Sowa Rigpa, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Covid-19 Vaccines in India and Bhutan

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9286356
AutoresBarbara Gerke (0000-0002-5271-8394, University of Vienna, autor correspondente)
Ano2024
Volume19
Fascículo1
Páginas164-189
Data de publicação2024-07-26
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAsian Medicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1573-420X • E-ISSN: 1573-4218
EditoraBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/15734218-12341553
OpenAlexW4401175285
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas12

In this paper, I explore how both the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India, and the Bhutanese government utilized Buddhist leaders and religious practices to promote public health measures during the pandemic, considering that there was a high acceptance rate of COVID -19 vaccination in these Buddhist communities. I also touch upon how classical Sowa Rigpa understandings of infectious disease transmission and prevention might have played a role in vaccination acceptance. I hypothesize that Buddhist leaders in Dharamsala and in Bhutan were able to utilize their authority to support the advice of their health departments in multiple ways partly because ideas of disease prevention and protection – Sowa Rigpa protective pills, Buddhist rituals, and vaccination history – were already prevalent in the communities. Specifically, I argue that during 2021/22, medico-religious and ritual engagements played a supportive role in COVID -19 vaccination efforts. They reveal different layers of trust, such as in existing public health systems and in religious and political authorities. I raise further questions about how Sowa Rigpa was utilized differently in Dharamsala and Bhutan and to what extent it was integrated into public health efforts. This paper is largely based on articles that were published during the pandemic between 2020 and 2022

Buddhism · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Economic growth · Geography · Government (linguistics · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Pandemic · Political science · Politics · Public health · Public relations · Vaccination · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy · Virology