Reaching the End of the World: An Anthropological Reading of Early Buddhist Medicine and Ascetic Practices
Religions February 24, 2023 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/rel14020249 via DOAJ
Summary
The article analyzes health and illness concepts in ancient Buddhism, focusing on the ascetic problem of the 'end of the world' as a path to complete healing. It explores how early Buddhist asceticism integrates the goals of transcendence and healing, reflecting on awareness and presence in this context.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | The asceticism of early Buddhism reconciles transcendence with healing through a complex reflection on awareness and presence. |
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Abstract
This article aims to analyze the ideas of health and illness in ancient Buddhism, making use of the theoretical tools of medical anthropology and historical–philological inquiry. As a contribution to the conceptual history of medicine in Buddhism, I intend to focus the present investigation on the ascetic problem of the “end of the world” as a means of achieving complete healing. The asceticism of early Buddhism reconciles the goal of transcendence with that of healing, carrying out a complex reflection on awareness and presence.