Public Employee Press

Ancient medical marvels

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

WHY WE GET SICK is a question that has perplexed humans since the beginning of time. A series of hand-painted reproductions of Tibetan medical scrolls of the 1600s, now hanging in the American Museum of Natural History, offers answers that resonate today.

According to the teachings of Buddha, mind, body and spirit must be in balance to attain well-being and good health. These rare paintings, on exhibit in a museum for the first time, are based on early medical scrolls that Nepalese artist Romio Shrestha copied in the 1990s. They illustrate in detail human anatomy and the ancient medical beliefs and practices of Tibet.

"This exhibit attracts people interested in alternative and traditional medicine, Tibetan healing and medical history, and those who follow the Dalai Lama," said Curator Laila Williamson, a Local 1559 member who traveled several times to Tibet for work and spent 11 years organizing the show.

Although the 2008 financial market crash delayed this exhibition, Williamson worked with two friends - patrons who gave generously to reopen the museum's Audubon Gallery and financed the salary of a Local 1501 Museum Guard.

The "Body and Spirit" exhibit is one of dozens put together by DC 37 members at New York cultural institutions, which attract millions of tourists and billions of dollars to the city every year.

The originals, painted in mineral and vegetable dyes, were used as teaching aids in the medical school founded by the fifth Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet. They depict causes of illness, diagnostic techniques and treatments and show important aspects of 17th century Tibetan culture, dress, hairstyles and houses. The whimsical drawings of the skeletons and skulls reinforce the Buddhist pursuit of spiritual well-being, liberation and bliss as essential components of health.

Clad in saffron and crimson robes and wearing citron headdresses at the Jan. 25 opening, monks from Tibet's Tashi Lhunpo Monastery chanted prayers to cleanse the exhibit area of negativity and made a sacred mandala of colored sand. In Tibet, monks are the doctors and pharmacists charged with passing on these ancient medical practices.


Tibetan medicine teaches that the circulatory and nervous systems are conduits through which life's essence fl ows. One illustration depicts 360 bones in the human skeleton, while Western medicine counts only 206. Other paintings chart dreams and omens as portents of health and well-being and prescribe healing through herbs, dialogue, touch and observation.

"Tibetans are a very lovely people with a positive outlook in life, which may involve their practice of Buddhism and its teaching of acceptance and doing away with anger and aggression," said Williamson.

"The artistic expression in these small scenes offers us a window into the life, deities and traditions that add to the wonder of this art and the early culture that produced it."

"Body and Spirit: Tibetan Medical Paintings" will be on exhibit through July 17 in the Audubon Gallery, 4th floor, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 10 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. Suggested museum admission is $16 (adults) and $9 (children). You may pay less when buying tickets at any admissions desk.