A Gift from the Buddhist Monastery: The Role of Buddhist Medical Practices in the Assimilation of the Opium Poppy in Chinese Medicine during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

This paper aims to critically appraise the incorporation of opium poppy into medical practice in Song-dynasty China. By analysing materia medica and formularies, along with non-medical sources from the Song period, this study sheds light on the role of Chinese Buddhist monasteries in the process of incorporation of foreign plants into Chinese medicine. It argues that Buddhist monasteries played a significant role in the evolution of the use of opium poppy in Song dynasty medicine. This is because the consumption practices in Buddhist monasteries inspired substantial changes in the medical application of the flower during the Southern Song dynasty. While, at the beginning of Song dynasty, court scholars incorporated opium poppy into official materia medica in order to treat disorders such as huangdan  and xiaoke , as well as cinnabar poisoning, this study of the later Song medical treatises shows how opium poppy was repurposed to treat symptoms such as diarrhoea, coughing and spasms. Such a shift in the medical use of the poppy occurred after Chinese literati and doctors became acquainted with the role of the flower in the diet and medical practices of Buddhist monks across China. Therefore, the case study of the medical application of opium poppy during the Song dynasty provides us with insights into how the spread of certain practices in Buddhist monasteries might have contributed to the change in both professional medical practices and daily-life healthcare in local communities in that period.

Adding historical depth to definitions of mindfulness.

Research on Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) is hampered by semantic ambiguity surrounding the term 'mindfulness'. Understanding the core quality involved in such research could be improved by adding historical depth to definitions of mindfulness, based on more detailed information on mindfulness from text-historical and doctrinal sources in the Buddhist traditions. Particular applications of mindfulness in current clinical usage could be compared to related approaches or doctrinal teachings in Buddhist traditions as part of an ongoing cross-disciplinary dialogue between academics in Buddhist studies and in psychology under the shared aim of deepening our understanding of what mindfulness involves and how it operates.

Techniques for nothingness: Debate over the comparability of hypnosis and Zen in early-twentieth-century Japan.

This paper explores a debate that took place in Japan in the early twentieth century over the comparability of hypnosis and Zen. The debate was among the first exchanges between psychology and Buddhism in Japan, and it cast doubt on previous assumptions that a clear boundary existed between the two fields. In the debate, we find that contemporaries readily incorporated ideas from psychology and Buddhism to reconstruct the experiences and concepts of hypnosis and Buddhist nothingness. The resulting new theories and techniques of nothingness were fruits of a fairly fluid boundary between the two fields. The debate, moreover, reveals that psychology tried to address the challenges and possibilities posed by religious introspective meditation and intuitive experiences in a positive way. In the end, however, psychology no longer regarded them as viable experimental or psychotherapeutic tools but merely as particular subjective experiences to be investigated and explained.

An Aspect of the History of Medicine in Ancient Korea as Examined through Silla Buddhist Monks'Annotations on the "Chapter on Eliminating Disease"in the Sutra of Golden Light (Suvarnabhasa-sutra).

Nearly nothing is known of medicine in ancient Korea due to insufficient materials. With several extant prescriptions and esoteric methods of treating diseases alone, it is impossible to gauge in depth the management of medicine during this period. If one exception were to be cited, that would be the fact that the annotations for understanding the contents on Indian medicine in the "Chapter on Eliminating Disease" in the Sutra of Golden Light, a Buddhist sutra originating from India, reflected the medical knowledge of Buddhist monks from Silla (57 BC-935 AD) who were active immediately after the nation's unification of the two other kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula (668 AD) such as Wonhyo (617-686 AD), Gyeongheung (620?-700? AD), and Seungjang (684-? AD). Along with those by other monks, these annotations are collected in the Mysterious Pivot of the Sutra of Golden Light, which was compiled by Gangyo(835-871 AD), a Japanese monk from the Heian era (794-1185 AD). Representative versions of the "Chapter on Eliminating Disease" in the Sutra of Golden Light include: a classical Chinese translation by the Indian monk Dharmaksema (385-433 AD); the eight-volume edition by Chinese monk Baogui, which differs little from the preceding work in terms of the contents of the "Chapter on Eliminating Disease"; and the ten-volume edition by Yijing (635-713 AD), who had full-fledged knowledge of Indian medicine. When the contents of the annotations thus collected are examined, it seems that Wonhyo had not been aware of the existence of the ten-volume edition, and Gyeongheung and Seungjang most certainly used the ten-volume edition in their annotations as well. Especially noteworthy are Wonhyo's annotations on the Indian medical knowledge found in the "Chapter on Eliminating Disease" in the Sutra of Golden Light. Here, he made a bold attempt to link and understand consistently even discussions on Indian and Buddhist medicine on the basis of the traditional East Asian medical theory centering on the yin-yang and five phases (wuxing). In accordance with East Asia's theory of the seasonal five phases, Wonhyo sought to explain aspects of Indian medicine, e.g., changes in the four great elements (catvari maha-bhutani) of earth, water, fire, and wind according to seasonal factors and their effect on the internal organs; patterns of diseases such as wind (vata)-induced disease, bile (pitta)-induced disease, phlegm (slesman)-induced disease, and a combination (samnipata) of these three types of diseases; pathogenesis due to the indigestion of food, as pathological mechanisms centering on the theory of the mutual overcoming (xiangke) of the five phases including the five viscera (wuzang), five flavors (wuwei), and five colors (wuse). They existed in the text contents on Indian medicine, which could not be explicated well with the existing medical knowledge based on the theory of the five phases. Consequently, he boldly modified the theory of the five phases in his own way for such passages, thus attempting a reconciliation, or harmonization of disputes (hwajaeng), of the two medical systems. Such an attempt was even bolder than those by earlier annotators, and Wonhyo's annotations came to be accepted by later annotators as one persuasive explanation as well. In the case of Gyeongheung and Seungjang, who obtained and examined the ten-volume edition, a new classical Chinese translation produced following Wonhyo's death, annotated the "Chapter on Eliminating Disease" based on their outstanding proficiency in Sanskrit and knowledge of new Indian and Buddhist medicine. This fact signifies that knowledge of the eight arts of Ayurvedic medicine in India was introduced into Silla around the early 8th century. The medical knowledge of Wonhyo, Gyeongheung, and Seungjang demonstrates that intellectual circles in contemporary Silla were arenas in which not only traditional East Asian medicine as represented by works such as the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi Neijing) but also Indian medicine of Buddhism coexisted in almost real time.

Mindfulness en perspectiva / Mindfulness into perspective

El Midfulness (Mf) es un tipo de psicoterapia basada en el budismo y que tiene un uso creciente en trastornos de ansiedad, afectivos y por dolor. Una de sus principales técnicas es la focalización de la atención en el momento presente. Al tener una fundamentación explícita en las prácticas espirituales budistas, y al proceder de un entorno cultural oriental, su aplicación clínica debe buscar mecanismos para facilitar su encaje. Se realiza una revisión narrativa con el objetivo de proporcionar la integración del Mf con otras técnicas de psicoterapia. Se clarifican concretamente: 1) los orígenes budistas comunes al Mf y a otras formas de psicoterapia y 2) la integración del conocimiento sobre los mecanismos neurobiológicos del Mf en los actuales modelos de neurociencia. Se concluye que el Mf puede integrarse con otros programas psicoterapéuticos y que sus postulados son falsables en el diálogo científico actual con la neurociencia clínica (AU)

Mindfulnes (Mf) is a Buddhism based type of psychotherapy and has an increasing application in anxiety, affective and pain disorders. Focusing of attention in present moment is one of its mainly techniques. As it has an explicit foundation in Buddhist spiritual practice, and also proceed from an eastern cultural environment, implementation in the clinical practice should be provided. A narrative review is performed in order to facilitate Mf integration with other psychotherapy techniques. Manly to aspects are addressed: 1) Mf common Buddhist origins and other psychotherapy types and 2) inclusion of Mf neurobiological mechanism knowledge in present neuroscience models. We conclude that Mf can be integrated with other psychotherapy programs and that contain falsifiable assumptions on current scientific dialog with clinical neuroscience (AU)

Is mindfulness Buddhist? (and why it matters).

Modern exponents of mindfulness meditation promote the therapeutic effects of "bare attention"--a sort of non-judgmental, non-discursive attending to the moment-to-moment flow of consciousness. This approach to Buddhist meditation can be traced to Burmese Buddhist reform movements of the first half of the 20th century, and is arguably at odds with more traditional Theravada Buddhist doctrine and meditative practices. But the cultivation of present-centered awareness is not without precedent in Buddhist history; similar innovations arose in medieval Chinese Zen (Chan) and Tibetan Dzogchen. These movements have several things in common. In each case the reforms were, in part, attempts to render Buddhist practice and insight accessible to laypersons unfamiliar with Buddhist philosophy and/or unwilling to adopt a renunciatory lifestyle. In addition, these movements all promised astonishingly quick results. And finally, the innovations in practice were met with suspicion and criticism from traditional Buddhist quarters. Those interested in the therapeutic effects of mindfulness and bare attention are often not aware of the existence, much less the content, of the controversies surrounding these practices in Asian Buddhist history.

The contemporary mindfulness movement and the question of nonself1.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and other "mindfulness"-based techniques have rapidly gained a significant presence within contemporary society. Clearly these techniques, which derive or are claimed to derive from Buddhist meditational practices, meet genuine human needs. However, questions are increasingly raised regarding what these techniques meant in their original context(s), how they have been transformed in relation to their new Western and global field of activity, what might have been lost (or gained) on the way, and how the entire contemporary mindfulness phenomenon might be understood. The article points out that first-generation mindfulness practices, such as MBSR and MBCT, derive from modernist versions of Buddhism, and omit or minimize key aspects of the Buddhist tradition, including the central Buddhist philosophical emphasis on the deconstruction of the self. Nonself (or no self) fits poorly into the contemporary therapeutic context, but is at the core of the Buddhist enterprise from which contemporary "mindfulness" has been abstracted. Instead of focussing narrowly on the practical efficacy of the first generation of mindfulness techniques, we might see them as an invitation to explore the much wider range of practices available in the traditions from which they originate. Rather, too, than simplifying and reducing these practices to fit current Western conceptions of knowledge, we might seek to incorporate more of their philosophical basis into our Western adaptations. This might lead to a genuine and productive expansion of both scientific knowledge and therapeutic possibilities.

[Weizsäcker and Indian philosophy - a new beginning in negotiating the dualism of mind and matter?]. / Weizsäcker und die indische Philosophie-- ein Neubeginn für die Uberwindung des Dualismus von Geist und Materie?

Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker's thought is centred around the idea of the unity of reality. He tries to express this idea in his interpretation of quantum physics as well as on the background of neoplatonic thinking. Even his interest in Indian philosophies is based on this concept that would overcome the dualism of mind and matter as well as the dualism of subject and object. On this basis he also tries to reflect on his own inexpressible "mystical" experience in Tiruvannamalai, India, interpreting it with the help of the experience he has been told about by the Indian thinker Gopi Krishna. This is the concept of prana (vital energy) that he uses to find a common terminological ground for physical and mental events. According to Indian Advaita Vedanta, the non-dualistic interpretation of the Vedantic scriptures, reality is based on a non-dual oneness that is self-reflective, transparent and neither immanent nor transcendent but beyond any category. It is pure bliss in its self-expression. Human "mental" experience is a reflective mode of this one reality, subject and object coincide. The result is a holistic psycho-somatology. In view of these ideas Weizsäcker reformulates the notion of "matter". It is less an interaction of particles with specific mass than a non-dual net of interrelations and information, and this would correlate with a concept of mind (consciousness) that could be conceptualized as the energy of self-reflectivity in that very process.

Environmental reconstruction of Tuyoq in the Fifth Century and its bearing on Buddhism in Turpan, Xinjiang, China.

The Thousand Buddha Grottoes of Tuyoq, Turpan, Xinjiang, China were once a famous Buddhist temple along the ancient Silk Road which was first constructed in the Fifth Century (A.D.). Although archaeological researches about the Grottoes have been undertaken for over a century, the ancient environment has remained enigmatic. Based on seven clay samples from the Grottoes' adobes, pollen and leaf epidermis were analyzed to decipher the vegetation and climate of Fifth Century Turpan, and the environmental landscape was reconstructed in three dimensions. The results suggest that temperate steppe vegetation dominated the Tuyoq region under a warmer and wetter environment with more moderate seasonality than today, as the ancient mean annual temperature was 15.3°C, the mean annual precipitation was approximately 1000 mm and the temperature difference between coldest and warmest months was 24°C using Co-existence Approach. Taken in the context of wheat and grape cultivation as shown by pollen of Vitis and leaf epidermis of Triticum, we infer that the Tuyoq region was an oasis with booming Buddhism in the Fifth Century, which was probably encouraged by a 1°C warmer temperature with an abundant water supply compared to the coeval world that experienced the 1.4 k BP cooling event.

[Studies on Yakushi Buddha and its medicinal container].

In Japan, there are about 250 Yakushi Buddha (i.e., Buddha of Healing) statues in Buddhist temples. They are listed as Important Cultural Properties and 14 of them are National Treasures. Belief in Yakushi Buddha was especially prevalent from the 7th to the 13th centuries in Japan. The oldest wooden Yakushi Buddha statue is in Horin-ji Temple in Nara. Among the approximately 250 Yakushi Buddha statues, about 200 have medicinal containers-or rarely, a bowl-in the palm of the left hand. However, these medicinal containers are wooden blocks. Very recently, it was found that the Yakushi Buddha statue in the Suho-Kokubun-ji Temple in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan has a medicinal container in the palm of his left hand, in which an offering (i.e., 220 g of materials) was found. The date on the reverse side of the lid places the offering at October 12, 1699. The offering is composed of five cereals (rice, barley, wheat, soybean and azuki bean), five medicinal plants (Acori graminei, Acori calami, Ginseng, Flos caryophylli and Lignum santali albi) and six minerals (rock crystals, purple and blue lead glass, CaCO3 particles, and silver and golden foils). Recently, the pharmacy educational program was extended from four to six years in order to meet clinical pharmacy requirements for patients. From studying the Buddha of Healing and its medicinal container described above, the author suggests that, in addition to pharmaceutical bioscience, philosophical concept be studied as part of the history of pharmacy in the future.

[A study of the Arsaprasamanisutra: analysis].

The present paper focuses primarily on a philological and historical study of the Arsaprasamanisutra ("The Sutra of the Tranquilization of Hemorrhoids"). This Sutra is one of the Buddhist scriptures that is characterized by the magico-religious treatment of various diseases, especially by means of "healing spells" (skt. dharani or mantra), as shown by the preliminary survey in our penultimate paper "The Tradition of Healing with Magical Spells as Seen in Buddhist Texts," Journal of the Japan Society of Medical History 55/1 (2009), 77-96. In our last paper "The Tradition of Healing with Magical Spells as Seen in Buddhist Texts (2): A Study of the Arsaprasamanisutra: Edition and Japanese translation" we provided critically edited texts of the Tibetan and Chinese translations accompanied by their Japanese translations with critical notes and annotations. In this paper we analyze the descriptions of hemorrhoids as found in the Sutra in comparison with those illustrated in classical Ayurveda literature, besides a detailed philological examination of the relevant passages available only in the Chinese translation of the Mulasarvastivada-Vinaya. We also offer further observations about the methods and principles for the treatment and healing of hemorrhoids that are attested in Buddhist scriptures, as well as make an overview of the transmission and historical reception of the Arsaprasamanisutra in Japan between the Nara and the Taisho periods.

Countercurrents from the West: "blue-eyed" Zen masters, Vipassana meditation, and Buddhist psychotherapy in contemporary Korea.

One surprising and yet relatively unknown aspect of contemporary Korean Buddhism is the significant influence of American and European Buddhism. Between 1989 and 2009, South Koreans witnessed well-educated "blue-eyed" monastic residents via the Korean media, and the emergence of new bestsellers by authors like Thich Nhat Hahn and Jack Kornfield, written initially for Western audiences but since translated into Korean. The new teachings from the West have inspired a sudden growth of interest in vipassana meditation as an "alternative" to Kanhwa Son practice, and the emergence of a new academic field: Buddhist psychotherapy. This new wave of transnational influence from the West has changed not only the way Koreans practice Buddhism but also how they perceive Buddhist history and their own identities. In addition, the perceived "prestige" of Buddhism in the West has provided a new rhetorical strategy to defend Buddhism against other religions, particularly Korean evangelical Christianity.

[Study of "The Suitra of the tranquilization of hemorrhoids" and other relevant material].

The present paper focuses primarily on a philological and historical study of the Arsaprasamanisutra ("The Sütra of the tranquilization of hemorrhoids"). This Sutra is one of the Buddhist scriptures that are characterized by the magico-religious treatment of various diseases, especially by means of "healing spells" (skt. dharani or mantra), as shown by the preliminary survey in our previous paper "The Tradition of healing with magical spells as seen in Buddhist texts", Journal of the Japan Society of Medical History 55/1 (2009), 77-96. The original text of the Arsaprasamanisutra, most probably written in Sanskrit, is lost whereas its Chinese and Tibetan translations have survived. After an introductory summary, we provide critically edited texts of the Tibetan and Chinese translations accompanied by their Japanese translations with critical notes and annotations. In particular, the Tibetan translation presented here has been critically edited for the first time on the basis of collation of the five editions of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon. In our next paper we will analyze the descriptions of hemorrhoids as found in the Sutra in comparison with those illustrated in classical Ayurveda literature. And we will also offer further observations about the methods and principles for the treatment and healing of hemorrhoid that are attested in Buddhist scriptures.

[Ancient history of Indian pharmacy].

The study of the ancient history of Indian medicine has recently been revived due to the publication of polyglot translations. However, little is known of ancient Indian pharmacy. Archaeological evidence suggests the Indus people lived a settled life approximately in 2500 B.C. Their cities were enjoying the cleanest and most hygienic daily life with elaborate civic sanitation systems. The whole conception shows a remarkable concern for health. Then, the early Aryans invaded India about 1500 B.C. and the Vedic age started. The Rgveda texts contain the hymns for Soma and those for herbs. The term Ayurveda (i.e., science of life) is found in some old versions of both Ramayana and Mahabharata and in the Atharvaveda. Susruta had the credit of making a breakthrough in the field of surgery. The Ayurveda, a work on internal medicine, gives the following transmission of sages: Brahma-->Daksa-->Prajapati-->Asivinau-->Indra-->Caraka. On the other hand, the Susruta-samhita, which deals mainly with surgical medicine, explains it as follows; Indra-->Dhanvantari-->Susruta Both Caraka and Susruta were medical doctors as well as pharmacists, so they studied more than 1000 herbs thoroughly. The Ayurveda had been used by his devotees for medical purposes. It eventually spread over Asia with the advanced evolution of Buddhism.

[The tradition of healing with magical spells as seen in Buddhist texts].

Although India has its own traditional medical systems such as Ayurveda, healing through magic spells was also practiced. After the systematization of Ayurveda, these healing spells almost lost their significance and only the spells for specific diseases were further transmitted. On the other hand, Indian Buddhism partially accepted the healing spells, and Buddhist texts which include the healing spells began to appear after the 4th century. These texts were brought into other Asian countries and became popular therein. However, these Buddhist healing spells have not been studied enough by Buddhism scholars and therefore their meaning in the history of medicine in India is not yet sufficiently understood. In this article, we discuss on the origin of these Buddhist healing spells, and thereafter we list and summarize the existing Buddhist texts involving these healing spells.

Thunder among the pines: defining a pan-Asian soma.

Many ancient cultures and religions engaged in various techniques and used various substances to instigate religious experience and to alter perception. These techniques of psycho-sexual drug yoga reached an unparalleled level of sophistication that arose and was often cloaked in practical terms of alchemy and metallurgy. The Vedic tradition describes this plant-based ritualism as soma, which has been identified by Gordon Wasson as the mushroom Amanita muscaria. This article traces these soma-influenced sects of esoteric Buddhism that exerted influences from India, China and Tibet to Japan. Some of the key components, practices and symbolism are retained despite numerous cultural filters. Japan's tradition of esoteric Buddhism can thus be seen to have preserved and incorporated the soma/amrita mushroom lore into its own traditions of mountain ascetic mystics.

Buddhism and breastfeeding.

Buddhism is an ancient religion that began in India and spread throughout Asia. It is prevalent in modern Japan. Breastfeeding has been a strong practice for centuries with the custom being to continue until the child is 6 or 7 years of age. The Edo period was very influential in establishing breastfeeding customs that continue today.

[Influences of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism on Chinese Medical Formulas in Jin-Tang Dynasties].

In the Jin-Tang Dynasties, when Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism contended, conflicted and well blent, forming a state of mingled thoughts of the three sects. It exerted profound influences on Chinese Medical Formulas and promoted the academic fashion of compiling books about medical formulas characterized by collecting various formulas especially the simple and proved recipes. This plays a role in the formation of the formulas used in the Jin-Tang Dynasties, featuring simplicity, convenience, cheapness, and effectiveness, different from those of other periods.