Reaching the End of the World: An Anthropological Reading of Early Buddhist Medicine and Ascetic Practices
Religions February 24, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/rel14020249 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Keywords | Buddhist medicine Medical anthropology Meditation and medicine Anthropology of consciousness Ernesto de martino |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key points | Argues that early Buddhist asceticism reconciles the goal of transcendence with that of healing through a complex reflection on awareness and presence. |
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.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Mindful Apocalypse: Contemplative Anthropology Investigating Experiences of World-Loss in Deep Meditation Religions July 21, 2023
- Language and Consciousness in Early Buddhist Thought: On the Early Reflections on the Theme of Language and the Perception of Reality in the Pāli Canon Philosophies April 25, 2025
- Seers and Ascetics: Analyzing the Vedic Theory of Cognition and Contemplative Practice in the Development of Early Buddhist Meditation and Imaginary Religions March 26, 2025
- From Meditation to Techno-Mindfulness: On the Medicalization of Contemplative Practices and Future Prospects Histories March 27, 2024