RT Article
T1 Gods, Buddhas, and Organs: Buddhist Physicians and Theories of Longevity in Early Medieval Japan
JF Japanese journal of religious studies
VO 37
IS 2
SP 247
OP 273
A1 Drott, Edward R.
LA English
YR 2010
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1698530862
AB This article examines medical works aimed at nourishing life and promoting longevity composed or compiled by Buddhist priests in early medieval Japan, focusing on the Chōseiryōyōhō and the Kissayōjōki. These texts provide an especially useful aperture through which to explore the relationship of medical and religious knowledge in medieval Japan, since theories about the aging process were based on fundamental beliefs about both the structure of bodies and the nature of the forces thought to animate them. A comparison of the different types of practices these texts recommended to forestall physical degeneration and spiritual dissipation provides concrete examples of the ways in which Buddhist physicians, or "priest-doctors" (sōi), combined Chinese medical theories with knowledge gleaned from Buddhist scriptures, and sheds light on the various conceptualizations of the body that emerged in the intersection of these traditions.
K1 Buddhism
K1 Flavors
K1 Human organs
K1 Liver
K1 Longevity
K1 Medical Practice
K1 Physicians
K1 Priests
K1 Religious Studies
K1 Syllables