Health according to Buddhists

Living in a Buddhist country, I want to understand more of how this belief system is influencing the health care practices of Cambodia. I looked up a few references that you might find interesting if you do not know a lot about Buddhism.

www.shindharmanet.com/writing/healing.htm is a source of information that gives a background for Buddhism and includes a little information about thoughts they have concerning health.

Another site, www.buddhistinformation.com/buddhist_healing.htm has several interesting topics. This web page has no page numbers but there is an interesting section about the effect SPIRITS have in the ideas of health for Buddhists. Another section which is in bold print Taking is talking about the effect of faith in healing. This artcle gives me an idea of how "good" or true information can be mixed with false.

Paonil, W. and Sringernyuang, L. (2002). "Buddhist perspectives on health and healing." Chulalongkorn Journal of Buddhist Studies, 1, 2 is an academic study on Buddhist healing that has a number of interesting concepts. The most useful pages I read were from page 97 until the end. You might be interested in page 98 where Buddha taught that it was alright to drink blood and eat flesh! Page 102 also begins a section on the medicines that Buddha recommended. Remember, he lived at the same time as Daniel, so this is not modern medicinal techniques. I found this at http://www.stc.arts.chula.ac.th/CJBS/Buddhist%20Perspectives%20on%20Health%20and%20Healing.pdf

There are two health practices that I see taking place here that are very unique. One of them is known as "coining." This involves the healer taking a coin, holding firmly and rubbing it across the body (usually the trunk area) of the sick person. This abrasive action creates a very red, area on the skin that lasts for quite a while. Often it is done on the back or chest of someone who has a pain in either of these places.

The other action is taking a cup and heating it, then placing the hot cup on the temple, forehead or other place on the body. This burns the skin (about 2nd degree) and thus "removes" the headache, or other pain from the patient. Whether these are "traditional" healing techniques or somehow related to Buddhist healing, it seems to me they are quite common among Cambodians. We see these marks on the skin very often, including among baptized Seventh-day Adventists, as they believe that this will cure their problem.

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