“Go slow. Instead of looking for faults in others, learn to recognise your own mistakes. This can help you transform yourself. Set aside some time and space for honest introspection. When you accept suffering as a part of life, you begin to understand how to change its course and find a way forward.”
That is the message Dr Dorjee Rapten, a Tibetan medicine practitioner with decades of experience, wants to share with a world racing to achieve more, earn more and keep pace with changing lifestyles, often at the cost of physical and emotional well-being.
He believes people are increasingly losing touch with their bodies and minds.
“I want the world to slow down. Social media, the rat race and the constant desire for better facilities and new gadgets are making people increasingly stressed,” the chief physician at Tibetan Medical Centre, Bangalore, tells The Health Outlook over the phone. The Centre was inaugurated by His Holiness The Dalai Lama himself in December 1997. Today, Tibetan medicine has spread across India, Nepal, Europe and the United States. Doctors from these countries visit regularly, sometimes monthly, for consultations, lectures, presentations and teaching, he says.
Dr Rapten’s approach draws on Sowa-Rigpa, the traditional Tibetan system of medicine, which considers diet, daily routines, the environment and individual well-being as part of its understanding of health.
Dr Rapten explains that most patients often begin consultations by discussing their test results, particularly cholesterol and blood sugar levels. While these measurements are important for diagnosing and managing disease, he believes they should not be the only way people assess their health.
“I often tell my patients not to focus only on numbers. When I ask someone how they are doing, they immediately tell me their HDL, LDL, blood sugar or other numbers."
“I tell them to look beyond the numbers and tell me how they actually feel.”
During consultations, he emphasises, he pays attention to how patients walk, sit, stand and speak, as well as their alertness and clarity of thought. “Some patients continue to feel unwell because a test result remains outside their expected range, even when they notice improvements in their daily lives.”
No doubt, his emphasis on everyday functioning points to an important aspect of healthcare: how a person feels and manages daily activities matters alongside clinical measurements.
However, the two must go together, he asserts. Someone with diabetes, high cholesterol or hypertension may feel perfectly well even when the condition is damaging their health. Regular tests, medical advice and prescribed treatment remain essential, he clarifies.
Dr Rapten, who sees a large number of patients at his clinic every day, including those with cancer, is equally concerned about the emotional burdens they carry but rarely talk about. He observes that patients may appear cheerful on the surface while quietly struggling with worries and distress they find difficult to share.
“Many patients hide their emotions. I can sometimes see signs of stress in their face, eyes or skin, but when I ask them, they say they are fine.”
With such patients, he gently quotes a line from Jagjit Singh’s famous ghazal: “Tum itna kyun muskuraa rahe ho, kya gam hai jisko chhupa rahe ho (what emotions are you hiding behind that smile)?”
The idea is to encourage patients to speak openly about their concerns and examine patterns in their lives that may be adding to their difficulties. He believes that, in some situations, taking medicine alone may not address every aspect of a person's distress.
He adds that people may need to change certain habits, make time for themselves and find healthier ways of responding to difficult situations.
“People also need to deal with bottled-up emotions, breathe freely, smile, enjoy life and try to look at the more positive side of life.”
Amid growing stress-induced suicide cases being reported across the country, as in the world, his observations underline the importance of discussing emotional well-being during healthcare consultations.
Persistent stress can affect sleep, appetite, concentration and relationships, while mental health conditions may need professional assessment and treatment. Relaxation, meditation and conversations with trusted people can be helpful, but they should not replace qualified care when distress becomes severe or persistent.
Nor should physical symptoms automatically be attributed to emotional problems. Conditions such as thyroid disorders, diabetes and other illnesses require appropriate medical investigation.
Diet is another important part of Dr Rapten's approach. Sowa-Rigpa has its own traditional framework for understanding food, including the properties of different ingredients and their place in an individual's diet, he explains. Because Tibetan medicine has a strong foundation in Buddhist philosophy, there is also an emphasis on humility, compassion and the relationship between mind and body, he adds.
These factors form part of Sowa-Rigpa's traditional approach, which views individuals in relation to their surroundings.
His concern extends to children, who are increasingly caught between academic competition, parental expectations and the pressure to keep up with their peers. School, tuition, examinations and organised activities often leave them with little time for free play or rest. Dr Rapten says parents must understand that children, too, need the freedom to slow down, unwind and enjoy their childhood without constantly feeling the need to achieve.
“Awareness programmes are important, but society must also examine the expectations it places on children,” he says.
While stating that he has encountered patients with serious illnesses, including cancer, who reportedly lived for many years while using Tibetan medicines, he acknowledges that documenting such experiences systematically and conducting collaborative research remain major challenges.
The medicines are prepared by pharmacists, while doctors research medicinal substances derived from plants, shrubs, trees and other sources. The pharmaceutical section focuses on studying how these substances can be processed and formulated into medicines.
“People who turn to this system of medicine also want scientific evidence to support its use. We recognise the importance of proper documentation and are working to address this gap. Our aim is to build a stronger scientific evidence base for Tibetan medicine,” he said.
At my medical college in Bengaluru, we are working on a retrospective study involving more than 200 cancer cases in which patients have reportedly used Tibetan medicine for over ten to fifteen years. We are reviewing their records, he adds.
Another challenge is the availability of trained personnel. Developing and retaining skilled practitioners is also an important issue.
Also, as climate change, habitat degradation and unsustainable harvesting threaten medicinal plant resources in different parts of the world, Dr Rapten is equally concerned about the availability of medicinal plants used in traditional systems.
“Climate change and the continuing exploitation of natural resources are affecting the availability of these herbs. We therefore need to identify suitable alternatives and develop ways to ensure sustainable availability,” he says.
