2. Buddhism and Ayurvedic medicine originated in India and
both aim at eliminating suffering. Buddhism primarily
concerns with the well-being of the mind and Ayurveda
deals with the well-being of the body. While treating one
aspect of a person, one cannot neglect the other because
both are inseparably linked together. Both systems regard
the body and the mind as interdependent and inter —
linked. This relationship has been illustrated with a picture
of a boat and a boatman. Body is the boat, mind is the
boatman. The boat cannot go anywhere without direction
from the boatman, but the boatman relies on the boat in
order to make his journey. Similarly, with body and mind,
both are interdependent and rely on each other. Let us look
at the relationship between the medical profession and
teaching of Buddhism. Both have healed the ailing mind and
body throughout their history and will continue to do so in
the future
3. Gautama Buddha, the historical Buddha, stated
the doctrine more than 2,500 years ago. Since
then, it has become the salvation for people
seeking liberation from sickness and death. It is
a doctrine without discrimination of caste, race
or wealth. It respects equality between human
beings and animals and solves everyday life
difficulties. With time, it has become a religion
and system that protects millions of people
from suffering.
4. The basic concept of the cause of disease and its
symptoms, or suffering, as being part of life
and its evolution, and the method to cure and
prevent suffering temporarily and permanently
are the background and foundation of Tibetan
medicine. It therefore can definitely be called:
Buddhist Medicine
5. The Buddha said that his main concern was the problem of
human suffering and how it could be eliminated. The term
the Buddha used to convey the concept of suffering in Pali is
"Dukkha". His whole effort was directed towards finding a
way out of dukkha. It is very difficult to find a single
English word which conveys the meaning of dukkha, but it
has variously been translated as suffering, pain, sickness,
unsatisfactoriness, imperfection and so on. It includes all ills
of the mind and the body.
The Buddha said, "Monks, there are two kinds of disease.
What are they? Bodily disease and mental disease. People
are seen who say they have been physically healthy for a
year, for two years, for three years....or more, but beings
who say they are mentally healthy for even a moment are
rare in the world.“
6. Bhaiṣajyaguru is described in the eponymous
Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja Sūtra,
commonly called the Medicine Buddha Sutra,
as a bodhisattva who made 12 great vows. On
achieving Buddhahood, he became the Buddha
of the eastern realm of Vaidūryanirbhāsa, or
"Pure Lapis Lazuli". There, he is attended to by
two bodhisattvas symbolizing the sun and
moon respectively: Suryaprabha and
Candraprabha.
7. Buddha turned the ‘wheel of Dharma‘
three times. The first turning the wheel
of Dharma teaches the ‘Four Noble
Truths‘: the truth of suffering, the truth
of its causation, the truth of its
cessation and the truth of the path. The
truth of suffering is about the four
sufferings of rebirth, ageing, sickness
and dying. Buddha taught the method
to permanently stop the cause of deep
and temporary sufferings. Suffering
results from mental ignorance which
provokes the arising of physical and
mental disorders.
8. Its practice contains in-depth philosophical
and psychological bases for diagnosis and
treatment of illness, including physical,
mental, and spiritual imbalances.
Numerous ideas and concepts are
combined to effect the healing process, and
various medications and treatments are
also used. Using a humanistic framework
to treat the client with dignity and to assist
in the alleviation of suffering, the profound
wisdom embodied in the development of
this medicine is seen clearly through the
practical application of its deeper theories
and its functional ability to effect cures. To
a Tibetan medicine practitioner, removing
symptoms without treating the whole
being is to miss the opportunity to assist
the client in true healing and would be
considered neglect.
10. Buddhist Medicine now is largely associated with
Tibetan Medicine. One of the reasons for that is
probably that the tibetans are known to be highly
religious people and for most people, when they
think of buddhism, they think of the Dalai Lama.
The other reason is that the Tibetans have achieved
a level of medical knowledge that has been
developed through the centuries mostly isolated
from the outside world. So many of the findings of
Tibetan Medicine are really independent from
other medical traditions and based on the fact that
they spring from a grossly different perspective on
life they provide very elegant solutions to many of
modern worlds problems.
11. Tibetan Buddhist Medicine is a fascinating and
complex interweaving of religion, mysticism,
psychology, and rational medicine . . . . It is the
product of an ancient culture very different
from our own . . . and at first may seem . . .
incomprehensible, especially to [one]
unacquainted with Buddhism, with which it is
so inseparably linked. The tradition includes a
vast body of medical literature . . . enormous
pharmacopoeia . . . and unusual methods of
diagnosis and treatment.
