(c) The Bhesajjakkhandhaka (Chapters on Medicine)

From the above lists of topic contents of the extant Skandhakas of the Sthavira tradition, it can be noticed that the Chapter on Medicine is found in all of them. All these Skandhakas have it placed as the sixth or seventh section amongst the other topic sections. The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya, though not having a distinct Chapter on Medicine, also has a significant part in the Varga dealing with drugs and diseases/remedies.

The available Chapters on Medicine have different names in different extant Vinaya Piṭakas, together with their sources as follows:

i. The Bhesajjakkandhaka in the Theravāda Vinaya–Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka I. 199-252,

ii. The Yao jiandu (the Bhaiṣajyaskandhaka) in the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya–Taishō Tripiṭaka 1428. 866c7-877c4,

iii. The Yao fa (the Bhaiṣajyadharmaka) in the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya–Taishō Tripiṭaka 1421. 147b6-c27,^[1]

iv. The Yiyao fa (the Bhaiṣajyadharmaka) in the Sarvāstivada Vinaya–Taishō Tripiṭaka 1435. 184b24-194b2,

v. The Bhaiṣajyavastu (Chinese: Yao shi;Tb: sMan gyi gzhi) for the Mūlasarvāstivada Vinaya–Taishō Tripiṭaka 1448;^[2] Gilgit Manuscripts (Gilgit Manuscripts) Vol. III, part 1;^[3] Derge Kangyur Vol. 1, 554-Vol. 3, 99.

The Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya does not have a well formed Chapter on Medicine. The medical data are scattered in different places of the Skandhaka text, but are mainly grouped in the fifth varga (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1425. 455a25 ff.)–out of fourteen vargas in the Zasong baqü fa 雜誦跋渠法 (Prakīrṇaka-varga?)–in the Chinese recension.

As mentioned, the Chapter on Medicine is a section placed high in the lists of sections in the Skandhakas. According to Yinshun’s hypothesis (2002, 324-328), the Skandhaka should have been developed in three stages from the first schism to the period of later schisms. The first stage involves the first eight sections (in each of the Skandhakas), up to the section on kaṭhina.^[4] Hence, the Chapter on Medicine is considered to have been formed in an early stage of the Skandhaka formation and is one of the earliest sections collected.

Moreover, the close similarity of the contents of the Chapters on Medicine (which will be described below), as well as the probable early formation of this section, suggest that the various versions of this text may share the same origin (either it was an old Skandhaka text, an original Vinaya Piṭaka, or a Mātṛkā, as mentioned above). Some differences in the contents and their elaboration (which will be noticed in the discussions of medicinal drugs in Chapter Four and those of diseases/remedies in Chapter Five), however, suggest that different schools may have had their own modifications of the original text.

The main subject of the Chapter on Medicine is in relation to the matters on medicines and food/drink. The contents of the Chapter on Medicine can be regarded as two major areas. The first area deals with the various medicinal substances (and certain medical tools) permissible for monastic members, the rules of their usage and storage, and the remedies for some illnesses. The second area concerns the Buddha’s journey to many places, and the laying down of rules relating to food/drink and the narratives about food offerings (dāna) during the journey. These rules pertain to the types of food and drink allowable for monks (and nuns), the means and place for storage, relaxation of restrictions on cooking and storage during drought, acceptance of meals, and so on.^[5]

The contents of different versions of the Chapter on Medicine are generally consistent with each other, with three special remarks to be noted: (i) the Mahīśāsaka version is divided into two separate parts: one on medicine and another on food; (ii) the Mūlasarvāstivāda version, though the data on medicine and food are similar to those of other versions, is much bulkier than the others, due to the inclusion of a lot of narratives of avadāna (biographies of monks/nuns) and jātaka (tales of previous births of the Buddha); (iii) the Mahāsāṃghika version has no separate chapter, but the contents on medicines/food are scattered in the Varga text.^[6]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The contents on food are put as another topic section Shi fa (Āhāradharmaka) in the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1421. 147c28-153a17).

[2]:

According to Hirakawa (1960, 622-623), there should be twenty fascicles for the Chinese version of the Bhaiṣajyavastu, but there are only eighteen fascicles available. Two fascicles have been lost.

[3]:

This manuscript has preserved most of the Bhaiṣajyavastu. There are some pieces lost and hence this copy is not complete.

[4]:

The second stage includes the following few sections concerning the correctness of procedures dealing with monastic matters and the relevant punishments, and the third stage relates to the subsequent chapters, including the appended accounts of the two Councils. See the cited reference for the details.

[5]:

For a more detailed outline of the contents of the Chapter on Medicine, see Banerjee 1957, 198-206; Hirakawa 1960, 598 ff.; Yinshun 2002, 303 ff.

[6]:

A comparative table listing the items of various sections (including the Chapter on Medicine) of the Theravāda, the Mahīśāsaka, the Dharmaguptaka, and the Sarvāstivāda Skandhakas is found at the appendices of Volume 5 of Nanden Daizōkyō 南傳大藏經 (Theravāda Buddhist Canon), the Japanese translation of the Pāli canon.