just returned from a wonderful sfbc retreat, "recollecting the buddha", led by dh. shantinayaka, down in the santa cruz mountains. gazing at different buddha images in the beautiful book "buddha radiant awakening" (edited by jack menzies) i came across some images of the medicine buddha, the blue buddha of the 5 buddha family. the description on these pages had some fascinating information about the buddhist view on medicine and public health. the quote below echoes dr. ambedkar's views on how cruel caste has been, and his own urgency in converting to buddhism for the betterment of indian society.

"buddha's personal interest in the purity of both the body and mind or thought is well attested in literaure. it was clear to him that without physical well-being one could not endure the strains and stresses of an austere life necessary for meditative practices and mental development."

"according to the pali canon, medicine, along with robes, food and lodging, was a requisite for life. indeed, medicine has also remained one of the five 'sciences' to be studied by a monk aspiring to be a bodhisattva. as keeneth zysk has noted in his extensive study of healing and medicine in india, buddhist monks were on the vanguard of developing the tradition of empirico-rational medicine in the country. pre-buddhist medicine, as we know from vedic literature, was largely magico-religious. indeed, medical practice was forbidden for brahmins, and physicians were considered impure as they 'roam with humans'.

"had he not converted to buddhism, it is unlikely that the maurya emperor ashoka (reigned 268 - 233 bce) would have been so ardent a supporter of public health for both humans and animals."