Buddhism and the medical treatment of women in the ming dynasty: A research note
Buddhism and the medical treatment of women in the ming dynasty: A research note
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佛教与明代女性医疗：研究笔记
DOI：
10.1163/138768008x368237
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发表时间：
2008
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Yuh
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Yuh
明代妇女生病时寻求各种各样的治疗。有能力看病的上层阶级妇女通常会在自己家中私下咨询正统的“儒家”或文人大夫；来自社会底层的妇女经常求助于民间医学以及各种“迷信”的做法来缓解。对于来自社会各个阶层的女性，无论是僧侣还是俗人，佛教医学往往是一种重要的医疗选择。虽然佛教寺庙和佛教僧侣医生提供医疗帮助，通常是免费的，但佛教医学之所以如此有吸引力，主要原因是它更加强调疾病的精神和业力起源。这样一来，就有可能培养对诸佛菩萨坚定不移的信任，并从事宗教活动（如保持素食或念经）来净化心灵，这样做要么治愈疾病，要么至少让痛苦变得更容易忍受。对于许多女性来说，无论是修士还是俗人，贫穷还是富有，尤其是那些患有看似无法治愈的疾病的女性，这种疾病观为她们的疾病提供了一个可行的解释，这对许多人来说有助于减轻她们的痛苦。更重要的是，它为妇女提供了通过参加各种宗教活动来积极参与自我治疗的机会。,)
[Ming dynasty women sought various types of medical treatment when they became ill. Women from the upper classes who could afford to do so often consulted orthodox “Confucian” or literati doctors, usually in the privacy of their own homes; women from the lower rungs of society often turned to folk medicine as well as various “superstitious” practices for relief. For women from all levels of society, whether monastic or lay, Buddhist medicine often offered an important medical alternative. While Buddhist temples and Buddhist monk-doctors offered medicinal help, often free of charge, the main reason that Buddhist medicine was such an attractive alternative is that it placed a much greater emphasis on the mental and karmic origins of illness. This in turn allowed for the possibility of cultivating an unwavering trust in the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and engaging in religious practices (such as keeping a vegetarian diet or sutra-chanting) to purify the mind, and in so doing either cure the illness, or at least make the suffering more bearable. For many women, whether monastic or lay, poor and wealthy, and especially for those suffering from seemingly incurable illnesses, this view of illness offered a viable explanation for their illnesses, which for many helped alleviate their distress. Even more importantly, it offered women the opportunity to actively participate in their own self-treatment by engaging in religious practices of various kinds., ]