Buddhism and Medicine

Buddhism and Medicine

Edited by C. Pierce Salguero

Original Works · 395 pages · 2026

About this book

An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources

Contents

Table of Contentsvi Acknowledgmentsxii Abbreviationsxiv Introductionxvi Early Modernity1 1. Buddhist Monastic Physicians’ Encounters with the Jesuits in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Japan, as Told from Both Sides, by Katja Triplett3 2. On Sickness, Society, and the New Self in Early Edo Japan: Soshin’s Dharma Words (Seventeenth Century), by Katja Triplett16 3. Buddhism and Scholarly Medicine in Seventeenth-Century China: Three Preaces to the Work of Yu Chang (1585–1664), by Volker Scheid22 4. An Eighteenth-Century Mongolian Treatise on Smallpox Inoculation: Lobsang Tsültim’s “The Practice of Preparing Medicine for the Planting of Heaven’s White Flower” (1785), by Batsaikhan Norov, Vesna A. Wallace, and Batchimeg Usukhbayar33 5. Psychosomatic Buddhist Medicine at the Dawn of Modern Japan: Hara Tanzan’s “On the Difference Between the Brain and the Spinal Cord” (1869), by Justin B. Stein38 6. No Sympathy for the Devils: A Colonial Polemic Against Yakṣa Healing Rituals (1851), by Alexander McKinley45 7. “Enveloped in the Deep Darkness of Ignorance and Superstition”: Western Observers of Buddhism and Medicine in the Kingdom of Siam in the Colonial Era, by C. Pierce Salguero52 Ruptures and Reconciliations63 8. Three Tibetan Buddhist Texts on the Dangers of Tobacco (Late Nineteenth to Twenty-First Century), by Joshua Capitanio65 9. Buddhism and Biomedicine in Republican China: Taixu’s “Buddhism and Science” (1923) and Ding Fubao’s Essentials of Buddhist Studies (1920), by Gregory Adam Scott87 10. Reconciling Scripture and Surgery in Tibet: Khyenrap Norbu’s Arranging the Tree Trunks of Healing (1952), by William A. McGrath94 11. Healing Wisdom: An Appreciation of a Twentieth-Century Japanese Scientist’s Paintings of the Heart Sūtra, by Paula K. R. Arai100 12. Mantras for Modernity: Nida Chenagtsang’s "Mantra Healing Is an Indispensable Branch of Tibetan Traditional Medicine” (2015) and “A Rough Explanation of How Mantras Work” (2003), by Ben P. Joffe108 13. Science and Authority in Tibetan Medicine: Gönpokyap’s “Extraordinarily Special Features of the Human Body” (2008), by Jenny Bright118 14. “Eat Less Meat to Save the World”: Monk Changlyu’s The Book of Diagnosis and Natural Foods (2014), by Emily S. Wu127 Hybridities and Innovations135 15. Taiwanese Tantra: Guru Wuguang’s Art of Yogic Nourishment and the Esoteric Path (1966), by Cody R. Bahir137 16. Making a Modern Image of Jīvaka: “First Encounters with Jīvaka Komārabhacca, the High Guru of Healers and the Inspiration for Sculpting His Image” (1969), by Anthony Lovenheim Irwin147 17. Gross National Happiness: Buddhist Principles and Bhutanese National Health Policy, by Charles Jamyang Oliphant of Rossie158 18. Using Buddhist Resources in Post-disaster Japan: Taniyama Yōzō’s “Vihāra Priests and Interfaith Chaplains” (2014), by Levi McLaughlin164 19. Medicine Wizards of Myanmar: Four Recent Facebook Posts, by Thomas Nathan Patton177 Meditation and Mental Health187 20. Naikan and Psychiatric Medicine: Takemoto Takahiro’s Naikan and Medicine (1979), by Clark Chilson189 21. A Contemporary Shingon Priest’s Meditation Therapies: Selections from the Writings of Ōshita Daien (2006–2016), by Nathan Jishin Michon196 22. Mindfulness in Westminster: The All-Party Parliamentary Group’s Mindful UK (2014), by Joanna Cook204 23. Medicalizing Sŏn Meditation in Korea: An Interview with Venerable Misan Sŭnim, by Lina Koleilat215 24. Misuses of Mindfulness: Ron Purser and David Loy’s “Beyond McMindfulness” (2013), by David L. McMahan221 Crossing Boundaries229 25. Rediscovering Living Buddhism in Modern Bengal: Maniklal Singha’s The Mantrayāna of Rārh (1979), by Projit Bihari Mukharji231 26. Conversations with Two (Possibly) Buddhist Folk Healers in China, by Thomas David DuBois235 27. Interview with a Contemporary Chinese American Healer, by Kin Cheung and C. Pierce Salguero241 28. “We Need to Balance Out the Boisterous Spirits and Gods”: Buddhism in the Healing Practice of a Contemporary Korean Shaman, by Minjung Noh and C. Pierce Salguero252 29. Among Archangels, Aliens, and Ascended Masters: Quan Yin Bodhisattva Joins the New Age Pantheon, by C. Pierce Salguero264 Buddhist Healing in Practice273 30. Buddhism and Resistance in Northern Thai Traditional Medicine: An Interview with an Unlicensed Thai Folk Healer, by Assunta Hunter275 31. Burmese Alchemy in Practice: A Conversation with Master U Shein, by Céline Coderey281 32. Mental Illness in the Sowa Rigpa Clinic: A Conversation with Dr. Teinlay P. Trogawa, by Susannah Deane289 33. Biographical Interview with the Tantric Meditator Tshampa Tseten from Bhutan, with a Translation of His “Edible Letters,” by Mona Schrempf298 34. Japanese Buddhist Women’s “Way of Healing,” by Paula K. R. Arai310 35. Conversations About Buddhism and Health Care in Multiethnic Philadelphia, by C. Pierce Salguero317 Appendix: Geographic Table of Contents327 Glossary331 References341 List of Contributors373 Index379

Table of Contentsvi Acknowledgmentsxii Abbreviationsxiv Introductionxvi Early Modernity1 1. Buddhist Monastic Physicians’ Encounters with the Jesuits in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Japan, as Told from Both Sides, by Katja Triplett3 2. On Sickness, Society, and the New Self in Early Edo Japan: Soshin’s Dharma Words (Seventeenth Century), by Katja Triplett16 3. Buddhism and Scholarly Medicine in Seventeenth-Century China: Three Preaces to the Work of Yu Chang (1585–1664), by Volker Scheid22 4. An Eighteenth-Century Mongolian Treatise on Smallpox Inoculation: Lobsang Tsültim’s “The Practice of Preparing Medicine for the Planting of Heaven’s White Flower” (1785), by Batsaikhan Norov, Vesna A. Wallace, and Batchimeg Usukhbayar33 5. Psychosomatic Buddhist Medicine at the Dawn of Modern Japan: Hara Tanzan’s “On the Difference Between the Brain and the Spinal Cord” (1869), by Justin B. Stein38 6. No Sympathy for the Devils: A Colonial Polemic Against Yakṣa Healing Rituals (1851), by Alexander McKinley45 7. “Enveloped in the Deep Darkness of Ignorance and Superstition”: Western Observers of Buddhism and Medicine in the Kingdom of Siam in the Colonial Era, by C. Pierce Salguero52 Ruptures and Reconciliations63 8. Three Tibetan Buddhist Texts on the Dangers of Tobacco (Late Nineteenth to Twenty-First Century), by Joshua Capitanio65 9. Buddhism and Biomedicine in Republican China: Taixu’s “Buddhism and Science” (1923) and Ding Fubao’s Essentials of Buddhist Studies (1920), by Gregory Adam Scott87 10. Reconciling Scripture and Surgery in Tibet: Khyenrap Norbu’s Arranging the Tree Trunks of Healing (1952), by William A. McGrath94 11. Healing Wisdom: An Appreciation of a Twentieth-Century Japanese Scientist’s Paintings of the Heart Sūtra, by Paula K. R. Arai100 12. Mantras for Modernity: Nida Chenagtsang’s "Mantra Healing Is an Indispensable Branch of Tibetan Traditional Medicine” (2015) and “A Rough Explanation of How Mantras Work” (2003), by Ben P. Joffe108 13. Science and Authority in Tibetan Medicine: Gönpokyap’s “Extraordinarily Special Features of the Human Body” (2008), by Jenny Bright118 14. “Eat Less Meat to Save the World”: Monk Changlyu’s The Book of Diagnosis and Natural Foods (2014), by Emily S. Wu127 Hybridities and Innovations135 15. Taiwanese Tantra: Guru Wuguang’s Art of Yogic Nourishment and the Esoteric Path (1966), by Cody R. Bahir137 16. Making a Modern Image of Jīvaka: “First Encounters with Jīvaka Komārabhacca, the High Guru of Healers and the Inspiration for Sculpting His Image” (1969), by Anthony Lovenheim Irwin147 17. Gross National Happiness: Buddhist Principles and Bhutanese National Health Policy, by Charles Jamyang Oliphant of Rossie158 18. Using Buddhist Resources in Post-disaster Japan: Taniyama Yōzō’s “Vihāra Priests and Interfaith Chaplains” (2014), by Levi McLaughlin164

19. Medicine Wizards of Myanmar: Four Recent Facebook Posts, by Thomas Nathan Patton177 Meditation and Mental Health187 20. Naikan and Psychiatric Medicine: Takemoto Takahiro’s Naikan and Medicine (1979), by Clark Chilson189 21. A Contemporary Shingon Priest’s Meditation Therapies: Selections from the Writings of Ōshita Daien (2006–2016), by Nathan Jishin Michon196 22. Mindfulness in Westminster: The All-Party Parliamentary Group’s Mindful UK (2014), by Joanna Cook204 23. Medicalizing Sŏn Meditation in Korea: An Interview with Venerable Misan Sŭnim, by Lina Koleilat215 24. Misuses of Mindfulness: Ron Purser and David Loy’s “Beyond McMindfulness” (2013), by David L. McMahan221 Crossing Boundaries229 25. Rediscovering Living Buddhism in Modern Bengal: Maniklal Singha’s The Mantrayāna of Rārh (1979), by Projit Bihari Mukharji231 26. Conversations with Two (Possibly) Buddhist Folk Healers in China, by Thomas David DuBois235 27. Interview with a Contemporary Chinese American Healer, by Kin Cheung and C. Pierce Salguero241 28. “We Need to Balance Out the Boisterous Spirits and Gods”: Buddhism in the Healing Practice of a Contemporary Korean Shaman, by Minjung Noh and C. Pierce Salguero252 29. Among Archangels, Aliens, and Ascended Masters: Quan Yin Bodhisattva Joins the New Age Pantheon, by C. Pierce Salguero264 Buddhist Healing in Practice273 30. Buddhism and Resistance in Northern Thai Traditional Medicine: An Interview with an Unlicensed Thai Folk Healer, by Assunta Hunter275 31. Burmese Alchemy in Practice: A Conversation with Master U Shein, by Céline Coderey281 32. Mental Illness in the Sowa Rigpa Clinic: A Conversation with Dr. Teinlay P. Trogawa, by Susannah Deane289 33. Biographical Interview with the Tantric Meditator Tshampa Tseten from Bhutan, with a Translation of His “Edible Letters,” by Mona Schrempf298 34. Japanese Buddhist Women’s “Way of Healing,” by Paula K. R. Arai310 35. Conversations About Buddhism and Health Care in Multiethnic Philadelphia, by C. Pierce Salguero317 Appendix: Geographic Table of Contents327 Glossary331 References341 List of Contributors373 Index379

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