This article analyzes the audio diaries of a Tibetan physician, originally from Amdo
(Qinghai Province, China), now living in New York City. Dr. Kunchog Tseten describes
his experiences during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in spring and summer 2020, when Queens, New York—the location where he lives and works—was
the “epicenter of the epicenter” of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United
States. The collaborative research project of which this diary is a part combines
innovative methodological approaches to qualitative, ethnographic study during
this era of social distancing with an attunement to the relationship between language, culture, and health care. Dr. Kunchog’s diary and our analysis of its contents
illustrate the ways that Tibetan medicine and Tibetan cultural practices, including those emergent from Buddhism, have helped members of the Himalayan and
Tibetan communities in New York City navigate this unprecedented moment with
care and compassion.