Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Buddhist medicine developed upon a foundation of Ayurveda, the primitive medicine of ancient India, and absorbed traditional Chinese medicine as Buddhism spread through East Asia. Chinese medicine, which had a strong influence on Korean medicine, was also a product of fusion when Western and Middle-Eastern medical culture were adopted in mainland China after passing through the Silk Road. If we look at the history of Korean Buddhist medicine, we see that although there were many medicine monks that accompanied the transmission of Indian medicine via China, Buddhist medicine was gradually absorbed into folk medicine. The medicine of monks was a practice that could fulfill both the duty of proselytization and the moral obligation of benevolence, and it filled an important role of spreading Buddhism to the people. During the anti-Buddhism policies of the Joseon Dynasty, Buddhism had tried ways to survive: the monks worked as hanjeung (sauna therapy) monks, medicine monks, and maegol (cremation and burial) monks according to the demands of the government. The duty of medicine monks, since ancient times in India, were to heal the illnesses of people’s bodies and souls through the medical arts, by combining medicine and Buddhist doctrine. Although the purpose of medical acts by monks was proselytization, in terms of doctrine it was a practice of benevolence to save people. Consequently, Buddhist medicine also left a great contribution to the development of medicine in Asia.