Traditional Tibetan doctor and former physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Yeshi Dhonden passed away on November 26. He was 92. Dhonden was a champion and practitioner of Sowa Rigpa, the traditional Tibetan system of medicine, and served patients the world over from his clinic in Dharamshala.
Born in Lhoka, Tibet in 1927, he studied for nine years from the age of 11 at the Chakpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine in Lhasa. In 1959, Dhonden fled Tibet to Dharamshala, and in 1961 was appointed Chief Medical Officer to His Holiness, serving in that position until 1966. He remained as His Holiness’s personal physician from 1963 to 1980.
Concurrently, Dhonden was appointed to lead the Tibet Medical College in Dharamshala, from 1960-1979, and started his own private clinic in 1969. Patients travelled from around the world to his clinic for treatments, often for cancer. Many waited for up to two to three months just for an appointment and still lined up outside his clinic from 3am to receive the required token for a visit.
Dhonden retired from medical practice in April this year. In 2018 he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India, for his contributions to the field of medicine through Sowa Rigpa. In addition to his clinical work and other responsibilities, Dhonden authored three books, focusing on the healing potential of Tibetan medicine.
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