9b2. Soils

Below are some of the different soils used in Tibetanmedicine.

Name Taste Potency UsesYellowsulphur

Astringent Neutral Expels evil spirits,heals wounds and

infections.Natron Sweet and

saltyHot Treats indigestion,

tumours, microorganisms.It is an

antidote.Yellowochre

Sweet Cool Treats inflammationof the nerves andfive vital organs,

burns, wounds andinfections.3. Minerals

Below are some of the minerals which are used in Tibetanmedicine.

166 Principles of tibetan medicineName Taste Potency Uses

Orpiment Bitter Hot Treats glandular feverand septic wounds.

Calamine Astringent Cool Treats hepatitis, healsbone cracks and

fractures.Stalactite Astringent Hot Heals tendons and

ligaments damagedthrough injury.

Magnet Astringent Hot Removes iron nailsand bullets from the

body, heals cracks andbone fractures, aids

cranial nerve disorders.Calcite Sweet Hot Treats ulcers,

hearburn, diarrhoea,elimates fever, healscracked bones and

fractures.

All soils and minerals are detoxified and incinerated beforebeing powdered and used as medication.

The following ingredients – wood, mucilaginous,shrubs and herbs – used in the preparation of Tibetan

medicine have to follow the seven important procedures.These are:

The plants should be grown intheir own natural habitat

For example, a cool potency medicine such as gentianshould grow in a cold climate like Tibet, and a hot potency

medicine such as pomegranate should grow in a hot climatelike India. The surroundings of where the plants are grown

Treatment Techniques: Part II 167should be clean, spacious and have good light; plants grownin these surroundings should also be healthy, undamaged byinsects and the weather. It is considered bad to pick plantsgrown near places such as cemeteries or places of refuse.

The plants should be collected at the right timeDifferent plants grow in different seasons, and all the differentparts of the plant should be collected at the appropriate time.

Root plants such as dandelion, rhubarb, solomon’sseal, rheum nobile; the stem parts such as moonseed,

blackberry; the trunk parts such as eaglewood, white andred sandalwood – should all be collected in the late autumnas this is the time when the plants are their most potent and

all the plant nutrients are stored in those particular parts.Leaf parts of the plants such as halerpestes sarmentosa,phlogacanthus pubinervius, spleenwort; the latex parts of

the plant such as spurge, euphorbia royleana; the stalk partsof the plant such as horned cumin – should all be collected

in the wet summer as this is the time when these parts are attheir peak potency.

Flower parts of the plants such as wild rose,rhododendron arboreaum, yellow and pink lousewort;the fruit parts of the plant such as emblica officinalis,

pomegranate, nutmeg; the seed parts of the plant such ascaraway, anemone rivularis – should be collected when theyare fully ripened in the middle of the autumn when they are

at their most potent.Bark parts of the plants such as northern ash, cinnamon,

China berry; inner-rind parts of the plants such as barberry,rosehip; sap such as saps from pine and sal trees – should all

be collected in the spring when the plants are at the peakenergy and at their most potent.

Plants with a purgative potency such as croton,liburnum and chickweed – should be collected at the end of

168 Principles of tibetan medicinethe autumn when the water and earth elements are at their

peak and have been absorbed by the roots.Plants with an emetic potency such as inkberry, thistleand sweetflag – should be collected in the early spring

when the plant buds are first appearing and the fire and airelements are at their peak strength.

According to the lunar calendar the plants are collectedwhen the moon is waxing. When being collected Medicine

Buddha mantras are recited.