Tibet abounds in tales of supernaturally-endowed saints, wizards with great destructive powers, and mystics who could fly to the tops of Himalayan peaks, raise the dead and perform other miracles. Many of these stories were no doubt invented by the priestly hierarchy to impress their authority on simple villagers, whose aims and faith they depended upon. But many modern-minded Tibetans still half believe in these miracles. Tibetan refugees tell of the lung-pa, or wind men, who after years of extreme asceticism and preparation can free themselves from the normal weight of their bodies and thereafter defy gravity, flying hundreds of miles in a day. One well-known European traveller actually claimed to have observed one of these.
Magic plays a key role, too, in traditional medicine.
Tibetan doctors claim to be able to tell from a patient's pulse when another member of his or her family, however far away, is ill, and then to be able to diagnose and cure the malady. There are four hundred and forty different forms of illness, it is claimed, each of which can be cured by a special charm or spell, although herbal medicines are also used.