For the fist time in history, the famous Blue Beryl-a sent of 80 medical painting completed 300 years ago in Tibet-has been exactly recreated and brought to the West.
Only two complete sets of the Blue Beryl exist, one in Lhasa Tibet, the other in Russia. Using only traditional pigment, such as finely ground lapis lazuli and other semiprecious stones, a team of Tibetan artists and physicians recently collaborated in Tibet to recreate the painting with absolute accuracy and precision.
According to Columbia University professor Robert Thurman, PhD., one of the world’s leading experts on Tibetan Budhism, the recreations s are “stunningly flawless” in their execution, design, and painstaking calligraphy.
The original paintings, or thangkas, were commissioned by Tibet’s regent Sangye Gyamtso (1654-1750), who founded Tibet’s first medical school and codified the county’s practice of medicine. The extensively annotated paintings served as medical textbooks, illustrating physical symptoms, diseases, medical treatment, and medicinal herbs and plants. For centuries, copies of these paintings trained Tibet ‘s physicians.
Today, the West’s growing fascination with Tibetan culture and increasing acceptance of traditional Tibetan medicine make this faithful recreation of the complete set of fascinating and beautiful blue beryl paintings of interest to both scholars and the public.
For information, contact Tashi Rabten, president of the International Tibetan Medical Association, which sponsored the project, at 845-612-3231 or infor@tibetanmedical.com
