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Causative Factors
of Illness
There are two main divisions in the causative factors of
illness: long-term causative factors and short-term causative
factors. This chapter also looks at how disease enters our
body and accumulates and how it manifests and causes
illnesses.
Long-term causes
The Tibetan medical texts state that the main cause of every
type of suffering or illness is ma-rig-pa or ignorance. They say
that just as a bird is unable to escape its shadow no matter
how high it flies, so are we unable to lose our ignorance
which has been with us since our birth. Our basic ignorance
generates the three poisons of desire, anger and delusion.
This concept clearly shows us how Tibetan medicine is
closely connected with Buddhist philosophy.
Desire
Desire is like salted water, as we drink more we need more;
we are never satisfied with what we have. We have got so
many wishes to fulfil and we are always seeking something
which we believe will give us permanent happiness.
However, lasting happiness is not something which can be
gained through material comforts. If this was the case we
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in the West would have no problems and in comparison to
people in the East we would always be happy.
The teachings of Buddhism tell us that everything is
impermanent. We Tibetans, for example, have lost our country
and when the first exiles escaped across the Himalayas they
were unable to bring a single family heirloom. This shows
how it is foolish to keep on planning for the distant future
when we do not know what will happen the very next day.
My mother always used to tell me that one day we have to
leave our bodies behind and go into the next world emptyhanded
and alone.
This sort of basic belief helps Tibetans to appreciate the
comforts which we have and to be contented with them.
One of my fathers friends used to say that as long as we
are not in debt we are rich. So basic simplicity in our lives
is best. Desire generates greed, and when our wishes are not
fulfilled we become restless and suffer from sleeplessness.
This causes further anxiety and tension which can disrupt
the subtle flow of Loong and, in some extreme cases, cause
madness. In the Tibetan medical texts desire is symbolized
by a bird which is the creature most associated with sex in
the Nyes-pa-Gsum
We have already discussed the type, location and function of
Loong, mKhris-pa and Bad-Kan within the body; here we will
see the effects of them being disrupted.
Loong is one of the three principal energies of the body
and has the nature of the air element. It is characterized
by being movable, light, cold, subtle, hard and rough. The
subtle flow of Loong is disrupted if we take in excess food and
drink which have the same characteristics as Loong. These
are coffee, tea, pork, goats milk, yoghurt, white and black
peppers, white bread, coca cola, chocolate, grapefruit, lemon
and lime. Loong is disrupted when we perform actions such
as fasting and giving ourselves too much mental stress, suffer
excess blood loss from the body either through accident or
labour, have too much sexual activity, skip meals or do not
eat at the appropriate times. The natural flow of Loong will
also be disrupted if we suffer from chronic diarrhoea and
vomiting, grieve too much for loved ones we have lost, talk
excessively, try to repress the normal eliminating functions of
the body, physically strain ourselves too much on an empty
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stomach, cry until we collapse and work long hours without
rest.
mKhris-pa has the same nature as the fire element. It is
characterized by being hot, sharp, oily, of strong odour,
purgative and fluid. Our bodily heat is increased and mKhrispa
is disrupted if we take in excess food and drink with
similar characteristics to it, such as alcohol (especially spirits
like whisky), lamb, duck, eggs, garlic, chilli, butter, milk, full
fat cheese and cream, nuts and seeds. Wrong actions such
as doing too much strenuous physical exercise in the heat,
constantly being full of anger, sleeping in the middle of
the day, doing excess physical labour such as digging when
gardening, can also lead to mKhris-pa disorders.
Bad-Kan has the same nature as the water and earth
elements. The characteristics of Bad-Kan are heavy,
smooth, blunt, oily, cool, firm and sticky. Bad-Kan energy is
disrupted if we take in excess food and drink with the same
characteristics as it, such as sugar, potatoes, raw milk, raw
vegetables, cold foods, half-cooked meats and chilled drinks.
Wrong actions such as sleeping on a full stomach, eating
late at night, eating too fast, exposing our bodies to cold
weather by wearing inadequate clothing, eating before the
food eaten previously has been properly digested and not
performing enough physical exercise can all lead to Bad-Kan
disorders such as indigestion and water retention.