East Meets West

Although I have been working as a Traditional Chinese Acupuncturist for the past 30 years， I have never visited China until recently. On December 15th 2015， I arrived in Beijing. The English newspapers had been full of how Beijing is suffering from deadly smog. To my surprise I emerge from my Air China flight into cold but brilliant sunshine and a clear blue sky， the clear weather lasted until the day I left Beijing.

On 17th December 2015， I met up with my colleague Marina Mozzato. Marina is Italian and had travelled to her beloved China two weeks earlier to experience at first hand Traditional Chinese Medicine， Tai Chi and practice her Chinese language. She certainly developed a wonderful fl uency and a Chinese man from Singapore was overheard to say “who is that girl？ Her Chinese is better than mine！”

The China Tibetology Research Center

Our fi rst port of call was China Tibetology Research Center. We were warmly welcomed by Mrs. Huang and the center staff and we agreed to collaborate in the area of Tibetan Medical Bathing and Health Recovery.

Tibetan Medical Bathing and Health Recovery is particularly suitable for introduction in the west because it is an external therapy and not bound by the very restrictive regulations of internal medicine， which lead to the burning of 100’s of kilos of Tibetan Medicine in Switzerland at the behest of the western pharmaceutical industry. In China you are very fortunate to have the freedom and government support for ethnic Chinese and Tibetan medical systems.

The Museum of Tibetan Culture

After a delicious lunch with our new colleagues， we then were taken to the Museum of Tibetan Culture. It was fascinating to see such an excellent presentation of the history of Tibet.

We saw how the fi rst Tibetans lived in the Stone Age and the various stages of development of Chinese and Tibetan culture and society. It was most interesting to be reminded of Chairman Mao. Not so long age the world map was largely the pink of a corrupt British Empire which has invaded 170 out of 193 countries in the world. Using the fractional reserve banking policy it has sought to enslave the world through debt. Disgusted by this， in the coff ee houses of 19th century London， Engels and Marx wrote the communist manifesto.

There is no doubt that Chairman Mao was a great thinker and leader， and sort to rid his world of evil of British Imperialism. Mao embraced the communist philosophy of Engel and Marx. He believed that by changing external conditions you can create a better society.

The Tibetan Plateau Exhibit

We saw a very interesting exhibit on the Tibetan Plateau， which prompted me to recognize the following.

The Tibetan Plateau has a wide range of animal and plant biodiversity， including many endangered species of animals such as the wild yak， Tibetan argali， Tibetan antelope （chiru）， snow leopard， and black-necked crane. A signifi cant amount of carbon is locked in its extensive grasslands， if turned to desert this will affect future global climate change. The Tibetan Plateau is also the location of the headwaters of Asia’s major rivers， including the Yangtze， Yellow， Mekong， Salween， Brahmaputra， Ganges and Sutlej.

The Tibetan Plateau remains one of the world’s cleanest regions， as clean as the Arctic despite pollutants discharged by surrounding regions according the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）.

However， the Tibetan Plateau will experience a significant “ecosystem shift” due to climate change and human activities， reducing future water supply to China and South Asia.

Warming temperatures， combined with a dramatic infrastructure boom， a growing population and over grazing will combine to push fragile ecosystems on the world’s largest and highest plateau from one state to another. This irreversible shift which will mean the region no longer providers key environmental services， such as water and carbon storage， to the rest of Asia.

New non polluting energy sources need to be developed world wide to reduce climate change. The Tibetan Plateau needs a program of sustainable development. Hopefully the new China led Asia Investment Bank will open a New Chapter in sustainable development.

Living Buddha Reincarnation in the Modern Era Exhibit

I was also particularly interested to see that China is the only country in the world that acknowledges reincarnation and that the reincarnation of living Buddhas such as the Panchen Lama actively participates in national， political， economic， cultural and economic aff airs.

In recent years our understanding and control of the external world have increase considerably， and as a result we have witnessed remarkable material and political progress but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness. We are at a point where we are destroying the delicate ecological balance of our world.

Living Buddhas are giving a new solution to world problems based on the ancient Buddhist wisdom which is China’s spiritual and cultural heritage.

Inner peace is the most solid foundation for world peace.

When you experience peace in your mind then happiness naturally arises whether you are rich or poor. If you do not have inner peace then all the money in the world does not make you happy. This is an import message for the world and it in coming from our beloved China.

Visit to the Beijing Tibetan Medical Hospital

We then joined a group of acupuncture students from Chile and were given a tour and introduction to the Beijing Tibetan Medical Hospital and an excellent introduction to Tibetan Medicine in the conference room. We were very impressed with this modern hospital funded by the Chinese government. We were made very welcome and met with the Tibetan doctor Ala in the hospital. He demonstrated moxibustion treatment and we were amazed at his methods.

Experiencing Tibetan Medical Bathing

On the last day of our visit to Beijing after a week of walking 15 km a day exploring Beijing， experiencing Tibetan Medical Bathing was an ideal way to relax and recover our energy as well as being inspired to bring this wonderful therapy from the East to the West.

Walking into the center we experienced immediate immersion into a new world. The air was suffused with a wonderful aroma of Tibetan healing herbs. There were shelves full of herbs for healing a wide variety of health problems.

We were ushered into the changing rooms one for males and one for females， and donned a bath robe the attending doctor checked our blood pressure and inquired as to our health and any medication that may contraindicate Medical Bathing. We were then invited to step into a warm herbal bath.

The temperature of the bath is maintained at 38-39 degrees centigrade by means of a zipped bath cover. I remained in the bath for 15 minutes which is the first step of a therapy programme of 1-3 courses of treatment， with 7-10 baths per course， at intervals of 1-3 days. The temperature and duration of the bath is varied as in the table. After bathing we dried ourselves off， put on bath robes and were invited to relax for 30 minutes in a warm dark room covered with towels. This induced an alight detoxing sweat. We then dressed without showering. My body felt rejuvenated and smelt of the wonderful herbs.

With any new therapy I am learning I always test it out on myself first. I am on my second course of therapy which I am giving myself at home and I am already feeling signifi cant benefi t in terms of stress reduction， improvement in my skin， weight loss and energy levels.

Dr. Roy Watkins DSc Lic Ac MBAC originally trained as a physicist and worked as a lecturer in electrical engineering. Inspired by the ancient healing wisdom of China and the East he trained at the College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in Leamington Spa and Russian Space Medicine Centre in Moscow. He has been working as an Acupuncturist since 1986 and is a member of the British Acupuncture Council， with many specialisations in Russian Space Medicine， Laser Therapy， Live Blood Testing and Medical Thermography. Over the past 30 years he has helped thousands of people to find relief from pain and disease. He has been running a successful small business the Ulverston Natural Health Centre since 1990. He has been a student of Tibetan Buddhism under Geshe Kalsang Gyatso and Lama Gangchen Rinpoche since 1977.

Marina Mozzato has degree in Chinese and is a student of Traditional Chinese Medicine， photographer and has worked with organisations concerned with sustainable development projects such as in Chi Pat Cambodia with the NGO Wildlife Alliance.