Drungtsho (Traditional Physician)

A drungtsho (Dzongkha: དྲུང་ཚོ) is a traditional physician in Bhutan trained in Sowa Rigpa (gSo-ba Rig-pa), the classical Himalayan system of medicine that draws on Buddhist philosophy, herbal pharmacology, spiritual healing practices, and astrological diagnosis. The term literally translates as "one who attends" or "one who serves at the presence," reflecting the historical role of these practitioners as medical attendants to high-ranking lamas and officials. Historically, traditional healers in Bhutan were known as Lam Drungtshos — learned Buddhist monk-scholars who combined monastic education with medical training, treating ailments through a synthesis of scriptural knowledge, ritual practice, and empirical herbal remedies.^[1]

Today, drungtshos practise within a formally regulated healthcare system in which traditional and modern medicine operate side by side. Every district hospital in Bhutan maintains a traditional medicine unit staffed by at least one drungtsho and one menpa (clinical assistant), providing free consultations and herbal medicines to citizens as part of the government's commitment to universal healthcare.^[2]

Historical Background

The practice of Sowa Rigpa in Bhutan traces its institutional origins to the era of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who established monastic medical traditions alongside his unification of the Bhutanese state in 1616. For centuries, healing knowledge was transmitted within monastic settings, with Lam Drungtshos serving as both spiritual guides and physicians. The foundational text of Sowa Rigpa is the rGyud bZhi (Four Medical Tantras), a comprehensive medical treatise comprising the Root Tantra, the Explanatory Tantra, the Oral Instruction Tantra, and the Subsequent Tantra. These texts, which originated in the Tibetan medical tradition, address anatomy, physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and treatment through a framework that integrates Buddhist cosmology with empirical clinical observation.^[3]

The formal integration of traditional medicine into Bhutan's national health system began in 1967, when the Third King, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, issued a royal decree directing Drungtsho Pema Dorji — who had trained at the Chagpori Medical Institute in Tibet — to establish a Sowa Rigpa system within the government health service. In 1968, a small traditional medicine dispensary was inaugurated at Dechencholing in Thimphu, marking the foundation of what would become the National Traditional Medicine Hospital.^[4]

Training and Education

The Faculty of Traditional Medicine (FOTM), part of the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, is the sole institution in the country that trains Sowa Rigpa practitioners. The faculty offers two programmes: a five-and-a-half-year Bachelor of Traditional Medicine degree for drungtshos and a three-year diploma course for menpas (clinical assistants). The drungtsho curriculum covers the rGyud bZhi, herbal pharmacology, mineral and animal-derived medicines, moxibustion, cupping, acupuncture (including the distinctive Bhutanese golden-needle technique), astrology, and Buddhist philosophy. Students also undertake clinical rotations at the National Traditional Medicine Hospital in Thimphu.^[5]

Prior to the establishment of formal training institutions, drungtshos were educated exclusively through the monastic system or through apprenticeships with established practitioners. Four monks from the Zhung Dratshang (central monastic body) were among recent cohorts to pursue traditional medicine courses, maintaining the historical link between monastic life and medical practice.^[6]

Healing Practices

Drungtshos employ a holistic diagnostic methodology that includes pulse reading, urine analysis, and patient interviews, supplemented by astrological consultation. Treatment modalities encompass herbal medicines (compounded from Himalayan medicinal plants), moxibustion (the burning of dried herbs on or near the skin), hot-stone and hot-metal therapies, acupuncture, dietary and behavioural prescriptions, and spiritual rituals including mantra recitation and purification ceremonies. Out of 116 formulations currently produced by the traditional medicine pharmaceutical unit, 87 contain extracts from medicinal plants, minerals, or animal-derived ingredients, used to treat more than 124 traditionally classified illnesses.^[7]

The spiritual dimension of drungtsho practice is inseparable from the medical. Healing is understood within a Buddhist framework in which illness may arise from an imbalance of the three humours (rlung, wind; mkhris pa, bile; and bad kan, phlegm) or from karmic, spiritual, or environmental causes. Accordingly, treatment may combine physical remedies with prayers, meditation guidance, and the performance of protective rituals.

Contemporary Infrastructure

By 2001, traditional medicine units had been established in all twenty dzongkhags (districts) of Bhutan, each staffed by a drungtsho and a menpa. As of 2025, the Department of Traditional Medicine Services oversees the National Traditional Medicine Hospital in Thimphu, two regional referral traditional hospitals in Mongar and Gelephu, seventeen district traditional medicine hospitals, and thirty-eight additional traditional medicine units. The department also manages a pharmaceutical unit that manufactures herbal medicines distributed free of charge across the national health system.^[8]

The dual system of traditional and modern medicine in Bhutan is distinctive among the world's healthcare systems. Patients are free to choose between biomedical and traditional consultations, and both services are provided at no cost. The continued vitality of the drungtsho tradition reflects both the enduring cultural significance of Sowa Rigpa and the Bhutanese government's commitment to preserving indigenous healing knowledge as a complement to modern medical care.

Drungtsho (Traditional Physician)

Historical Background

Training and Education

Healing Practices

Contemporary Infrastructure

References

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