RT Article
T1 Unbalanced Flows in the Subtle Body: Tibetan Understandings of Psychiatric Illness and How to Deal With It
JF Journal of religion and health
VO 58
IS 3
SP 770
OP 794
A1 Samuel, Geoffrey 1946-
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
YR 2019
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1666394831
AB Much of what Western medicine classifies as psychiatric illness is understood by Tibetan thought as associated with imbalance of rlung (wind, breath). Rlung has a dual origin in Indian thought, combining elements from Ayurvedic medicine and Tantric Buddhism. Tibetan theories of rlung seem to correspond in significant ways with Western concepts of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and Western medicine too has associated psychiatric issues with ANS problems. But what is involved in relating Tibetan ideas of rlung to Western ideas of the emotions and the ANS? The article presents elements of the two systems and then explores similarities and differences between them. It asks whether the similarities could be the basis for a productive encounter between Tibetan and Western modes of understanding and treating psychiatric illness. What could Western psychiatry learn from Tibetan approaches in this area?
K1 Autonomic Nervous System
K1 Buddhism
K1 Psychiatric illness
K1 subtle body
K1 Tantra
K1 Tibet
DO 10.1007/s10943-019-00774-1