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Treating Essence with Essence: Re-inventing bcud len as Vitalising Dietary Supplements in Contemporary Tibetan Medicine
Open accessAbstract
Bcud len (pronounced chulen) or 'essence extraction' practices have been described in classical Tibetan medical and religious texts as an element of rejuvenation therapies and preventive antiageing methods.These practices include the ingestion of bcud len pills taken as a dietary supplement or as a substitute for food during meditation and fasting retreats.This paper 1 discusses how ideas of bcud len are interpreted by Men-Tsee-Khang-trained Tibetan doctors in India as 'health tonics' and 'dietary supplements.'What underlies contemporary Tibetan medical ideas of an 'essence extraction' in relation to Tibetan rejuvenation therapies and pharmacological manufacturing practices of such 'tonics'?I argue that not all bcud len are 'essence extractions' and that what constitutes an 'essence' receives various interpretations by contemporary Tibetan doctors.Ethnographic examples presented are based on postdoctoral fieldwork in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India (2009-2010).
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“Gerke identifies three kinds of essence extraction practices: '(1) bcud len products that are taken as supplements in addition to a normal diet; (2) rejuvenating bcud len , i.e. pills and substances used as a substitute for food during ascetic fasting practices and rejuvenation retreats; (3) meditative bcud len , where essences are extracted from the five elements, sexual fluids, breath, awareness”
From The Food of Meditation: Dietary Healing and Power in Tibetan Buddhism (2019) · cites this paper as Gerke 2012, 201.
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References 24 · Cited by 13
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Metadata
- Authors
- Gerke, B.
- Corresponding author
- Gerke, Barbara
- ORCID
- Gerke, Barbara
- Venue
- Asian Medicine
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2012-01-01
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 196-224
- ISSN
- 1573-420X (ISSN-L)
- 1573-4218
- OpenAlex
- W1964388794
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 2.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Asian Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Traditional Chinese Medicine Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › History of Medicine Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
- Keywords
- Tibetan medicine, dietary supplements, rejuvenation therapy, anti-aging, meditation, Dharamsala
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- The paper
- Gerke, B. (2012). Treating Essence with Essence: Re-inventing bcud len as Vitalising Dietary Supplements in Contemporary Tibetan Medicine. Asian Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1163/15734218-12341248
