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C. Pierce Salguero

Education pierce salguero

I graduated from the University of Virginia in 1996 with majors in Anthropology and Cognitive Science, and a minor in East Asian Studies. I lived in Asia between 1997 and 2001 — most of that time in Thailand, with extended stays in India, China, and Indonesia as well. During this time I underwent training as a practitioner and teacher of Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) at a traditional medical school, and explored an interest in Buddhism through extended stays at Thai meditation centers and monasteries.

I returned to UVA in 2001 to pursue graduate studies, and received my M.A. degree in 2005 from the East Asian Studies Department. I wrote my Master's Thesis on the cultural history of Thai medicine, focusing on the interplay between Ayurvedic medicine imported from India and indigenous traditions of Thai folk healing. (This thesis was subsequently published as a handbook for Thai medical practitioners by Hohm Press as Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda.)

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. (Expected date of completion: May 2010). My research has been supported by a Fulbright IIE fellowship, a Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship, and several competitive teaching fellowships from Johns Hopkins and Le Moyne College (Syracuse, NY).

Dissertation & Researchpierce salguero

My dissertation investigates Buddhist medical doctrines, therapeutic practices, and hagiographic representations of healers in early medieval China. I argue that the analysis of Buddhist medical texts in Chinese translation has important implications for understanding the role of religious healing in the crosscultural encounter between India and China in the medieval period, and more broadly, of the integration between religion and medicine in Asian traditions. (See details here).

The common thread in my scholarship thus far and my core interest for future research is the investigation of Buddhism's role in the intercultural exchange of ideas about the body, disease, and healing. I am interested in looking at historical and contemporary Buddhist medicine through a crosscultural lens, emphasizing both the transmission and local reception of knowledge. I am also fascinated by the theoretical issues raised by the interdisciplinary study of the intersection between religion, medicine, and the body more generally.


Publications

Academic publications:

  • 2009, “The Buddhist Medicine King in Literary Context: Reconsidering an Early Medieval Example of Indian influence on Chinese Medicine and Surgery,” History of Religions, Vol. 48(3): 183-210. [PDF]
  • Forthcoming, “Indian Influence on Chinese Medicine through Buddhism,” in World History Encyclopedia, Oxford: ABC-CLIO.

Publications for clinicians:

  • 2007, Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda, Prescott, AZ: Hohm Press.
  • 2007, The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage: Student Workbook, Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press.
  • 2006, The Spiritual Medicine of Traditional Thailand, Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press.
  • 2004, The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage: A Complete Guide to Traditional Thai Massage Therapy and Acupressure, Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press.
  • 2003, A Thai Herbal: Traditional Recipes for Health & Harmony, Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press.

Other publications and scholarly presentations are in my CV.


Future Projects

After finalizing my dissertation, I am conceptualizing two projects that continue my line of research into connections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. In the first place, I intend to complete a series of translations of major Chinese Buddhist medical texts from the medieval period as a companion volume to my dissertation. In the long term, I also plan on drawing on my previous work on Thai and Chinese Buddhist medicine in order to investigate the Medicine King Jīvaka's symbolic role across Asia as a "patron saint" of medicine, a revered Buddhist patriarch, and a powerful ally in the battle against evil ghosts and demons (more info).

 

Professional Affiliations

Academic:

  • International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine (IASTAM)
    International Society for the History of East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine (ISHEASTM)
  • American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM)
  • American Academy of Religions (AAR)
  • Association for Asian Studies (AAS)

Clinical:

  • National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork — accredited provider of continuing education (NCBTMB)
  • Association of Traditional Northern Thai Medicine
  • Founder of Thai medicine organizations TaoMountain.net, Shivago.org

Download my complete CV