The Chagpori Medical College was first established in 1696 as a center for training in traditional Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa). After the monastery was destroyed in 1959, it was restarted in 1992 by Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche in Darjeeling, India, to preserve the Chagpori system of medicine.
Author: Rice Univ. Research Team
Institute Of Traditional Tibetan Medicine (Warsaw, Poland)
The Institute of Traditional Tibetan Medicine was opened in Warsaw, Poland by Dr. Venerable Tenzin Jangchub with the blessing of the Dalai Lama. In addition to providing Sowa Rigpa-based healthcare, the Institute works to educate non-Tibetan people and foster mutual understanding between biomedical doctors and practitioners of traditional Tibetan Buddhist medicine.
Land of Medicine Buddha (Santa Cruz, California USA)
The Land of Medicine Buddha is a meditation and retreat center in Santa Cruz, California that is involved in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhist teachings and health practices through Dharma classes, guided meditations, pujas, and festivals.
Shaolin Temple 少林寺 (Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, Henan, China)
The Shaolin Temple, located in China’s Henan Province, has become well-known on a global scale in recent years for its martial arts and has subsequently enlarged its tourism efforts. Besides its activities in martial arts, the Shaolin Temple has also sought to establish itself as an academic institution of Buddhism and Chinese Buddhist medicine.
Buddhist Humanitarianism and Medical Outreach in Africa
In Africa, Buddhist humanitarian movements have engaged in social and medical outreach projects. This humanitarianism has been driven by organizations both with and without missionary goals, as well as Buddhist actors.
Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital (Taichung, Taiwan)
The Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital was initially built in response to the lack of access to healthcare in Taichung’s Tanzi District and its surrounding areas. In addition to community health outreach, the hospital currently focuses on a wide array of medical services, ranging from preventive care to long-term care.
Tuệ Tĩnh đường Hải Đức (Huế, Vietnam)
The organization Tuệ Tĩnh đường Hải Đức operates four free medical clinics in the Thừa Thiên Huế Province of Vietnam. Under the umbrella organization Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, these clinics have medically trained monks and nuns that use a combination of traditional Vietnamese medicine and Western medicine to treat hundreds of patients a day.
Men-Tsee-Khang བོད་ཀྱི་སྨན་རྩིས་ཁང་། (Dharamshala, India)
The Men-Tsee-Khang is currently the most prominent institution of Tibetan medicine and astrology. Though originally reestablished in Dharamsala, India to preserve Tibetan culture, its development over the past 60 years has modernized Tibetan medicine and contributed to its popularity worldwide.
Wat Pho วัดโพธิ์ (Bangkok, Thailand)
Wat Pho is one of the most prominent Buddhist royal temples in Thailand due to both its religious and cultural significance. With one of its key roles being to preserve and teach traditional Thai culture, Wat Pho has been critical in standardizing and promoting traditional Thai medicine.
Hospital Los Ángeles (Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay)
Hospital Los Ángeles was established by Foguang Shan, a transnational humanistic Buddhist organization based in Taiwan. Currently, Hospital Los Ángeles is one of the most prominent hospitals in Ciudad del Este that specialize in maternal and neonatal care.
Won Buddhism (Iksan, South Korea)
Won Buddhism is a modernized Korean Buddhist religion and transnational organization with a global network of temples, educational institutions, and medical institutions specializing in traditional Korean medicine and modern Western biomedicine.
Tzu Chi (Hualien City, Taiwan)
Tzu Chi is a transnational humanistic Buddhist organization involved in medical charity, disaster relief, and environmental advocacy worldwide. In Taiwan, Tzu Chi has also established a network of hospitals, each tailored to the needs of its specific location, as well as educational institutions in Hualien where it is headquartered.
Sitagū Buddha Vihāra (Austin, Texas USA)
The Sitagū Buddha Vihāra is a temple in Austin, Texas that has been instrumental in advancing Theravāda Buddhist practice in Texas and surrounding areas, promoting health through common Buddhist practices and community outreach, and maintaining Burmese culture.
Jivitadana Sangha Hospital ဇီဝိတဒါနသံဃာဆေးရုံကြီး (Yangon, Myanmar)
The Jivitadana Sangha Hospital in Yangon, Myanmar, serves as a free health organization primarily for monks and nuns. It is managed by laypeople according to Buddhist principles regarding caring for the sick.
Shivagakomarpaj Traditional Thai Medicine School (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
The Shivagakomarpaj Thai Traditional Medicine School or “Old Medicine Hospital” has been instrumental in developing and popularizing Thai Traditional Medicine in Chiang Mai, a city that has witnessed rapid growth in the number of massage clinics, foot massage stations, spas, and schools over the past 25 years.
Seongmyeong Sa 성명사 (Namhae, South Korea)
Seongmyeong Sa 聖明寺 is a temple and pilgrimage site in Namhae, Korea. The abbot uses Korean and Tibetan Buddhist medicine in his teachings and occasionally treats patients.
Tibetan Medicine and Holistic Healing Clinic (Boulder, Colorado USA)
The Tibetan Medicine and Holistic Healing Clinic in Boulder, Colorado, provides disease prevention and healing through diet, herbs, lifestyle choices, meditation, and Buddhist rituals, all individually tailored to each patients’ needs and attributes.
Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation (Los Angeles, California USA)
Tzu Chi Medical Foundation (LA) serves its community by providing disaster relief and medical care to those in need. They have established a network of charitable clinics, mobile locations, and health fairs tailored to the needs of the community.
Lý Triều Quốc Sư Pagoda (Hà Nội, Vietnam)
The Lý Triều Quốc Sư Pagoda is an ancient Vietnamese Buddhist pagoda and landmark in Hanoi dedicated to the monk Nguyễn Chí Thành, famous for healing King Lý Thánh Tông and teaching medicine.