Traditional Health-Seeking Practices of the Mann Community in Northeast India: An Exploratory Analysis from a Buddhist Perspective of Health and Healing.

The use of medicinal plant resources for health and healing is integral to the cultural life of Mann, a lesser-known Therāvāda Buddhist community in Northeast India. This study analyzes the traditional health-seeking practices of the Mann community through the Buddhist perspective of health and healing, emphasizing its core principles such as suffering (dukkha), holistic well-being, and interconnectedness of body, mind, and nature. Rather than an empirical approach, the work adopts a qualitative-philosophical analysis based on textual sources, contextualizing Mann healing traditions within the broader Buddhist philosophical thoughts on health and spirituality. It argues that these practices of the Mann reflect the Buddhist notions of health as a state of harmony-both within the mind-body mechanism and externally with the natural world-where disturbances in this harmony manifest as ailments (a form of dukkha) and reinforce spiritual bondage. By situating Mann healing traditions within a Buddhist philosophical framework, this study underscores the Buddhist doctrinal roots of these practices, highlighting their deeper spiritual significance beyond mere therapeutic use.