Main Tibetan Course

Tibetan Medicine Basic Course

(One year distance learning course)

The basic level corresponds to the 1st year of The Tibetan Medicine courses A and B. This option is for students who do not want to engage in long studies, but wish to get a basic theoretical knowledge of Tibetan medicine.

At the end of the basic course, students who wish to continue the course can take the exam and continue in the 2nd and 3rd year with the TM course A (distance learning + workshops) or the TM course B (distance learning only).

The 3-year Tibetan medicine program and its basic course, begun in 2010, will end in 2025 with the completion of the course of the 11th batch of students.
A final class was opened in October 2022. It is no longer possible to register for this course

more information below

Course Content

The course lasts 1 year:

  • 1st year (Basic): Theory (distance learning)
Detailed program :

1st Year : Basics Of Tibetan Medicine

Introduction
History

  • A short history of Tibetan Medicine
  • Buddhism and medicine
  • Golden sutra, Buddha’s teaching on medicine
  • Medicine Buddha sutra and eight medicine Buddhas
  • Tanadug palace: city of medicine
  • Four medicine Mountains and materia medica concept

The Gyud-shi (rGyud-bzhi)

  • Gyud-shi, the Four Medical Tantras
  • Gyud-shi’s content
  • Framework of Gyud-shi

Basics of the Tibetan medicine Psychology

  • The mind and the emotions
  • Physiology of the humors and constituents (nyes pa dang lus zungs kyi bya ba)
  • Nyepas, the three humors
    • General and sub- wind humor functions
    • General and sub- Bile humor functions
    • General and sub- Phlegm humor functions
  • The seven body constitutions
  • The digestion
  • The physical body constituents
  • The waste products
  • The concept of health

Anatomy and subtle physiology (lus bkra dang lus kyi bya ba)

  • The body and its development
  • Tibetan embryology
  • Similes of the body
  • The vital and hollow organs and functions
  • The food passages and orifices
  • The general and specific channels
  • The chakras
  • Prognosis of death, dying and dreams

The study of the Medicine trees (sdong ‘grems)

  • Theory and practice guide
  • Healthy and unhealthy trees
  • The diagnostic tree
  • The treatment tree
  • Concept of the ideal health

Brief ethical code of conduct for Tibetan Physicians (man pa’i le’ u mdor bsdus)

  • A short introduction on the development of the ethical code of conduct for Tibetan Physicians

Prerequisite

There is no particular prerequisite to take the Tibetan Medicine basic  course.
It is of course beneficial for the students to already have notions in the western medicine field or Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and culture but it is not compulsory.
The course is open to all, regardless of social, ethnic or spiritual backgrounds. Being Buddhist is not a prerequisite. However, as Tibetan medicine is based on Buddhist philosophy, students are expected to study its principles with an open mind.

Teaching methods

The Tibetan medicine basic course is presented and conducted in the English language, using a variety of teaching methods and study aids to assist each student to learn to their full potential:

Distance learning
From their home, students study the theory of Tibetan Medicine on the basis of eleven textbooks (downloadable documents) from the treatise “The Essentials of Gyud-shi”, written by Prof. Pasang Yonten Arya, that not only expounds, explains and comments on the traditional Gyud-shi, the “Four medical Tantras”, but also its contemporary practice and interpretation.

Question & Answer online sessions
Nine times a year, students participate in « live » two-hour interactive online Question and answer sessions. During these sessions, Dr Pasang Arya directly answers their questions and, depending on the needs, complement and enlarge upon the teachings.

Class environment
Students have access to a class environment where they can find interactive quizzes to train the understanding, as well as support, and contact with the other students of the class.

Examination and certification

Examination (written and oral exam (online) at the end of the year) is optional for the Tibetan medicine basic course.

Students who have successfully passed the exams can change their registration and continue in the 2nd and 3rd year with the TM course A (distance learning + workshops) or the TM course B (distance learning only).

Also, at the end of the 1st year, Students who wish to continue the course without taking the exam, have the possibility to switch their Student status into an Auditor status. Auditors can attend the course the same way as students, with the same access to the material and online sessions, but they don’t take exams and cannot obtain certification. Besides, they cannot participate in programs for advanced students.

Price

Tibetan Medicine Basic course : CHF 1700.- (swiss francs)

The tuition fees cover the course textbooks (downloadable pdf documents), audio and video teachings, the access to the class environment, the training quizzes, and 9 interactive Question and answer online sessions, as well as all registration and examination fees (examination is optional).

Payment

Payment of the year fee is made at the enrolment (bank transfer, credit card or Paypal).

The course fees cover the written material (textbooks of “The Essentials of Gyud-shi”), the audio and video teachings, and the access to the online interactive sessions, as well as all registration and examination fees.

On request, it is possible to pay the annual tuition fee in two instalments (+ a fee of CHF 15.- on each payment). The first payment is made at registration, the second 3 months later. Students paying by installment are liable for the entire year fee payment.

Registration

It is no longer possible to register for this course

Terms and Conditions

By completing the application forms or an online transaction you are confirming that you accept the following terms and conditions:

TME – Tibetan Medicine Education center website, courses and e-mail
All parts of the websites, both public and teaching areas (tibetanmedicine-edu.org, tmecourses.org, tme.adobeconnect.com or zoom) including course content, documents, lessons, works, and correspondence, are the intellectual property of TME – Tibetan Medicine Education center and cannot be copied, duplicated, forwarded, or conveyed to anyone else, even in another language, without the original author’s permission. No attempt should be made to copy or distribute either images or other content in any way.

All online courses require users to have an active email account for course communication purposes.
Users need to advise TME of any changes to their personal contact details whilst completing their course.
Students enrolled with TME – TIbetan Medicine Education center are issued with an internet log in and secure password in order to access the direct teaching session. Students must not disclose this password to any third party.

TME – Tibetan Medicine Education center reserves the right to modify the content of the website on a regular basis in order to ensure that it is current and as relevant as possible.

It is strongly recommended that students protect their own computer system with appropriate anti virus software. TME – Tibetan Medicine Education center cannot be held responsible for any virus transferred via email or otherwise, hacking and other types of computer misuse.

Payment
The payment of the 1st year fee (basic course) is made at the enrolment.
On request, it is possible to pay the annual tuition fee in two instalments (+ a fee of CHF 15.- on each payment). The first payment is made at registration, the second 3 months later. Students paying by installment are liable for the entire year fee payment. TME reserves the right to restrict access to course materials and online sessions, and ultimately to cancel enrolment, in the event of failure by the student to make installment payments by the due date.

Ability to participate
Participants take part in TME activities fully responsible of their behavior and must notify TME-Tibetan Medicine Education center of any physical and/or psychological impairments before the seminar/course/workshop/retreat. If necessary, participants must consult a physician or psychotherapist. TME-Tibetan Medicine Education center reserves the right to exclude participants who do not fulfill the physical and/or psychological requirements from participating in a seminar/course/workshop/retreat.

In order to maintain an appropriate learning environment, students having an inappropriate, disruptive, or offensive behavior may be excluded from courses or workshops. Tibetan medicine study and practice is not compatible with the use of recreational drugs. People who are used to consuming such substances are not accepted in workshops. Besides, any course participants found intoxicated or under the influence of recreational drugs or alcool will be asked to leave immediately.
In case of exclusion, any additional costs will be borne by the participants and the amount already paid will not be refunded.

Minimum number of participants
In the case where the minimum number of 12 students required to start a Tibetan Medicine 3-year course, or of 7 students for an advanced course, seminar or workshop has not been reached, TME shall inform the enrollee/participant at least 3 weeks before the date of the course (2 months before the workshop). If TME is unable to offer the enrollee/participant an alternative course, it shall reimburse the fees paid in advance. When a minimum number of 7 students is not reached in the 2nd or 3rd year, students may have to wait for the next session.
The enrollee/participant shall not be entitled to make any claims for having been inconvenienced or for any other damage.

Withdrawals
Prior to the start of the course: withdrawals from a course or a seminar are accepted until 30 days before the course’s start without any charge aside from an administrative fee of CHF 60.-. Withdrawals must be communicated in writing. There will be no reimbursement for later cancellation.
After the start of the course: Should the course participant withdraw from the TM course, or not take part in online sessions or exams, he or she shall not be entitled to claim any reimbursement.
In the unlikely event that TME has to cancel a course or a seminar, the full pre-payment for the cancelled sessions will be refunded. There will be no claim for other compensation.

Certification
At the end of the three-year course, students who have successfully passed all the exams will get a certification from TME. This certification attests the three-year study of Traditional Tibetan Medicine and its contemporary practice and interpretation.
Tibetan Medicine, like many other complementary medicines, is still not officially recognized in many countries. Students must then be aware that even if this certification attests their knowledge on Tibetan Medicine, it is not an authorization to practice per se, as legal recognition and licenses depend on the laws of each country.
Thus, the participants who are already medical doctors or who already have an official authorization to practice as naturopath practitioners in their country can receive the TME certificate as an attestation for their additional knowledge on Tibetan medicine and related techniques.
The participants who have not yet graduated in any medical complementary discipline will also receive the same certificate from TME, but in order to have a legal recognition in their country as a health practitioner, they may have to obtain extra certificates depending on their country laws.

Auditor status
At the end of the 1st year, Students who wish to continue the course without taking the exam, have the possibility to switch their Student status into an Auditor status.
Auditors can attend the course the same way as students, with the same access to the material and online sessions, but they don’t take exams and cannot obtain certification. Regarding the workshops, if the number of places available is not sufficient, the priority is given to Students. Besides, Auditors cannot participate in programs for advanced students.

Applicable law, jurisdiction
Swiss law exclusively shall be applicable to the present contract. Neuchâtel, Switzerland is stipulated as the place of jurisdiction.

FAQ

TM courses A and B (1st year (Basic), 2nd and 3rd year):

  • Students receive written material (downloadable pdf textbooks), as well as commentaries in the form of audio and video teachings. They can then study at their own pace.
  • Once a month (9 times a year), they are invited to attend a scheduled direct online interactive teaching session with Dr. Pasang Yonten Arya, where they will have the possibility to ask questions and receive further teachings and advice on specific chapters.

TM course A

  • A 11-day practical workshop in Europe (10 days of teachings and practical training + 1 day examination) takes place during the 3rd year.

Who is the teacher?
TM courses A and B (1st year (Basic), 2nd and 3rd year):
Audio and video teachings as well as interactive online sessions are given by Dr. Pasang Yonten Arya

Workshop (TM course A)
Most of the lessons of the on-site practical workshop are also given by Dr. Pasang Yonten Arya. Some other experts in Tibetan medicine may also intervene for specific subjects.

The Tibetan medicine course provides an authentic and reliable knowledge and covers all the main aspects of Tibetan medicine theory, diagnosis and practice in its traditional form. It is based on “the Essentials of Gyud-shi”, a three book treatise written by Prof. Pasang Yonten Arya that expounds the traditional Gyud-shi (the Four medical Tantras), as well as its contemporary practice and interpretation. It presents then the traditional aspects of Tibetan Medicine, but it also comprises contemporary comments and explanations on these texts, as well as the presentation of the present-day development, application and practice of Tibetan Medicine.

This program, begun in 2010, will end in 2025 with the completion of the course of the 11th batch of students.
A final class was opened in October 2022.
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There is no particular prerequisite to take the Tibetan Medicine online course.
It is of course beneficial for the students to already have notions in the western medicine field or Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and culture but it is not compulsory.
The course is open to all, regardless of social, ethnic or spiritual backgrounds. Being Buddhist is not a prerequisite. However, as Tibetan medicine is based on Buddhist philosophy, students are expected to study its principles with an open mind.

No. The course is given in English and knowledge of Tibetan is not compulsory. Yet, of course, any notion of Tibetan language is very beneficial.

Options A and B (1st year (Basic), 2nd and 3rd year):
The course fees cover the course texts (downloadable pdf documents), audio and video teachings, and the access to the online sessions for a year (9 interactive online sessions), as well as all registration and examination fees.

TM course A:
The on-site workshop course fee covers the teachings and practice sessions. It does not cover travelling expense, lodging and boarding.

Students need access to a PC or Mac and to the internet.

To read the pdf documents, students need Acrobat Reader installed in their computer. If the software is not already installed, it can be downloaded freely from Adobe.com website.

Audio teachings are on mp3 format. They can be played on a computer or other device that can play the mp3 format.

For the direct online session, they need an internet connection (with a sufficient broadband connexion, approximately 150kbps), and a webcam.

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