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Article: Eye on religion: Buddhism.(Special Section: Spirituality/Medicine Interface Project)
- Article from:
- Southern Medical Journal
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Southern Medical Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The relevance of Buddhism in healthcare and patient management in the U.S. is dependent on 1) the healthcare system and its personnel's appreciation of the tradition and culture, and more specifically, its notions of health, medicine, and therapies; and 2) the varying degrees of enculturation and acculturation of Buddhist devotees, many of whom are recent immigrants, and their American-born and raised descendants. This sketch of Buddhist medical theory and caregiving and the spiritual efficacy of the tradition in the American context are preceded by a survey of its origins.
Origin and Spread
Siddhartha Gautama (563 to 483 B.C.E.), the founder of the ...