Paper Short Abstract:

Indian government regulations are reshaping Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medical) education in Ladakh, requiring medical students and teachers to engage in academic writing for career advancement. Based on 2024 fieldwork and collaborative writing since, this paper reflects on challenges, co-authorship, and the move from traditional scholarship to academic writing within the Sowa Rigpa community in India.

Paper Abstract:

In late summer of 2024, Gerke was invited by several Sowa Rigpa medical practitioners (amchis) and their institutes in Ladakh, situated in the northwestern Himalayas, to give a presentation on an unexpected topic: “How to write academically.” Both Sowa Rigpa medical students and their qualified teachers voiced growing concerns regarding Government of India AYUSH regulations. These regulations now require them not only to practice medicine but also to engage in academic research, writing, and publishing—key prerequisites for career advancement, particularly through articles in peer-reviewed journals. This paper discusses how traditional Sowa Rigpa education in India is being reshaped by these regulatory demands, pushing practitioners toward scholarly writing and publishing. Gerke’s lecture on what authorship in Sowa Rigpa might entail, followed by long conversations, led to a collaborative writing relationship with Amchi Jigmet Lhazes, a Buddhist nun, trained Sowa Rigpa medical practitioner, and assistant professor of Sowa Rigpa at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS) in Choglamsar, south of Leh. In this presentation, we explore together the challenges of our co-produced writing efforts, reflecting on the methods of our collaboration and the complexities of navigating different styles of writing, thinking, language, and communication. The paper also addresses the difficulties amchis face in adapting to an academic mode of thought that has historically been absent from traditional Sowa Rigpa scholarship, but shapes the current trajectories of the politics of traditional medical knowledge in India.