Bhesajjakkhandhaka (Chapter on Medicine)
by Hin-tak Sik | 2016 | 121,742 words
This study deals with the ancient Indian Medicine (Ayurveda) in Early Buddhist Literature and studies the Bhesajjakkhandhaka and the Parallels in other Vinaya Canons. The word Bhesajja means “medicine” and is the sixth chapter of the Khandhaka, which represents the second book of the Pali Vinaya Pitaka. Other works consulted include the Bhaisajya-s...
Seven-day Medicines (a): Lipids and Sweets
Most of the available versions of the Chapter on Medicine start with the case of autumnal disease, which will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. For this illness, certain substances were allowed to be used which were later restricted for storage and consumption within seven days, and hence they are known as the seven-day medicines. As emphasised in some Vinayas (the Theravāda, the Dharmaguptaka, and the Mahīśāsaka), these substances were recognised as “medicines” by the world, and not just foods.
The lists of these medicines, however, differ slightly in the extant Chapters on Medicine as follows:[1]
Theravāda—“These five medicines, namely, ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, [and] molasses; [these] medicines indeed are considered as medicines for the world, and they serve as food, and [each of them] is not perceived as coarse food.”[2]
Dharmaguptaka—“There are five kinds of medicine which are commonly used by the world: ghee, oil, honey, butter, [and] rock sugar.[4] Now I would rather let the monks eat these [which are] common medicines to be consumed, without making [these medicines] appear as coarse food like the things of rice [or] parched flour.”[6]
Mahīśāsaka—“The worldly people use ghee, oil, honey, [and] rock sugar as medicines. Now I should allow the monks to consume [them].”[8]
Sarvāstivāda—“… four kinds of soft and easily swallowed medicine:[10] ghee, oil, honey, [and] rock sugar.”[12]
Mūlasarvāstivāda—“The medicines for seven days are thus: ghee, oil, molasses, honey, [and] rock sugar.”[3] [5]
Mahāsāṃghika[7] —“Medicines for seven days [are] ghee, oil, honey, rock sugar, butter [and] grease … these are called medicines for seven days.” [9]
The lists of these seven-day medicines in the extant Vinayas are highly similar with only some slight differences. The substances involved are: ghee, butter, oil, honey, molasses, rock sugar, and grease.
In the Suttavibhaṅga of the Theravāda Vinaya, five seven-day medicines are explained thus:
“ghee by name is the ghee of the cow, or the ghee of the she-goat, or ghee of the buffalo–ghee of those [animals] whose meat is proper; fresh butter by name is the fresh butter also of those [animals]; oil by name is sesame oil, mustard oil, oil of mahua seeds,[11] castor oil, [and] oil of tallow; honey by name is the honey of bees; molasses by name is that originated from sugarcane.”[13]
These substances are allowed for acceptance and use by a sick monk (or nun) during the proper time and improper time (Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka I. 200; Taishō Tripiṭaka 1428. 869c9; Taishō Tripiṭaka 1435. 184c11). They are known as seven-day medicines because there was overaccumulation of them by the monks that had caused hygiene problems. The Buddha thus restricted their storage and usage within seven days (Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka I. 206-209; Taishō Tripiṭaka 1428. 870b3-23; Taishō Tripiṭaka 1435. 185a18-b10).
Ghee and butter are two milk products in the “group of milk” (kṣīra-varga) in Āyurveda (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 217-236;Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 47-111; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 20-42).[14] Ghee is used commonly in Āyurveda. It has many values and therapeutic usages. It promotes strength and many bodily functions, as well as reduces wind and bile humours (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 13. 41-43; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 96; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 37-39). Ghee alone is an antidote for bile humour which is aggravated in autumn, and hence it is best used in this season.[15] Various types of ghee are extracted from milk of different mammals (even of women), and they have some difference in their properties and therapeutic usages (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 231-233; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 97-111; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 40). Fresh butter, another milk product, has similar properties and remedial values as ghee (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 230; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 92-93; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 35-36).
Oil is another unctuous substance often used in Āyurveda. It is usually obtained from seeds, fruits, or wood of plants. There are many types of oil, such as sesame oil, castor oil, mustard oil, oil of various fruits, etc. All vegetal oils are pacifiers of wind humour, and have similar properties (as sesame oil). They improve bodily strength (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 13. 15, 27. 286-294; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 113-129; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 55-61).
Honey, molasses and rock sugar are sweet substances. In Āyurveda, honey has many types in accordance with the types of bees that collect them. It alleviates the humours of bile and phlegm, but aggravates wind humour. It promotes complexion, appetite, and many other functions (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 243-245; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 132139; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 51-53). Molasses and rock sugar are two products of sugarcane juice. Molasses is weight-promoting. It mildly increases the three humours (Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 159; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 47). Rock sugar is good for the emaciated and the wounded. It relieves aggravation of wind humour (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 241-242; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 45. 163, 168; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 5. 49-50).
In modern nutritional science, these above-mentioned seven-day medicines are all high caloric sources. Digestion and metabolism of these substances produce significant amounts of energy for the body. Ghee, butter and oil belong to the group of lipids, while honey, molasses and rock sugar are of the group of carbohydrates. They are chiefly regarded as nutrients rather than medicines in modern sciences.[16]
In brief, certain substances were allowed by the Buddha to be used at most for seven days. These seven-day medicines include ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, molasses, and rock sugar, as mentioned in the various versions of the Chapter on Medicine. These medicines, according to Āyurveda, have their own properties and therapeutic usages. In modern science, they are important sources of energy. Their usage as medicines may be understood by the fact that large amounts of energy would be needed by the body during sickness for combating illness and for recovery. Thus, foods which provide large amounts of energy would be beneficial according to ancient Indian medicine.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Abbreviations for Buddhist schools will be used in the tables in this and the next chapters as: Theravāda for Theravāda, Dharmaguptaka for Dharmaguptaka, Mahīśāsaka for Mahīśāsaka, Sarvāstivāda for Sarvāstivāda, Mūlasarvāstivāda for Mūlasarvāstivāda, and Mahāsāṃghika for Mahāsāṃghika.
[2]:
[3]:
Gilgit Manuscritps (Gilgit Manuscripts) III. 1.iii: “sāptāhikaṃ sarpistathā tailaṃ phāṇitaṃ madhu śarkarā.” Taishō Tripiṭaka
[4]:
Milk (乳) is kṣīra in Sanskrit, curds (酪) is dadhi, butter (生酥) is navanīta, ghee (or clarified butter) (熟酥) is ghṛta (or sarpi), and the finest ghee (醍醐) is sarpirmaṇḍa, according to Foguang da cidian 佛光大辭典 (Large Dictionary of the Buddha’s Light), s.v. “五味” [accessed January 12, 2015, https://www.fgs.org.tw/fgs_book/fgs_drser.aspx].
[5]:
. 1b8: “七日藥者：酥、油、糖、蜜、石蜜。”
[6]:
Taishō Tripiṭaka 1428. 869b26-28: “有五種藥，是世常用者，酥、油、蜜、生酥、石蜜。我今寧可令諸比丘食之，當食常藥不令麁現，如飯麨法。”
[7]:
The Chapter on Medicine parallel in the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya does not contain a passage on the autumnal disease and the seven-day medicines. This list is extracted from elsewhere in this Vinaya.
[8]:
Taishō Tripiṭaka 1421. 147b8: “世人以酥、油、蜜、石蜜為藥，我今當聽諸比丘服。”
[9]:
Taishō Tripiṭaka 1425. 454b21-22: “七日藥者，酥、油、蜜、石蜜、生酥、膏... 是名七日藥。” Grease or animal fat (vasā) is approved as one of the seven-day medicines in the Vinayas, though the lists of such substances for curing autumnal disease do not include it. This group will be discussed in the next section.
[10]:
These four are described as “含消”, which literally means “being held in mouth, [it] disappears.” It refers to those foods or medicines which are soft and easily swallowed.
[11]:
[12]:
Taishō Tripiṭaka 1435. 184c3: “…四種含消藥酥油蜜石蜜。” These are allowed for use before and after noon (184c11).
[13]:
Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka III. 251: “sappi nāma gosappi vā ajikāsappi vā māhisaṃ vā sappi, yesaṃ maṃsaṃ kappati tesaṃ sappi. navanītaṃ nāma tesaṃ yeva navanītaṃ. telaṃ nāma tilatelaṃ sāsapatelaṃ madhukatelaṃ eraṇḍatelaṃ vasātelaṃ. madhu nāma makkhikāmadhu. phāṇitaṃ nāma ucchumhā nibbattaṃ.” The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya enumerates a lot more items for each kind of the sevenday medicines than those given in the Theravāda Suttavibhaṅga (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1425. 244c13-25). However, these items are too many to be translated all here. In fact, abundant items for all four types of medicine can be found in Taishō Tripiṭaka 1425. 244b20-245a3.
[14]:
[15]:
See the translators’ notes to Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 13. 18 (in Sharma and Dash 2005-2013, vol. 1, 249) for detailed explanation. Autumnal illness will be discussed in Chapter Five.
[16]:
For further information of these substances in modern science, see Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s.v. “human nutrition” and “sugar” [accessed January 14, 2015, http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/422896/human-nutrition, and http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/571880/sugar, respectively]; Khan, Abadin, and Rauf 2007, 1705-1707; Lerner and Lerner 2008a, 1692-1693.