The Buddha Medicine

　　By Bhikkhu U. Dhammajiva

　　Edited by: Swedish novice Dhammasami (Samuel Nordius)

　　"Glad at heart, I pay homage to the supreme sage- the giver of blissful peace, the grate ocean of virtue, the physician for the samsaric ills of beings, the sun that dispel the pitchy darkness of false views!" – Lo-wáda Sangarava, 15th century Sinhalese poem

　　In Burmese meditation-centers, as in monasteries in most Theravada-Buddhist countries, you often find a peculiar kind of medicine: Yellow Myrobalan nuts (in Pali: Hritaki, in Latin: Terminalia Chebula) pickled in cow”s urine. The Burmese people calls it Pheya-se, “The Buddha Medicine”, since it”s based on a recipe found in the oldest Buddhist texts, the Pali Tipitaka. It”s considered to be a panacea for many diseases. But does it really follow the original concept of the Buddha”s recommendation to use muttam (urine) as medicine

　　 That is what I intend to clarify in this article by refering to four of the oldest Buddhist scriptures: 1.) The Vinaya-Pitaka, the ancient collection of Buddhist monastic rules. 2.) The Sutta Pitaka, the ancient collection of the Buddha”s discourses. 3.) The so-called “Commentary” and “Sub-commentary”, texts written by bhikkhus (Buddhist monks) in the centuries following the Buddha”s death to clarify the meaning of the texts found in the two collections first mentioned.

　　In an English translation of the Mahakkhandhaka (a text in Mahavagga found in the Vinaya-Pitaka) the Buddha says:

　　"The religious life has decomposing urine as medicine for its resource.

　　Thus you must endeavor to live all your life. Ghee, butter, oil, honey, and molasses are extra allowances. "

　　An alternative translation says;

　　"Going forth [into the Holy Life] has fermented urine as its support. For the rest of your life you are to endeavor at that. The extra allowances are; Ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, sugar. "

　　There are four such necessary supports/resources listed in the Vinaya Pitaka. In Pali, the language of the oldest Buddhist texts, they are called "the Four Requisites", considered to be an absolute minimum for the bhikkhus to be able to live the Holy Life in line with the Buddha”s teaching. The above mentioned item, fermented urine, is the fourth of these resources. All the four must be taught to the newly ordained bhikkhu in the ordination hall immediately after his higher ordination ceremony. It”s the responsibility of the preceptor to make sure that all young bhikkhus knows them according to the following prescription of the Buddha.

　　"I prescribe, O bhikkhus, that he who confers the higher ordination (on a bhikkhu), tells him the four resources."

　　These are all the four resources listed in the Vinaya-Pitaka:

　　1. Robes: robes made of rags taken from a dust heap as a resource

　　2. Alms food: morsels of food given in alms as a resource

　　3. Dwellings: a dwelling at the foot of a tree as a resource

　　4. Medicines: decomposing urine as medicine as a resource

　　These four requisites/resources the Buddha described as being indispensable or the bare minimum. Accordingly a Buddhist monk must endeavor to live all his bhikkhu life dependent only on them. He who is contented and satisfied with whatever comes across along with these bare minimums is always phrased in the community, as well as in the Commentary, as having contentment with whatever four requisites he has. Whatever extra things he comes across beyond these four items is just a result of his past good deeds, but they are usually also allowed for the bhikkhus. As the founder of the Order, and therefore its first bhikkhu, the Buddha assured all the bhikkhus that the prescribed bare minimums are quite abundant. Besides, they were, at that time, free to find wherever a bhikkhu would go.

　　In the Vinaya Pitaka, the bo…

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