Available for order september 17th 2025
At the intersection of spiritual practice and healing wisdom lies the Yuthok Nyingthig—a complete Tibetan Buddhist path that uniquely integrates Medicine Buddha practices with Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine). The Yuthok Nyingthig was transmitted by the great Tibetan yogi-physician, Yuthok Yönten Gönpo in the twelfth century and embodies his most essential heart teachings.
Based on decades’ worth of teachings by renowned Sowa Rigpa practitioner and Buddhist teacher Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, compiled and expanded with newly translated Tibetan texts by Dr. Ben Joffe, this book is the most comprehensive guide to Yuthok’s foundational spiritual practices ever published.
While especially treasured by healers and medical practitioners, Yuthok’s practices are open to and can offer profound benefits to all seekers. Rich with traditional and personal commentary, this volume explores Yuthok’s Ngöndro and Outer Guru Yoga practices and Yuthok's distinctive seven-day retreat approach with unprecedented depth and clarity. At once a guide to one specific Tibetan tradition and an accessible introduction to Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism in general, it will be of value for both seasoned practitioners and newcomers. It explains and contextualizes the words, visualizations, and profound meaning of Yuthok's Vajrayana practices, showing readers how to connect with them in a deeply personal way in order to directly experience their transformative power.
Print Book:
7 x 10 inches
Paperback
682 pages
About the Author
Born in Amdo, Malho, in Northeastern Tibet, Dr. Nida began his early studies of Sowa Rigpa at the local Tibetan medical hospital. Later, he was awarded a scholarship to enter the Lhasa Mentsikhang or Tibetan Medical University, where he completed his degree in 1996, with practical training at the Tibetan Medicine hospitals in Lhasa and Lhoka.
Alongside his medical education, Dr. Nida trained in Vajrayana with teachers from every school of Tibetan Buddhism. In particular, he trained in the Longchen Nyingthig tradition of the Nyingma school with his root guru Ani Ngawang Gyaltsen and in the Dudjom Tersar tradition with Chönyi Rinpoche and Semo Dechen Yudrön. He received complete instruction in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine, from his teachers Khenpo Tsultrim Gyaltsen and Khenchen Troru Tsenam, and was requested to continue the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage by Jamyang Rinpoche of the Rebkong ngakpa and ngakma (i.e. non-monastic yogi and yogini) community.
A well-known poet in his youth, Dr. Nida later published many articles and books on Sowa Rigpa and the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition in Tibetan and English, which have been translated into several languages. He has extensively researched ancient Tibetan healing methods, and has gained acclaim in East and West for his revival of little-known Tibetan external therapies.
Dr. Nida is the Founder and Medical Director of the Sowa Rigpa Institute of Tibetan Medicine and of Sorig Khang International: Foundation for Traditional Tibetan Medicine. He is also the co-founder and principal teacher of Pure Land Farms center for Tibetan medicine, meditation, and rejuvenation in Los Angeles; and the co-founder of the International Ngakmang Institute, which was established to preserve and support the unique Rebkong non-monastic yogi and yogini culture in modern Tibetan society.
In addition to his work as a physician, Dr Nida trains students in Sowa Rigpa and the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition in over forty countries around the world.
