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From secret knowledge to science: creating modern practitioners

Image December 9, 2016 Guest Post Leave a comment

By Assunta Hunter

“My initial interest in traditional healing in Thailand began with a trip to Thailand that was billed as a study tour of Northern Thailand Healers. It was advertised in a professional journal. I travelled with a pair of old friends (one of whom had previously lived in Thailand for 3 years and spoke some Northern Thai). We drove from Chiang Mai into the hill-tribe villages north west of Chiang Mai in what is called the upper north of Chiang Mai Province. It was late March and early April, the hottest driest time of year in that part of Thailand. The heat was intense, and the terrain mountainous and jungle-covered. There was a lot of dust and smoke. At that time of year smoke from the burning off associated with forestry and swidden agriculture obstructed our vision, gave us all chronic coughs and didn’t let us appreciate the full beauty of these mountain landscapes. We visited a variety of different hill-tribe practitioners (Hmong, Lisu, Black Lahu, Red Lahu and Karen) and some local Northern Thai practitioners who worked in Chiang Mai Province. It was a tourist package but had been advertised in a professional journal as a study tour and most of the small group of eight people were naturopaths or had a broader interest in traditional healing practices.

My memories of the trip are of my intense frustration at not being able to talk to the healers we visited and at the speed of the tour (it was a whistle-stop travel experience). There was a sense too, of peering briefly at a range of practitioners and practices that I realized even then I wanted to know much more about. I disliked the sensation of being a tourist in relation to traditional medicine and in many ways felt myself to be interacting with healers who practiced in a different cultural tradition, but with whom I felt an affinity. For many people these traditional healers may have been exotic but as a herbalist and naturopath I recognized in these traditional medical practices, similar kinds of understandings of the body, health and treatment to those found in ‘traditional herbal medicine’. Ideas about health and well-being were couched in terms of balance. Descriptions of patients and plants as hot and cold, and foods as medicines, were familiar to me from my own herbal tradition. Health in Thailand is considered a fragile, daily balance in which the environment, family and social relationships, emotions, spirits, karma and magic all feature. Patients speak of being dry and hot, of their medicines as cooling and refreshing and describe foods as strengthening. Folk healers talked about illness in terms of blood (lueat เลือด), poison (phit พิษ) and karma (kam กรรม). There were also features of the medical tradition that were quite unfamiliar to me like the use incantations (khaa thaa คาถา) to potentize medicines and to secure beneficial outcomes.

The other main memory I have from this trip was of managing somehow to have a fruitful conversation with the mo tam yae (หมอตำแย midwife) at a Lisu village where my herbal colleague and I shared birthing lore. Needless to say they were far more experienced in this area than we were. We spoke through the village headman, a youngish Thai man who spoke English, had a university education and had returned to his Lisu village home, which was unusual. We talked about everything from the use of roses for skin treatment to the use of ice-cubes for moving mal-positioned foetuses. Even now (14 years later) I wonder about whether this information has been used by the midwives. Did these bits of knowledge slip into practice in this Lisu village? Have these fragments of information and practice entered into Lisu traditions, in the way that the adoption of Hopi ear candles has permeated Australian naturopathic practice? ” (Hunter, 2014 (unpublished thesis): p.39-41)

This is a fragment from the thesis I subsequently wrote about the modernization and professionalization of traditional medicine in Thailand. I went on to spend a year in Thailand (in 2009 and 2010) doing ethnographic fieldwork as part of a PhD in medical anthropology at the University of Melbourne. I lived with, talked to and befriended many traditional medicine practitioners in Chiang Mai. I immersed myself in their world of students, classes, rituals and in the conferences which took place during my time there. I did my research not as a total outsider (despite my obvious whiteness and very basic command of Thai) but as a herbalist and teacher from another tradition. What I wrote about in my thesis was the way in which traditional medicine practitioners were now able to choose between learning from a teacher (khruu ครู) or going to university. As you can imagine the difference between becoming an apprentice and becoming a university student is considerable.

What I explored in my thesis was the changing landscape of traditional medicine education in Thailand. Folk healers established their knowledge through a sense of vocation by apprenticing themselves to a teacher, a process which linked them to a lineage of knowledge and teachers extending to Shivaka Kormarpaj, the Buddha’s physician and the Father of Healing in the Thai tradition. This method of learning was an oral tradition. Students learnt by watching and working with their teacher; learning how to recognise plants, how to make medicines and observing how their teacher treated patients and gradually absorbing the healing traditions which had been passed down over centuries. The healing practices were taught in the context of the Buddhist culture they were drawn from. Healing rituals, use of magic and incantation were all part of healing practices. Rituals, beliefs and practices were local and the healing traditions of Thailand vary considerably from region to region.

By contrast modern university training has been established through a process of drawing together material in a formal educational curriculum. It draws on written sources and because it is taught in a modern educational institution it has been grafted onto a scientific base. Students acquire a formal education which emphasizes the scientific rationale for using plants and massage. They learn about plant medicines using pharmacology and chemistry as the lens through which they understand their properties and uses. They are trained to work in a modern health system and to work with nurses, doctors and pharmacists. In short they are trained to be modern health professionals.

I’ll write more about what these changes in the education of Thai traditional medicine practitioners mean in my next piece.

Sowa Rigpa & Himalayan Medicines

Mongolian traditional medicine

August 3, 2016 Guest Post Leave a comment

Syndicated Post By Nomin Galsandorj. This post first appeared at http://theubpost.mn/2016/08/03/mongolian-traditional-medicine/

Traditional systems of medicine in countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tibet, and Mongolia appear to be derived from Ayurveda. In Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine, the mind, emotions, and body are not seen as separate but as a continuum. A person’s emotional and mental states are seen as having a significant impact on the body and vice versa. Mongolian, Tibetan, and Indian traditional medicine use a number of modalities or therapies for both prevention and treatment of disease. Many medicinal herbs are usually used in combination.

Mongolia has a severe climate with four seasons, throughout which nomadic Mongolians move from place to place tending to their domesticated animals. Their way of life and medical treatments are very peculiar. The methods of medical treatment are derived from their simple lives. Medicinal herbs, the limbs of animals, and minerals are used as natural forms of medical treatment. They are sometimes used individually and sometimes used together for
medicinal purposes. Mongolians combine medicine with psychological therapy and use sayings, such as mantras, shamanic charms, and prophecy. There are certain influences of Buddhism in Mongolian medical treatment, such as the use of spells and the stating of one’s requests and mantra expressions.

In the 4th and 5th centuries, monks of Tibet, Nepal, and China were studying Buddhism in India, and it provided the opportunity for Buddhism to spread in Tibet. Medical books from India were translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. When Mongolia tried to make Buddhism the official religion in the 13th century, Indian and Tibetan medical books came to Mongolia as well.

The book “Four Tantras” (Jud Shi) was written in the 11th century, a classic creation of Indian and Tibetan medicine. “Jud Shi” was the main textbook of Mongolian doctors when it arrived in the 14th century. In Mongolia, it was read in Tibetan and was also translated into Mongolian. The Mongolian version has been published many times. German scholar Walther Heissig wrote that Choiji Odser translated “Jud Shi” in the 14th century, and during Ligden Khan’s time (1604-1634), “Jud Shi” was revised and re-translated.

The five elements theory of Indian philosophy started to hold an important position in the basic principles of Mongolian traditional medicine and this is related to the popularity of “Jud Shi” in the 16th century and its translation into Mongolian. “Jud Shi” is the amalgamation of Tibetan and Mongolian medicine and the Indian sutra.

“Jud Shi” has four volumes, identified by tantra:

1. Basic Tantra- The Basic Tantra has four parts and is the basis of the other three tantra volumes. It contains all the general meanings of the Four Tantras and is a basic overview of the theories of Indian and Tibetan medicine.

2. Explanatory Tantra – This tantra has 31 parts. The root of Indian and Tibetan medicinal
theory is defined briefly here.

3. Oral Instruction Tantra – This tantra has 92 parts and is the largest part of the book. It
describes how diseases and disorders of the body and organ systems are generally understood in Indian and Tibetan medicine.

4. Subsequent Tantra – This tantra has 27 parts and draws conclusions on the therapies in
the other 3 volumes.

In the 18th century, Mongolian scholar Gombojav was the primary translator of “Dankhaivjunai”, a large Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary, and participated in the Mongolian translation of “Danjuur”. The book “Medicinal Formulas”, which was written by Gombojav, was block printed in Mongolian. In the book, he included some formulas from Indian, Tibetan, and Khoton medicine.

Jambaldorj was one of the greatest doctors in Mongolia during the 19th century. He wrote a 174-page sutra called “Zetsermigjan”. During this time, there were errors and mistakes in identifying medicinal ingredients. He researched the work of the best ancient doctors of India, Tibet, and Mongolia, and defined the shape, form, features, and potency of the medicinal ingredients used. He also wrote a book about ingredients in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Manj, and Mongolian, complete with 576 images. This book has attracted the attention of national and foreign scholars and has been published in foreign countries.

Luvsanchultem was a Mongolian doctor of the 19th century. He wrote about the Indian “five elements” theory used in Indian and Tibetan medicine. Mongolians enriched the ancient books on medicine that were passed on from India to Tibet. In Mongolian traditional medicine, anatomy, diseases, and the effects of medicine are explained on the basis of the five elements theory.

Five elements theory and three types of combinations

The five elements theory and the three types of combinations of these elements are the main parts of Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine. Everything in the universe, including human beings, is composed of five basic elements. The five elements are earth, water, fire, air, and space. These five elements form the metabolism of the body.

– Earth controls the physical structure of the body: bones and flesh. All life forces become
inert and inactive in this element and more energy is used to keep a body active.

– Water controls the kidneys, male and female reproductive organs, and produces antibodies. Water keeps the body and life flowing.

– Fire controls the spleen, liver, pancreas, and keeps all the organs active. It creates fire in the body. It heats water. It regulates sight, provides strength to the body by digesting food, induces hunger and thirst, maintains the suppleness of muscles, and a beautiful complexion.

– Air controls the chest, lungs, and heart and forms the purity of the mind and heart. Air is life itself. It is strength and guides every part of our body. It moves bile and phlegm, which cannot move in the body by itself.

– Space controls the entire body, thyroid, parathyroid, tonsils, saliva, cerebral and spinal fluid, the nervous system, and eliminates poison from the body. In order for air to circulate in the body and maintain a proper balance, there has to be space. If such circulation is blocked, it creates pain, even leading to heart attacks and loss of consciousness.

All these elements should be maintained in proper proportions. Any disturbance (and excess or deficiency) of one element leads to disturbances in other elements, and is considered the root cause of disease. If these five elements are maintained in proper proportions in the body, a proper metabolism is ensured and the body remains healthy. However, due to heredity, as well as eating and living habits, we can disturb one or two of these elements and upset the metabolism. When there is an illness present there is a predominance of one or more of three types of combinations of the five elements. In Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine, people are diagnosed as being one of these three types of elemental combinations.

1. Kapha (Bad-kan) – the combination of excessive earth and water These elements occupy the largest areas of our body. Kapha people have a regular appetite with relatively slow digestion, and prefer warm drinks and like pungent, astringent, and bitter foods.

2. Pitta (Tri-pa) – the combination of excessive fire and air Pitta people have a strong metabolism, and a good appetite and digestion. They like large quantities of food and water, and like bitter, sweet, and astringent foods and cooling drinks.

3. Vata (Lhung) – excessive air Vata people have a variable appetite and crave salty, sweet, and sour foods, and prefer warm or hot drinks. Their hands and feet are usually cold and dry with cracked skin.

In Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine, all foods are divided into six tastes: bitter, astringent, pungent, sweet, sour, and salty.

Mongolian diet therapy

Mongolians eat the following five kinds of food:

White – dairy products
Red – meat products
Green – plants and vegetables
Yellow – butter and oil
Black – water and distilled milk vodka

The five kinds of food of the Mongols include milk and milk products, such as curds, fermented mare’s milk, clotted cream, butter, sea buckthorn oil, cedar nut oil, apricot oil, and sheep tail fat.

The oil from sheep tail fat contains calcium, magnesium, iodine, and fluorine. It is also rich in vitamins D, C, A, K, E, B, and is good for fatigue, allergies, poisoning, and the eyes. Sheep tail fat has many medicinal qualities and is very nutritious, and has been considered beneficial “food” for infants and elders since ancient times. It enhances the metabolism and digestion, provides energy, prevents weakness and fatigue, and is thought to speed up the growth of infants. It moisturizes, softens, regenerates, and rejuvenates the skin. Sheep tail fat contains nutrients that cannot be found in any other food. The tip of the sheep tail, which is called uurag suul, is the best nourishment for the liver and supports the brain.

In Mongolian traditional medicine sutras, it’s written, “Fresh white butter is of cool quality and cures lung diseases and coughing, and treats fever. Old butter cures mental disorders, hangovers, and diseases of the eyes, brain, and womb.” In ancient sutras, it’s written “Yellow butter kept for years is good at treating diseases when applied to the skin. It has many diverse curative qualities if mixed with other ingredients. Yellow butter enhances intellectual capability, relaxes the mind, and refreshes one’s sight. It makes elders younger and makes voices melodious. It also improves fertility and cures diseases of the ears, lungs, and mind, and burns, frozen wounds, or cold weapon injuries.” The sutras also say, “Cow’s milk butter is very nutritious and good at healing any illness. The butter of goat’s milk is of cool quality and treats fevers. Yak or sheep milk is of hot quality and produces energy.”

In Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian medicine, it is said, “Unsuitable food is poison to one’s body. Perfect food nourishes and keeps the body fit, healthy, and energetic. If the food is too little, the body weakens, beauty fades, and illness appears. If the food is too much, the body gets tired from over-consumption and is invaded by sickness. Thus, two quarters of the stomach should be full of food, one quarter of drink, and one quarter left empty.”

Nomadic Mongolians had a healthy lifestyle. During the winter time, meat products were mainly eaten, and during the summer time, dairy products, vegetables, and fruits were mainly eaten. The four conditions of climate, evil spirits, diet, and lifestyle act together to affect disorders. The four remedial measures for disorders are diet, lifestyle, medicine, and external therapies.

The following disorders are treated in Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine: hot and cold disorders, pediatric disorders, gynecological disorders, wounds, geriatric disorders, infertility, indigestion, tumors, edema, fever, smallpox, and the common cold. They also treat disorders of the head, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth, the goiter, and genital disorders; disorders of vital vessels and organs, such as the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, intestines, and colon. Miscellaneous disorders, such as laryngitis, anorexia, hiccups, asthma, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, diabetes, gout, arthritis, skin diseases, nervous disorders, and minor injuries are also addressed.

For centuries, Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian medicinal practices were used not only to diagnose diseases but also to prescribe medicine based on individual conditions, using a unique system of evaluating the pulse, eyes, tongue, skin, and smell. The botanical formulas used thousands of years ago continue to be in use today. The Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine systems are fond of using formulas involving multiple herbs.
The treatments include decoctions, powders, pills, paste, medicinal butter, calcinated powder, gems, herbal compounds, oil therapy, purgation, emesis, nasal drops, enemas, channel cleansing, venesection, moxibustion, cauterization, compression, medicinal baths, natural spring baths, massage, and surgical therapy.

The diagnostic techniques are visual study, pulse taking, and interrogation. The visual study involves the examination of the tongue and urine. Touching with the fingers is like receiving information transmitted by the patient’s pulse. Interrogation involves the patient’s medical history, looking at the signs and symptoms of illness, as well as dietary factors.

For centuries, Mongolians have utilized traditional methods for surviving the harsh winter season. During the winter months, Mongolians eat “hot” foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and abstain from eating “cold” foods. Eating hot foods has the positive effect of increasing blood flow, energy level, improving the functions of the main organs of the body (including the digestive system), and has been scientifically proven to prolong life expectancy to an average of 70 years. However, in recent years, the life expectancy of the population has been decreasing, due to improper dress during the winter season and spending too much time in cold places, therefore not being able to maintain internal body heat. The long-term effect of this is a decrease in the immune system’s functions, cold sweats, and lower blood levels. Daily consumption of cold starters and salads, coffee, soft drinks, juices, beers, and other drinks that are below room temperature and straight from the refrigerator can lead to “cold” digestive ailments.

Cold water, drinks, and ice cream reduce body heat and increase the burden placed on the digestive system. In Indian Ayurvedic medicine, it is said that heat is life, while cold is death. Due to these practices in recent years, and particularly among young people, intestinal inflammation, stomachaches, stomach ulcers, the feeling of fullness or bloating, constipation,
and the removal of gall bladders have been much more common.

P5170431 — Yellow Pasqueflower, commonly used in traditional medicine

Mongolia is home to hundreds of rare medicinal plants, most of which are found in the Khangai Mountain Range and the steppes. Prior to making any traditional medicine, plants must be collected at the appropriate time or season. For instance, the yellow snowdrop (aneta) blooms in early spring. Therefore, the exact time of its full bloom must not be missed and the collected plants should be dried out.

There are cases where toxic vegetation is used to make medicines. Those toxic plants need special care, and there are specific methodologies for drying and removing the plant’s poison. A branch of a toxin-containing tree must be cut in half before drying. If the plant has a poisonous surface, the outer layer must be scraped away. To release the toxins in spar, it needs to be placed in a covered dish and set on fire.

Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian traditional medicine is based on a philosophy that guides the practitioner to serve his patient according to special needs at a special time, and under special circumstances. They are extremely individualized, personal, and flexible, dependent on a person-to-person and expert-to-client relationship. Treatments and prescriptions are tailor-made for the patient, and take into account the individual’s constitution, age, gender, syndrome, primary complaints, accompanying signs and symptoms, the season, and the geographic location.

Nomin Galsandorj is a freelance writer and translator, translating texts from English to Mongolian, including the Dalai Lama’s official website. She can be contacted at nomin1994@yahoo.co.uk.

Religion & Medicine, Thai & SE Asian Medicines

Translation of Chinese Jivaka Story

July 14, 2016 Guest Post Leave a comment

By Phillip Behrns

Translated from the French version in Chavannes, Edouard. 1962. Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues: Extraits du Tripitaka Chinois et Traduits en Français. Paris: Libraire d’Amerique et d’Orient, #499.

Sutra pronounced by the Buddha about the Avadana on Daughter of Mango Tree (Amrapali) and Kiyu (Jivaka).

Here is what I heard: one day, the Buddha was in the Kingdom of Loyueche (Rajagrha) and was explaining the law in the middle of the meeting of twelve hundred and fifty disciples, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas, devas, nagas and the eight categories of the great Assembly. Among the people of this time, many were donors, yet, one of them, who was a poor man, only had a handkerchief in rags. He wished to give it as a gift, but remained undecided because he was scared of causing disgust. Then, in the audience, a bhiksuni named Daughter of Mango Tree stood up, arranged her cloth, paid tribute, kneeled on both her knees, joined her hands, and said to the Buddha: “O honoured of the world, I can remember that in a previous life, I was born in the kingdom of Polonai (Varanasi) as a poor girl. At the time there was a Buddha named Kia Ye (Kacyapa), who was explaining the law in the middle of a large assembly. I sat down to hear about the holy books and I was happy; I gave the intention to make a donation, but considering I did not have anything and thinking about my poverty, I became sad; then I went to someone else’s garden and begged for fruit; I was given a mango, it was big and its fragrance excellent; I held a bowl of water in my hand at the same time as this unique mango and gave it as a gift to Buddha Kia Ye ( Kacyapa) and the assembly. The Buddha knew the excellence of my intention, he accepted my gift and made a wish, then he shared and gave out the water and the mango, making sure everybody received some. Thanks to this good fortune, when my life ended, I was born a devi and I became a devi queen; then, when I was born down here, in this world, I did not come from a foetus, but was born in a mango flower for ninety one kalpas; I was fresh and beautiful and always knew my previous lives. Now I met the Honoured of the world who opened for me the eye of wisdom. Daughter of Mango Tree recited those stanzas:

The loving beneficence of the Three Venerable is universal, – its intelligence saves men and women without distinction; – the great reward I received for giving a little bit of water and fruit was that I could be freed from all sorrow.
In this world, I was born in a flower; – above I was queen of the Devis; – since I found shelter in the Blessed Saint (Bhagavat); – my field of happiness is deep and fertile.

After she finished paying tribute, the Bhiksuni, Daughter of Mango Tree went back to her seat.

When the Buddha was in this world, in a royal garden of King Weiyeli (Vaicali), a mango tree grew spontaneously; it had numerous branches and leaves, its fruit were a lot bigger than those of other trees, they were shiny , and smelled and tasted wonderful. The king liked this tree a lot and no one was allowed to eat the fruits, except the most honoured women of the harem. Yet in this kingdom, there was a Brahman grhapati whose riches were uncountable and no one in the kingdom could be is equal; moreover, he was intelligent, discerning and more talented and wise than the crowd of the men; the King liked him very much and had made him one of his ministers. One day, the King invited this Brahman for diner, when the meal was finished he gave him a fruit from the mango tree; realising that this mango had a particular fragrance and taste, the Brahman asked the king, if there was, under this mango tree, any small offshoot he could ask to be given as a gift. The king answered: “there was a large number of those offshoots, however, because I was afraid they could be detrimental to the big tree, I removed them one after the other; I will give you one if it is your wish.”

So was done, and the Brahman brought this offshoot home and planted it; he was watering it morning and night. The tree was growing day after day, its branches were plentiful and strong; after three years, it grew fruits that were worth the king’s mango tree’s for their beauty and their size. The Brahman thought happily : “ My riches are uncountable and do not compare unfavourably to the King’s; I was only his inferior because I did not have this mango tree, but now that I have it, I am just as good as the King. “ He took one of the fruits and tasted it, but it was very acrid and he could not eat it. The Brahman became very sad; having withdrawn himself, he thought that the reason for that should be that the soil had not been fertilized well enough. So he took the milk of a hundred cows and gave it to drink to one cow, then he collected the milk of that cow and cooked it to make a kind of butter, which he sprinkled on the roots of the mango tree. He did that daily, and the next year the fruits were sweet and delicious, just like the King’s mangos.

However, on the side of the tree, grew an excrescence, which was growing more and more. The Brahman thought the sudden apparition of this excrescence could be detrimental to the fruits, but when he wanted to cut it off, I got afraid to hurt the tree. He meditated for several days perplexed and undecided, until suddenly, from the middle of the excrescence, a branch grew, straight to the sky, strong, straight, flexible and beautiful, it outgrew the top of the tree. When it was seventy feet high, the top divided into several branches, which spread on the sides in a circle to form something like and upside down canopy. The flowers and leaves it was covered with won out over the main tree’s ones. The Brahman was amazed and, because he could not figure out what was at the top, he built a wooden scaffolding and climbed to have a look; he saw that at the top of the branch and at the centre of the upside down canopy, there was a pond of fresh and fragrant water, also there were many flowers with fresh and bright colours, he looked under one of the flowers and found a little girl who was in one of them, the Brahman took her in his arms and brought her home, he fed and raised her. Her name was Daughter of Mango Tree.
When this child reached her fifteenth year, she was so beautiful that nobody in the world could compare, her reputation spread to far away kingdoms. Seven kings arrived at the same time and went to the Brahman to ask to become engaged to Daughter of Mango Tree and make her their wife. The Brahman was very scared, and did not know to which one he should give her; he built a high tower in the middle of a garden and put Daughter of Mango Tree at the top, then he went out and told the kings: “This girl was not conceived by me, she was created spontaneously at the top of a mango tree, I really don’t know if she is the daughter of a deva, a naga, a demon or a djinn. Now, here you are, seven kings coming to ask for this strange person, if I give her to one of you, the six other kings will be annoyed. However I am not going to refuse her to you. .Now, this young lady is in a tower in the garden. Discuss and when you have decided which one of you should have her, this one may just take her. I am not going to decide”.

Then the seven kings started to discuss the matter between them and the night came before the debate was finished; then, one of them, who was king Ping-cha (Bimbisara) entered the tower, found the girl and slept with her. The next day, when he was about to leave, Daughter of Mango Tree told him: “ Dear King, you bothered to lower your highness to come to me, but now, you want to leave, if I have a child, they will have royal blood, who should I entrust with them?” The King answered: “If it is a son, you will give him to me, if it is a girl, I give her to you. “ Then the King took a golden ring with a seal of his finger and gave it to Daughter of Mango Tree to use as an attestation. Then the King went out and told his ministers: “I managed to take Daughter of Mango Tree and I spent the night with her, she has nothing extraordinary and she is just like any woman, thus I am not going to marry her.” All the soldiers of King Ping Cha (Bimbisara) cheered and said:” our King was able to take Daughter of Mango Tree.” Hearing this, the six other kings left.

After King Ping Cha (Bimbisara) left, Daughter of Mango tree became pregnant; then she ordered the doorman to say she was sick if someone asked to see her. When the term came, she gave birth to a boy with a fine face, who was holding a bag of acupuncture needles in his hand. The Brahman declared:” This child is the son of a king, and he is holding a medical instrument; he will certainly be a king doctor.” Then Daughter of Mango Tree wrapped the child in a white cloth and ordered a maid to go and leave him in the street. As per this order, the maid took the baby and abandoned him. At this time Prince Wou Wei was in his chariot, planning to visit the great King and had sent people to clear the road. But the prince noticed from afar a white item on the path , he made the chariot stop and asked his escort:” What is this white object?” He was answered that it was a little boy. “Is he dead or alive? “ He asked. “Alive”, he was replied. The prince ordered his people to take him, and then looked for a wet nurse to feed him; because he was alive, a Brahman took the little boy and gave him back to Daughter of Mango Tree. He was named Ki Yu (Jivaka).

When he reached the age of eight, because of his intelligence, his strong talents and his knowledge of all sorts of books, he was very different from the average children. When he was playing with the neighbourhood boys, he was despising them because he thought they were not his equal. One day, those little boys insulted him together and told him: “Fatherless son, born to a depraved girl, how dare you despise us?” Taken aback, Ki Yu (Jivaka) remained silent and did not answer. He went to his mother and asked her:” I can see that the other little boys are not my equal , however they are insulting me by calling me fatherless son. Where is my father now?”His mother answered:” your father is none other than King Ping Cha (Bimbisara)
– King Ping Cha (Bimbisara), said Ki Yu (Jivaka), can be found in the kingdom of Loyueche (Rajagrha), which is five hundred lis away. How did he conceive me? And if you are telling the truth, O mother, how will I prove it?” His mother showed him the ring with a seal and told him:” This is your father’s ring. Ki Yu (Jivaka) examined the ring and saw that it had the following inscription “Seal of King Ping Cha”. He took the ring and went to the kingdom of Loyueche (Rajagrha) and went straight through the palace door, there was no one at the door to tell him off. I reached to the king, paid tribute, kneeled and said:” O King, I am your son; I was born to Daughter of Mango Tree. Now that I have reached my eighth year, I learned that I am your offspring and this is why I am bringing you proof in the form of the seal ring, and I am coming from far away to become part of your family.” The King saw the inscription on the seal, he remembered the promise he made in the past and admitted he was really his son. Filled with compassion for him, he named him crown prince.

Two years later, he who was to become King A Cho Che (Ajatacatru) was born; Ki yu (Jivaka) said to the King: “When I was born, I was holding a bag of acupuncture needles, it was a sign that I had to become a doctor, even though you named me crown prince, I am not happy. Because you had a son with your first wife, he should succeed to you in your function. As for me, I wish to practice the art of medicine.” The King consented, and told him:” Because you are not the crown prince anymore, you cannot enjoy free emoluments from the King anymore. You need to study the medical science.” The King ordered all the best doctors of his kingdom to teach him all the recipes of their art, but Ki Yu (jivaka) was only playing and did not receive their teachings, all his masters told him:”The art of medicine is not very high: to tell the truth it is not a subject for the honourable prince heir. However, we cannot go against the great king’s injunction, we received orders several months ago, and, O Prince, you didn’t even memorise half a sentence of our formulas. If the King asks, what would we answer?” Ki Yu (Jivaka) told them:”When I was born, I was holding a sign that I would be a doctor, this is why I told the great King: “I renounce the glorious titles and I am asking to study the art of medicine” How can I be so neglectful as to make you reprimand me? My behaviour can be explained by the fact that your science is inadequate to instruct me”. Then he took all the books about plants, medical recipes, acupuncture and pulse, and asked embarrassing questions to his masters, who did not know how to answer. All of them bended in front of Ki Yu (Jivaka ) and paid tribute to him. Kneeling and with joined hands, they told him:”This day we have to admit, O prince, that we cannot reach your divine holiness. All the questions you asked have been subject to controversy for our masters for generations, and we cannot understand them. We are wishing, O Prince, that you explained them to use completely, and that you solved the mysteries that have been tormenting us since we were born.” Then Ki Yu (Jivaka) explained the solution to those problems to them, all the doctors got up full of joy and paid tribute to him by bowing down, saying that they were receiving his teaching with gratitude.

Ki Yu (Jivaka) had the following thought:” Among all the doctors the King gave orders to; none was able to teach me. Who will teach me medicine?” Meanwhile, he found out that, in the kingdom of Tochachelo (Taksacila), there was a doctor named Atili (Atri) nicknamed Pinkialo (Pingala), who had great knowledge about medicine, he could certainly teach him. And so, young Ki Yu (Jivaka) went to this kingdom and upon arriving to Pinkialo (Pingala) he told him:” Great Master, I am asking you to agree to teach me.” After studying under his direction for seven years, he thought: “Now I am trained in the art of medicine, when will I finish?” Therefore he went to his master and told him:” Now I am trained in the art of medicine, when will I finish?”His master gave him a basket and tools needed to collect plants, and told him:”On the length of one yojana, in the kingdom of Tochachelo (Taksacila), look for all the plants and bring me those that do not have a medicinal use. ” Following his master’s orders, Ki Yu (Jivaka) looked for all the plants without a medicinal use in the kingdom of Tochachelo (Taksacila), but in the end he could not find any. As a matter of fact, he could identify all the plants and all the trees he could see, and he knew when they could be used, and all of them could be used in medicine. He came back empty handed and told his master those words:”o Master, now you need to know this: In the kingdom of Tochachelo (Taksacila), I searched for plants that did not have any medicinal use on a surface of one yojana, but I could not find any such plant. For all the plants and tress I saw I could perfectly identify their use”. The master answered to Ki Yu (Jivaka):” You can go now; you know the science of medicine to perfection. I am the first for this art in the Jambudvipa, but after I die, you can succeed to me. “

Then Ki Yu (Jivaka) left and started healing illnesses; all of those he was treating healed at once. His reputation was known all across the kingdom.

Later, Ki Yu (Jivaka) wanted to enter the royal palace. In front of the door, he met a little boy who was carrying a bunch of fire wood. As soon as he saw him from afar, Ki Yu could see this child’s five viscera, including his gut and stomach, and was able to distinguish them neatly. Ki Yu (Jivaka) had the following thought:” In the book of plants, it is told about the king doctor tree (bhaisajyarajà) which illuminates the inside from the outside and allows seeing the viscera inside a person’s stomach. Could it be that there is a piece of king doctor tree in the wood this child is carrying?” He went to the child and asked him what price he wanted for his wood. The child having answered that he wanted ten coins, he paid this price to acquire the wood. The child put the wood down and we could not see the inside of his stomach anymore. Ki Yu (Jivaka) realised that he did not know where in the faggots was the king doctor wood. He untied two faggots and took the sticks one by one and brought them close to the child’s stomach. As he could not see anything appear, he kept trying with all the sticks. The last twig was slightly longer than a foot, he tried to use it to make some light and he saw everything in the stomach. Ki Yu (Jivaka) was very happy, because he knew that this twig was certainly the king doctor wood. Then he gave the child his wood fire back, which as he had received money and had kept his wood left very happy.

However, Ki Yu (Jivaka) was having the following thoughts:” Who am I going to heal now? This kingdom is small and it is on the border. The best would be that I went back to my country of origin to start practicing medicine.” And so he went back to the kingdom of Pokiato (Saketa). In the city of Pokiato, there was an important public figure, whose wife had been constantly suffering from migraines for twelve years; all the doctors had been treating her without being able to heal her. Ki Yu (Jivaka) heard about her and went to her home, he said to the door man:” Tell your master that a doctor is at the door”. The doorman went in and passed the message. When the public figure’s wife asked what did the doctor looked like, he answered that he was a young man. She thought that if old, experienced doctors couldn’t heal her, a young one would be even more incapable. She ordered the doorman to tell that she did not need a doctor now. He went out and told Ki Yu (Jivaka):”I gave your message to my master, but his wife answered that she did not need a doctor.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) insisted:”Go tell your Master’s wife that she only allowed me to treat her, if she is healed, she can give me what she wants.” When the doorman had reported those words, the lady thought that she did not risk anything and ordered the doorman to let him in. When Ki Yu (Jivaka) was with the public figure’s wife, he asked her about her sufferings, she answered that she was suffering in such and such way. “How did your illness start?
– It started in such and such circumstances
– Is your illness old or new?
– It started in such time.”
After all these questions, Ki Yu (Jivaka) declared:”I can heal you.” Then he took a good remedy and fried it in butter, then, he poured it in the woman’s nose. The butter came out from the patient’s mouth mixed with saliva. She collected it all in a vase and kept the butter after separating it from the saliva, which she discarded. When he saw her behaving like this, Ki Yu (Jivaka) felt sad because he was thinking:”If she is this thrifty for a little bit of soiled butter, what will she do when time comes to reward me?” The patient noticed his preoccupations and asked him:” Are you afflicted? “After his positive answer, she asked him about the reason of his affliction. “I was thinking, he told, that if you are this thrifty when it comes to a little bit of soiled butter, it would be even worse when time comes to reward me, this is why I am becoming sad.” The woman answered:” Keeping a household is not easy. What was the point of throwing this butter that could still be used to light a lamp? That is why I collected it. As for you, focus on healing my illness, no need to be afflicted.” He treated her and she was healed. Then the wife of a public figure gave him four hundred thousand ounces of gold as well as slaves and maids, and chariots with horses.

After Ki Yu (Jivaka) received all these riches, he went back to the royal city (Rajagrha) and went to Prince Wou Wei’s (Abhaya) residence. He told the doorman:”Tell the Prince that Ki Yu (Jivaka) is outside.” The doorman passed the message and the prince ordered to invite Ki Yu (Jivaka ) in at once. When he was inside, he bowed with his head on the floor, and after paying tribute he sat on the side. He gave the prince a detail tale of what had happened to him and declared that he wanted to give all the riches he had acquired to the prince.The prince convinced him not to by telling him he should not give him such a gift and by encouraging him to use this fortune on himself.

This is how Ki Yu’s (Jivaka) first recovery happened.

At the time, in the kingdom of Kiuchanmi (Kaucambi) there was the son of a notable whose intestine got tied together in his tummy when he was playing on a wheel, what he was eating and drinking could not be digested of eliminated anymore. No one in this kingdom could cure him. Locals heard that there was a great doctor who was excellent at healing patients in the kingdom of Mokie (Magadha), and sent a message to the King:” The son of a notable of the Kingdom of Kiuchanmi (Kaucambi) is ill, Ki Yu (Jivaka) can cure him, we are asking, O King, that you sent him to us.”Then King Ping Cha (Bimbisara) called Ki Yu (Jivaka) and asked him: “The son of a notable of the kingdom of Kiuchanmi (Kaucambi) is ill, can you cure him?” Because he answered that he could, the king continued:” Because you are able to cure him, I authorise you to go and treat him.” Then Ki Yu (Jivaka) got on a chariot and went to Kiu Chan Mi (Kaucambi). The son of the notable was already dead when he arrived, some musician were escorting his body. When he heard the noise, Ki Yu (Jivaka) asked:” What are this music and those drum sounds for?” Someone next to him answered:” The son of the notable you came for is dead. What you can hear is the music of the musicians escorting him.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) could differentiate all the sounds and said:” Go tell to bring this body back, it is not a corpse.” They came back as soon as the order was given. Ki Yu (Jivaka) came off his chariot, took a very sharp knife and cut open the child’s stomach. He opened where the intestine was tied up and showed the mother, father and all relatives, and told them:” His intestine got tied together like this because of playing on a wheel, therefore food and drinks were not digested anymore, but it does not mean he is dead.” He untied the intestine and put it back to its place, then he stitched the stomach and the flesh went back together, he rubbed it with a balm. The wound healed instantly and hair grew back, so much so that the scare looked like there had never been a wound. After that, the son of the notable rewarded Ki Yu (jivaka) by giving him four hundred thousand ounces of gold. His wife also gave him four hundred thousand ounces of gold, and so did the notable and his wife.

Ki Yu (Jivaka) was thinking:” I must acknowledge the role of my master. I am going to take those sixty hundred thousand ounces of gold and give them to the great master in the kingdom of To Cha Che Lo (Taksacila), Pinkialo (Pingala).” After reflecting, he took his gold and went to see his master. He honoured him by putting his face on his feet and offered the gold with the following words:” I wish, master, that you would accept this.” His master told him:”You better make an offering, I do not need this money.” As Ki Yu (Jivaka) insisted, Pinkialo( Pingala) accepted the gold. Ki Yu ( Jivaka) said good bye and left after honouring his feet.

At the time, in the kingdom, lived the fifteen year old daughter of a kialoyue grhapati), on her wedding day, she suddenly had a very acute headache and died. Ki Yu (Jivaka) was informed and went to her home, he asked her father:”What common illness caused this young girl to die early?” The father answered:” Ever since she was a child, my daughter was experiencing headaches which grew stronger by the day, this morning the pain was so intense that she died.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) entered the room and with the help of the king doctor (wood), he lit the inside of the girl’s head and saw worms, which were multiplying. There were several hundreds of them. The worms were devouring her brain, and because they had eaten all of it, she had died. Then Ki Yu (Jivaka) cut her head open with a golden knife, took all the worms out and locked them in a jar. Then he rubbed the wound with three kinds of supernatural oils. The first one fixed the damage caused in her bones by the worm bites, the second one regenerated the brain, and the third one healed the wound caused by the knife. Then Ki Yu (Jivaka) told the girl’s father:” Let her rest peacefully and make sure that she does not get scared. She should be completely healed and back to normal within ten days. I will come again when this time has passed.” After Ki Yu (Jivaka) left, the girl’s mother started crying and screaming:” My child died a second time, did anyone ever survive after having their skull cut open? How could the father let this man take our child?” The father stopped her and said:” When Ki Yu (Jivaka) was born, he was holding in his hand a bag of acupuncture needles; later he gave up some high function to practice medicine, and he did this for the greater good of all living things. He is a king doctor appointed by the sky, how could he do something unreasonable? He recommended that you did not scare the patient, but now, on the contrary, you are crying and screaming and risk to upset and scare her, because of you, our child will not be able to live.” Upon these words, the mother stopped complaining and both parents took care of their daughter. She remained still for seven days. On the seventh day, at dawn, she sighed and woke up as if she had been sleeping. She said:” I cannot feel any headache anymore, and all my body is at ease. Who healed me?” Her father told her:” You were already dead when the king doctor Ki Yu (Jivaka) came to give you a cure, he opened your head and took all the worms out, this is how you could revive.” He opened the jar and showed her the worms. When she saw them, the girl was horrified and grateful for her good fortune. She said:” Great is Ki Yu’s (Jivaka) divine power! I cannot wait to acknowledge his good deed.” Her father said:” Ki Yu (Jivaka) promised he would come today.” Moments later, Ki Yu (Jivaka) arrived. She honoured him by putting her face on his feet, she kneeled and joined hands and said: “ O Ki Yu (Jivaka) I wish to become your maid, and serve you until death to acknowledge the good deed you performed by bringing me back to life.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” I am a master doctor, and I go everywhere to cure people. I do not have a home. How would I use a maid? If you really want to reward me for the service I paid you, give me five hundred ounces of gold, not that I would use this gold, but this is the reason I am asking you this: anybody who has studied has to thank their master, even if my master did not teach me what I know, I am still his pupil, and after I have received your gold, I will give it to him.” The girl took five hundred ounces of gold and gave them to Ki Yu (Jivaka) who accepted them and gave them to his master.

After that, Ki Yu (Jivaka) informed the king of his intention to go visit his mother for some time. So he arrived into the kingdom of Weiyeli (Vaicali). There was in this kingdom the son of a kialoyue (Vaicali) who liked to practice martial arts. He had made an over seven feet tall wooden horse and was training to jump on its back, he could jump on it from the beginning and with time he was becoming more and more skilled. But all of a sudden, one day, I went over his target, lost his balance, fell on the ground and died. Ki Yu (Jivaka) was informed, he went to him straight away and used the king doctor wood to light the inside of his stomach, he observed that his liver had turned upside down. The chi was blocked and could not go through; this was what had caused his death. Ki Yu (Jivaka) cut his stomach open with a golden knife, and dipping his hand inside to explore and put things in order, he turned the liver around. Then he rub the patient with three kinds of divine balms, the first one repaired the spots his hand had felt, the second one let the chi and breath flow again, the third healed the wound caused by the knife. After he finished, he told the father:” Make sure to not scare him. He should be healed in three days.” His father followed the instructions, let the patient rest, took care of him and looked after him. When the third day came, the boy sighed and woke up, he looked like he had just woken up from a sleep, and he could get up straight away. Not long after that, Ki Yu (Jivaka) came back, the boy met him happily, he paid tribute to him, putting his face on his feet, went on his knees and said:” O Ki Yu (Jivaka) I wish to become your slave and serve until death to thank you for the good deed you made by bringing me back to life.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) replied:” I am a master doctor, the families of my patients are fighting to serve me. How would I use a slave? My mother worked very hard to raise me, and I did not have a chance to thank her for her kindness she showed taking care of me. Therefore, if you want to thank me for my services, give me five hundred ounces of gold that I would use to reward my mother for her kindness. So he took this gold and gave to his mother, Daughter of Mango Tree, and went back to the kingdom of Loyueche (Rajagrha).

After Ki Yu (Jivaka) had healed these four people, he became famous all across the Empire, and no one ignored him. In the south, there was a big kingdom, which was 8,000 lis away from Loyueche (Rajagrha), King Pin Cha and all the other little kings were his vassals. The king of this kingdom had been sick for several years . He was suffering from rage attacks. He looked at men with disdain and made them perish. When someone raised their eyes to see him, he was killing them, when someone was bowing their head and did not raise it again; he was killing them as well. Men who walked too slowly, he was killing them, those who walked to fast, he was killing them too, people who were serving by his side did not know what to do with their hands and feet. When a master doctor was preparing a remedy for him, the king was scared that he would put poison in it and kill him. He had killed countless people for various reasons, ministers, women from the harem and doctors. However, his illness was getting worse day after day, the poison was attacking his heart, he was suffocating and had a short breath, and he was feeling like his body was burning. He heard about Ki Yu (Jivaka) and wrote a letter to king Pingcha (Bimbisara) to notify that he was requesting for Ki Yu (Jivaka) to come to him. Ki Yu (Jivaka), who had heard that this king had killed numerous doctors, was very scared, as for king Pingcha (Bimbisara) he was feeling for Ki Yu (Jivaka) and was scared that he would be killed, so he did not want to let him go, but at the same time he was scared of being punished. Father and son were hugging each other in despair and did not know what to do. Eventually, king Pingcha (Bimbisara) took Ki Yu (Jivaka) with him and took him to the Buddha, he honoured him by putting his face on his feet, and said to the Buddha:” O Honoured of the World, this king has got a bad temper and I am afraid he might have the king doctor die, should he go to him?” The Buddha answered to Ki Yu (Jivaka):” In a previous life, you and I made a pact to work together to save the all universe: I would heal the illnesses of the soul, and you would heal the diseases of the body. I became Buddha, this is why, as per our wish, you should gather all beings before me (so I can heal them). The king is critically ill and he asked you from afar, why wouldn’t you go? Go rescue him quickly, make up a good remedy to cure his disease. This king is not going to kill you.”

After receiving the Buddha’s blessing, Ki Yu (Jivaka), went to the king, he took his pulse and lit his body thanks to the king doctor (wood), and noticed that the blood and the chi in his five viscera and his one hundred blood vessels were mixed-up, it was caused by the venom of a snake in his body. Ki Yu (Jivaka) said to the king:” I can cure your illness, and when I am finished, I can guaranty that you will be healed. However, I need to go in and see the queen-mother in order to discuss the composition of the remedy with her. If I cannot see the queen-mother, the remedy cannot be prepared properly.” Hearing these words, the king could not understand the reason and wanted to lose his temper, however, because he was ill and knew Ki Yu’s (Jivaka) reputation and he had mandated him to come in hope to get some help; he also considered that Ki Yu (Jivaka) was a young child and should not have ill intentions, he accepted his conditions. He mandated an eunuch to introduce him to the queen-mother.

Ki Yu (Jivaka) told the queen-mother:” The King’s disease can be cured, but now the remedy must be prepared, and because the recipe must remain a secret, it is important to exclude assistants. The queen-mother sent the eunuchs away. Then Ki Yu told to the queen-mother:” When I examined the king, I realised that the chi in his body has been poisoned by a snake, it seems like there is something not human. Whose son is the king? Queen-mother, please tell me the truth, and I will be able to heal him, if you don’t tell me, the king will never recover.” The queen-mother told him:”A long time ago, I was in the room with the golden columns. I went to sleep during the day. Suddenly some being came on me. I was kind of confused, in a state between dream and reality, it seemed like I have had a nightmare. I had sex with this being, and suddenly I saw a big snake, it was over thirty feet long and was going away from me. Then I realised that I was pregnant, the king is probably the son of this snake. I was ashamed of this adventure; this is why I did not say a word. But now, young man, you understood what happened. Your science is wonderful! [If the king can be healed, I wish to entrust you with the king’s life], what remedy should be used?” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” I need melted butter.
– Alas young man; cried the queen-mother; refrain from speaking about melted butter, because the king hates the smell of it, and also hates hearing the word pronounced. You can count by the hundreds, even the thousands the men who died for speaking about melted butter. If you talk about it now, you will probably be killed. If you gave it to the king to drink, you will never get it to go down his throat. I wish that you used some other remedy.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” Melted butter fights the poison, therefore, people who are ill because of poison will hate smelling melted butter. If the king’s illness was not serious and caused by some other poison, I would have been able to cure him with some other remedies, but because the venom of the snake is violent and has affected all of his body, we can only destroy it with melted butter. Now we need to transform the melted butter and purify it to make it a taste less liquid. The king will drink it naturally, without suspecting anything, the remedy will go down his throat, and he will be healed, don’t worry.”

Ki Yu (Jivaka), went out to see the king, he told him:” I just had an interview with the queen-mother, I gave her the recipe of the remedy, she is going to prepare it, it will be ready in two weeks, but I have five requests. If you agree on what I am about to ask you, your illness will be cured, but if you refuse, it will be incurable.” After the king had asked him about his requests, Ki yu (Jivaka) said:” First, I want you to get from your army stock, some cloth that you have not worn yet, secondly, I wish to be allowed to come and go as I wish without being controlled. Third, I request to be allowed to see the queen-mother and the queen alone every day, fourth, I want that, when you drink the remedy, you drank all of it without stopping half way, fifth, I would like the royal white elephant that can go eight thousand li.”

Hearing those words, the king lost his temper and said:” Child, how dare you make those requests? I demand that you gave a good reason for each of them, if you fail, you will be beaten to death. How dare you ask for my new cloth? You probably want to kill me, wear my cloth and pretend to be me!” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” It is necessary to be clean and pure to make the remedy, however, my cloth is soiled, this is why I would like to wear a king’s outfit when I prepare the remedy.” The king understood and said:” Very well, but why would you want to come and go as you please without control? Won’t you take advantage and bring some soldiers who will attack and kill me? Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered: “ Many time before, you have employed master-doctors, but you were suspicious of all of them and did not trust them, then you killed them and you did not take their remedies, so much so that, when I arrived, all the ministers were saying that you would make me die as well. However, because your illness is very serious, I am afraid that some people outside would make trouble, but if I can come and go as I please without control, people outside will know that your highness is trusting me, and thus will take my remedy and heal. They will not dare thinking about revolution.” The King said:” Very well. But why do you want to see my mother and my wife alone every day? Is it that you want to corrupt them?” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” O King, you have killed so many people on many occasions, thus, your subject, big or small, are all scared and they do not wish for the recovery of the king. Therefore, there is no one I could trust. If I teamed with one of them to prepare the remedy, they would take advantage of a second of inattention to throw in some poison without me noticing. It would be serious. This is why, when I was thinking about who I could trust, I could only think of your mother and your wife. I need to be introduced to the queen-mother and the queen to prepare the remedy with them, it will be ready after cooking for fifteen days, I want to get in to check that the fire is well balanced every day.”Very well, but why do you want me to drink all the remedy in one go? Isn’t it that you want to put some poison and you fear that I would notice?” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” The dosage of each ingredient in the remedy follows strict proportions, the vapours and taste must work simultaneously, if you stop half way, there will be no more links between the elements of the remedy.” The king said:”Very well, but why do you want my elephant? This elephant is the gem of my kingdom, it can walk eight thousand lis per day, I won power over the other kingdoms thanks to him. Don’t you want to steal it to bring it home and then attack my kingdom with your father?” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” On the southern border of your country, in the mountains, there is a wonderful medicinal herb growing four thousand lis from here, it is necessary that you ate this herb after drinking the remedy. I want the elephant to gather this herb leaving. I want to leave in the morning and come back in the evening to make sure you can still feel the taste of the remedy.” After receiving answers, the king gave him everything he had asked for.

Ki Yu (Jivaka) started to purify the butter by cooking it, after fifteen days, he has made it look like fresh water, he obtained five tenth bushels. Then he went out with the queen-mother and the queen, he was holding the medicine. He announced to the king that he could drink and expressed the desire that the white elephant was prepared and kept in front of the palace, the king agreed. When the king saw that the medicine looked like fresh water and was odourless and tasteless, he did not know that it was melted butter, moreover, because the queen-mother and the queen had witnessed the preparation, he was convinced that it wasn’t poison, and so he drank everything in one go as previously agreed. Ki Yu (Jivaka) and went straight back to the kingdom of Loyueche (Rajagrha), however, after travelling for three thousand lis, because he was young and not very resistant, he could not bear the speed of the race, he got dizzy and was very tired, then he stopped and went to sleep.

After midday, the king did a burp and smelt the melted butter; he lost his temper and screamed:” This little boy dared to make me have melted butter, I was wondering why was asking for my white, but it was because he wanted to run away from me.” The king had a minister named Crow (Kaka) who was a brave man, his supernatural power allowed him to catch up with the elephant by foot. The king called Crow and told him:” Chase this boy and bring him to me alive, I want him beaten to death in my presence. However, you are always lacking frugality and you are eating and drinking eagerly, that’s why you were named Crow. People like this master doctor often like to serve poison, so, if this boy offers you food, do not eat it.”

Crow received the instructions and went. He reached Ki Yu (Jivaka) in the mountain and told him:” Why did you make the king eat melted butter and pretended it to be a remedy? This is the reason why the king ordered me to chase you and ask you to come back, come back with me quickly, if you apologize and admit your fault, you might have a chance to remain alive, but if you try to escape, I will kill you straight away, and you cannot escape.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) thought:” Despite finding a way to get this elephant, I cannot escape with it anymore; I need to come up with a new stratagem. How can I follow this man?” He said to Crow:” I have not eaten anything since this morning, if I take the road to go back, I will certainly die, it would be good if you gave me some time to find some fruit to eat and water to drink in the mountain. When I will be full, I’ll go to death!” Because he could see that Ki Yu (Jivaka) was a young boy, scared by the idea of death and who was expressing himself with difficulty, Crow felt sorry for him and gave him what he was asking for, saying:” Eat quickly and we are going to go, we cannot stay here for a long time.” Then, Ki Yu (Jivake) took a pear and ate half of it, but he poured some of the poison he had under his nail on the other half and put the pear down on the ground. He also took a cup of water, and after drinking half of it, he put the rest of the poison in what was left, and put the cup back on the ground. Then he said with a sigh:” This pear and this water are divine remedies, their fragrance is pure and they are delicious, eating and drinking them is making your body healthy, all the diseases heal, and at the same time, your breath and strength are doubled. It is a pity that we can’t find them at the kingdom’s capital so that all the inhabitants can enjoy them, it is unfortunate that they remain unknown from the mountain men.” After he had finished talking, he left to the mountain to look for more fruit. Crow was a glutton, and he had heard Ki Yu (Jivaka) praise those divine remedies, and finally, he had seen Ki Yu (Jivaka) himself drink and eat, so much so that he was thinking that these foods were certainly not poisoned, he took what was left of the pear and ate it, he also finished the water. He immediately started to suffer from diarrhoea, which made his stool look like water. He fell on the ground and laid down. Every time he was getting up, he was feeling dizzy and falling down, he was unable to move.

Ki Yu (Jivaka) told him:” The king took my medicine, and therefore he is likely to be cured, but for now, the remedy has not worked yet, and the venom has not been completely destroyed yet. If I went to him now, he would kill me. You did not know this and wished to seize me to fulfil your mission, this is why I made you ill. But this illness is not serious, refrain from moving, and in three days, you will feel better, but if you get up to go after me, your death will be assured.” He got on the elephant and left. In the first village he crossed, he said to the leader of five men:” There is over there, a messenger of the king who fell suddenly ill, go and get him quickly and bring him to your home, take good care of him, give him a soft bed, give him porridge and make sure he doesn’t die. If he died, the king would destroy your kingdom.” After these words he left and went back to his country. The leader of the five men followed the orders that had been given to him, he brought Crow back and looked after him. After three days, the poison had been completely eliminated, Crow went to see the king, he bowed to the ground in front of him and said:” Truth is I am a fool, I didn’t follow your highness’s recommendations, and I trusted Ki Yu’s (Jivaka) words, I drank and ate what he had left of fruit and water, I have been affected and got diarrhoea for three days. Only now I am feeling better. I know that I deserve death.”

During the three days before Crow returned, the King had healed from his disease, he had pondered his actions and had regretted sending Crow away. When he saw him come back, he was feeling torn between compassion and joy. He told him:” Thanks to you, the young boy wasn’t brought back here when I was irate, and when I would have him most certainly beaten to death. I benefited from his actions and I am back to life. My perversity would have been terrible if I had made him died instead of rewarding him.” Then the king started to feel remorse about all the people he had unfairly killed on many occasions. He gave them honorary funerals, exempted their families from taxes, and gave them money. I wanted to see Ki Yu (Jivaka) again and say thank you for his good deed, and so he sent some messengers to fetch ki Yu (Jivaka), despite knowing that the king was healed, he remained fearful and didn’t want to go back. Ki Yu (Jivaka) went to the Buddha again, he put his head on his feet to show respect, and told him:” O honoured of the world, the king sent some messengers who came to call me, should I go? “ The Buddha answered:” Ki Yu (Jivaka), in a previous life, you promised to perform a praiseworthy action, how could you stop half way? You need to go now, and when you have cured this king’s external disease, I will cure his inside illness.” And then, Ki Yu (Jivaka) followed the messengers.

When the King saw Ki Yu (Jivaka) he was very happy, he made him seat with him, and told him, holding his arm:” Thanks to what you did for me, I was granted a new life, how can I reward you? I want to split my kingdom and give you half. I will give you half of the beautiful women in my harem, half of the precious items in my warehouse and half of my treasures, I want you to accept.” Ki Yu (Jivaka) said:” I used to be a crown prince, even if it was in a small kingdom, the population and riches I would have had were more than enough, but I didn’t enjoy governing a kingdom, and this is why I asked if I could become a doctor. I need to travel to heal my patients, what would I do with land, women and treasures? They wouldn’t be of any use to me. O King, earlier, when you granted me my five wishes, I was able to cure your outside disease, now, if you granted me one more wish, your inside illness could be removed.” The king answered:” I am ready to receive your instructions, please express your wish.”

Ki Yu (Jivaka) said:” I am asking you, O King, to invite the Buddha to come and to receive the wise law from him.” He took the opportunity to sing the praises of the Buddha to the king, and to explain the peculiar elevation of his function. Hearing his words, the king said happily:” I want to send my minister Crow on the white elephant to get the Buddha. Can I make him come this way?” Ki Yu (Jivaka) answered:” No need for the white elephant. The Buddha understands everything, he can read the thought of men from afar. Content yourself with practising abstinence and purification for a while, then prepare some offerings, burn perfumes, and praise looking in the direction of the Buddha, then stand on your knees and express your invitation: the Buddha will come by himself”.

The king followed this advice, and the following day, the Buddha arrived with a procession of one thousand two hundred and fifty bhiksus. After he finished eating, he explained the sacred scriptures to the king: then the mind of the king opened up and he felt the true and real wisdom without equal (anuttara samyak sambodhi). All the inhabitants of the kingdom came to receive the five defences and left after paying tribute.

Here is another story about Daughter of Mango Tree: ever since birth, she has been extraordinary. When she grew up, she proved herself to be intelligent, she had studied with her father and knew the theory of the holy books. She even knew more about the movement of stars than her father, moreover, she was practicing the musical arts and was singing like a deva of Brahma. Five hundred daughters of kialoyue (grhapati) and brahmanes joined her to study and to make her their great master. Daughter of Mango Tree, was always followed by her pupils and was celebrating and spreading the word of the holy books. Sometimes she was going for walks in parks or along lakes to play music. People in the country, who did not understand her behaviour, started gossiping about her; they were saying that she was depraved and her five hundred pupils had been nicknamed “the bunch of depraved”.

When Daughter of Mango tree was born, were born in the same kingdom and at the same time Daughter of Siu Man (sumana) and Daughter of Potan (udambara). Daughter of Siu Man (sumana) was born in a flower of siuman. In this kingdom, there was a kialoyue (grhapati) who was pressing siuman (sumana) flowers to make some perfumed oil, but on the side of the stone used to express the oil, an excrescence appeared suddenly, at first it was as big as a crossbow bullet and it was growing day after day until it reached the size of a fist. Then the stone exploded and in the hole, a conglomerate, which looked like a glow-worm, exited quickly and fell on the ground, after three day, a siuman plant grew, three days later, this plant grew a flower, and when the flower bloomed, there was a little girl in the centre of it. The kialoyue (grhapati) took her in and fed her, she was named Daughter of Siuman, when she grew up she became extremely beautiful, she was also talented and intelligent, only Daughter of Mango Tree could compare.

At the time, there was another Brahman. A blue lotus grew spontaneously in his pool. The flower was especially big and was growing by the day until it was the size of a five bushels jar. When the flower bloomed, a little girl could be seen in the centre. The Brahman took her in and fed her. She was named Daughter of Potan (udambara) when she grew up she became very beautiful, she was talented and intelligent, just like Daughter of Siuman.

Having heard about the beauty of the two young girls, the kings of various kingdoms kept coming and asked them to get married, but the two young girls were answering:” We weren’t born from a foetus, we came out of flowers, we are not like ordinary women, what is the point of following a man of this world to get married?” Then, when they heard about the intelligence of Daughter of Mango Tree and found out that her birth had been similar to their, they both left their father and mother to serve Daughter of Mango Tree and ask her to become her pupils. Because of their understanding of the holy books and their wisdom, they were better than the other five hundred pupils.

At the time, the Buddha came to the kingdom of Weiyeli (Vaicali), Daughter of Mango Tree, followed by her five hundred students, when she met him, she praised him with her face and kneeled. Then she said:” I wish, O Buddha, that you came to my garden to eat tomorrow.” The Buddha agreed in silence. Daughter of Mango Tree went home and prepared the offerings. When the Buddha came into town, the king met him as well and after praising him, he kneeled and said:” I wish that you came to my palace to eat tomorrow.” The Buddha answered:” Daughter of Mango Tree has already invited me, you’re coming after her.” The king said:” I am the king of this country, I came to invite you with all my heart, I was hoping that you’d accept. Daughter of Mango Tree is a depraved girl, every day, with five hundred other depraved girls, her students, she is committing illegal actions. How can you reject me to accept her invitation?”

The Buddha answered:” Daughter of Mango Tree is not depraved. In a previous life, she acquired great honours for making offerings to three hundred thousands bhuddas, back then, she, Daughter of Suiman and Daughter of Potan were sisters. Daughter of Mango Tree was the eldest, Daughter of Suiman was the second, and Daughter of Potan was the youngest. They were born in a powerful and very wealthy family, showing each other good example, the sisters were making offerings to five hundred bhiksunis, everyday they were preparing food and drinks for them, and made cloths for them to wear. They made sure they didn’t lack anything. It lasted until the end of their lives. Those three sisters had made the following vow:” In our future life, we wish to meet the Buddha and be granted to be reborn by spontaneous transformation, without going through the foetus stage and be kept from any impurity.” Now, according to their previous wish, they were born at the time I am on earth. Also, despite making donations to the bhiksuni, because they were from a powerful and wealthy family, their words were sometimes too light, sometimes they were making fun of the bhiksuni, saying:” Dear nuns, you have been looking sad for a long time, you may want to get married, but held back by our donations and our care, you cannot express your passion.” This is why these young ladies are going through this pain, even though they dedicate everyday to the promotion of the holy books, they are subject to the unfair accusation of being depraved. As for the five hundred students, they had teamed up with the girls and helped them to make the offerings, and they had enjoyed it as much, this is why they were born with them, the result of their actions has followed them.

At the time, Ki Yu (Jivaka) was the son of a poor family, when he saw Daughter of Mango Tree make offerings, it brought a lot of admiration and joy in his heart, but because he did not possess anything, he started sweeping for the bhiksunis. Every time he was making the place clean and tidy he was making this vow:”If only I could sweep this easily all the diseases and impurity that are in people’s bodies in this world.” Daughter of Mango Tree, who was compassionate poverty and approved of his efforts, always called him her son. When a bhiksuni was sick, she would always make Ki Yu (Jivaka) get the doctor and prepare the potion or remedy. She was saying:” If only you could get the reward of this good deed with me in a future life.” When Ki Yu (Jivaka) was getting the doctor, the patient always healed. Then Ki Yu (Jivaka) made a wish:” I wish to be in a future life, a great king doctor, and always cure the illnesses of the four elements of the body of every human being and heal all of those I will go to.” Thanks to his past actions, he has now become the son of Daughter of Mango Tree and everything is according to his previous vow.”

Hearing the words of the Buddha, the king kneeled and apologised for his mistakes, he also postponed the invitation to the day after. The next day, the Buddha arrived in Daughter of Mango Tree’s garden with all the bhiksus, he informed her about the honours she had gained thanks to her previous vow, when they heard the holly books, the three girls could feel their intelligence bloom and rejoiced with the five hundred students. They took orders to practice good conduct and dedicated all their energy and time to it, all of them were granted the wisdom of arhat.

The Buddha said to Ananda:”You need to keep those teachings to read them to the pupils of the four classes, and to avoid losing them. May all living beings think about their actions, their words and their thoughts, may they not become arrogant or behave too freely. Because she teased the bhiksunis in the past, Daughter of Mango Tree was wrongly accused of being depraved. Therefore, you need to keep watch over what your body, your mouth and your thoughts do. Always make excellent wishes, those who will hear you will enjoy your company and will accept your example faithfully and joyfully. Do not make false accusations, because you would fall in such hells were you would be subjected to such punishment as being reborn as an animal, then after going through hundreds and thousands of cycles, you will be born poor and despised, won’t be able to hear the real law, be born in an heretic family, always meeting a mean king and having a disabled body. Therefore you need to practice those teachings, memorise and recite them, and do not allow them to be lost in the future.”

Then Ananda stood up, he paid tribute to the Buddha’s feet by pressing his head against them, he kneeled, joined his hands and said to the Buddha:” O Honoured of the World, what is the name which should be given to the sutra in which this point of the doctrine is explained?” The Buddha answered:” The name of this Sutra is: Sutra about the Avadana on Daughter of Mango Tree and Kiyu (Jivaka). Practice the doctrine that has just been showed to you; make offerings to bhiksus and bhiksunis, give medicine, get doctors, rejoiced with others that because they made a wish in the past they are now receiving their reward. Observe all of that.”

After the Buddha had pronounced this sacred text, the big assembly, composed of the eight categories that are, men, devas, nagas, and so on, started to practice the principles joyfully.

Notes:

1 This Sutra was translated under the second Han dynasty by Ngan CheKao (the Arsacid) who came to China in the year 148 AD and worked on translations until the year 170 AD.

2 In the Kattaharijataka (Jataka #7), king Brahmadatta even gives his golden ring to a woman with whom he had an accidental encounter and told her :”if you have a girl, use the price of this ring to feed her, but if you have a boy, bring me the ring and the child.”

3 In order to make sure it would not be assumed that she had had a relashionship with an other man and to make sure the child would be recognised to be King Bimbisara’s.

4 To say thank you for taking him in

5 The Tibetan text, translated by Schiefner, informs us that this king was Shanda Pradyota

Chinese & East Asian Medicines, Religion & Medicine

Healing the Heart: Meditation and Healing in Daoist Philosophy

April 6, 2016 Guest Post Leave a comment

Guest post by Park Seung-Hyun

Bio: I am HK Research Professor at the Institute of Mind Humanities, Wonkwang University. I received my B.A. and M.A. at the Department of Philosophy, Chung-ang University in Korea, and completed my Ph.D at the Department of Philosophy, Peking University. My thesis was titled “A Study on Huainanzi and ZhuanhXue in early Han Dynasty.” I believe that the true meaning of philosophy emerges only when the essence obtained by pursuing theoretical issues is implemented in real life. In this regard, I believe that philosophical questions should be focused on how human dignity can be realized in the real world. My research interests go to the subject of philosophical counseling and healing, where the issues of human pain are dealt with in various perspectives. My working project lies at the intersection of the train theory and the subject of mind healing.

Recently, there has been burgeoning interest in healing for illnesses of the heart.1 People living in developed civilizations are burdened by heavy workloads that force them to live busy lives. As people produce more, they also consume more. It is common knowledge that in modern society, people are often treated as tools of production, and are valued for their utility rather than their being. Human dignity is determined by one’s degree of usefulness, and thereby humanity loses its true meaning.

Why do people today place such high value on material civilization to the detriment of living a happy life? Perhaps they suffer because of an incorrect interpretation of what it means to live a happy life. They seem to believe that happiness is not a matter of the heart, but instead depends on external material conditions. They strongly believe that happiness requires a certain status or social success, and to secure such a happy life, they are taught to believe that they must triumph through fierce competition to secure wealth and status. They believe that they should desperately use all means and methods to achieve such an esteemed life. However, owing to such beliefs, life can spiral downwards. Social pathologies and pain arising from misguided beliefs can only be resolved when one’s viewpoints and attitudes change.

A change in viewpoint and attitude toward life must begin by reflecting on oneself. We should reflect on our wrong belief, and attempt to distance ourselves from it. Distancing ourselves means changing our viewpoint. However, a shift in viewpoint cannot be achieved simply by way of intellectual exploration. Intellectual work, which pursues the knowledge of the objective world, is just an auxiliary means to resolving pain. Beyond this intellectual effort, we should also look at the disposition of our mind, and practice resting the mind. This is the starting point of meditation.

Meditation, in my view, is not about pursuing external objects, but a disciplined way of looking for the lost self. Meditation is an attempt to search for the origin that gives the self his or her identity. The ordinary active mind is formed by our habits and experiences, as well as by our education. In this frame of mind, we can distinguish right from wrong according to our life standards, but can always easily slip into self-centered thought and act according to our own biases. When we do this, discrepancies in opinions arise, causing disputes and contributing to a painful life. Meditation aims primarily to distance ourselves from such an ordinary, habitual mind. It further seeks to eventually find the true self.

Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism all uphold the goal of a perfected human being—represented by a saint, an immortal, or Buddha, respectively—and promise that this is a state human beings can reach through various practical disciplines taught by each tradition. From the viewpoint of all three Asian traditions, the realization of such an ideal human life lies in the search for one’s inner foundation. In all cases, discipline and practice starts with overcoming the self, specifically, with winning the fight against the selfish persona. This paper discusses how this practice appears in the Chinese Daoist classic, the Book of the Way and its Power (Daode Jing), by Laozi.

Meditation in Laozi

Laozi’s Daode Jing does not mention a specific meditation technique. However, there are hints of Laozi’s ideas about how to practice. He instructs: “Close the mouth, shut the doors. Blunt the sharpness, untie the tangles. Soften the light, become one with the dusty world. This is called profound identification.”2 This expression suggests three stages of meditative practice.

The first stage, “close the mouth and shut the doors,” is the pre-meditation stage. Although it mentions only the mouth, the implication is we must close all of our sensory organs. This closes the doors through which qi exits, and via which our life energy is wasted. If we thus sit quietly, we are not distracted by the temptation of external objects.

Laozi’s second stage of mediation is to “blunt the sharpness and untie the tangles.” This is the stage of mental discipline in which we refine the roughness of our mind. In this stage, it is important to forsake unnecessary desires that cause conflicts with others. Laozi also warns against pursuing futile knowledge. If we do so, we can be free from worries; we can empty our mind and remain serene.

In this serene condition, we can see the true nature of all things, which is the third stage. This transformation cannot come simply from philosophical thoughts, but must be achieved through a transcendental consciousness that is beyond the ordinary state of mind. That is the realm where light is softened, and one becomes one with the dusty world. This last stage of the discipline is called xuantong, “becoming one with the mysterious.”

Unfortunately, the Daode jing does not give more detail about specific methods involved in meditation. But, Laozi presents various ideas in the text about the practice and its benefits.

Laying down desires

The path of cultivation laid out by Laozi involves modesty, humbleness, and surrendering. By overcoming problematic situations caused by the bondage of the selfish self, we can heal a confused heart. Laozi sternly warns of the results of endlessly expanding material desires: “There is no greater woe in our lives than not knowing our satisfaction.”3 The more desire we have for wealth, power, and sensuous pleasure, the further we pursue them. People always seem to want to be satisfied, to stay ahead of other people, and to feel happy by pursuing sensuous desires. If we do not step away from the pursuit of these worldly values, we will not be able to attain peace of mind and a sense of balance.

In constrast, Laozi finds the true value of human life in remaining simple: “People around me are very bright, but only I seem to be dull. People around me have a calculating and careful mind, but only I remain in the dark. Quietness seems like a sea, and gusts of wind seem to run wild. People around me are all useful, but only I am uncivilized and outdated. Only I, different from others, see it important to move toward the Way.”4 It seems that, compared with others who seem to be moving at a fast pace in response to changing times, Laozi might look like a fool or outcast. However, unlike people who pursue their immediate interests in daily life, his mind is focused on the Way, which is the origin of things. This state of mind is not to be gained naturally, but must be reached through the practice of meditation.

People with Laozi’s “foolish mind” can deal with everyday situations with a flexible attitude. They will not manipulate people, and will not resort to acting immorally. They will handle work naturally. Laozi expresses such a life attitude as “soft.” He insists, “When human beings are alive, they are soft, but when they are dead, they become firm. As plants grow, they are flexible, but when they are dead, they become hard. Those things that are dead are hard and strong, and those things that are living are soft and weak.”5

Though a person who is like water might be humiliated by a strong person, hardness will always eventually be subjugated by softness. “There is nothing in the world softer than water, but when water accumulates and grows bigger it can penetrate even the hardest material. Everyone knows that something feeble can win against something strong, and something soft can win against something hard, though they do not properly practice this principle.”6

Worldly people continuously consume their lives competing with other people to attain more wealthy and honorable positions. In contrast, Laozi emphasizes that we should stay humble, yield to others, and live in a low position that is not usually favored. He says, “Rivers and seas allow all streams to flow into them because they stay low. Therefore, they can become the king of the streams.”7

Laozi believes that this concept of non-competition can help remove the roots of social injustice, and open the way to accept other people’s position. A person with a water-like mind is able to restrain him or herself from fighting with other people. Laozi says, “Water benefits all things, does not pick a fight, and yet it stays where many people disdain it. It resembles the Dao.… It avoids fighting and thus, it has no transgressions.”8 Likewise, “A saint, although seated above, does not feel like a heavy burden to people, and he, although seated in the front, is not like an obstacle to people. Therefore, all people willingly honor him, but they are not bored with him. He does not fight with other people, and so he has no enemies.”9

Thus, Laozi, through his suggested methods of being flexible, keeping a low profile, and being non-competitive, intends to open the way for each of us to restore our own nature and to allow all things to realize their own nature. Through such efforts, we can aim to step away from being bound by our immediate desires and consumption, instead cultivating a yielding and modest mind that looks for a mutually beneficial situation for everyone.

Overcoming artificiality and affectation

However, while modesty and humility are desirable, our habitual, ordinary mind easily falls into temptation and vanity. We seek to resolve our life problems in a simple way rather than in a right way.

Laozi warns against “artificial doing” (youwei, or renwei), which can also be translated as “affectation.” Laozi says in this regard, “A person, with heels up, cannot stand long; and a person, with legs spread wide, walks clumsily and cannot go far. A person, if claiming his insistence, is not bright; a person, if insisting on being right, is not bright; a person, if showing off himself, loses his meritorious achievements; and a person, if boasting of himself, will not sustain his presence long.”10 A person with heels up, a person walking clumsily, and a person showing off or boasting are people who act unnaturaly. Such acts are all deemed “redundancies from the viewpoint of the Way.”11 Vanity is an unnecessary attitude one carries with them when doing a particular act. Such vanity hampers the course of a normal life, and, in worse cases, it leads to unhealthy situations. Laozi notes the diversity of affectations in our lives driven by vanity, and asks us to escape from them.

The causes of such artificiality can be explained in three ways. The lowest level of artificiality refers to the intemperate pursuit of sensuous desires. The stronger and more diverse the stimuli received from external sources through our sensory organs, the further our consciousness is pressed by and subjected to such external stimuli, and the further disabled the mechanism to look upon ourselves becomes. Laozi says, “Five colors blind people’s eyes, five sounds deafen people’s ears, and five tastes hurt people’s mouths.”12 In other words, stimuli of all kinds dull our sensory organs, making us more and more numb. Obviously, the pursuit of temporary pleasures like these does not lead to true happiness. Furthermore, sometimes, manipulation in the pursuit of pleasures leads us directly to pain.

The second level is psychological or emotional artificiality: feelings of pleasure, anger, or numbness when showing off and employing one’s skills to gain favors from others. The third and last level is manipulation through thoughts, theories, and ideologies. These three levels—sensuous desires, vanity, and ideological distortions—all lead people to manipulate others and to lose their true nature. Such loss of nature causes them to plunge into non-freedom.

To oppose and negate the manipulations of “artificial doing” (youwei), Laozi presents the concept of “non-doing” (wuwei). For Laozi, non-doing does not simply mean inaction. Non-doing is the positive action of refusing to give rise to the factors that lead to the abovementioned manipulations. The verb wu in wuwei can mean “to negate” or “to remove.” The target of such negation are mental states like dependence, falsehood, manipulation, and externalization. Human beings, if bound in these states, will become unnatural and devoid of freedom. Thus, Laozi asserts that, in order to escape from pain and move towards freedom, these need to be negated and removed.

Non-doing is thus a training to negate and remove artificiality and affectation from the mind. It can be reached only through the course of strenuous discipline, paying attention to each moment in meditation. Only when this practical meaning of Laozi’s philosophy is properly disclosed, can the healing aspect of discipline be clearly understood.

Cultivation of a serene heart

In Laozi’s text, the goal of meditation is to produce a serene heart, through which we can escape from the bondages of life and pursue ultimate freedom. Stopping our desires and our artificial thinking is not merely to sit idle or stay in a dull state, but has the purpose of making us clearly awake and allowing our life to be guided intuitively.13

This state is described by Laozi as “empty” (xu) and “serene” (jing).14 He emphasizes one must become “wholeheartedly” empty and serene. This means concentrating our heart/mind on one thing.15 If our heart/mind is confused, we cannot achieve anything, and we will be driven by external influences and only be troubled. But, if our heart/mind remains truly empty and serene, our life is undisturbed by the movement of external objects. “Although all things around me are turbulent, I can return to serenity.”16

Laozi closes with this sentence: “If we do not know steadfastness, we will become irrational and wild.”17 This is what we always experience in our routine lives. If we are continuously agitated by external objects, we experience never-ending suffering. We need to stop this situation. If we stop, we can distance ourselves from such situations, and clearly see ways to return to the origin. Then we can regain our stability and search for a steady way of life. However, most people do not properly understand the way to a steady life, and instead are consumed by external things and become ill because of their sensuous desires.

Pursuing meditation is different from the pursuit of external knowledge. Laozi says, “Acquiring knowledge requires daily accumulation; practicing Dao requires daily reduction.”18 Acquiring knowledge can be thought of today as the main pursuits of the natural sciences, social sciences, and other empirical fields. Knowledge pursued in these arenas are obtained outside oneself. On the other hand, practicing the Dao requires the person to look within. Elevating oneself is possible not by filling but by emptying, not by the external but the internal.

Through this inner awakening, we can obtain a clear and pure mind, and discover our true nature beyond our specific environment. Nonetheless, Laozi’s pursuit of mental freedom through meditation is not to suggest we neglect our daily activities. Daoist philosophy is not simply about staying in the area of theoretical exploration. Laozi writes: “Embracing light with our heart and becoming one with the dusty world,”19 we should endeavor to purify and clarify our mind so we can apply these truths in real life. Daoist philosophical approaches thus are part of a practical system of overcoming pain and healing the heart.

Notes

The Korean sim (Chinese xin)⁠ is an East Asian word connoting both mental and emotional qualities in addition to the physical heart organ. For readability, I have most often used the translation of this term as “heart,” although in certain cases, I have opted for “heart/mind” in order to make clear what I am referring to.
DDJ 56
DDJ 46.
DDJ 20.
DDJ 76.
DDJ 8.
DDJ 66.
DDJ 8.
DDJ 66.
DDL 24.
DDL 24.
DDJ 12.
Kim⁠ 2011.
DDJ 16.
The discipline method of emptying the heart to obtain serenity shown in Xunzi, jiebi, comes from Daoism.
DDJ 16.
DDJ 16.
DDJ 48.
DDJ 56.

References

DDJ: Laozi. 2007. Daode jing. Translated into Korean by Lee Gang-su. Seoul: Gil.
Kim Jeong-ho. 2011. Mentoring on mind control and meditation. Seoul: Bulkwang.

Chinese & East Asian Medicines, Global Asian Medicines

When East Meets West

January 26, 2016 Guest Post Leave a comment

This is a syndicated post that first appeared at http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/advancements-in-research/fundamentals/in-depth/when-east-meets-west

By Catherine Gara

In 1969, Chinese researcher Youyou Tu was recruited to Chairman Mao’s top-secret Project 523 to help find a new drug to treat malaria. This October, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the lifesaving drug artemisinin in extracts of Artemisia annua L., a plant known to Chinese to have medicinal properties since at least the fourth century. Her win has brought renewed attention to the dynamic relationship between Chinese and Western medicine. At Johns Hopkins, two faculty members from very different fields are exploring that relationship in their own ways: one by studying its history, the other by figuring out how one traditional Chinese medicine works.

From Plant to Pill

While Tu found inspiration in a document hundreds of years old, Jun Liu’s nudge toward Chinese medicine was more modern: a billboard. Liu, a professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences, was in China for a conference in 1993. “I walked out of my hotel, and there was this billboard advertising an extract from the thunder god vine as a novel immunosuppressant. I was already working on two immunosuppressive drugs isolated from microbes, so this piqued my interest. I went to the drugstore to buy a bottle of the extract and then read what I could find about it when I got back to my lab, then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”

a Chinese billboard advertising thunder god vine extract

The Chinese billboard that inspired Liu to study thunder god vine extract.

Liu caught a break: Another scientist had already purified the active ingredient in thunder god vine and chemically characterized it 20 years earlier. But its mode of action was still unknown, making the compound exactly the type he likes to work on.

“We work with natural compounds that have already been purified, characterized and identified as potent against cancer or some other condition,” he explains. “Then, we figure out how they exert their biological activity.”

He says that knowing a compound’s mechanism of action facilitates its development into a good drug because compounds are often toxic or unstable, or don’t get to the organ they need to. Before tweaking a compound to try to resolve those issues, it’s best to first know which protein a compound interacts with and how. “That way, you know where you can make chemical modifications without losing biological activity,” says Liu.

Tripterygium regelii, or thunder god vine
Credit: Qwert1234 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

For the compound extracted from thunder god vine, triptolide, that story is still ongoing. Most recently, Liu’s team published results showing that the compound halts cell growth by binding to the XPB protein, which is involved in manufacturing RNA and repairing damages to DNA. Derivatives of triptolide are already in use in the clinic, but Liu thinks there’s room for improvement. “Right now, we think of triptolide as the explosives you pack into a missile. It’s too toxic to be let loose,” he says. “So we’re engineering a ‘missile head’ for it, to direct it solely to cancer cells. We should know in a few years’ time if it works.” If it does, traditional Chinese medicine will have provided another successful lead for Western medicine.

More Than a Second Language

The history of Chinese medicine and its relationship with Western medicine are some of the topics of Marta Hanson’s work. Now an associate professor of the history of medicine, she first encountered Chinese medicine as a teenager in the late 1970s when she started studying Chinese in high school and took a course in acupuncture. Puzzled that her acupuncture teacher knew no Chinese, she set out to read Chinese medical texts in their original language. She now studies those original texts in their historical contexts to better understand their history on their own terms as well as interactions between Western and Chinese medicine. “To understand our present, we need to know where it came from,” she explains. “I study the history of Chinese medicine not to extract something clinically useful, but to learn how and why things change over time.”

Hanson says Western and Chinese medicine met in the early 1600s when Jesuit missionaries arrived in China and began translating Western distillation techniques and anatomy texts into Chinese. Over time, Western influence led to the formalization of Chinese medicine, arguably culminating in Chairman Mao’s creation of integrated academic and medical institutions, like the one where Tu did her Nobel work.

Artemisia annua
Credit: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 3: 526.

Hanson calls researchers like Liu and Tu “medically bilingual.” “The two systems of medicine are often mutually incommensurable, so you have to know a lot more than just an extra language to be able to blend them together in a meaningful way,” she says.

According to Liu, even the meaning of “traditional Chinese medicine” is hotly debated, but it generally involves three components: herbal concoctions, acupuncture and the concept of “chi,” or vital “energy-matter.” Some call it nonsense because they claim that it has no grounding in quantitative science and randomized clinical trials, despite decades of scientific research on various aspects of its therapies. Others, like Hanson, claim it has not only historical value but also value as a treasure house of empirical knowledge—with caveats. “Chinese medical therapies wouldn’t be in demand around the world if they did not meet the needs of patients who either culturally feel more comfortable with them or are dissatisfied with what Western medicine is able to provide,” she says.

She thinks of traditional Chinese medicine as a mirror that reflects back to modern biomedicine not its full image in reverse, but its shortcomings. And the reverse can be said about modern biomedicine as a mirror on traditional Chinese medicine’s limitations. Namely, what biomedicine is good at—evidence-based medicine, targeted treatments, modern pharmaceuticals—traditional Chinese medicine has to work on; and what traditional Chinese medicine is good at—considering the whole patient, individualized treatment, natural remedies—modern biomedicine could work on. “I think we can learn from that mirror to better understand both systems and hopefully improve them in the process,” she says.

chart comparing chinese and western medicine

Thai & SE Asian Medicines

ประวัตินวดไทย – ‘NUAD THAI’ – THAI MASSAGE HISTORY

December 21, 2015 Guest Post Leave a comment

This is a syndicated post reproduced here with the author’s permission. It first appeared at http://www.joshuajayintoh.com/3611361936323623363336053636360936233604365236073618-nuad-thai-history.html

Thai Massage is becoming more and more well known in today’s world. I will be offering some information that may very well conflict with what’s out there in the main stream. I am not a master of Thai Massage. I am just a silly ignorant man on the road, telling stories about experiences and adventures in distant lands.

Perhaps the difference, along with the chutzpa to frankly express what I am, is because I have just been lucky to meet and practice with Thai doctors from many aspects of the Thai Medical field: doctors from Wat Po to the Ministry of Public Health, ฤๅษี Reusi, Thai monks, rural ‘witch-doctors’, โยคี yogis, and people ‘in the know’ with Thai Medicine, all while using the Thai language as the medium.

My experiences are tainted and biased. At least, I am aware of that. Aren’t anybody’s? My intention here is that I’m not going to hold back information from you. This is not a place to mince words. You can decide if you want to further research in what I will be bringing up here. Such research is whole-heartedly welcome.

SAME SAME, BUT DIFFERENT

There is a lot of debate on ‘What is Thai Massage?’. What is the difference between ‘Traditional’ Thai Massage compared to Thai Massage? Here is some information covering the basic background and history to นวดไทย Nuad Thai. I believe it is an essential component to understanding Nuad Thai. Hope you enjoy!

Traditionally, Thai Bodywork views the body in terms of the 6 elemental components based on the BuddhaDharma of Lord Gautama Buddha. Thailand has been influenced by many many cultures and beliefs. Rural medicine is different than royal medicine, and even that differs from doctor to doctor. All of these are within the boundaries of what is now known as the Kingdom of Thailand. So you see how it is difficult to exactly specify in one phrase the fundamental theory and principles of this modality of medicine. However what one could say predominates Thailand and the largest partitioning body of traditional medicine in Thailand is Buddhism. And the medical system of Buddhism can be found in the Tripiṭaka, or Buddhist Canon of scriptures.

Getting back to the six elements, they are:
1. Earth
2. Water
3. Wind
4. Fire
5. Space
6. Consciousness

Each element has a function, and purpose, which is but one sixth of a greater whole. Coming for the BuddhaDharma base of śūnyatā, we will start from there, from space.
1. The experience of space is un-obstructedness and is the container/field for the four other elements to “exist” in
2. The experience of wind is movement, so all that moves has the element of wind
3. The experience of fire is heat / transformation / ripening, so all that has this experience has the element of fire; etc.
4. The experience of water is malleability / aqueousness, so all that has this experience has the element of water
5. The experience of earth is solidity, so all that is solid or cannot be passed through has the element of earth

These are the building blocks that Traditional Thai Medicine considers to compose the body. The Traditional Thai medical system utilizes a variety of techniques that uniquely treat these different elements and – should they be in imbalance – realign them into a harmonious balance. Typically a traditional doctor would employ various diagnostic tools to see how the elements either are, or are not, in balance Such diagnostic methods include:
1. Visual: quality of the patient’s eyes; the doctor would also observe the patient’s appearance, body language & structure, countenance, etc.
2. Smell / Olfactory: quality of the patient’s body odor; *old school doctors would smell the patient’s urine and excrement.
3. Taste: taste patterns – if applicable – to the patient’s palate & saliva; though not utilized as much today doctors would often taste the patient’s blood, saliva, sweat, and urine.
4. Sound: the doctor would listen to the patient and take in their condition / symptoms; they would also listen to what is the quality and quantity of the patient’s voice.
5. Touch: pulse diagnosis, and palpation of the patient.

As you may have already noticed, these diagnostic tools correlate to the Ṣaḍāyatana, the six major sense bases human beings possess. They are the sense organs and their objects: eye – sight, nose – smell, tongue – taste, ear – sound, skin – touch, mind – thoughts. A good doctor would also check the quality of the patient’s mind and spiritual practice, as this also directly and indirectly affects one’s health.

Another way of viewing the body in the Thai system is through the different layers of the body. The fives layers include:
1. Skin
2. Muscle Tissues
3. Channels – Soft Connective Tissues – เส้น ‘Sen’ in Thai
4. Bones
5. Organs

Then the Maw Nuad must decide what will be her/his course of action for the treatment. In order for her/him to do that they need to have a deep, CLEAR understanding of the theory behind Traditional Thai Medicine; e.g. Elemental Theory, Constitution, Dhātus, Levels of the Body, ‘Sen‘ / Channels, Release Points, Access Points, Wind Gates, 108 Winds, Khwan, Breath, etc. If physical therapies are indeed the best treatment for the patient’s condition, then there are a number of techniques that s/he must be proficient and confident in executing. Such techniques include: ฤๅษีดัดตน Hermit Self-Stretching (the basis on which one gives a Nuad Thai Massage), Kneading, Point-pressing, Rubbing, Stretching, Range of Motion, Squeezing, Pressing, Plucking, Pulling, Beating, Rolling, Vibration, among many others. The Maw Nuad must also what is the aim/goal of the treatment. Is it to: balance the elements, create a state of calm, re-align the body’s physical structures, treat the channels, release blockages / stagnation, awaken the channels, balance / move the wind, clean the blood / lymph, clean the tissue, treat the organs.

You may now understand why it’s not just about intuition. There is a profoundly deep well of knowledge and theory one must be very intimate with – if not master – in order to be a very proficient and qualified Maw Nuad. Yet, as is common in Buddhist Medical lineages, before even being taught the medical theory, one is first taught how to cultivate virtue and quality of character. Initially, more important than one’s willingness to learn, is their willingness to work on themselves first. Something to the extent of “be the change you want to see in the world”, yet always reflecting and clarifying the motivation, the intention, so that it is altruistic and genuine.

These techniques were passed down from medical lineages in India and Southern China, which were then migrated to Southeast Asia and integrated into the preexisting indigenous modalities to the Southeast Asian region. What is commonly know in Thailand as Nuad Thai (aka ‘Thai Massage’, ‘Thai Yoga Massage’, ‘Thai Bodywork’) is an evolution of a variety of systems that holds its own sense of identity, and stems from its own modality of Traditional Medicine.

There are Thai people who firmly state and believe that their practice of Nuad Thai goes back to the time of the Lord Gautama Buddha. The only traditional medical system, including physical therapies i.e. massage, in the region of modern Thailand that I know of and that is said to not have been broken is that of Lanna in northern Thailand. Perhaps there are others, and they may indeed trace its lineage back to the time of Lord Buddha. In reality it is a difficult thing to track, because there are not consistent records of it over the past 2,500 years.

Lineage is a sensitive subject. In the early 20th century, King Vajiravudh Rama 6 of the Chakri Dynasty officially outlawed the practice and education of traditional – non- western – medicine throughout all of Thailand. Traditional medicine in Thailand took a huge blow. This resulted in an ‘official’ break in legal, capable and experienced massage doctors. ‘Old-school’ traditionalists stated that in order to have a lineage, you need to have three things: 1. Texts, Manuscripts, Manuals – time tested and proven to work; 2. Oral Transmission – the ‘how-to’ knowledge given from teacher to student; 3. Practitioners who are efficiently and proficiently practicing. In layman’s terms, if I want to cook, perhaps I can learn from a book. But it’s not the same as cooking with someone and having them show you the process, step by step.

Due to national identity, and fear of heresy or treason, a Thai would not in their own mind want to go against royal decree. What makes national identity? Love and devotion to the following three attributes are classically considered the essential factors in defining a person as Thai: 1. ประเทศชาติ Thailand as a nation and land; Nationalism, 2. พระราชา The nation’s royal heritage; The Royal Family, 3. พระศาสนา Buddhism; Religion.

Not until the following reign of King Prajadhipok Rama 7 was traditional medicine officially allowed to be practiced again. Rama 7 reinstated แพทย์แผนโบราณ ‘Phaet Phaen Boran’ – Traditional Medicine – to the kingdom and decided to organize it further into four main categories:

1. เวชกรรม – Medical Theory & Therapeutics
2. เภสัชกรรม – Pharmacology, Herbology
3. ผดุงครรภ์ – Midwifery
4. นวดแผนโบราณ – Massage ( in 1998 A.D. this changed to นวดแผนไทย; in 2013 the Traditional Thai Medical Professions Act changed it again to นวดไทย ‘Nuad Thai’ )

Currently, these are the four major medical licenses that people aspiring to be traditional Thai doctors are able to receive and practice on the public. They are considered to be t!he four major branches that one can choose to focus on.

If the four categories listed above are the branches of the tree that constitutes Thai Medicine, is it enough to look at, or focus on, one alone? Perhaps even as separate to the others? Old world doctors greatly disagree with the view of disconnecting these s!ciences and focusing on them separately.

Here, we get to the core: Thai Massage cannot and should not be separated from Thai Medicine. Every branch needs a tree to be a branch on, as well as part of the roots which make up that tree. What then are the roots that feed and nourish this system? Traditionalists state that there are five major roots to Thai Medicine:

Medical Science: pharmaceuticals, food, plants, minerals, animals, etc.
Physical Therapies: massage, physical exercises
Astrology or Divination: assessing what time or day is most beneficial for a specific action or medicine, what measures to take if a patient has a certain disease at a certain date of the year, etc.
Sorcery Sciences: incantations, demonology, blessings, etc.
BuddhaDharma: the teachings and practice for full-realization and the resulting liberation from Saṃsāra

A mentor of mine and I were discussing the five roots and he further described their importance:

“These fives roots make up the whole body and thus tree of Thai Medicine. You cannot say that you choose to focus on one or the other. You have to have knowledge of them all, as it is innately ingrained in the system of medicine itself. For example, even if you just focus on massage, you have to know about herbal compresses, which involves herbology. Also, if you use mantras or incantations, you thus have to know about the sorcery sciences.

If you want to learn the proper way, you have to learn all five roots. You limit yourself if you do not learn the system as a whole. With a good teacher, sometimes people learn them without even realizing they are learning them. The four branches are made up and standardized by licensure boards, so that people can have different licenses. But, for example, even a midwife needs to know about all five roots in order to practice fully and properly.

The reason they are called roots is because the whole tree comes from the roots, so you can’t say that in Thai Medicine you can choose one of the roots to focus on. As for the branches, that’s a different story. Then you can say that you’re going to specialize in one thing, but you still have the roots as the basis.”

COMMON THREADS

Though there are widening variations currently expanding throughout Thailand on definitions of “What is Nuad Thai?”, there are some common threads. These elements are seen throughout the assorted schools and branches we currently see in Thai Massage – both in the west and also the east – and thus are noteworthy to chew over here.

First, homage and respect to the figure considered the “Father Doctor” and Official Head of Thai Medicine: Dr. Jīvaka KumarBhacca. There is much more information on Dr. Jīvaka on another part of this site so please feel free to visit there for more info on this amazing and incredible figure in the Buddhist Medical Lineage.

Second, mettā. The practice of ‘loving-kindness’ from the doctor to the patient. The daily cultivation, practice, and application of this powerful virtue and personality characteristic is essential to the foundation of a ‘Maw Nuad‘, Doctor of Nuad Thai. However it is just one fourth of a greater whole. The whole is called the Brahmaviharas, and should be viewed as one entity to be practiced and never forgotten.

Third, เส้น sen. No matter the pathways and how each doctor may view them slightly differently or converse over how they move throughout the body, nevertheless there is discussion and teachings regarding them and their existence. More information is given about the subject of ‘sen‘ on another section of this site. Please visit there for more info.

And from here, lets start considering various ways we can look at and categorize Nuad Thai!

CATEGORIZING NUAD THAI

Let’s talk about the ‘Massage’ branch of Thai Medicine. There are a few ways one could break down Thai Massage for explaining it to those who are not familiar with it. This is one way. To make clear distinctions within this sub-category, we can separate the branch of Nuad Thai into two parts or limbs. These are two paths that a Maw Nuad can apply Thai Medical Theory to a treatment with a patient:

1. นวดรักษา – ‘Nuad Raksaa’ – Therapy, Medical Massage; also sometimes referred to as นวดบําบัด ‘Nuat Bambat’ and นวดแก้อาการ ‘Nuat Gae Ahgaan’
2. นวดคล้ายเส้น – ‘Nuad Klaai Sen’ – Relaxation Massage

MASSAGE FOR RELAXATION

Relaxation Massage is akin to a typical spa-style treatment for the whole body. It is the most common style of massage offered in parlors and spas around the world, often dubbed “Thai Yoga Massage”. I believe this style serves a great purpose, though it is more general and surface oriented. It is a great entry way for people getting started with the practice. In Thailand, massage is considered preventative care; one reason why it is so wide-spread and common. The effects are immediate, tangible, and lasting.

General relaxation style focuses more on the body as a whole rather than spending more time on a specific area. Though, should someone have a part of their body that they are nurturing this style can also be a good option, as that area would become a focal point of the session while still considering the body as a whole. This style is ideal for those new to Thai Bodywork.

THAI MEDICAL MASSAGE THERAPY

The therapeutic style is ideal for those more comfortable and experienced with Thai Massage, as well as deeper bodywork. It focuses on specific areas of the body that one is nurturing or having trouble with. This style is typically deeper and doesn’t hold any ‘fluffiness’. Each doctor approaches how they execute this style of Thai Bodywork in their own way, according to their lineage, tradition, and view. It is not always ‘comfortable’, though to the effect of it being therapeutic and beneficial.

Medical Thai Massage incorporates a variety of physical therapy techniques to treat specific ailments. Some of the common techniques include:

1. Acupressure – นวดกดจุด ‘Nuat Goht Joot’
2. ‘Sen’ Vein / Artery and Meridian Realignment – นวดจับเส้น ‘Nuat Jap Sen’, or นวดเขี่ยเส้น ‘Nuat “Clear” Sen’
3. ‘Sen’ Tapping – ตอกเส้น ‘Dtok Sen’
4. Bone-Setting – จัดกระดุก ‘Jad Gra-duk’
5. Cupping – นวดป้อง ‘Nuat Bpong’
6. Bleeding (Needle / Knife; Systemic / Local)
7. Compresses (Cold, Hot, Dry, Wet)
8. Saunas (Dry, Wet)

Then there are the more obscure external therapies:

1. Scrapping (Gua-sa)
2. Burning (with or without herbs)
3. Liniments / Balms (Heating, Cooling, Neutral)
4. Poultice (Dry, Wet)
5. Yam Kahng – “Stepping on Hot Iron”
6. Chet Haek เช็ดแหก – “Whipe & Scrape”
7. Jawp Khai – “Rubbing Egg”
8. Bpao เป่า – “Blowing”

Here is a picture comparison to some of the various Nuad Raksaa treatments commonly seen in Thailand:

‘DTOK SEN’

‘NUAT JAP SEN’

‘NUAT GOHT JOOT’

‘NUAT BPONG’

‘JAD GRA-DUK’

As you can imagine, the Nuad Raksaa style of massage takes much more study and comprehensive training. The therapist needs to have a theoretical grasp and hands-on experience of many topics such as the body’s many systems, kinetics, anatomy, structural alignment, massage technique, diagnostic tool-set, and what treatments appropriately match the diagnosis for that individual person. Moreover, they have to be able to treat all the five layers of the body: Skin, Muscle Tissue, Channels / Soft Connective Tissue, Bones, Organs.

Through searching the internet, there is a lot of – honestly – outright crazy information out there on Thai Massage and the practice thereof. Luckily there is also some good information out there, pioneered by some of the most knowledgable professionals and scholars in the field. There are two – so far – that I am going to direct you towards. One, was created by a friend, adamant aficionado and scholar of Buddhist Medicine, and a very skilled teacher: Dr. Pierce Salguero. He has written many book on the Thai Medical tradition and is the scholarly pioneer of bringing Buddhist-based Medical awareness and knowledge to the world. His site is named ‘Thai Medical Zone‘. The other site seems to be affiliated with the Thai Government. I’m actually pretty impressed by this ‘seemingly’ Thai-based article/website on Thai Massage. Check both out as a cross-reference and to get your nerdy-pants on for some detailed info on Thai Massage history.

THAI MEDICINE ZONE

THAI HERITAGE

RURAL VS ROYAL NUAD THAI

This is another way to break down Thai Massage. Most westerners would not be aware they even had the following choice. And likely they would not even be given it. To keep it simple, and to make clear distinctions within this sub-category, we can separate the branch of Nuad Thai into two parts or limbs:
1. ราชสำนัก Royal Thai Massage
2. ชาวบ้าน Country / Rural Massage

ROYAL STYLE

It should be said that there are influences and similarities that interweave between the two styles. Both are Thai Massage in the end, and so the question is then, “what’s the difference?”

Actually, there is a big difference. Royal Thai massage was made to cater to royalty. It will only use thumbing and palming. Unless specified the feet would be touched last, or not at all. Why? The feet are considered the lowest and dirtiest part of the body. If the masseur touched the feet first, they would be spreading that ‘dirtiness’ to the rest of the body. At all times throughout a Royal Thai Massage treatment, the masseur must remain one arms-length away from the receiver. That sounds ridiculous, yeah? Well, this is Thailand. This branch was designed for the royal family and court to be able to receive massage while still in line with the custom. The custom of worshipping the royal family and court as more than people, as demigods.

By the way, one of the panel tests a Royal Thai masseur has to pass in order to qualify is to be able to sit in half lotus and lift themselves off the floor using only their fingertips for a minimum of one minute.

painting by Jean-Leon Gerome. Royal Court with Royal Asian Visitors

In Thailand, there are still remnants of a caste-like system. Even today, when people first meet one another, common questions include “How much do you earn?” and “How old are you?” We may consider this rude at first, but for Thais it is a way for them to gage what word choice and level of politeness they will use with you to begin with. They are categorizing and positioning you into a social class for their social interaction and relationship with you.

Physical contact in public has been somewhat shunned over the centuries in Thai culture. The royal court was just as subject to sickness, disease, and death as the rest. Thai custom practiced that when royalty was to be treated or physically contacted, then there was to be a protocol. The treatment would generally start at a point just below where the tibialis anterior muscle attaches to the knee, on the muscle itself, and lateral of the tibial tuberosity. No touching of the head, unless absolutely necessary, as the head is considered the highest and most sacred part of the body. No one of a lower social class would dare touch the head of someone “above” them. Also, the receiver would never assume the ‘prone’ position – facedown – as this would considered inappropriate and render them too “prone”.

I have my own personal issues with this protocol, but it is a Thai custom, so that it that. However, I will not deny my feelings of the สมน้ำหน้า – “Serves you right!” – effect to this custom. Many times, members of the royal court would not be able to receive the fullest effects from the massage. They either could not be treated or would not recover from their minor ailments because the royal protocol would get in the way and limit the masseur’s ability to fully treat them.

COUNTRY STYLE

The Country, or Villager, style of Thai Massage is considerably the most encompassing, therapeutic and beneficial style. It not only incorporates thumbing and palming but also elbows, forearms, butt, knees, and feet. Pretty much all appropriate parts of the body. The receiver can be in any position that is needed without too much worry about protocol though respect is always present. This branch is much more sabai sabai (relaxed). Country style has been around the longest, is the most widely utilized, and is where the most advancement in technique and therapeutics has come about.

Personally, it is my favorite style. Not only is it functional and therapy-driven, it has a more fun and open atmosphere. I have received some of the biggest healing sessions while receiving this branch of massage.

A CONFLICT REGULARLY DEBATED

The very word ‘traditional’ necessitates the existence and importance of a lineage. A lineage that has been successfully tested over time and has proven its practices to be viable, providing beneficial results. A practice that the ancients have compassionately passed down through the generations.

If we are going to study traditional Thai massage, we need to understand the word “tradition”. Here are some definitions:

the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.
1. The transmission or passing down of elements of a culture -customs, beliefs, or skills- from generation to generation, especially by oral communication.
2.a. A mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage.
2.b. A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present: followed family tradition in dress and manners.
3. A time-honored practice or set of such practices.

As I was taught and have stated above, in order to have a lineage – or tradition – you need to have three things:
1. Texts, Manuscripts, Manuals – time tested and proven to work
2. Oral Transmission – the ‘how-to’ knowledge given from teacher to student
3. Practitioners who are efficiently and proficiently practicingThe hard line to take is that most of the westerners teaching Thai Massage, do not speak Thai. Many have indeed studied with great Thai practitioners. But most, maybe 90% if not more, have not studied it using the native ‘traditional’ language – Thai – with multiple Thai masters. They have not learned the language to a degree where they can read the old manuscripts and texts and then study them under authentic masters, in Thai. On a very mundane and basic level, nor have these ‘western masters’ become legal practitioners of Thai Massage in accordance to Thai Law and standards set by the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand.And here’s the sad part: many of Thai people – whom many westerners go to Thailand and deem them ‘Masters’ – are not as in-depth and well-practiced as they can be either. Don’t quote me out of context. There are many true and amazing masters of Thai Massage in Thailand. Whom I am referring to are the commercial mainstreamers. They can be good, and many are trained in the system or possibly rebellious like Pichest Boonthume. The unfortunate point is that many of the old masters who have taught the farang – Thai word referring to a white european westerner and also a ‘guava’ fruit; the word comes from the Thai pronunciation of français – world, have past on. “Holy sh*t Josh! That’s a bold statment!” Yes, it is. Does that mean that the currently popular teachers are not good practitioners of bodywork? No, not at all. Do true masters of Thai Massage, in the old school way, still exist in Thailand? Yes, they do. There is the very paradox, though. What is Thai Massage?

Currently there are personalized popularized hybrids of Thai Massage mixed with something else. Examples of this include OsteoThai, Sunshine Network system (from founder Harald ‘Asonkananda’ Brust), Lotus Palm (Kam Thye Chow), Thai Circus, etc. These are blends of Thai Massage with other things. They are not traditional Thai massage. Does that make them evil? No. But they are neither ‘Traditional’ nor fully ‘Thai Massage’. Just because they are the most famous and prevalent forms taught and practiced in the western world doesn’t make them authentic. Try Thai food in the west, then try it in Thailand. But then again, how can there be authenticity when there is a broken lineage? Exactly, there can’t be. So what’s the standard?

The twist is that even some great Thai-national practitioners of massage have told me that it is important to study different methods and then combine them together with skill, safety, and wisdom. This speaks to the Thai-way and style. They are blenders. As we stated above, Thai massage itself has been heavily influenced by Indian Medical Science -that which predates modern Ayurveda – as well as the medical systems of the Khmer, Mon, Indigenous, and southern Chinese cultures. How do we know this? History. Plus, look to the royal courts when “Thai Medicine” was being codified by Rama 1 – Rama 5 of the Chakri dynasty (the current dynasty). There were doctors of Indian medicine, Chinese medicine, and European medicine in the royal court. These doctors influenced what went in the codification and what did not. There is heavy influence of these modalities in the codified Royal branch of Thai massage. We need to know this when taking “tradition” into consideration.

What is the standard of a good Thai Therapist or Thai Massage teacher? If someone is going to dare to call themselves a Thai Massage Therapist and claims to be qualified to teach others on how to be one as well, then “how can I tell they are the ‘genuine article'”? A ‘standard’ gaging device to dictate efficient training and competency in Thai Massage could be that they are a student of the Thai language, practice BuddhaDharma, meditate, continually cultivate the Brahmaviharas, steer clear of the 8 World Dharmas, and have both received initiation and studied under proficient qualified teachers (preferably in Thai) for great lengths of time. Using the Buddhist Suttas as guidelines for the ethical behavior of a traditional Buddhist doctor – including Maw Nuad – is probably the most surefire way to go in my view. A great place to start is on this article written by Lily de Silva. I recently found a ‘Buddhist Doctor’s Oath’ called the Vejjavatapada, that was recently composed by the monk Shravasti Dhammika. It is something to check out and see if one is in line with. In Thailand, you can obtain a license to practice massage at The Ministry of Public Health’s massage program – which currently has the best curriculum in Thailand for Thais – and that is only available through the Thai language, and take around 2 years.

This page should be taken with some salt; fish sauce, rather. Don’t believe me. And at the same time, know that this isn’t just coming from nowhere. For learning more about the ins-and-outs of Thai massage from a theoretical point of view, and for practical application, then just go follow your noble heart to finding a good teacher and start massaging. Please don’t let this information cause inertia within you and your path. I hope that it inspires a newfound understanding to make better and clearer decisions based on relevant and beneficial information.

Thai & SE Asian Medicines

A Tribute to Mama Nit Chaimongkol

September 21, 2015 Guest Post Leave a comment

Guest post by Anne Golla

Thailand has lost one of the legends of Northern Thai massage. “Mama Nit” Chaimongkol passed away August 24 at the age of 83. She suffered a stroke a few months ago which left her in the hospital.

Mama Nit loved teaching her art. Even after she stopped holding regular classes due to age and weakening health, she continued to welcome visitors and sometimes even give impromptu classes in her home in Nong Hoy. Over the last two years, a group of people had been going out to pay respect and visit her regularly, including many from Russia who studied with one of her students in Moscow. She would usually be sitting in her chair by the porch, a tiny woman with her hair cropped in a short pixie cut. Her face would light up when visitors came. She insisted that we call her yaay – grandmother. Her friend and caregiver, Pa Noi, was usually with her, and would offer food or tea. Mama Nit’s hands were always moving, seeking out the arms of guests to instinctively start massaging them. Her hands were surprisingly small and delicate – birdlike is an apt description – for someone with a reputation for doing very strong jap sen thumb work. They remained strong and carried a surprising energy. As her sight and hearing became weaker, her hands became her main way for “seeing.” When she started working, she would take off her glasses and a peaceful expression would settle on her face. Pa Noi said that Mama Nit even massaged her doctor when she went to the hospital for her dialysis treatments.

Nit Chaimongkol, known as Mama Nit, was born around 1932 in Sukhotai. She had an early interest in traditional healing. As a girl, her grandfather would ask her to walk on his back and massage his arms. No one taught her what to do, she just did what she thought would be good and discovered she had a feel for it. She said this intuitive approach is the basis of her technique. The grandfather was a traditional Chinese doctor and acupuncturist and sometimes would direct her to press specific points to help him. Thus, although she never formally studied acupuncture, she learned the traditional Chinese meridians and pressure points, which later became an element in her training in addition to the Thai sen lines. Her mother was a traditional midwife, and Mama Nit remembered accompanying her as she made her visits.

When Nit was young, it wasn’t considered appropriate for a young woman to enter massage as a profession, as it might put her in contact with bad energy or bad intentions from male clients. Only older women could respectably do massage outside the family. Nit pursued formal training in Thai Massage in Bangkok at Wat Chettuwan Temple and at Wat Po in Bangkok, and at the Northern Region Herbal Institute. However, her husband didn’t want her to do massage professionally. Because of that, she made food at home and sold it at Suan Dok hospital. Pa Noi insists she was the best cook of traditional Thai sweets in town. She still did some bodywork with women; giving herbal compress treatments to women after birth. Traditionally, women in Thailand entered yoo fai, a period of rest after childbirth during which they lay on a bamboo bed with a pan of coals underneath to produce heat, and also pots of boiling water with healing herbs such as lemongrass, phai, and turmeric so that the steam would rise and warm the woman’s body. She used the compresses as part of this healing process.

When Nit was in her late 30’s or early 40’s, her husband passed away. She was left with six children to care for on her own. It was then that she decided to focus on massage. She did both general Thai massage, which is intended to relax the entire body, as well as jap sen, or plucking the sen, which was focused on specific areas of injury and intended to drive pain out of the body. She uses her whole hand when she does jap sen, plucking the sen lines with the thumb while pressing in with the fingers. She became known for very energetic, strong work which used the entire body, working along the energy lines and working the wind gates. She also did strong visceral work. Male students from the old days recall that she also did karzai (genital massage) which are remembered as “intense.” Nit taught both traditional Thai massage and jap sen work as well as acupressure points. She has a fluid approach that emphasizes good sensation and energy, and very precise palpation of tendons and muscles.

Mama Nit used both Chinese and Thai herbs for healing. Herbs are good for the stomach, and also help the muscles relax. Once when she showed me an herbal remedy for inflamed skin consisting of pink chalk and turmeric root, she recalled how when she was a girl this kind of medicine was the only kind people had – there were no “Western” doctors. People had to know how to help themselves with what they could find in nature. She always kept a bag of dried aromatic herbs at hand, including lemongrass, phai, turmeric root (khameen), and camphor. The herbs can be boiled in water and the steam inhaled. She took a variety of Chinese herbs for her own care. She would often invite visitor to sample her stock, tapping a bit of the powder into their palm and gesturing to eat it. This was usually accompanied by a lively commentary on which preparations were most tasty and which smelled good or bad. Pa Noi would prepare a dark blackish paste into hot water to make a strong invigorating drink, tasting of turmeric, dried chili, and camphor.

Shortly before her stroke, we asked Mama Nit how she had been able to do Thai massage for so long. She said it was important to have good technique and good body positioning, so that the therapists isn’t putting strain on her own body. The movement should always be easy and not held for too long to keep the energy from getting stuck. One shouldn’t work with muscular tension or a lot of effort – more than once when I came in she told me “Relax your shoulders! You won’t last 30 minutes like that!” To protect from energy from clients, she recommended washing the hands in water after a massage. She also felt respect for the teachers was important to protect against bad energy – in addition to Shivago Kormarpaj or Maw Shivo as he known, she also honored Pha Si Suriyothai (Somdet Phra Sri Suriyothai), a historic queen of Ayutthaya who died defending her husband the King in battle against the Burmese in 1548. Nit’s image of Pha Si Suriyothai Thai showed a beautiful woman in historic garb brandishing a sword and standing in front of an elephant.

In the last two years, a small group, mostly Russians, had been regularly visiting and checking in on Mama Nit when they were in Chiang Mai. Most had never studied with her; some had earlier studied with one of her students. This group kept in touch via Facebook about how she was doing for those out of the country, when someone left they tried to find someone else to go out. After she was in the hospital, some people continued to visit her almost daily when they were able. Visiting Mama Nit was an opportunity for us to learn from her energy and presence, to practice metta, and to pay respect and give back to teachers. Last year, a fund drive was organized to help her with some of her medical and living costs, as she no longer had income from teaching. She was very touched by this effort and that her students and even non-students from all over the world remembered her and wanted to help her, and enjoyed looking at the photos and messages people sent. She kept saying, “a little bit from a lot of people” – she didn’t want to be a burden and it made her happy that the money came not from one person, but from a collaborative effort of many. Many thanks to all who helped her with their visits, with contributions, with good intentions.

To help preserve Mama Nit’s legacy, with the permission of her daughter, her student manuals and some other materials have been given to Dr. Rungrat of Mungkala Clinic in Chiang Mai to preserve. A small booklet of photos from her teaching and students will also be left with Dr. Rungrat.

Biographical Note: Anne Golla, when not in Chiang Mai, is based in Washington, D.C. Many of the details of Mama Nit’s life are from a conversation with Mama Nit in spring 2015, with Tick Jitkuekul, a graduate student at CMU, helping with translation. The article also draws on visits with Mama Nit in summer/fall 2014 and spring 2015 and notes from previous students.

Thai & SE Asian Medicines

The Traditional Medicine of North Thailand

February 20, 2015 Guest Post Leave a comment

Syndicated from: http://innerjourneys.com.au/north-thailand-hilltribe-healers-tour/north-thailand-traditional-medicines

North Thailand Traditional Medicine is a living tradition with its roots stretching back many hundreds of years.

Its tradition is oral, with training passed from traditional healer to student-healer with no formal institutionalised training. The current Traditional medicine base is mainly rural and within the smaller villages that make up larger centres such as Greater Chiang Mai.

It is different from the more formalised Thai Traditional Medicine which is centred on Wat Po in Bangkok and which has, in more recent years, attracted new students and certainly has the larger share of any “official support”.

Paralleling the North Thai Traditional Medicine are the Traditional Healers from the Hilltribes. They are comprised of different tribal groups who have migrated to Thailand over the past few hundred years. The traditional medicine traditions of the Lisu, Lahu, Hmong, Karen and Akha Hilltribes are also oral. Whilst each Hilltribe has their own traditional medicine they all share some commonality with each other and the Lanna Thai of North Thailand.

Traditional Medicine Specialities

Mor Muang is the general term for “local doctor” and encompasses different traditional medicine specialities including Mor Ya (Herbalist), Mor Pao (Bone Blower), Mor Suang (Spiritual Healer). A predominantly male tradition outsiders have to be accepted by a “master” and then pass an initiation ceremony before being accepted into that specific traditional medicine discipline. Although an individual may be multi skilled most individual healers focus on one particular speciality.

The Mor Ya (herbalist) covers the whole disease spectrum and formulates scripts based upon herbs and other natural substances as a part of their traditional medicine.

The Mor Pao (Bone Blower) specialises in wounds or broken bones. He often manipulates the bones and applies splints or poultices to the area around the fracture or wound and applies, by blowing, incantations to the affected area.

The Mor Suang (Spiritual Healer) performs a series of ceremonies and incantations through calling on the spiritual essence of the client and connects with his spirit guides for assistance. Sometimes the healer may include specific referral to another traditional healer speciality and/or specific actions in order to alleviate the underlying cause of the ailment.

Other traditional Lanna Thai traditional medicine practitioners include:

Mor Nuad (Massage) whilst massage is an integral part of Thai traditional medicine home remedies, most often within the family, there are masseurs who have specialist styles and treatments. Both male and female can be Mor Nuad.

Mor Tam Yae (Midwives) are predominantly female and specialise in childbirth. The training is passed down through the family. In areas easily within the reach of western medicine this traditional medicine is rapidly disappearing.

Mor Cao Baan (Astrologers) are part of a mainly female healer tradition. They divine the causation of a particular ailment and may apply specific “rubbing” ceremonies to effect a cure or refer the client to another traditional medicine specialist once the cause has been divined.

Although the names for the specialists may vary The North Thai Hilltribes also feature many specialists similar to the Lanna Thai and in addition there is a central role amongst many of the Hilltribes for the village Shaman (Mor Pi) and Soul Retriever (Mor Kwan).

The Mor Pi (Shaman) is the village connection with the spirit world where ancestors and spirits dwell. They are predominantly chosen by the spirits themselves through some near death experience or divination by a group of village elders. Mostly they use trance in order to connect with their guiding ancestor spirits and the treatment is effected in the spirit world and/or specific ceremonies are recommended to the client.

Whilst similar to the Mor Pi the Mor Kwan (soul retriever), rescues the spirit of the client when it has been “stolen away” by a vengeful spirit causing an illness. Very specific curative rights and ceremonies are performed sometimes involving the whole family or village.

Concepts of Traditional Medicine Causality

The Traditional Healers have no tradition of surgery and therefore their concepts of causality of disease differ strongly from those in the western medical tradition. Wind and blood are two strong causative factors and are often closely connected.

The wind (lom) surrounds us all and is easily affected. There may be too much wind or too little and it may turn poisonous. Diseases that cause fainting, uncontrolled movement and heart pain are indicative of too much wind and are by far the most common. Certain foods and outside odours are said to be the cause of too much wind. Too little wind affects the mobility of limbs and is characterised by paralysis.

Blood (lyad) is recognised as the basic fluid of the body but as the healers have no tradition of surgery, the circulatory system is not well understood in a western sense. It may be normal, hot, cold, too much or too little and can be said to be the cause of many wind diseases.

Many diseases are affected by poison (Pid). This could be the direct poisoning from a venomous bite or ingestion of bad food but also the less tangible aspect of “poison spirits”. This poison also has an affect on the blood and wind. Treatments are concentrated on isolating the poison, restricting its spread, and on herbal treatments for expelling it from the system. This may also involve a very prescribed diet. Diet restrictions are very integral to the whole curative process.

Hot and Cold, the two opposites are important in classification of illness as well as the types of cures to apply. The client’s perceptions of heat and cold are an important diagnostic tool for the healers. A fever for example may turn out to be hot, cold or neither and the healer proceeds with treatments indicated by these symptoms. The general rule is hot diseases are treated with cold medicines and visa versa.

The opposites of left and right, male and female are also important in diagnosis as well as the presence of “mother”. The “mother” is a physical entity that enters the body and must be located and “killed” before a cure could be affected. Most important is withholding the food that supports her and once again diet becomes very important.

Causality can be summarised as: Trauma, Ingestion of materials alien to the body, Exterior contact with materials alien to the body, Bad food or food inappropriate to the client’s body, Noxious odours or fumes, Insect and animal bites, Intestinal worms, Diseases caused by spirits, Psychological factors, Black magic, Climate, Seasons, Age of client, Karma.

In North Thai Traditional Medicine the knowledge of disease has grown out of experience and the knowledge used in their diagnosis and treatment is mainly from a symptomatic base.

The Future

Traditional medicine was, in fact, outlawed as unscientific with the advent of western medicine in Thailand a century ago. As a result, the ancient knowledge was cast aside because practitioners were afraid of being arrested as charlatans. It was only recently that the ban was lifted and what had continued underground came slowly out into the open.

The tradition of knowledge is passed on by word of mouth with no centralised teaching. Herbal remedies are closely held secrets, even to the fact that when recipes are written down some of the most potent ingredients might be deliberately left out. Students learned from one “master”, usually in a narrow degree of specialty, and then widened their studies by working with more “masters” as time went on and circumstances allowed.

Will North Thai Traditional Medicine survive? In some middle class and more educated circles traditional medicine has become “trendy” and has received some support whilst in most Government Circles the support is ambivalent at best. Some see traditional medicine as a way of extending medical coverage without the cost or investment whilst in some areas traditional clinics are growing up along side the western medical centres.

From the client’s point of view, more is better. More choice! The trend points towards clients seeking treatment along the lines of first visiting a pharmacy, second a western style medical clinic and third a traditional healer. Anecdotal evidence shows clients using all forms of medical help simultaneously

In the words of one healer, Phra Khru Uppakara Pattanakij, abbot of Nong Yah Nang Temple: “We want to offer ordinary people more choices in health care. And we can do this by respecting the wisdom of our ancestors and keeping it alive by practising it.”

Although struggling, North Thai Traditional Medicine has every chance of survival and strengthening. A great influence on its success will be the healers and whether they can change some of their traditional secretive practices in order to create a centralised healing knowledge base and training program. We, in the west, have gone through a similar process in our past and now alternative healing and traditional medicine is gaining popularity each year. There is every reason to hope for a similar response in North Thailand. http://www.innerjourneys.com.au/information/Healers.htm

For full information on how you can visit and learn from the healers of the healing and culture click on the following link: Visit The North Thai Traditional Healers