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The
Tibetan Art of Healing
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"The Tibetan Art of Healing is a great work of cultural
preservation."
~Andrew
Weil, MD, author of Spontaneous Healing
Based on a revered collection of three-hundred-year-old Tibetan thangkas
(elaborate paintings that portray a philosophy of healing based on Buddhist
beliefs, Ayurvedic practices, and ancient shamanic traditions), this
extraordinarily beautiful 192 page book is both an exquisite piece of art and
an object of profound meditation. The art is rendered by Nepal's foremost
traditional artist, Romio Shrestha, using the age-old technique of painting
with rich minerals such as gold, lapis, and garnet. Tibetan scholar, Ian
Baker guides the reader through the paintings, unfolding their ancient
secrets and insights on such areas as stress, allergies, heart disease,
sexual alchemy, rejuvenation and Tantric yoga.
In the foreword, His Holiness The Dali Lama, offers the following:
"As living beings we all wish to achieve happiness and avoid suffering.
Our desire for health, for complete physical and mental well-being, is an
expression of this, for everyone wants to be well and no one wishes to be
sick. Consequently, health is not a matter of merely personal interest, but a
universal concern for which we all share some responsibility. This is why the
ideal physician is one who combines sound medical understanding with a strong
realization of wisdom and compassion." The Dalai Lama continues that
Tibetan medicine is deeply influenced by Buddhist practice and theory which
stresses the indivisible interdependence of mind, body and vitality."
In
the preface to the book, Deepok Chopra, MD comments that
"...religious
art in the Tibetan tradition represents symbolically the dynamic interplay of
macro- and microcosm. The mere sight of such art can invoke within our
physiology a memory of wholeness when we meditate on a painting that has
within it the memory of wholeness, our attention shifts from the superficial
turbulent activity of the world to a transcendental reality: a realm of
peace, harmony, laughter and joy. Restoring these qualities to our
consciousness once again allows the flow of nature's intelligence throughout
the body."
Chopra describes Romio's art as celestial. Romio is an exceptionally gifted
artist who was recognized at the age of five as the reincarnation of a
revered painter from Tibet. Chopra states that "it is my profound belief
that great art can initiate the healing response within us, and urge us
beyond all limited self-identifications, beyond time and boundaries. This is
the liberated state of the Buddhas, the awakened ones, towards which these
paintings guide us."
As a support for meditation, art in Tibetan Buddhism is based on the
revelation of archetypal realities that are normally absent from conscious
thought. Originally created as visual aids for aspiring healers, the Tibetan
medical paintings became sources of inspiration not only for physicians, but
also for patients and pilgrims to the Tibetan medical colleges. According to
Romio Shrestha, the artists in his school follow the traditional practices
involved in the creation of sacred art, visualizing themselves as the deities
depicted and absorbing their spiritual energies before committing the images
to canvas. The paintings thus become vibrant symbols of selfless creativity
and the healing power of art.
Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco
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