Yeshi Dhonden (; 15 May 1927 – 26 November 2019) was a Tibetan doctor of

traditional Tibetan medicine Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...

, and served the 14th Dalai Lama from 1961 to 1980. In 2018, the Indian government honoured him with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

Early life and education

Yeshi Dhonden was born into a family of peasants on 15 May 1927 in Namro, a village located in

Lhoka ShannanThe official spelling according to (), also romanized from Tibetan as Lhoka (; ), is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes Gonggar County within its jurisdiction with Gongkar Chö Mon ...

, Tibet, south of the

Yarlung Tsangpo River The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The upper section is also called Da ...

. He was sent to Sungrab Ling Monastery at the age of six and took novice vows as a Buddhist monk two years later. At eleven, he joined the Chakpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine,

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...

, and studied medicine for nine years. He was taught by Khyenrab Norbu. Dhonden displayed strong memorization skills during the study of the four tantra. At twenty he was recognized as the best in class at the Chakpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine, and was made an honorary doctor of the Dalai Lama. From 1951 onward, he practiced medicine in Tibet in his native region, where he became known for his great efficiency after he had treated an influenza epidemic on the Tibetan-Bhutanese border that year. When the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

went into exile in 1959, Dhonden chose to accompany him and help the Tibetan refugees in India.

Career

In 1959, Yeshi Dhonden was one of the three Tibetan physicians, along with Lobsang Dolma Khangkar and Trogawa Rinpoche, to escape Tibet and was requested by the Dalai Lama to reinstall the Tibetan Institute of Medicine and Astrology in exile. In

Dharamshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

, India, he refounded the Tibetan Institute of Medicine and Astrology in 1961 and served as its Director till 1966. He resigned from the Institute and established a private clinic in 1969. He traveled to the West to present lectures on Tibetan medicine. He was considered an icon on traditional Tibetan medicine and practices, and renowned for his contribution to cancer treatment. He was a foremost expert and proponent of

Sowa Rigpa Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...

, which is a traditional Tibetan medicine system created as a combination of the ancient healing systems of India and China. From 1960 to 1980, he was the personal physician of the Dalai Lama. On 1 April 2019, he retired from medical practice due to declining health.

Books

Dhonden authored the following books: * ''Health Through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine'' (1986), co-authored with Jeffrey Hopkins, * ''Healing from the Source: The Science and Lore of Tibetan Medicine'' (2000), translated by

B. Alan Wallace Bruce Alan Wallace (born 1950) is an American author and expert on Tibetan Buddhism. His books discuss Eastern and Western scientific, philosophical, and contemplative modes of inquiry, often focusing on the relationships between science and Buddh ...

, *''The Ambrosia of Heart Tantra'' (2006), translated by Jhampa Kelsang,

Awards

* 1987, Manrampa Chewa, Men-Tsee-Khanghttps://tibmedcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dr-yeshi-dhondhen-bio.pdf * 2012, Yuthok Award, Central Council of Tibetan Medicine (Dharamsala) * On 20 March 2018, the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

, conferred the Padma Sri of Medicine to Yeshi Dhonden at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

Death

Dhonden died on 26 November 2019 from respiratory failure in

McLeod Ganj McLeod Ganj, also spelt McLeodganj, (pronounced ''Mc-loud-gunj'') is a suburb of Dharamshala in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" (a short form of Dharamshala used mainly by Tibetans) because ...

, India.

References