The term Ayurveda literally means “the science of life.” Ayurveda is a sacred science and in accordance with Indian mythology, it is supposed to have been perceived by Lord Brahma. From Lord Brahma it was passed on to the Aśvin twins and then to Lord lndra and from him to Bharadvaja and finally to Atreya, who are human beings. Atreya taught medicine at the ancient city of Takkasila (Taxila or Takśasila). His six students spread this holistic system of medicine throughout India.
The history of Ayurveda as an actual medical system can be traced back to the Ṛg Vedic period although it is part of the Atharva Veda. The Ṛg Veda mentions various maladies and it contains the names of medicinal plants and gives certain notes on curing the various diseases.
Atharva Veda is the earliest source of therapeutic prescriptions and it methodically paved the way for the Ayurvedic tradition. To prevent diseases and to improve health, the Atharva Veda prescribes herbal medicines, cleansing methods and mantras. There were two distinct classes of physicians during the Vedic and post-Vedic period:
- Ṛṣis - sages or yogis who learned to cure diseases through yogic powers
- Professional Ayurvedic physicians
During the Brahmanical period in 800 B.C. those Ayurvedic physicians developed their tradition to considerable heights and Ayurveda’s progress continued as a methodical medical system until the ruthless Islamic invasion of India. Millions and millions of Ayurvedic manuscripts were destroyed by the Islamic conquerors in India in the 13th century.
During the time of the Buddha, Ayurveda became a scientific medical system. Many of its medical discoveries and techniques, for example, plastic surgery were not known in the west until thousands of years later. This Ayurvedic medical system was entirely an oral tradition until the first century A.D. Later, an enormous amount of Ayurvedic knowledge developed and gradually came to be written down.
The Ayurvedic system was divided into eight branches of medicine:
- Salya - surgery
- Sālakya - treatment of disorders of the head and neck
- Kāya Cikitsā - general medicine
- Bhāta-vidya - psychiatry and mental diseases caused by demons (demonology)
- Kaumara-bhr̥tya - children's diseases, pediatrics
- Agada - toxicology, remedies for poisons
- Rasāyana - elixirs, rejuvenations
- Vājikarana - virilifications
Surgery or Salya is not a modern system of medicine. It is the result of the systematic understanding of the human body by very ancient healers or physicians. Now it is a highly developed system of medicine. Yet we in no way are entitled to say that the ancient system was unsystematic unmethodical or unwise.
Diseases of the body were expressed in terms of a humoural theory of medicine. There are three humours which are the underlying constituents of the body: air (vāta), bile (pitta) and phlegm (kapha). There may have been a relationship between the development of Indian Ayurvedic humoural medicine and the old clinical Greek System of humoural medicine (which is based on four humours: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile).
Making comments on humoural medicine, Heinrich Zimmer explains that the humours are in fact not just airy, bilious and mucous matter found in the body but three principles of life-energy corresponding to the major parts of the environment: the wind element, the fire element and the fluid element. A very significant point that should be mentioned here is that veneration and worship are necessary to Ayurvedic therapy. The basic system is to restore the humoural balance through food and herbs, but hygiene is emphasized and even politeness is considered a good preventative medicine in Ayurveda.
The most advanced methods of medicine have been used by the Ayurvedic doctors at the high point of development of Ayurveda. Medical historians are of the opinion that ancient Ayurvedic doctors practised excellent surgery, plastic surgery and removal of cataracts and that they had good clinical knowledge that leprosy was contagious, they recognized that blood spitting in pulmonary tuberculosis spread the disease and they were able to make excellent descriptions of epileptic disorders.
Suśruta, Caraka and Vāgbhata are the most famous figures in classical Ayurveda. Encyclopedic medical treatises have been written by these great scholars. Caraka composed the “Caraka-Saṃhita” which was based on an earlier Saṃhita by Agnivesa. Caraka-Saṃhita contains the theory and other knowledge of ancient Ayurveda that is the ancient oral medical tradition.
Suśruta, the other great figure of Ayurveda, compiled the “Suśruta Saṃhita” which contains the comprehensive details of advanced Indian surgery. Caraka is reputed to have been the court physician of the Emperor Kaniṣka. The third great figure in classical Ayurveda is Vāgbhata, who was clearly a Buddhist. Two writers shared the same name, Vāgbhata and they must be distinguished. Both of them claimed the same parentage in their great works, the Astāṅgasaṃgraha and the Astāṅgahr̥dayasaṃhita.
Vr̥ddha Vāgbhata (Elder Vāgbhata) is the son of Siṃhagupta, whereas the younger Vāgbhata and the younger one’s teacher was Avalokita, a Buddhist. This younger Vāgbhata’s work explicitly shows the influence of Buddhist ethics in Ayurvedic medicine. It is Astāṅgahr̥dayasaṃhita which still exists in original Sanskrit and its Tibetan version is also found. In the introductory stanza of this medical manual, he reveres the Buddha thus:
I pay homage to that unique physician, the Buddha who rooted out and removed all diseases such as lust, which cause delusion and indolence and are spread over all living beings, striking them always.
Vāgbhata puts much emphasis on morality pertaining to man’s health and he devotes an entire chapter on that. Development of morality or mind-culture, according to Vāgbhata, potentially develops health. He exhorted physicians to practice Buddha’s loving-kindness (Metta) and compassion (Karunā) and to treat all beings equally.
The golden age of Ayurveda corresponds to the period of the glory of Buddhism in India, that is from the 4th century B.C. to the 8th century A.D. Buddhism exerted a positive and beneficial influence on Ayurveda and therefore it may accurately be called classical Ayurvedic System or “Hindu-Buddhist Medicine.” A.L. Basham says:
Buddhism, which encouraged the virtue of compassion and was less bound than Hinduism by considerations of ritual purity, seems to have been particularly conductive to the study of medicine.
Therefore, it is needless to say that Buddhism paved the way for the progress of Ayurvedic studies and that the Buddha knew Ayurveda well. Heinrich Zimmer points out:
The Buddha in expounding his doctrine of salvation, modeled it after the attitude of the Hindu physician toward the task of healing.
Buddhism and the classical Ayurvedic system were intimately connected and Western scholars also accept the fact that Ayurveda flourished in India with the rise of Buddhism.
In the Vinaya Piṭaka (Basket of Discipline), there is a special section called “Bhesajjakkhandaka” or the section on medicine where the Buddha prescribed many different things as remedies for sick monks. It must be mentioned here that Buddhist monks are not allowed to earn their living as a healer for it is considered a common type of action or animal science (tiracchena vijjā). Why is it considered a type of animal science? Because it weakens the monk’s spiritual desire. And it also hinders his spiritual and religious progress as there would be no time for him to practice his religious activities and cultivate his inner spirituality. But Buddhist monks are permitted to prescribe medicines and perform whatever they think fit for the welfare, goodness and happiness of the patient out of loving-kindness (metta) and compassion (karuṇā).
Jivaka-Komārabhacca was the Buddha’s personal physician and also the student of the celebrated sage Atreya, a great figure of Ayurveda. He went to Takkasila and studied medicine for seven years. Jivaka was crowned in public as „The King of Doctors” for his medical eminence.
Making comments on the Buddha and Buddhist influence on Ayurveda, Jyotir Mitra says:
“Compassion was the source of his morality and the good of all was the goal of his moral conduct. Under the moral conduct, the inclusion of celibacy, knowledge, charity, amicableness, compassion, joy, impartiality and peace in Ayurveda is positively influenced by Buddhism.“
Dharmāśoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India is reported to have established hospitals for both human beings and animals. The second Rock Edict of Emperor Aśoka states:
Everywhere in his kingdom and in other neighboring countries, Aśoka established the medical centers which consisted of the medical care for men and animals. Medical herbs whether of use to man or to beast have been brought and planted there where they did not grow; similarly, roots and fruits have been brought and planted there where they did not grow. (Devanam priyasa priyadasino rajo dve cikicha kata manusa cikicha ca pasu cikicha ca) - The Second Rock Edict
These medical centers of Aśoka predated similar hospitals in the West by about 20 centuries. During the period of this Emperor's rule the Ayurvedic system reached to every nook and corner of this vast empire - from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka (or Sīhaladvipa, the country of the Sinhalese) and to the Western frontiers of the Greek kings. Emperor Aśoka did everything for the welfare of all human beings and animals out of compassion (karuṇā) and pity.
Mahayana Buddhist monks are required to study medicine, for it is one of the major subjects for them. Therefore the Northern Buddhist tradition or the Mahayana Buddhism gave birth to hundreds of great scholars and Ayurvedic physicians. They made an enormious contribution to the advancement of Ayurveda.
The Mahayana concept of Medicine Buddha, Bhaiṣajyaguru, paved the way for the welfare and benevolent effects on public health in various countries throughout the ages. The worship of the Medicine Buddha became prevalent in Mahayana Buddhist countries and under the religious and spiritual guardianship of Bhaiṣajyaguru, thousands of hospitals have been established for the welfare of those countries.
Because of the relationship between Mahayana Buddhism and Ayurveda, Mahayana philosopher-saints were great physicians and they, out of compassion and loving-kindness for humans and animals, wrote important and great medical works. They can be considered to be a major contribution to Ayurvedic literature. Nāgarjuna and Aśvaghoṣa were great philosophers and they were also considered as physician sages.
Tantric Buddhsit tradition also has developed a great medical system that is based on the psychophysical practices of Tantric Yoga. The ancient Indian alchemy (Chemistry of the Middle Ages) is related to tantras as well as to Ayurvedic medicine. The major aim of alchemy is transformation of energy. Various medicinal and magical herbs and other substances have been applied in conjunction with religious techniques like spells and incantations to transmute the body and make it immortal. Tantric yoga can be defined as the esoteric inner union of medicine and religion.
Thus measureless contributions were made to the Ayurvedic medicine during the Buddhist period of India. Countless manuscripts pertaining to medicine were translated and preserved by these Buddhist monks. It was this Ayurvedic medical science that was methodically taken to Tibet (Hidden Land of the World) and there it became an indigenous medical system. Buddhism in India continued to contribute to the Ayurvedic medical system until its complete disappearance from its native land by Islamic invasions. Islamic invaders systematically destroyed everything pertaining to Buddhist culture. Countless Buddhist manuscripts were burnt. Among them were hundreds of great medical works which could easily be considered as the most essential and great literary treasure of mankind.
Today, we are living in a highly developed scientific society. Modern science is fairly advanced but we are still not able to find proper cures for certain diseases. Cancer is one kind of deadly illness. Many people think it is a new kind of illness which is a great misconception. It is an ancient illness. In the Buddhist suttas we have a special Pāli term for cancer, that is, ”pilakā“. And there were proper medicines for that but the modern medical community is not aware of that ancient wisdom and has not made efforts to find it.
Ancient wisdom can be found in traditional societies and in rural areas but not in the modern laboratories. Modern man is ignorant, thinking that this ultra-modern knowledge is the only truth and that ancient thoughts, concepts and ideas are wrong, useless and out-of-date. For instance, not only does traditional Ayurveda have certain remedies for cancer but also ancient Sinhala and Tibetan medical system had certain remedies for it too. It is pathetic that our modern medical scientists are not aware of the traditional wisdom. It is about time that modern pathologists turn their mind to ancient wisdom. They should not turn a deaf ear to old wisdom and old manuscripts of medicine.
“Bower Manuscript” belongs to the fourth century A.D. And it gives a detailed description of long life. One chapter discusses the proper use of garlic and it explains the way to prolong our lives by using garlic. Hundreds of remedies are given in the manuscript for various illness. Why does the modern man ignore these ancient methods of treatment? It is because of the negligence and lack of confidence in ancient things and knowledge. The day will come when the modern medical scientists will say, “go back to the ancient wisdom and find remedies for these deadly diseases of our time.”
References:
- Basham, A.L., The Practice of Medicine in Ancient and Medieval India, Asian Medical Systems, p. 24. (Charles Leslie, ed.)., California, 1976.
- Zimmer, H. Hindu Medicine, p. 52, Baltimore, 1948.
- Mitra, J., “Lord Buddha - A Great Physician”, Religion and Medicine, pp. 50-51 (K.N. Udupa, ed.) Varanasi, 1974.