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Reading Pictures: Medicine and Buddhism at the Peak of the Tibetan State

Harvard’s Janet Gyatso looks at the intricate relations between religion and science in Tibet, as evident in certain telling details of the stunning set of medical images.

Medicine and Buddhism have had a complex relation since the early days of Indian Buddhism. This relation only became more complex in Tibet. On the one hand Buddhism was integral to virtually all of Tibetan culture and politics, but on the other hand there was an increasing urge to practice medicine on empirical grounds, free of religious ideology.

The beautiful set of 79 medical paintings produced by the regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama at the end of the 17th century illustrates this dynamic well. We see here both the ways that Buddhism shaped high ideals of Tibetan culture, and how medicine could address issues in human life and flourishing that stood outside, and even could challenge, the hegemony of Buddhist power in Tibet.

This lecture will study the intricate relations between religion and science in Tibet, as evident in certain telling details of the stunning set of medical images.











When: Sat., Mar. 22, 2014 at 11:45 am
Where: Rubin Museum of Art
150 W. 17th St.
212-620-5000
Price: $15; $13.50 members
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Harvard’s Janet Gyatso looks at the intricate relations between religion and science in Tibet, as evident in certain telling details of the stunning set of medical images.

Medicine and Buddhism have had a complex relation since the early days of Indian Buddhism. This relation only became more complex in Tibet. On the one hand Buddhism was integral to virtually all of Tibetan culture and politics, but on the other hand there was an increasing urge to practice medicine on empirical grounds, free of religious ideology.

The beautiful set of 79 medical paintings produced by the regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama at the end of the 17th century illustrates this dynamic well. We see here both the ways that Buddhism shaped high ideals of Tibetan culture, and how medicine could address issues in human life and flourishing that stood outside, and even could challenge, the hegemony of Buddhist power in Tibet.

This lecture will study the intricate relations between religion and science in Tibet, as evident in certain telling details of the stunning set of medical images.

Buy tickets/get more info now