myrobalan herbal medicine

 

Myrobalan tincture

Myrobalan
The Buddha’s Chosen Herb

Pharmaceutical Name:
Fructus Chebulae Botanical Name:
1. Terminalia chebula Retz.;
2. Terminalia chebula Retz. var. tomentella Kurt.
Common Name:Mylobalan fruit, Terminalia fruit, Chebula fruit Source of Earliest Record:
Yaoxing Lun Part Used & Method of Pharm.
Preparation: The ripe fruit is gathered from July to August and dried in the sun.
Properties & Taste:Bitter, sour, astringent and neutral
Meridians: Lung and large intestine
Functions:
To astringe the intestines.
To astringe the lungs.
See below for more indications.
Indications & Combinations: Chronic diarrhea, chronic dysentery and prolapsed anus:
a) Heat syndrome.
Chebula fruit (Hezi) is used with Coptis root (Huanglian) and Costus root (Muxiang) in the formula Hezi San;
b) Deficiency and cold syndrome.
Chebula fruit (Hezi) is used with Dried ginger (Ganjiang) and Poppy capsule (Yingsu qiao).
Cough and asthma due to deficiency in lungs or chronic cough with hoarse voice.
Chebula fruit (Hezi) is used with Platycodon root (Jiegeng), Licorice root (Gancao) and Apricot seed (Xingren).
See below for more indications.
Dosage: 3-10 g (The raw herb is used for hoarse voice, the baked herb for diarrhoea.) Cautions & Contraindications:This herb is contraindicated in cases with exterior syndrome and during accumulation of damp-heat in the interior.

Myrobalan Tree (further indications)
(Terminalia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, and Terminalia belerica) are the elixirs of long life. These three fruits eliminate eye diseases and benefit the eyes, and cure such diseases as wound discharge, skin troubles, bleeding of wounds, adipose disorders, pain in the passage of urine, as well as overabundance of phlegm and blood. Among the three Terminalia chebula seems to be especially potent. The taste of T. chebula is astringent. As you chew the fruit (rather like an unripe plum) it gives a very sour taste – but has an immediate and remarkable effect on the mind and awareness (ANH). It leaves a sweet taste upon digestion. It has a slightly dry taste. It has no salty taste. It is light. It is very heat producing, helps digest food, makes the mind attentive, and brings about a hearty old age in the finest sense. It has the power to cleanse internally with great warmth. It grants long life and keenness of thought. The eye and the other senses become clear. It overcomes leprosy, discoloration of countenance and bodily appearance.

The Myrobalan Tree is described: green, beautiful, heart-gladdening and strength-bestowing, with branches, leaves and fruits; its fragrance spreads to infinite distances and its brightness illumines the earth and sky.

Ayurvedic “Triphala”

A traditional Ayurvedic formula, Triphala, combines the three most revered herbs of India into an historic, Ayurvedic herbal combination.
1. Emblica officinalis, also known as Amla, is a yellowish-green fruit about the size of a plum, with a somewhat sour taste like a lemon. High in Vitamin C, Amla offers tremendous health-promoting benefits.
2.The second ingredient is Terminalia belerica, also known as Behada. A small,
rough-texture fruit, it is about the size of a walnut. Behada is a potent herb known for a variety of health harmonizing qualities.
3. The third ingredient is Terminalia chebula, sometimes referred to as Harada. It is a small round fruit, brownish in color, historically used as a rejuvenator helping to normalize the general balance of the body.
Myrobalan, Symbol of the Greatest Herb

Myrobalan is a symbol of “the creative power of thought, which in high levels of meditative praxis can materialise the unseen worlds in the manner of the myrobalan berry concretised upon the palm of the hand.” Thus this sublime fruit is not just a medicine, but in its materialisation by the will of the Buddha upon his hand, it represents blessings from unseen realms, like the healing energy radiating upon devotees in their worship. Nagavrksa means literally “snake tree” and is often used to refer to a general type of tree with golden bark. Perhaps this has healing significance.

The 5 Principal Medicines for Use by Monks
1. Ghee – from cows or she-goats or buffaloes (clarified butter).
2. Fresh butter – from cows etc.
3. Oil – sesame oil, mustard seed, oil containing honey, castor oil, oil from tallow.
4. Honey – from bees.
6. Molasses – from sugar cane. The Great Detoxification

Meditation on the seven limbs of enlightenment (mindfulness, investigation of things (dharmas), striving, joy, tranquillity, meditative trance (samadhi) equanimity. Overcome the interior poisons:
1. Lust >> Wind. (Where there is Wind in the body, there is Lust in the Mind)
2. Anger >> Excess bBile. (Where there is Excess Bile in the body, there is Anger in the Mind)
3. Delusion >> Excess Phlegm. (Where there is Excess Phlegm in the body, there is Deluded Mind).

The 4 Noble Truths of Disease
1. The truth of ill (dukha, suffering) is like a disease.
2. The truth of the origin is like the cause of the disease.
3. The truth of cessation is like the allaying of the disease.
4. The truth of the Path is like the medicine.

Herbs and Medicines
The entire Buddhist materia medica can be found in the Vinaya, Mahavagga, Section VI

Myrobalan is included in many of Herbactive’s Herbal Tonics