Care, Politics, and Blessing Pills in Tawang, Eastern Himalaya

抄録

This study explores care practices associated with the circulation of blessing pills called "Jinden," which are connected to deities and monastic politics in Tawang, Northeast India. While many studies on Tibetan medicine or Sowa Rigpa discuss institutionalized Tibetan pills in the global market and the interface between medicine and religion, they have not adequately examined the blessing pills administered in monasteries and their relationship with care experiences. Referring to the perspective of power objects in Tibetan Buddhism, this study argues that lay people act as active patients who negotiate with other people, deities, and spirits through Jinden. The historical process of Jinden circulation and its interaction with care and monastic politics are also discussed to highlight how care practices reconfigure hierarchies in monasteries. This article extends the existing knowledge on care practices and further explores the relationship between medicine, religion, and bodies in studies of care and Sowa Rigpa.