The Intersection of Spirituality and Medicine in Buddhist India: A Comprehensive Analysis of Traditional Healing Systems and Contemporary Healthcare Integration

Buddhist medical philosophy emphasizes the mind-body-spirit relationship, with meditation and mindfulness as core therapies. Recent studies show high effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and stress-related conditions. Combining Buddhist healing practices with Ayurveda holds potential for personalized medicine but faces standardization issues. Buddhist philosophy offers a meaningful critique of contemporary integrative medicine, especially for psychosomatic diseases and whole-body health. However, mechanistic insights, standard procedures, and clinical trial scale remain unaddressed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background: The interplay of spirituality and medicine in Buddhist India can be used as a paradigm platform that has been guiding the healing activities more than 2000 years. Understanding the ancient Ayurveda and combining it with Buddhism spiritual values have been the study of this research work toward their applicability in the contemporary field of healthcare. Aim: Examine the history of the development, theoretical and practical use of Buddhist spirituality of the Indian medical tradition, with the analysis of research gaps and further perspectives of the development of integrative healthcare methods. Materials and methods: The study employed a systematic literature search with the inclusion of peer-reviewed articles (2020-2025) in literature reviews concerning the integration of spirituality and medicine, Buddhist medicine, Ayurveda practices in India, and mindfulness-based intervention in medicine. Results: Buddhist medical philosophy focuses on mind-body-spirit relationship where meditation and mindfulness are core forms of therapy. The latest studies prove a high effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in managing anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and stress-related diagnoses. Combining the original practice of Buddhist healing with Ayurveda holds potential in personalized medicine practices with possible standardization issues. Conclusions: The Buddhist philosophy on medicine can serve as a meaningful critique of the contemporary integrative medical practice, especially regarding the treatment of psychosomatic diseases and the maintenance of the whole-bodied health. Nevertheless, questions in relation to mechanistic insights, standard procedures, and clinical trial scale remain considerably unaddressed in terms of research..