Traditional Titles and Meanings

In the West, a practitioner of medicine is known generally as a “doctor” and more formally as a “physician”. While used intechangeably, the two terms have different origins and meanings. “Doctor” (Middle English) comes from the Latin doctor, meaning “to teach”. This designation is familiar to those in academia with PhD degrees. I do not know the history of how this term came to refer to practitioners of medicine, but it does seem to place a certain emphasis on the medical practitioner as someone with knowledge.

The term “physician” (Middle English) comes from the Latin physica, meaning “things relating to nature”. Taken literally, a physician is one who sees to the natural order or who heals using natural means. This description is nearly identical to traditional Eastern definitions of a medical practitioner.

In Tibet, a practicing physician is known by the title menpa (Wylie: sman pa). Tibetan terms carry many meanings at once, so let us unpack the meaning of menpa. The word sman, often translated as “medicine”, literally means “a refined substance that has an effect”. In the medical context, this term refers to the alchemy that unlocks a plant’s medicinal qualities and the therapeutic effect that plant substances have within the body upon administration. Thus, we could translate menpa as “alchemist”, noting that Tibetan Medicine employs the use of many alchemical medicines including the purification of poisonous metals like mercury.

The term sman pa is commonly translated as “medicine man / woman”. This meaning communicates the role of the Tibetan physician as shaman and points to the roots of the medical tradition in Tibet’s indigenous shamanism (Bön).

Some Tibetan dictionaries translate menpa as “to aid / assist”, “to be of benefit to”. This points to the role of the Tibetan physician as one who acts to the benefit of others, one who lives in service of others, or what we would commonly refer to as a “healer”. Thus, I would consider “healer” as another valid translation of menpa.

The Padma Karpo translation committee also notes that menpa is one of the Buddha’s titles, as the Buddha is seen as the Supreme Healer, the very Source of all healing. This reflects the Tibetan tradition’s understanding of the spiritual root of all disease and enlightenment as the only true health.

In Mirror of Beryl, Gyatso offers his commentary on the etymology of menpa:

This is the etymology of the term physician (sman pa / dpa’). Because he alleviates the pain of illness and brings relief to the body, he is “medicine” (sman). When he uses surgical instruments such as surgical spoons and cutters for serious illnesses, he is brave and fearless (pa / dpa’). Therefore he is a “hero of medicine” (sman pa / dpa’). Alternatively, he is a “physician” because he protects all living beings like a father. Also, kings are as gods of the world, and even they revere physicians as lords. Therefore, they are known as lhajé, or “lord of the gods.” (458).

In Ayurvedic medicine, a practicing physician is known most commonly by the title vaidya. Vaidya means “one who possesses knowledge of the Vedas”. Historically, senior practitioners have sometimes been given the title of vaidyaraja which means something like “physician-king” or “master of the Vedas”. It has a resonance with the Tibetan lhajé. A similar title of raj vaidya was given to those Ayurvedic physicians who lived in royal courts in attendance to the King (my own teacher, Vaidya Mishra, came from a lineage of such court physicians).

In Chinese medicine, the original term for a physician was wu yi. Wu means many things: the center, the number 5, sorcerer / shaman / alchemist. Yi means practitioner and sorcerer. Different Chinese characters are given to distinguish the male wu from the female wu. The import of this ancient title is similar to the Tibetan menpa in that it refers to a medical practitioner who is equally a shaman.