Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t1.6

v1.c6.s2.t1.6

Pharmaceutical ideas and medicines were introduced too. One Indian monk named Bao si wei jing 寶思惟靜 or Ratnacintā translated Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara's *Cintāmaṇidharaṇi* classic in the Tang Dynasty. Indian medicines like Hu jiao 胡椒 or pepper, Niu huang 牛黃 or dried gallstone of domestic cattle etc to treat eye diseases are mentioned in this text. Moreover, it includes treatment for diseases like juvenile glaucoma, pterygium using ointments made from the drugs Long nao xiang 龍腦香 and She xiang 麝香. A Buddhist sutra *Suraṅgamasūtra* explains how the Buddhists identified a drug by its physical properties such as taste, its physiological effect (like poisonous or non-poisonous) or its so-called intrinsic nature ie hot/ cold. *Suraṅgamasūtra* was translated by Pāramita around 705 CE and is part of the Chinese Buddhist canon. Earlier, *Suraṅgamasamādhisūtra* was translated by Kumārajiva around CE 350.