Pulse diagnosis in Tibetan medical texts

• Applicant: Dr. Olaf Czaja
• Subject Area: Asian Studies
• Term: from 2012 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 223432890

Pulse diagnosis is the most important diagnostic method in Tibetan medicine. Until today, there exist a number of summaries only that almost exclusively take the perspective of the most important treatise of Tibetan medicine, the Rgyud bzhi. The chapter on pulse, forming the basis for those descriptions, is also available in a few translations. However, there is no academic study comprehensively examining pulse diagnosis. In this research project, it is planned to analyze a large selection of medical texts, beginning with earliest textual sources of Tibetan medicine and extending to the present. These sources comprises of systematic presentations of pulse diagnosis and practically relevant instructions. The aim of the project is an extensive monographic treatment of the pulse diagnosis including an in-depth analysis of pulse diagnostic ideas and, additionally, the edition and translation of a selection of relevant texts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants