nges par rtog pa'i rtog pa

Life-Essence (bla)

• The life-essence is said to circulate the human body over the thirty days of the lunar cycle, starting on the first day from the first joint of the left big toe in males and from the the first joint of the right big toe in females. A perceptive physician should take into account the rise and fall of the life-essence through the lunar cycle, which is also known as the course of the lifespan principle (tshe rtsa). For a description of this cycle, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, Vol. 1, pp. 39-40.