Diseases and Treatments in the Chapter on Medicine in the Vinaya Piṭakas

Abstract

Buddhist literature comprises not only information on Buddhist doctrines and practices, but also other knowledges of ancient cultures. One such knowledge is medicine. Abundant data of medicine – such as medical sciences, medicinal substances, diseases, therapies, and therapeutic tools – are found in the Buddhist scriptures. This paper explores the diseases and their remedies as recorded in the Vinaya Piṭakas, particularly those in the Chapter on Medicine. It illuminates ancient Indian medical lore preserved in the Vinayas, and reveals diverse medical interventions for illnesses in ancient India. Six versions of the Chapter on Medicine of the extant Vinaya Piṭakas are utilised as the main sources for this study. They are the Theravāda Bhesajjakkhandhaka, the Dharmaguptaka Bhaiṣajyaskandhaka, the Mahīśāsaka Bhaiṣajyadharmaka, the Sarvāstivāda Bhaiṣajyadharmaka, the Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhaiṣajyavastu, and the relevant parts in the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya. The data on various diseases and their treatments are collected and categorised under the medical specialties where they are treated. The findings in different versions of the Chapter on Medicine are then reported and compared in this paper. They are also interpreted through Āyurvedic and modern medical knowledge. Numerous diseases and treatments are noted in the Chapter on Medicine (and some in other parts of the Vinaya Piṭaka). Illnesses are categorised into specialties of internal medicine, toxicology, ophthalmology, dermatology, surgery, and psychiatry. In the area of internal medicine, there are autumnal disease, wind diseases, disorders of humours/elements, fever, gastrointestinal disturbances, headache, jaundice, and malaria. For toxicology, cases of ingestion of toxic substances and snakebites are found. For ophthalmology, non-specific eye disease and painful eye are mentioned. There are itching lesions, carbuncles, wounds, and so on for dermatology. For surgery, perineal diseases and foot ailments are recorded. There is also a case of possession or insanity pertaining to psychiatry. Different remedies for these maladies are documented in the sources and are delineated in the paper. Much information regarding sicknesses and therapies can be found in the Vinaya Piṭakas. These details represent ancient Indian medical knowledge. By making the less organised facts in the versions of the Chapter on Medicine more systematic, this paper furnishes sorted material on ancient Indian medicine preserved in the extant Vinaya Piṭakas of six Buddhist schools. Furthermore, those data in the Chinese versions of the Vinaya Piṭaka are translated and presented to Western Buddhist scholars. The findings in this paper also contribute to the knowledge of ancient healing belonging to the śramaṇic phase (about ninth century BCE to the beginning of the Common Era) of the history of Indian medicine.