Min tibetanska barndom i Zorgay - Life and Culture on the Tibetan ...

Mother's pain. Father asked the doctors every morning about
Mother <strong>and</strong> what kind of medicine she should take, <strong>and</strong> the
doctors prescribed various medicines, none of which were
effective. Mother stayed in the hospital almost half a year <strong>and</strong>
then Father decided to bring her home. I now realize that Father
believed Mother would pass away that year, <strong>and</strong> thought it
better for her to be in a warm bed, in our home.
Monk Wodzer was the local hospital leader, a
reincarnate lama, an expert in both the scriptures <strong>and</strong> medicine,
<strong>and</strong> able to do the most difficult religious activities. He could,
for example, turn a h<strong>and</strong> mani-wheel in each h<strong>and</strong>
simultaneously, while fingering prayer beads in his right h<strong>and</strong>,
which was impossible for ordinary people. The h<strong>and</strong>les of his
prayer wheels bore the marks of fingers because he turned them
so often. He was a strict, stern lama; consequently, everyone
was reluctant to invite him to perform difficult religious
activities or to diagnose illness.
An amusing incident happened between Monk Wodzer
<strong>and</strong> a mute man's mother:
One day a man who could hear but not speak was ill. He could
indicate the part of his body that was in pain but could not tell
how the pain felt. His mother brought him to Monk Wodzer.
The mute man's mother was unafraid, <strong>and</strong> entered his home
with her son without knocking. When she saw Monk Wodzer,
she said, as though talking to an ordinary person, "Oh, good,
you're at home! My son is sick <strong>and</strong> I need your help."
He joked, "I'm not the cause of your son's illness, so
why do you bring him here? It's none of my business. Please
leave."
"How can you be so ruthless? You're a doctor. Your
job is to cure patients," said the mother.
"You're right. I was just kidding. What's wrong with
him?" asked Wodzer.
"How silly you are! If I knew what his problem was,
then why would I bring him here? I want you to feel his pulse
to see what his sickness is," said the mother anxiously.
Instead of getting angry, Monk Wodzer burst into
laughter. He then felt the patient's pulse <strong>and</strong> gave him
medicine.
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