledge of that time. The result is often a unified and authoritative system. Contrary to the common assumption that the Four Tantras have been the most representative key medical compendium since the twelfth century. which is anchored so deeply in tradition that it becomes difficult to introduce innovations. often linked to Buddhism. In Tibet. for example. Emmerick 1977. codify. There is little doubt that the Four Tantras have remained the most influential medical text among contemporary Tibetans to date. were compiled in an attempt to structure. 24 . It does not come as a surprise then that we find two ways of writing history. Generally.” We could learn to appreciate the ‘interpretive’ histories for what they are: conscious attempts to set a medical tradition within specific political and religious contexts of their time. the emphasis on international exchange that influenced the development of Tibetan medicine stands out. with the former acting to progressively deconstruct and disprove the pious and post hoc reconstructions of the latter. these notions pervaded other areas of textual scholarship. Tibetan authors had no intention to take the work of others without sufficient acknowledgment. These two approaches to history are also found in Tibetan medical contexts. these two are seen as at odds. and the interpretative histories of Buddhist self-representation on the other. Several Tibetan medical histories are found to “display an explicit concern to show medicine to be part of Buddhist history” (Garrett 2006: 204. unearthing the ‘true’ history of Buddhism to its (presumably conservative and indignant. see also Czaja 2005/2006). In this historical portrait sketched by Garrett. the importance of a continuing lineage. Barbara Gerke (Englisch) Both in Āyurvedic and Tibetan medical texts we find quotations or passages from older works. can all be seen—and here I agree with Garrett—as attempts by Tibetan medical historians to portray a certain image of Tibetan medicine that they considered authoritative and representative (Garrett 2007).Introduction by Dr. communicating how medical historians viewed Tibetan medical identities in relation to their imperial past and fragmented present. especially in the context of Tibetan Buddhist literature: […] the ‘objective’ histories of the archaeologist and secular historian on one hand. Rather than outright condemning ‘interpretive’ histories of Tibetan medicine. Quite contrary to contemporary understanding. Garrett argues that “the possession of medical knowledge from surrounding regions during the imperial period became an important aspect of the identity of Tibetan medicine” (Garrett 2007: 25 . the narratives of their greatness in terms of Buddhist and medical ethics and achievements. we might like to look at medical histories oscillating between ‘secular’ and ‘interpretive’ approaches as examples of varied cultural translation processes—as acts of “negotiating differences. an act which currently is called plagiarism. We should keep in mind here that medicine is not free from religious interpretation. Since from its beginning literacy in Tibet was associated with ideas of spiritual enlightenment. This was done quite often “to introduce innovations not as something new but as part of the already existing” (Das 1993: 67). but ultimately ‘enlightened’) proponents (Mills 2003: 7). but were only “passing on existing knowledge” following Tibetan “traditional literary norms” (Mayer 2010). often without any source mentioned. including medicine (Schaeffer 2003). The often-occurring lists of physicians in Tibetan medical histories. but to make existing Tibetan medical knowledge available to the wider world. – 2007.. this time not to bring medical knowledge to Tibet. 1984. 4 & Vol. Aseeva TA. Glavnoe rukovodstvo po vrachebnoy nauke Tibeta Zhud-shi v novom perevode P. Garuda Verlag. 1995. 1). Winter 2005 & Spring 2006. 29–43. UK & Kinderhook. XXX. Csoma de Körös A. M Schrempf. A. 1979. The Making of the Blue Beryl – Some Remarks on the Textual Sources of the Famous Commentary 26 . pp. N. 33–42. 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The 4 Tantras (rgyud bzhi) The 8 Branches (yan lag brgyad) The 11 Sections (gnas bcu gcig) The 15 Categories (skabs bco lnga) The 4 Compendia (mdo bzhi) discussed in 25 chapters1 of the Subsequent Tantra Discussed mainly in the Oral Instruction Tantra 70 chapters Diseases of the Body 3 chapters Children’s Diseases 3 chapters Women’s Diseases 5 chapters Spirit Diseases 5 chapters Injuries Caused by Weapons 3 chapters Disorders Caused by Toxic Substances 1 chapter Healing the Aged with Elixirs and Rejuvenation 2 chapters Restoring Virility and Healing Infertility discussed in 31 chapters of the Explanatory Tantra 1 chapter (1) Basic Summary 6 chapters (2–7) Formation of the Body 5 chapters (8–12) Diseases 3 chapters (13–15) Behavioral Regimens 3 chapters (16–18) Diet 3 chapters (19–21) Pharmacology discussed in 92 chapters of the Oral Instruction Tantra 1 chapter (1) Requesting the Teachings 4 chapters (2–5) Healing the Three nyes pa 6 chapters (6–11) Healing Internal Disorders 16 chapters (12–27) The 156 Chapters (le’u ༡༥༦) 6 chapters Root Tantra 31 chapters Explanatory Tantra 92 chapters Oral Instruction Tantra 25 + 2 chapters Subsequent Tantra 2 chapters (1–2) Examination of Pulse and Urine 10 chapters (3–12) Pacifying Medications 7 chapters (13–19) Evacuative Therapy 6 chapters (20–25) External Therapies 1 chapter (26) Concluding Chapter 1 chapter (27) Chapter on the Student to whom Teachings may be Entrusted 6 chapters Covering the Principles of the Root Tantra 31 chapters Covering the ‘11 Sections’ 92 chapters Covering the ‘15 Categories’ 25+2 chapters Covering the ‘4 Compendia’ Healing Hot Disorders 6 chapters (28–33) Healing Diseases of the Upper Part of the Body 8 chapters (34–41) Healing Diseases in Vital and Vessel Organs 2 chapters (42–43) Healing Disorders of the Genitals 19 chapters (44–62) Healing Miscellaneous Disorders 8 chapters (63–70) Healing Simultaneously Arising Wounds 3 chapters (71–73) Healing Children’s Diseases 3 chapters (74–76) Healing Women’s Diseases 5 chapters (77–81) Healing Spirit Diseases 5 chapters (82–86) Healing Injuries Caused by Weapons 3 chapters (87–89) Healing Disorders Caused by Toxic Substances 1 chapter (90) Healing the Aged with Elixirs and Rejuvenation 2 chapters (91–92) Restoring Virility and Healing Infertility 1 chapter (22) Surgical Instruments 1 chapter (23) Maintenance of Health 3 chapters (24–26) Diagnostic Approaches 4 chapters (27–30) Methods of Healing 1 chapter (31) Qualities of the Physician 1 Note that the Subsequent Tantra has an additional two chapters (26–27) that are not covered by the ‘4 Compendia’ but are included in the ‘156 Chapters.Table 1: The six organisational frameworks of the Four Tantras The lists should be read vertically along the separate columns. Note that the ‘8 Branches’ (see second column) are explained further in the 92 chapters of the Oral Instruction Tantra (see fourth column).
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