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In Search of the Medicine Buddha: A Himalayan Journey
David Crow
Part travel memoir, part medical anthropology, this is David Crow's account of apprenticing himself to Tibetan and Nepalese physicians in Kathmandu in the late 1980s. Crow, a master herbalist and acupuncturist, uses the figure of Sange Menla, the Medicine Buddha, as a thread through which to explore Ayurvedic and Tibetan healing, Buddhist philosophy, and the culture of the Himalaya. He writes candidly about herbal remedies, alchemy, meditation, women's roles in these traditions, and the perilous use of mercury as medicine. Published by Tarcher/Putnam in 2000, it blends firsthand adventure with respectful, detailed reporting on living healing systems. It speaks to readers drawn to contemplative traditions, traditional medicine, and the texture of a Nepal now much changed.
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The author
David Crow is a master herbalist, aromatherapist, and acupuncturist with decades of practice in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. His interest in Himalayan healing took him to Nepal in 1987 for a series of internships with masters of these traditions, and those journeys became this book. He later founded a botanical-medicine company and became a well-known teacher of herbalism and plant medicine.
The book
Published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam in 2000, it interweaves autobiography with instruction, moving between Crow's own apprenticeship and clear exposition of Ayurvedic and Tibetan theory. The Medicine Buddha serves as an organizing image for a wide-ranging tour of remedies, ritual, and philosophy.
How to read it
As a sympathetic insider's introduction rather than a clinical text. Crow is an enthusiast and a believer, so a reader wanting controlled-trial evidence should look elsewhere; his candor about mercury's dangers, though, shows he is not uncritical. Taken as cultural and personal narrative, it remains vivid and generous.
For more context
Pair it with Tricycle's coverage of Buddhist medicine or with standard introductions to Tibetan medicine for the systematic view.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- David Crow
- Publisher
- Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam
- Place of publication
- New York
- Year
- 2000
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Spirituality & Philosophy
- Location
- Colorado