The influence of Buddhism on the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine
The influence of monks and doctors on Chinese medicine theory is mainly four theories. Indian medicine originally advocated the theory of three elements, which believed that the human body was composed of three elements: qi (between the foot and the navel), gallbladder (between the navel and the heart) and phlegm (between the heart and the head). Later, the Indian medical theory of three principles was influenced by the ancient Greek theory of four body fluids to form the "four theories", which believed that everything in the world was composed of four elements: earth, water, fire and wind. The four have different properties and uses, and the big one is very strong and can carry everything; Water is mostly wet, which can make things stick together; Fire takes heat as its nature and can make things mature; Strong winds are dynamic and can make things grow. Buddhist medical classics say: "The human body has four diseases, one is land, the other is water, the third is fire and the fourth is wind. Wind increases gas, fire increases heat, water increases cold and soil increases strength. Ben started with four diseases and 440 diseases. The ground belongs to the nose, the water belongs to the mouth, the fire belongs to the eyes, and the wind belongs to the ears. "
Buddhist medicine believes that the "Big Four" are four basic elements that constitute the human body, and at the same time, they are four pathogenic factors that endanger the human body, and each pathogenic factor will lead to a kind of disease. This basic theory of Buddhist medicine was accepted and reflected by some doctors when it was introduced to China. Tang Sun Simiao, a master of the Chinese-Indian Medical Association, said in Volume I of Thousand Golden Formulas: "Earth, water, fire, wind and synthetic man. Ordinary people are not angry and steaming; The atmosphere is irregular, the whole body is stiff and the pores are blocked; The moisture is not adjusted, the body is swollen, and the gas is full and rough; The country is not harmonious, the limbs are not lifted, and nothing is said. When the fire goes, the body is cold, when the wind stops, it dies, when the water is exhausted, there is no blood, and when the soil is scattered, the body is cracked. "
Buddhism flourished in China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, when doctors were most influenced by Buddhist doctors. However, due to the mature theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine at that time, although the four major theories in India belonged to materialism, their persuasiveness and dialectics were far less than those of Yin-Yang and Five Elements in traditional Chinese medicine, so that they were rarely seen in the Song Dynasty.