Sowa Rigpa, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Covid-19 Vaccines in India and Bhutan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9286356 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barbara Gerke (0000-0002-5271-8394, University of Vienna, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 164-189 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Asian Medicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1573-420X • E-ISSN: 1573-4218 |
| Publisher | Brill (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1163/15734218-12341553 |
| OpenAlex | W4401175285 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 12 |
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
The Introduction of Edward Jenner’s Smallpox Vaccination to Tibet in the Early 19th Century
Environmental Humanities
Cosmopolitical ecologies of Covid-19 in Bhutan
Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic
Health and Hygiene in Chinese East Asia
Their Footprints Remain
Deity Citadels
Perceptions and attitudes of bhutanese people on Sowa Rigpa, traditional bhutanese medicine
Tibetan Medical Paintings
The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats
Medicine Anthropology Theory
The patient multiple
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |