Mercury, Toxicity, and Safety in Tibetan Metical Practice
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TAMING THE POISONOUS Mercury, Toxicity, and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practice Barbara Gerke HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING Taming the Poisonous: Mercury, Toxicity, and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practice Heidelberg Studies on Transculturality – 7 Series Editors: Reuven Amitai, Jerusalem; Christiane Brosius, Heidelberg; Beatrix Busse, Köln; Prasenjit Duara, Durham; Christian Henriot, Lyon; Madeleine Herren, Basel; Nikolas Jaspert, Heidelberg; Monica Juneja, Heidelberg; Joachim Kurtz, Heidelberg; Thomas Maissen, Paris; Joseph Maran, Heidelberg; Axel Michaels, Heidelberg; Barbara Mittler, Heidelberg; Sumathi Ramaswamy, Durham; Rudolf Wagner (†), Heidelberg; Roland Wenzlhuemer, Munich Taming the Poisonous Mercury, Toxicity, and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practice Barbara Gerke HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING Barbara Gerke https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5271-8394 (M.Sc., D.Phil., University of Oxford) is a social and medical anthropologist researching Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa), mainly in Himalayan regions. She has been the principal investigator of several research projects on Tibetan medicine. Her current FWF (Austrian Science Fund) project “Potent Substances in Sowa Rigpa and Buddhist Rituals” is based at the University of Vienna. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie. Detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. This book is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). The cover is subject to the Creative Commons License CC BY-ND 4.0. Published by Heidelberg University Publishing (heiUP) Heidelberg 2021. The electronic, open access version of this work is permanently available on Heidelberg University Publishing’s website: https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de. urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heiup-book-746-2 doi: https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.746 Text © 2021, Barbara Gerke. Cover image: A piece of artificial cinnabar, Dehradun, 2013 (© Thomas K. Shor). ISSN 2365-7987 (Print) ISSN 2365-7995 (eISSN) ISBN 978-3-96822-043-7 (Softcover) ISBN 978-3-96822-042-0 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-3-96822-041-3 (PDF) Table of Contents A Note on Tibetan and Sanskrit Terms ........................................................... 1 List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................... 3 List of Illustrations ............................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... 9 Maps ................................................................................................................. 13 1 Introduction: “It takes time to tame a wild horse” ................................ 15 2 Setting the Scene: Poison and Potency .................................................. 47 3 The Pharmaceutical Nexus of Mercury Practices .................................. 85 4 History and Knowledge Transmission ................................................. 133 5 Blood and Semen: Women and Mercury ............................................ 169 6 The Evidence of Safety .......................................................................... 197 7 Taming the Poisonous and the Potent ................................................ 237 8 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 263 Appendices ................................................................................................... 279 Glossaries of Tibetan and Sanskrit Terms ................................................ 297 References .................................................................................................... 335 Index .............................................................................................................. 369 v A Note on Tibetan and Sanskrit Terms In this book, Tibetan terms are introduced with a phonetic transcription (if used more than once), followed by the transliteration in Wylie (1959) accord- ing to “THL’s Extended Wylie Transliteration Scheme” (Chandler et al. 2004) at first use. Thereafter, only the phoneticized term is used. The phonetic transcription follows the “THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription of Stand- ard Tibetan” by David Germano and Nicolas Tournadre (2003) as closely as possible. However, the phonetic transcription for proper Tibetan names, which have previously been published in secondary literature, does not fol- low THL. Thus: Lobsang not Lozang, Tenzin Chödrak, not Tendzin Chödrak, Tashi Tenzin, and not Trashi Tendzin, Ngawang and not Ngakwang (and in Ladakh: Nawang). The names of contemporary physicians are transcribed according to their own usage, for example: Tenzin Thaye, Tashi Tsering. Phonetics of previously published place names also do not follow the THL system, for example: Powo Tramo, not Pobo Tramok (Spo bo kra mog); Kyirong, not Kyidrong (Skyid grong); Phagri, not Pakri (Phag ri). Tibetan names, places, names of formulas, and general terms that occur more than once are listed alphabetically with their Wylie transliterations and explanations in the glossaries. Well-known Tibetan terms, such as lama or amchi, are used in their anglicized forms, without a plural -s. Sanskrit terms are transliterated following the “International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration” (IAST) scheme (Wikipedia 2019). All Sanskrit terms are explained in the glossary. Translations from the Tibetan are my own unless otherwise indicated. Published in: Gerke, Barbara, 2021. Taming the Poisonous. Mercury, Toxicity, 1 and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practice. Heidelberg Studies on Transculturality 7. Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.746 List of Abbreviations AYUSH The Indian ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and Homoeopathy BHU Banaras Hindu University BMTK Bod rang skyong ljongs sman rtsis khang (Mentsikhang of the Tibet Autonomous Region) BSRMS Bachelor of Sowa Rigpa Medicine and Surgery, previously BTMS (Bachelor of Tibetan Medicine and Surgery) CCTM Central Council of Tibetan Medicine CIBS Central Institute of Buddhist Studies CIHTS Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, previously CUTS (Central University of Tibetan Studies) CTA Central Tibetan Administration CTMI Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute DFG German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) EDX energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (detects the elements in a substance) EPA Environmental Protection Agency EU European Union FWF Austrian Science Fund, Wissenschaftsfonds (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung) GMP Good Manufacturing Practice Hg elemental (metallic) mercury HgS mercury sulfide HMPs herbal medicinal products IISD International Institute for Sustainable Development LTWA Library of Tibetan Works and Archives MTK “Medicine-Astrology-House,” spelled Men-Tsee-Khang when referring to the Tibetan medical institute in Dharamsala and Mentsikhang for Lhasa NGO non-governmental organization OTC over-the-counter PRC People’s Republic of China SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome, a viral disease of the respiratory tract STEDT The Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus TAR Tibet Autonomous Region TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine THL The Tibetan & Himalayan Library TMAI Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (now Men-Tsee-Khang) TM / CAM traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine Published in: Gerke, Barbara, 2021. Taming the Poisonous. Mercury, Toxicity, 3 and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practice. Heidelberg Studies on Transculturality 7. Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.746 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TMPs traditional medicine products TNN Times News Network TTM traditional Tibetan medicine UNEP United Nations Environment Programme US United States WHO World Health Organization 4 List of Illustrations Map 1: Overview of the geographic regions mentioned in the book. Map 2: Relevant places in the western Himalayan region. Map 3: Relevant places in the central and eastern Himalayan and Tibetan plateau regions. Fig. 1: Various precious pills from India and Nepal wrapped in different colored silk cloth. Many of them contain processed mercury in the form of an organometallic mercury sulfide compound. Photo: Brigitta Gerke-Jork. Fig. 2: Precious pills were wrapped in silk cloth and sealed with wax by hand at the Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharamsala, India, before the introduction of machine-made blister packs in 2009. Photo: Men-Tsee-Khang. Fig. 3: View of the Men-Tsee-Khang complex from the circuit below the Dalai Lama’s temple, overlooking the Kangra Valley, May 2016. Photo: Thomas K. Shor. Fig. 4: Pre-processed cinnabar is wrapped in a cotton ball (kanduk) and heated over a tray of cow dung with the help of a hand-operated bellows. It is then covered with a clay bowl and kept overnight, smoldering. Dehradun, 2013. Photo: Thomas K. Shor. Fig. 5: Balendu Prakash opens the Kanduk Yantra (a ball-like apparatus to distill mercury from cinnabar) the next morning; the wrapped-up pre-processed cinnabar had smoldered inside the cotton ball all night. Dehradun, 2013. Photo: Thomas K. Shor. Fig. 6: Mercury pellets form and collect at the bottom of the earthen bowl as Balendu Prakash scrapes the evaporated mercury dust off the sides. Dehradun, 2013. Photo: Thomas K. Shor.