ABSTRACT
The genesis of Mongolian indigenous medical knowledge, which predates the Mongol's conversion to Buddhism, was closely related to their experiences derived from their nomadic and pastoral lifestyle, frequent exposure to severe climatic conditions, and extended periods of military campaigns led by Mongol khans. The idea of the multilayered method-and-wisdom model of a medical theory most likely emerged in its early, non-systematized form among the Mongols in the seventeenth century. According to contemporary practitioners of traditional Mongolian medicine, it is an interrupted flow of information transiting through the body. Delusion has the brain as its physical support in the body, and when it arises, it proliferates and aggravates the bodily phlegm. By including the spiritual realm within the conception of health, illness, and healing, the method-and-wisdom theoretical model exemplifies an integrated, mind-body-transcendent paradigm.
