Doctor of Tibetan medicine gets Padma Shri Award

Dharamshala, January 26, 2018: President Dr Lobsang Sangay of the Central Tibetan Administration today congratulated Dr Yeshi Dhonden, a noted Tibetan medical practitioner on being conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Government of India. He is the second Tibetan to receive the prestigious award from the Indian government after Geshe Ngawang Samten. “We congratulate his personal contribution and recognition of Tibetan medicine which is now increasingly being discovered and treasured by the international community for its healing prowess,” President Dr Lobsang Sangay who is currently on an official visit to Europe, said.

Dr Yeshi Dhonden is a Buddhist monk and was His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s personal physician for about twenty years from 1960 to 1980. He has been conferred the Padma Shri award for his contribution towards medicine by the government of India on the 69th anniversary of India’s Republic Day. He has gained a reputation over the years for being highly effective and beneficial to patients, particularly as a cancer specialist. He was both Director and principal of the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (TMAI) until 1979. Dr Yeshi Dhonden is known as one of the foremost Tibetan doctors of the world. Over the last 63 years, he has successfully treated patients with all kinds of ailments at his present Clinic located at McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala.