Dictionary:

moxa

  (mŏk'sə)

A cone or cylinder of cotton wool or other combustible material, placed on the skin and ignited in order to produce counterirritation.

[Japanese mogusa : moeru, to burn + kusa, herb.]

(Japanese, mokusa, burning herbs). Moxa or moxibustion is the practice of placing a small cone of incense on the head and allowing it to burn down to the scalp where it leaves a mark. This practice is found as part of the monastic ordination procedure in both China and Japan, but is unknown in India and south-east Asia. Enduring the pain demonstrates courage and commitment, and can be repeated at later times in the monastic career. Burning marks on other parts of the body, such as the chest or arms, or setting fire to limbs, also sometimes occurs in east Asian Buddhism as a token of devotion or as the result of a vow.

A cone or cylinder of cotton wool or other combustible material, placed on the skin and ignited in order to produce counterirritation.

A tuft of soft, combustible herb Artemisia vulgaris is burned upon the skin as a cautery. A procedure in Chinese traditional medicine.