On 21 Feburary, 2011, Prof. Jampa Thinley passed away at the age of 83, due to an illness, at his residential place of Lhasa, the Chinese occupied capital city of Tibet. He did various works on Tibetan medicine and astrology, despite shouldering the main responsibility of Men-Tsee-khan Administration. He can be counted as one of the men who have kept Tibetan culture alive over fifty years. His uncertain demise་is a great loss to our generation.Our solidarity with his family members.
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| 1928-2011 |
About His family:
He was born in 1928 to Mr, Kunchok Woeser and Mrs Kalsang Tsomo, a family called “Gyaltse Tshongkhang” dwelling in the god-blessed city, Lhasa. At the age of six, he learned Tibetan writing and reading from his father, without any difficulties. At the age of seven, he began to enroll in the prestigious private school called Kyiray Lobgra, in Lhasa. He studied there Tibetan writing, reading and spelling for six years and scored excellent results. At 13, his father died.
Education:His mother decided to educate him in order to uphold the unbroken lineage of his parental medical practices and asked Ven. Kenrab Norbu, a great scholar of Tibetan medicine and astrology, for help. By the virtue of having a pure and perfect relationship (guru-disciple) with late Dorjee Gyaltsen, (greandfater of Jampa Thinley) Ven. Kenrab Norbu accepted the boy with gold of heart, and recognized him as a reincarnation of his grandfather, Dorjee Gyalsten, a spiritual master from whom Kenrab Norbu received vows, teachings, and oral transmission. At his tender ages, he was not only a quick study but also a great persevering boy. When he was passing the age of eighteen, he accomplished an excellent result on traditional Tibetan medicine and astrology, after having learned Tibetan literatures, especially medical and astrological studies over nine years. He kept on learning especially Tibetan medicine and astrology in addition to grammar, poetry, and Buddhist philosophical books including legs bshad klu sgrub dgongs rgyan ( The Perfect Words of Naga Juna) and snying thig gi skor myur lam ‘kho ba’I gdms pa. Due to his perseverance, intelligence, and availability of his great masters, he became an eminent scholar. Besides, He received the Cap Award for his excellence in traditional Tibetan medicine and astrology. The Cap Award was established by Ven. Kyenrab Norbu in recognition of outstanding academic advances. The cap, made of a silk, the front embroidered with the picture of a myrobalan arjuna, representing medicine and the back embroidered with the pattern of a sword on a lotus, representing astrology. He was only the recipient of the Cap Award among his contemporary medical practitioners.
Contributions and Works:He composed or edited various books such as Biography of Desi Sangay Gyaltso, Biographies of Great Medical Practitioners, Chronological Events of Lhasa Men-Tsee-Khang, An Attractive Allegory of the Four Medical Tantras, A Book on Tibetan Materia Medica, and Medical Painting Depicting Compendium of the Four Medical Tantras, totaling up to eight volumes, eighty research papers, and eleven textbooks. He published some of these works in national and international journals and magazines, and received various awards, last not at least, huge compliments from the readers.
He incepted the Statue House in which statues of over fifty eminent scholars of medicines and astrology erected. On September 3, 1989, he found the University of Tibetan Medicine (sbod sman slob chen). He established Sorig Literature Research Center and also Astro. Research Centre. In addition, he began to run all hospitals and clinics through a medical system involved both Allopathic and traditional medical knowledge, in a well-controlled manner, thus he got remarks even from Jang Zeming, the former premier of PRC, “Jampa Thinley is a director imbued with outstanding controlling capability.”
Under the guidance of High Level Commisions, he was appointed in 1959 as an administive assistant to Ven. Khyenrab Norbu. As soon as the news of his appointment reached to the ears of the Director, Ven Kyenrab Norbu said with full of gladness, “ Now it is good. In my mind also needs an assistant director.” Following the sad demise of Ven. Kyenrab Norbu, he was promoted to Director and had served Men-Tsee-Khang over thirty years (Thinley 1992).
He did the Chief Editor of gso rig kun due chen mo( Medical Textbooks), Advisors to many organizations and educational centers.
Further Reading:
1. Dadul. bod lugs gso rig tshig mdzod chen mo. Beijing: Minority Publishing House, 2006:545-546
3. www.amdotibet.cn
4. Thinley, Jampa. gang ljongs gso rig bstan pa’i nyin byed rim byon gyi rnam thaphyongs bsgrigs. Dharamsala: Men-Tsee-Khag, 1992. 455-462
