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THE JOURN L
OF THE INTERN TION L SSOCI TION OF
BUDDHIST STUDIES
E D I T O R I N C H I E F
A . K. Narain
University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
E D I T O R S
L. M. Joshi
Punjabi University
Patiala, India
Alexander W. Macdonald
Universite de Paris X
Nanterre, France
Bardwell Smith
Carleton College
Northjield Minnesota, USA
Ernst Steinkellner
University of Vienna
Wien, Austria
Jikido Takasaki
University of Tokyo
Tokyo,
Japan
Robert Thurman
A mherst College
Amherst
Massachusetts, USA
A S S I S T A N T E D I T O R
Roger Jackson
Volume 5
1982
Number 2
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C O N T E N T S
I . AR T IC L E S
1. Early B ud dh ism an d the U rba n Revo lut ion, by Bal-
k r i shna Govind Go kha le 7
2 . P i lg r image and the S t ru c tu re of S inha lese Bu dd hism , by
Jo h n C. Holt 23
3. A Ne w Ap p ro a c h to th e In t r a -M a d h y a m ik a C o n f ro n ta t io n
over the Sva tantr ika and Prasahgika M etho ds of Refu
ta t ion , by Shohe i Ich im ura 41
4.
' La t e r M adh yam ika ' in Ch ina : Som e C ur re n t Perspec t ives
on the History of Chinese
Prajndpdramitd
Thought , by
A aro n K. Koseki 53
5. T h e Do c t r in e o f t h e B u d d h a -N a tu re in th e Ma h a y a n a Ma-
hdparinirvdna Sutra by M ing-W ood Liu 63
6 . T he De ve lopm ent of La ngu age in Bh uta n , by Lop on
Na d o 9 5
7.
Pro leg om en a to an English Transla t ion of the
Sutrasamuc-
caya,
by Bh ikku Pasa dika 101
8. T he Issue of the B ud dh a as Vedagu, with Reference to the
Format ion o f the Dhamma and the Dialectic with the
Bra hm ins , by K athe r ine K. Y oun g 110
I I . B O O K R E V I E W S A N D N O T I C E S
1.
Focus on Buddhism. A Guide to A udio-Visual
Resources
for Teach
ing Religion, ed i ted by Rober t A. McDermot t ; and Spiri
tual Discipline in Hinduism, Buddhism, and the West, by
H arr y M. Buck 121
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2 . Fundam entals of Tibetan Medicine,
ed. and t r . by T.J . Tsarong,
e ta l . 124
3. Pratityasamutpadastutisubhds.itahrdayam of A carya Tsong kha pa,
t r . by Gyal t sen Na md ol and Ng aw ang Sam ten 127
4. Repertoire du Canon Bouddhique Sirw-Japonais, Edition de Tai-
sho.
Fascicule A nnex du H obogirin, compi led by Paul De-
mi£vil le , H ub er t D ur t , an d A nn a Seidel 128
5. Three Worlds A ccording to King Ruang: Thai Buddhist Cosm ol
ogy, t r . by Fra nk E. Rey nolds an d Mani B. Reyn olds 132
6.
The Way to Shambh ala,
by Edwin Be rnb aum 133
I I I .
N O T E S A N D N E W S
1.
Co m put i n g and Bud dh i s t S t ud ies 136
2.
T er m s of Sanskr i t an d Pali O r igin Acce ptable as Engl ish
Words 137
3.
A Re po r t on an Ed uca t ional Television/Fi lm Ser ies on 'Ti
be tan Bu dd hism 138
4.
Pro pos al for an In de x of Pub lications in Bu dd hist Stud ies 141
5.
6th Co nfe ren ce of the Inte rna t ion al Association of Bud dh is t
Studies 143
I V . O B I T U A R Y
Isal ine Blew H o rn er (18 96 -19 81 ) 145
Cont r ibutor s 150
Cont r i bu t o r s
150
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wheel
of
life
is
held
not in
the jaws
of
illusion
p. 26), but of
Yama, the Lord of Death. A lama, contrary to what Prof. Buck
says (p. 24),
is not
necessarily
a
priest,
and
only occasionally is
a
tulku.
Tibetan m editation (with w hich
Prof.
Buck, seems rather
unfamiliar)
is
founded
on
considerably more than
the
basic
texts listed by Prof. Buck, viz., the publications of Evans-Wentz
(p .
24). In
addition, there
are
various misspellings, misprints,
and misplaced diacriticals, which more careful editing might
have eliminated.
Despite
its
limitations, Spiritual
iscipline
in Hinduism, Bud-
dhism, and the West may
be
used profitably, if cautiously,
by
teach
ers
of
courses
in
Asian religion
or
comparative religion,
who
may find
its
discussions occasionally stimulating,
and its
reviews
of audio-visual materials useful.
Roger Jackson
Fundamentals
of
Tibetan Medicine,
edited
and
translated
by T. J.
Tsarong,
et al.
Dharamsala: Tibetan Medical Centre,
1981.
O ne of the biggest problems in reviewing a book on Tibetan
medicine
is
deciding
on the
proper approach
to
take. Should
one approach the subject as an example of cultural history or
anthropology? Should
one see the
book
as an
example
of
history
of science? Some, I know, would take it as a medical textbook
with
no
questions asked;
but in the
interests
of
maintaining neu
trality,
I
shall take none
of the
above approaches,
and yet all of
them
at the
same time,
by
first discerning
the
purpose
of the
book, and then examining whether or not the book succeeds in
its purpose.
The purpose of the book according to the publisher, is to
establish
the
Tibetan
art of
healing
on a
correct academic basis
in order to make a presentation to the international com mu n
ity.
The
publishers com plain,
and in
some cases justifiably, tha t
the
few
works published
on the
subject have often created
much misunderstanding
and
confusion.
The
publisher goes
on
to
name
a
number
of
authorities
who had a
hand
in the
work
so that
no one can
doubt that this work
was not the
product
of
someone's mistaken imagination.
The editors, along with
the
translator, echo
the
publisher's
sentiments, saying again that though
the
international commu-
124
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medicine , though I know of many who are interested in i t for i t s
possible prac t ica l (as op po se d to theore t ica l ) appl ica t ions. T h e re
is interest in i ts pharmacology and methods of diagnosis, as well
as methods of therapeut ics , such as the Tibetan version of acu
pu nc tu re (which, un for tun ate ly , is not well t rea te d he re) . T h e
sta tement tha t Tibetan medic ine i s par t of a grea t t radi t ion and
that i t was first taught by the Buddha wil l be compell ing to a few
apart f rom Asianis ts , Buddhists and others a l ready somewhat
out s ide the mains t ream of Weste rn cu l tu re .
How ever , fo r those ou t s ide the m ains t rea m , the book might
be interest ing. I th ink the book would be helpful for one want
ing to read Tibetan medical texts , because i t t ransla tes many
terms and gives an outl ine of the basics. There is nothing in i t
that ha sn ' t bee n pu blis he d b efo re, bu t he re , it is all inclu ded in
one smal l and convenien t book . The t ab les and appendices a re
helpful in org an iz ing info rm at ion .
One high point , which should not go unnoted, i s footnote
# 2 ,
which weakens the common c la im that the
rGyud bzhi
was
original ly an Indian work. This sound point of scholarship how
ever , i s undercu t in no te #14 . There , the au thor c la ims tha t
Tibetan physic ians knew about the c i rcula t ion of the blood long
before Harvey because the rGyud bzhi said tha t the bloo d left
f rom an d re tu rn ed to the region of the he ar t . This is a co m m on
error among apologists for t radi t ional medic ine . That the blood
came and went everywhere was never in dispute in the West .
What Harvey did was descr ibe how the blood c i rcula ted, how i t
went out through ar ter ies and back through veins, what the
anatomical di f ferences between ar ter ies and veins were , what
par t of the hear t the blood from the body entered and went out ,
and what par t b lood from the lungs entered and went out . This
is som eth ing th e T ibe ta ns d id no t do .
The idea behind the book, a presenta t ion of Tibetan medi
c ine for the inte rna t iona l com m un i ty , is a good on e, but a re
vised version seems necessary. As a reference work, i t has some
value, but i t is too superficial . As a manual for pract i t ioners, i t is
a lso too superf ic ia l , though i t might inspi re some to explora t ion.
As an apology for Tibetan medicine, i t is a fai lure. As a docu
ment for historians and social scientists it is evidence of the ways
in which a people t ry and preserve the i r cul ture , in what may
very well be a losing battle.
E . Todd Fenner
126