Research On The Application Value Of Buddhist Medicine In The Prevention And Treatment Of Depression Based On Literature Analysi

This paper takes Taisho Tripitaka,Buddhist medicine classics written by monks and modern literature applying the thought of Buddhist medicine as research materials.Specifically the author conducts in-depth exploration,arrangement,classification and analysis of above research materials and the paper sorts out and summarizes the Buddhist medicine’s thoughts on the causes of depression,the therapeutical methods system for treating depression categorized into specific treatment principles and therapies to explore the application value of Buddhist medicine in prevention and treatment of depression and to provide alternative approach and therapies for clinical practices.This paper starts from the classic collections of Buddhist medicine,comprehensively explains the concept,the theoretical basis of Buddhist medicine,philosophy and medical views(views on life and diseases)summarizes etiology of Buddhist medicine and understanding of body,heart and spiritual diseases from the perspective of Buddhist medicine.Besides this paper analyzes and discusses causes of depression’s negative symptoms along with world-weariness on the basis of studying on Buddhist classics.This part deeply explains Buddhist medical etiology of depression from three aspects——the internal causes,external causes and Karmic causes.In particular,depression is caused by a combination the internal causes(desire,anger and ignorance),external causes(environmental factors and unbalance of the four big elements)and Karmic causes.The next part of the paper establishes the therapeutical methods system for treating depression categorizing the treatments into dietary therapy,herbal formulas therapy,Buddhist tea therapy,fragrant medicine therapy,Buddhist acupuncture therapy,Buddhist meditation therapy,Buddhist music therapy,repentance therapy and Buddhist mantra therapy.Buddhist medicine emphasizes the combination of dietary therapy,drug therapy,acupuncture therapy,fragrant medicine therapy and other therapies in order to maintain health of body,mind and spirit at the same time.In terms of dietary therapy,the main principles of Buddhist medicine are eating light and healthy meals,adjusting dietaries according to four seasons,adjusting the five flavors to nourish the heart.There are a wide variety of herbal formulas which can be used to prevent and treat depression in Buddhist medicine books and medical books written by Buddhist monks.Based on the document literatures,the author classifies the formulas into six categories by different effects of the formulas.Buddhist fragrant medicine and Zen tea both serve as mediums for enlightening wisdom,helping practitioners to remove distractions and annoyances.The distinctions of Buddhist acupuncture and moxibustion therapy are,the combinations of acupuncture and mantra,heart acupuncture,Buddha Dharma acupuncture,heart moxibustion and Buddha Dharma moxibustion.Buddhist meditation therapy,as an important intervention to prevent and treat physical and mental diseases,has the effect of calming the mind to free oneself from annoyances and worries.Reciting,chanting and listening to Buddhist music help people recover mind’s equilibrium,release stress and gain wisdom.Repentance therapy is used for alleviating the physical and mental diseases due to Karmic results of retributive actions through self-cultivation.Buddhist mantra therapy is often in combination with medicines,acupuncture and other treatments to treat refractory diseases.Modern psychologists have invented and created the psychotherapies which integrated Buddhist doctrines,Buddhist practices with modern psychotherapies.This section is an exhaustive summarization of the psychotherapies contained Buddhist thoughts which are applied to treat depression,such as mindfulness,Naikan therapy,compassion-focused therapy,etc.This paper,for the first time,deeply discusses the integration forms,clinical application,problems in the clinical practice and scientific research of the psychotherapies in order to enrich the psychological methods and broaden the path for the prevention and treatment of depression for treating depression.