New Books in Buddhist Studies

Buddhist Medicine in Tibet: A Discussion with Bill McGrath


Listen Later

In this episode, I sit down with my friend Bill McGrath, a historian of Tibetan Buddhism and medicine. He's one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on this subject, and we get deep into the weeds in an academic conversation about traditional Tibetan medicine, the category of Buddhist medicine, and Bill's perspectives on magic, religion, and science. We also reminisce about the time that Bill once used a Tibetan mantra to save the day when we ran out of gas driving home from a conference!

Resources mentioned in the pod:

  • Bill's website (ww.wmcgrath.com)
  • Yoeli-Tlalim, ReOrienting Histories of Medicine: Encounters along the Silk Road (2022)
  • Gerke, Taming the Poisonous: Mercury, Toxicity, and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practic (2021)
  • Janet Gyatso's review of Pierce's 2014 book
  • Salguero, A Global History of Buddhism and Medicine (2022)
  • Gyatso, Being Human in a Buddhist World: An Intellectual History of Medicine in Early Modern Tibet (2017)
  • McGrath, Knowledge and Context in Tibetan Medicine (2019)
  • Saxer, Manufacturing Tibetan Medicine: The Creation of an Industry and the Moral Economy of Tibetanness (2013)
  • Reassembling Tibetan Meicine (www.ratimed.net)
  • Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905)

  • Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. I have a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teach Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. He is also the host (with Lan Li) of the Blue Beryl podcast. Subscribe to Blue Beryl here

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    New Books in Buddhist StudiesBy Marshall Poe

    • 4.3
    • 4.3
    • 4.3
    • 4.3
    • 4.3

    4.3

    31 ratings


    More shows like New Books in Buddhist Studies

    View all
    Radiolab by WNYC Studios

    Radiolab

    43,915 Listeners

    Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

    Political Gabfest

    8,465 Listeners

    In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

    In Our Time

    5,538 Listeners

    History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps by Peter Adamson

    History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

    1,618 Listeners

    Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield by Be Here Now Network

    Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield

    1,487 Listeners

    Jacobin Radio by Jacobin

    Jacobin Radio

    1,459 Listeners

    10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

    10% Happier with Dan Harris

    12,760 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    113,078 Listeners

    Within Reason by Alex J O'Connor

    Within Reason

    1,663 Listeners

    TRUE ANON TRUTH FEED by TrueAnon

    TRUE ANON TRUTH FEED

    3,379 Listeners

    Decoding the Gurus by Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne

    Decoding the Gurus

    953 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    16,487 Listeners

    Empire: World History by Goalhanger

    Empire: World History

    2,483 Listeners

    Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman by Bart Ehrman

    Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

    687 Listeners

    Critics at Large | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

    Critics at Large | The New Yorker

    669 Listeners