Medical Thangkas

The knowledge of Tibetan Medicine, which is known for its effectiveness in treating not only physical but also mental illnesses, was written down about a thousand years ago in the book of the Four Medical Tantras.

Medical Paintings are one of the unique features of Traditional Tibetan Medicine in that it contains a comprehensive philosophy, cosmology, and system of subtle anatomy with associated spiritual practices.

As stated by the International Academy for Traditional Tibetan Medicine (IATTM) “one of the unique features of Traditional Tibetan Medicine is that it contains a comprehensive philosophy, cosmology, and system of subtle anatomy with associated spiritual practices”.

Traditional Tibetan medicine uses different kinds of ingredients such as plants, minerals, and precious metals. However, 95% of Tibetan medicine is based on herbs.

The history of the Medicine Thangkas starts with Desi Sangye Gyatso’s (1653-1705) regent of Tibet after the passing of the 5th Dalai Lama and famous for overseeing the completion of the Potala Palace.

Arranging the translation of Indian texts based on Ayurveda and inviting Tibetan physicians to pass on their oral traditions, Gyatso produced a new and revised edition of the Four Tantras, known as Blue Beryl, today considered the basis of the study of Tibetan medicine.

During the draft of this important book, Sangye Gyatso commissioned a remarkable collection of seventy-nine annotated medical and anatomical paintings that illustrate the chapters of the Four Tantras.

Today these Thangkas constitute a fundamental piece of educational art that interweaves practical medical knowledge with Buddhist traditions.

Here we display only some of these beautiful artworks, also we accept the commission of every illustration of the set.