Ancient Indian Medicine in the Bhaişajya-skandhaka of the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya

Abstract

Ancient Indian medical knowledge is found in the Buddhist scriptures. In the Vinayapiṭaka, numerous medicinal substances and remedies for certain diseases are recorded. Amongst the extant Vinayapiṭakas, the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya (Sifenlü 四分律) is the dominant monastic tradition in the East Asian Buddhism. However, this Vinaya is seldom studied by modern scholars, and medical information in this Vinaya is rarely researched. This paper examines the medical data found in the Bhaiṣajya-skandhaka of this Vinaya, where most of the medical material is collected. The medical facts of this text are interpreted with the help of Āyurvedic and modern medical knowledge. Among the drugs and treatments recorded in this text, some of them are distinctive in this tradition, compared with those in other Vinayas. These findings demonstrate the ancient Indian medical lore kept in the Dharmaguptaka school, and contribute to the medical history of northwestern India where this school was established.