[Buddha-l] Re: Aama do.sa I

[Christopher Fynn]

 > Medicine was one of the "five sciences" Buddhists studied. The only
> pre-Asanga Indian text we have is the Caraka, which is typically dated to
> somewhere around the 1st-3rd c CE, redacting materials, it is usually
> claimed, that have earlier roots. The CS is a stratified text -- it is also
> the first text to introduce pramana theory, so it is of interest to those
> studying the later development of the logic tradition. The pramana sections
> are one place that stratification is evident, as are certain medical
> portions that show theoretical and practical advancements from other
> portions.


> As I also mentioned, it discusses some of the same things as does Asanga in
> the Manobhumi, but there are always differences -- which is why if we could
> recover some of the Buddhist medical literature of the period, all of this
> would be a lot clearer. So, given the current state of the materials
> available to us, the best we can do is check the CS.

Dan

The Siddha medical system - still widely taught and practised in S. India - 
usually traces it's origin to the Buddhist Nagarjuna (Siddha Nagarjuna). 
According to a teacher I talked to from the Government Ayurvedic College in 
Mysore, where it is taught (alongside Ayurveda and Unani) and according to the 
head of the Sanskrit department of the University of Mysore, it was originally a 
Buddhist medical system. I don't know if it is still practised there, but I 
understand manuscripts connected with this tradition have also been found in Sri 
Lanka. Anyway this tradition might possibly be a good place to start looking for 
Indian Buddhist medical theories & literature...

- Chris