Tibetan medicine has come to represent multiple and sometimes conflicting agendas. On the one hand it must retain a sense of cultural authenticity and a connection to Tibetan Buddhism; on the other it must prove efficacious and safe according to biomedical standards. Recently, Tibetan medicine has found a place within the multibillion-dollar market for complementary, traditional, and herbal medicines as people around the world seek alternative paths to wellness. Healing Elements explores how Tibetan medicine circulates through diverse settings in Nepal, China, and beyond as commercial goods and gifts, and as target therapies and panacea for biophysical and psychosocial ills. Through an exploration of efficacy - what does it mean to say Tibetan medicine "works"? - this book illustrates a bio-politics of traditional medicine and the meaningful, if contested, translations of science and healing that occur across distinct social ecologies.

List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsNotes on the Use of Non-English TermsList of AcronymsIntroduction1. Portrait of a Himalayan Healer2. The Pulse of an Institution3. Lineage and Legitimacy4. Therapeutic Encounters5. Good Manufacturing Practices6. Cultivating the Wilds7. The Biography of a MedicineConclusionGlossaryNotesBibliographyIndex