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

[Dan Lusthaus]

Hi Joy,

The Caraka-samhita is a huge text, so I cannot type in all the relevant
portions. I don't know if there is a French translation available, and if
so, what it's quality is, but it is worth taking a look at the text. There
are a few English translations. The one I prefer is _Agnive"sa's Caraka
Sa.mhitaa (Text with English Translation & Critical Exposition based on
Cakrapaa.ni Datta's AAyurveda Diipikaa)_ tr. by Ram Karan Sharma and Vaidya
Bhagwan Dash, Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, 7 vols., since, despite
its occasional typos and verbal infelicities, it includes the Skt text in
devanagri.

In brief, there are entire chapters on psychology and psychiatry (which
Asanga's YBh also echoes when discussing the causes of drowsiness, madness,
unconsciousness, etc.). Among its treatments -- along with herbs, diet,
etc. -- are recommendations for changing lifestyles and daily regimens, for
a variety of diseases, some of which we would consider psychiatric. In a
pre-Cartesian world, there was no compulsion to completely isolate the
physical from the mental. If herbs, or diet, or smoking (! yes! there are
prescriptions for therapeutic smoking in CS), or changing habits, etc. are
effective, then they become part of the treatment plan.

What CS says (same chapter I've been citing):

"68. There are some important topics which we shall explain for the sake of
knowledge of the physicians. The wise admire action initiated with due
knowledge. A physician can accomplish the desired object without any special
effort, provided he duly intitates action aftern having full knowledge of
kaara.na (cause), kara.na (instrument), kaaryayoni (source of action),
kaarya (action itself), kaaryaphala (fruits of action), anubandha
(subsequent manifestation), de"sa (habitat), kaala (season), prav,rtti
(initiation) and upaaya (means of action)."

The -/ k.r root, also the root of karma, is present here. That is the CS's
main "karma" theory.

As for demons, planets, etc., these are discussed, and in a rational (if not
modern or postmodern) fashion. These are treated more as matters of attitude
than physical influences, though it doesn't rule them out entirely. Later
Ayurveda brings astrology especially back into a more prominent position.

CS is generally acknowledged as the first Indian text to introduce the idea
of pramana (means of knowledge), and offers detailed discussion of pramana
in several places (foundational discussions for the other schools,
including, as I mentioned, criteria and terminology for parts of an
argument, distinguishing valid from invalid arguments, etc.). It accepts
four pramanas: 1. perception (pratyak.sa), 2. reasoning (anumaana), 3.
traditional authority (aapta), and an unusual fourth pramana not found
elsewhere, 4. yukti.

Yukti in other texts comes to mean "logical connection," "reasonable,"
"logical," etc., but CS uses it in a very special way. Since medical
diagnosis and prognosis involves not only detecting causes (diagnosis) based
on symptoms, but also adjusting things as the disease progresses and changes
course, and a good doctor should be able to make reasonable predictions on
possible outcomes (prognosis), yukti for CS involves analyzing how a variety
of causes and conditions influence each other and work together over the
course of time. It offers an analogy to predicting a crop outcome before
planting -- season, weather, etc. are all important factors, and the final
outcome can be affected by changing conditions over the course of the
growing season, all of which are part of this synthetic type of reasoning.
The physician does the same when treating a disease.

Seasonal adjustments to treatment (e.g., which foods or herbs to use in
which type of season -- remember much of India has some pretty extreme
weather changes over the course of the year) are emphasized. Planets are
acknowledged, but there are no astrological treatments. During one of the
pramana discussions, an argument is made for the veracity of reincarnation
(I don't think Richard would find them compelling arguments, however), but
its influence on current illnesses is severly minimized.

As for China, emperor folly is one of the enduring themes in Chinese
history. Suggesting something contrary to the Emperor's wishes could be a
fatal endeavor. This is not only true of medical advice, but in most
spheres, and there is a long literature dating back at least to Warring
States times concerned with how to strategically approach the Emperor with
such advice or even whether to do so at all, while Chinese history is filled
with the corpses of trustworthy advisors who were done away with by
conspiratorial rivals. In that atmosphere, if an emperor wanted to play with
cinnabar concoctions, the opportunities for approaching him with what would
amount to denying him his chance at physical immortality were minimal and
dangerous. Especially if, as do many westerners today, he believed in
miracles, spirits, etc. Many Emperors acted liked spoiled teenagers, or
worse.

The question of differentiating well-intentioned charlatans from pure
con-people is perhaps a legal matter. In terms of the patient however,
whether someone believes his own quack cure or is being purely deceptive
makes little difference. The patient dies either way, and when a more
effective treatment is available and part of the canons of recognized
medical knowledge (aapta), then it is criminal and dangerous for either type
to practice. As CS said: "The wise admire action initiated with due
knowledge."

Delving into some of this on a buddhism list is perhaps relevant since CS
(and not just Samkhya) is an important source and fountainhead for Buddhist
medieval discourse, especially the hetuvidya tradition.

Dan