Roy Watkins:Custodian of TCM and Its Tibetan Branch

By+staff+reporter+ZHANG+HONG

ROY Watkins， a member of the British Acupuncture Council， has been a practitioner of Chinese acupuncture for more than three decades. While attending the Sixth Beijing International Seminar on Tibetan Studies last August he was heartened to see how many scholars are as dedicated as he is to the preservation of Tibetan culture and traditions.

Affinity with TCM and Tibetan Medicine

“Let me first take your pulse，” is what Watkins says to his patients before asking them anything else. Now in his 60s， Watkins works at the Ulverston Health Center in Cambria， U.K. In contrast to standard general practitioners， （or GPs， as family doctors are known in the U.K.） he uses natural therapies such as acupuncture and medicated baths， rather than prescription drugs， to treat his patients ailments.

Watkins presented a slide show of the results of his research on the effect of Tibetan medicated baths on human blood at the Beijing seminar. His experiments revealed that red blood cells react favorably to Tibetan medicine. “Standard blood tests detect chemical components in the blood， but take no account of other data，” Watkins explained. The slides showed the dramatic difference between the chaotic red blood cell distribution before the five-minute immersion in a hot foot bath containing Tibetan medicine and that after the bath， which was far more healthy and orderly. Adding powdered gold – an ingredient often used in high-end Tibetan medicine –produced the more beneficial effect of closer alignment of the red blood cells， which enables them to perform better their function of transporting oxygen.

Watkins feels he has an innate love of Tibet and its culture. At age three， he randomly picked up a book by a German writer about his experience of living in Tibet after WWII. “I clearly recall a peculiar sensation at first sight of that book， and it grew stronger when I looked at the pictures of Tibet，” Watkins said.

His father， a scientist all his life， expected his son eventually to be a physicist. Watkins indeed obtained ScD， but later changed his path. “As a physicist， I always wondered how the universe came into being and how it worked， but I found that these questions are answered in ancient Oriental classic volumes.”

Watkins interest in seeking a natural way to cure and benefit humanity grew. He eventually witnessed the remarkably curative effect of silver acupuncture needles used in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. Compelled to find out how this worked， he took a course of study at the College of Traditional Acupuncture in England. Fascinated with the concept of acupoints and intrigued by the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture， he later took a training course in Russia which honed his skills. But it was not until he met Huang Fukai， director of the Beijing Tibetan Hospital in Italy， that Watkins became fully committed to Tibetan medicine.

Ideal Complementary Treatments

The worlds four predominant traditional medicine systems are those of TCM， and Tibetan， Ayurvedic， and Arab medicine. Tibetan medicine， which originated in the seventh century AD， came to Europe in the 18th century， and prompted a surge of research on a global scale.

The benefits of medicated baths have been acknowledged throughout the world for centuries. “A natural， safe， and effective therapy， medicated baths are used for dermatological problems， anti-aging treatment， and to relieve stress， as well as many other applications，” Watkins said. He believes that medicated baths and other Tibetan medicine rehabilitative therapies are particularly suitable for use in the West， “because these external remedies have none of the restrictions of internal treatments.” He went on， “In the past， any Tibetan medicines found in certain Western countries had to be destroyed due to pharmaceutical regulations. Fortunately， practitioners of TCM and Tibetan medicine in China have the support of the government.”

Apart from conventional medicine， the U.K. National Health Service provides 61 complementary treatments， TCM and acupuncture among them. Both are in high demand， particularly acupuncture due to its remarkably curative effects in treating certain chronic diseases.

“Acupuncture originated in Asia almost 5，000 years ago， and is one of the oldest methods of healing known to humankind.” Watkins website gives a detailed introduction to this ancient therapy. In his opinion， Western medicine has limited efficacy. “Finance is a primary consideration in hospitals， so profit takes precedence over everything.” He is also generally critical of the method of diagnosis used in Western medicine. “As most physicians hand out a prescription after just ten minutes or even less time with a patient， misdiagnoses are likely to happen，” Watkins said. TCM， however， assesses the state of health according to the theory of the five elements （fire， earth， metal， water， and wood）， combined with observation， auscultation and olfaction， interrogation， and pulse feeling and palpation. Watkins hence considers it “a more natural way of comprehensively discerning a patients physical condition.”

The theory of five elements plays a fundamental role in TCM. Before making a diagnosis， Watkins follows the prescribed steps of observing a patients complexion， listening to their voice， smelling their body odor， and asking questions that reveal which of the five elements is lacking and so causing illness.

Watkins is convinced of the potency of acupuncture in treating certain chronic diseases. “If you go to a doctor about back pain， he is likely to give you a prescription without even looking at your back. But Im 90 percent sure Id be able to achieve a much better effect with acupuncture.”

Until the 1990s， there were only about a dozen TCM clinics in the whole of the U.K.， but the number has since expanded to more than 3，000. Established in 1995， the British Acupuncture Council is one of the professional organizations in this field with members from all over the country. Today， acupuncture has achieved a high reputation in the U.K. A fair number of practitioners in TCM clinics are locals like Watkins. They speak Chinese， practice Taichi， but more importantly， excel at acupuncture in both knowledge and skills.

Confidence in the Future

Since embarking on this career， Watkins has always worked at least six days a week， allowing himself just one day of rest. His silver needles have helped to relieve the pain of thousands of patients. Watkins adheres to the principle of treating each patient according to their specific physical condition， and feels grateful that “my patients teach me how to be a better doctor.”

It was not until December 2015 that Watkins took his first trip to China. Upon arrival in the land where acupuncture and Tibetan medicine originated， he felt as though he had come home. There was so much to see during his 10-day stay in Beijing， and he could not get enough of walking around and looking at every corner of the city. He visited several Tibetan medicine organizations， including the China Tibetology Research Center and the Beijing Tibetan Hospital， where he learned more about Tibetan medicated baths.

Most of all Watkins found Beijing to be an amazing city， and the Forbidden City one of the most impressive places in existence. “I believe its construction was based on the theory of the five elements and the mandala pattern.” Watkins regards the complex as an archetype of world architecture. He felt that the energy concentrated in the complex somehow revived his memory.

Watkins has always advocated the Oriental mode of mind exploration， which he calls an “inner science.” In his view， “outer science” solves external problems whereas “inner science” – with inner peace at its core – is the key to dealing with inherent human social issues. Advances in science and technology， for instance， have caused pollution and disturbed the ecological balance. Yet “outer science”seems incapable of eradicating or resolving these problems. Inner harmony is hence the only way to manage the chaotic outside world. This is Watkins solution， and he takes pride in being a scientist cognizant of “inner science.”

Meantime， Watkins has himself benefited from his own philosophy. “I used to look for happiness in the outside world， but always failed. Now I realize that happiness simply lies in your heart.” When asked if he still has a temper， Watkins laughed and replied： “Oh yes， if my wife decides to press that particular button.”But he does his utmost， through training his inner mind， to be more patient.

Watkins highly commended the International Seminar on Tibetan Studies.“Its been excellent. Im so happy to hear so much discussion on the preservation of Tibetan traditions and culture.” He hopes to build a center in the West that will offer Tibetan medicated baths and the rehabilitative services that are such a prominent feature of Tibetan traditional medicine. Watkins is confident that finding practitioners wont be a problem because the China Tibetology Research Center offers professional training courses， but more investment is needed for research into Tibetan medicine.

The earthquake in Nepal in April 2015 cut off for a time the supply of medicine that Watkins frequently imported for a time. He therefore hopes that the same herbs can be planted in Europe， or that an alternative medicinal ingredients can be found. As he remarked， “The Alps possibly has a similar natural environment in which to grow Tibetan herbs.”Roy Watkins is consequently confident about the future of TCM and Tibetan medicine in the West.