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Thai & SE Asian Medicines

Magic or Medicine? Malay Healing Practices

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Is traditional Malay medicine based on superstition and folklore or grounded in scientific evidence? Nadirah Norruddin uncovers the varying perceptions of Malay medicine in colonial Malaya.

This post first appeared on BiblioAsia. It is syndicated here with permission.

Malay ubat-ubatan (medicine) and healing – which spans many centuries and has been passed down through generations either orally or in written form – is a complex and holistic practice.

Traditional Malay medicine incorporates principles and practices of pharmacology that are highly dependent on indigenous flora and fauna found in the wild.1 Age-old literature and manuscripts – although scarce in number – document the ways in which plants, animals and minerals2 native to the Malay Archipelago have been part and parcel of its healing practices. At the heart of Malay ubat-ubatanis the amalgamation of complex Islamic and Hindu beliefs and practices presided over by traditional or faith healers.

Colonial scholars and administrators in 20th-century Malaya were invariably conflicted in their perceptions of traditional Malay medicine. Local sources and interpretations were frequently overlooked, and this has in turn affected the way in which traditional Malay medicine has been studied and understood for decades. Some defined ubat-ubatan as remedies administered according to the principles of chemistry and scientific evidence, while others dismissed such healing practices as belonging to the realm of magic and the supernatural. For the most part, the British regarded traditional Malay medicine with suspicion and antithetic to its Western counterpart.

As a result, the practice and form of traditional Malay medicine underwent dramatic changes under colonial rule. Legislations, for instance – shaped by altruism or bigotry, but more likely a combination of the two – were introduced by the British to stamp out traditional Malay healing practices and regulate village healers.

The Spread of Islam and Malay Medicine

The adoption of Islam in the Malay Archipelago from the 13th century onwards not only introduced a new religious doctrine to the region, but also fostered a pan-Islamic identity and defined new parameters for the spiritual, social and economic way of life of its inhabitants. Gradually, Islam became syncretised with the prevailing belief systems of the Malay world.

Western scholars of the time held the view that the Malay community adopted a hybridised form of Islam. In his address before the Straits Philosophical Society in 1896, English orientalist and linguist Charles O. Blagden postulated that Malays were “only superficially Muhammadan” as their folk rituals were “unorthodox” and “pagan” in relation to the basic tenets of Islam.3 Such an assertion, however, simplifies the complex understanding and expressions of a dynamic and multifaceted faith.

Medicine in Islam is characterised by a history of enquiry, innovation and adaptation. This is reflected in the ease in which indigenous healers adopted and adapted Islamic symbolism in their practices. In the Malay Peninsula, ceremonies overseen by the pawang (or shaman) include Quranic incantations and prayers addressed solely to God, even though most other aspects of the rituals are Hindu-Buddhist or pre-Indic in character.

Although the origins are unclear, the Malay method of healing is mainly administered by the traditional medicine man or bomoh (see text box), who derives his knowledge from either ilmu turun (inherited knowledge) or ilmu tuntut (apprenticeship) and, in some instances, complemented by the Kitab Tibb (The Book of Medicine).

There are numerous versions of Kitab Tibb manuscripts found in the Malay Archipelago. Mostly written between 1786 and 1883, these broadly outline three main types of healing practices: those using natural resources such as plants and herbs; those relying on wafaq (written symbols or amulets); and healing practices using Quranic verses, supplications and salawat (blessings to the Prophet). All these techniques can be used simultaneously or separately.4

The earliest edition of the Kitab Tibb was written on 12 wooden sheets, and prescribed medications based on plants, herbs and spices commonly found in the region. The manuscript also includes a list of dietary restrictions and a variety of taboos (pantang larang) the afflicted should observe.5 By the 19th century, surviving copies of the Kitab Tibb in the Malay Peninsula were known to contain detailed observations by the bomoh, including visual representations of disease symptoms as well as the appropriate incantations.

Types of Healing

Traditional Malay healing offers a holistic, multifaceted and ecological solution to a multitude of illnesses and ailments. It comprises aspects of the spiritual, such as magic, shamanism and the supernatural, and the empirical, such as dietetics and herbalism, which can be scientifically explained.

Although Islam may have encouraged the use and incorporation of nature in traditional Malay medicine, natural remedies were already widely used in local healing practices and rituals prior to the arrival of Islam in the Malay world. For example, common plants, herbs and spices like bonglai (Zinggibar cassumunar) had been used to treat migraine, cough and gastrointestinal problems for centuries.

As observed by British physician John D. Gimlette in his book, Malay Poisons and Charm Cures (1915),6  bomohs used rattan splints for simple fractures and wood ash as an antiseptic dressing. When a baby was delivered by a bidan or midwife, the umbilical cord is cut with a bamboo stem and the stump dusted with wood ash or a paste made of pepper, ginger and turmeric.

Islamic medical science introduced new concepts to the pre-existing knowledge of the human body and the environment. The seeds of Islamic medicine and healing can be traced back to the Quran, the underlying philosophy of using flora and fauna in natural remedies grounded in the belief in Allah as the Creator of Nature. As such, tapping on the healing properties of the earth has been a long-standing aspect of the Islamic medical tradition. One of the verses from Surah An-nahl (16:69) of the Quran reads thus:

“Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Lord laid down [for you]. There emerges from their (bees) bellies a drink, varying in colours, in which there is healing for people. Indeed, in that there is a sign for people who give thought.”

Ancient medical texts in the Malay world did not have specific titles but were generally referred to as Kitab Tibb and primarily consisted of translations from Persian and Indian sources. Different manuscripts prescribed different courses of treatment even for the same ailments. Interestingly, the vast array of natural sources described in these manuscripts are likely still in use today in the Malay Peninsula, either as supplements or natural remedies.

The Andalusian botanist and pharmacist Ibn al-Baytar’s pharmacopeia, titled Compendium of Simple Medicaments and Foods and published in the 13th century, is still a widely consulted text in the world of Malay healing today. It lists 1,400 plants, foods and drugs, and their uses, organised alphabetically by the name of the plant or plant component.

Apart from their knowledge of humoural theory (see text box) and botany, traditional Malay healers also offered spiritual healing to cure the sick. The belief is that animate and inanimate objects, including the physical body, possess semangat (a vital force or soul). The loss of semangat can be detrimental to one’s physical and mental well-being.

A healer is purportedly able to manipulate and revive the semangat of the sick – particularly those suffering from mental and spiritual ailments. To treat patients who might have been “disturbed” by unseen forces, healers invoke supernatural entities through jampi (incantations), spells and elaborate rituals. Such ceremonies may sometimes take the form of a public event, witnessed by the entire village and accompanied by loud music. The public nature of such rituals was often derided by colonial administrators and scholars, who saw these practices as primitive and irrational or, as Gimlette puts it, “circumvent[ing] Muhammadan tenets”.7

The Cultural and Scientific Divide

There is a paucity of comprehensive written records of traditional Malay healing as much of it have not survived the ravages of time. Whatever extant Malay manuscripts – mostly inherited and passed down orally from one generation to the next (ilmu turun) or by way of apprenticeship (ilmu tuntut) – along with books and documents authored by colonial scholars, provide the only window into the ancient practices and beliefs of the Malay world.

In striving to achieve a balance of the body, mind, health and spirit, traditional Malay medicine does not differ much from Ayurvedic, Chinese and Hippocratic traditions that emphasise the same – especially with regard to humoural theory. Colonial writings, however, have tended to focus on Malay folk religion and animism, centering their writing around the use of amulets, incantations, charms and sorcery by the community.

The late 19th to early 20th centuries saw a significant output in research by colonial scholars who studied Malay belief systems and healing practices. The body of ideas and literature generated by these early observers were often biased, filled with racist sentiments or tinged with romanticism, although some scholars were of the view that the sudden rise in writings on Malay magic and medicine was simply an effort at documenting the “primitive” and vanishing aspects of the social and cultural lifestyles of the Malays.8

The use of magic and the fervent belief in religion among Malays have often been cited as stumbling blocks to the development and progress of the community. In his September 1896 report from Kuala Langat, Selangor, where he worked in the Straits Settlements civil service, English anthropologist Walter W. Skeat made the overtly racist remark that “indolent and ignorant Malays” needed to be “saved from themselves”, and attributed the “many crippled lives and early deaths” to the “evil influence of the horde of bomors”.9 In fact, Skeat believed that increasing “contact with European civilisation” by the local Malay tribes had diminished their use of charms and spells.10

Biased perceptions of traditional Malay society, such as its healing practices, could have been used by the British to justify its political domination and imperialist motives.11 There were, however, several scholars such as Thomas N. Annandale and John D. Gimlette, who acknowledged the benefits and scientific merit of traditional Malay medicine.12 Both men were heavily involved in fieldwork and were well known for their research on traditional Malay medicine. Gimlette referenced local sources, including Kelatanese manuscripts, for his book Malay Poisons and Charm Cures (1915), which today remains a classic and definitive reference guide to the practices of Malay healers. As the use of some herbs and plants could lead to fatal consequences, Gimlette’s study of the wild varieties of vegetation in the Malay Archipelago opened up a new field of study for physiologists and pharmacologists.13

An attempt to comprehend the Malay pathological framework for medicine and disease is also evident in Percy N. Gerrard’s medical dictionary, A Vocabulary of Malay Medical Terms (1905).14 As a medical professional, Gerrard’s efforts were borne out of the desire to understand his patients’ medical ssues from a scientific and cultural point of view. This enabled him to treat his patients using Malay herbal medicine whenever necessary. Gerrard drew parallels to Western medicine and, in doing so, lent credibility to Malay practices and beliefs – at least in the eyes of the colonial administrators.

Like Gimlette, Gerrard praised the Malays’ profound understanding of plants and herbs, and highlighted the medicinal value of these untapped sources and the native knowledge of local medicine. Despite his affirmations of the scientific value of herbs in Malay healing, Gerrard felt that the community’s belief in the supernatural was an impediment to British acceptance of traditional Malay medicine and healers.

It is clear that colonial observers of 20th-century Malaya have largely contexualised their understanding and knowledge of Malay medicine against Western markers. This cultural chasm was mainly due to a lack of empathy and the inability to comprehend the complexities behind the religious rituals and healing systems of indigenous groups. For the most part, Malay healing practices were regarded as superstitions and folklore that could not be explained by scientific theories. Hence over time, some traditional Malay healers co-opted the language of religion15 and, eventually, science into their practice in order to gain wider acceptance by their Western critics.

Legislating Malay Medicine

Although Western medical services were gradually introduced to the local population, most Malays continued to consult their community healers as they allegedly had “complete faith in their own particular charms and cures” and “dread[ed] hospitals, doctors and western medicines”.16 As traditional healers were also involved in non-medical matters such as state, social and cultural affairs, they occupied an esteemed position in the indigenous communities they served.17

Healing Practices 

One of the most notable Malay medical manuscripts translated into English is Ismail Munshi’s The Medical Book of Malayan Medicine. Originally written in Jawi (c. 1850), it contains over 550 remedies for maladies ranging from migraines to depression, bloatedness and leprosy.

For Violent Headaches and Loss of Energy For Dizziness and Vertigo For Night Chills
Ingredients Cumin seeds (5 cents)Garlic (10 cents)

Indian hemp

Ginger

Smilax china

Mace (35 cents), Nutmeg (5 cents)

Henbane

Javanese ginger

 5 young shoots of betel vineRed onion

Fennel seeds

 Daun medan (root of an unidentified plant)7 kernels of the fruit of the candle nut
Method Pound all ingredients together and mix with honey to form into tablets. Patient to take tablets until course of treatment is complete. Grind finely. Place the pulp on a piece of cloth. Squeeze the juice into the patient’s eyes for three days. Reduce both ingredients to fine pulp. Apply to patient’s head.

Reference

Burkill, I.H., & Ismail Munshi. (1930). The medical book of Malayan medicine. Singapore: Botanic Gardens. (Call no.: RCLOS 615.3209595 MED)

By the turn of the 20th century, the British had become more receptive to Malay healing practices. Although dismissive of the efficacy of traditional Malay medicine, the British were aware that traditional healers formed the backbone of a long-established support system that locals could turn to in times of physical, emotional and spiritual distress.

A significant example would be the role of the bidan, or midwife, in the community. Before the colonial government set up a maternity hospital in 1888, the demands of pregnancy – ranging from prenatal care to actual delivery and postpartum care – were handled by bidans.

Although colonial medical officers acknowledged the importance of bidans, they were concerned that these midwives were operating under unsanitary conditions. In the early 20th century, a surge in the infant mortality rate was mainly attributed to traditional midwifery practices: many babies died from Tetanus neonatorum (umbilical infection).18  The authorities thought it imperative that bidans be trained and supervised to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, and to develop trust and spread awareness of Western medical services among Malay mothers.

Under the Midwives Ordinance enacted in the Straits Settlements in 1915, all bidans had to be registered with the Central Midwives Board and undergo in-service training. Local women were also trained in biomedicine, midwifery and nursing in order to replace the traditional role of the bidan. The intention was not to encourage women to deliver in hospitals (due to a lack of beds and facilities), but rather to establish a pool of trained and licensed midwives who could recognise complications during pregnancy and refer the women to the hospitals if necessary. By the 1920s, mobile dispensaries as well as home and school visits were available to communities living in rural areas, and public campaigns were mounted to ensure that people had access to medicine and healthcare.

By 1936, there were 720 trained midwives in Singapore, 574 in Penang and 224 in Malacca. Despite these efforts, traditional bidans were still sought after by Malayan women in the subsequent decades due to the personal nature of the antenatal and postnatal services they provided, including up to six weeks after delivery.

Two other legislations introduced by the colonial government further threatened the existence of traditional healers and the provision of traditional medicine. Under the Sale of Food and Drugs Ordinance that came into force in 1914, the sale of adulterated drugs was deemed an offence “if the purchaser [was] not fully informed of the nature of adulteration at time of purchase”.19 The second legislation, the Poisons Ordinance of 1938 “regulate[d] the possession and sales of potent medicinal substances, to prevent misuse or illicit diversion of poisons”.20

These laws compromised the role of traditional Malay healers in the community, especially given the latent suspicions surrounding Malay medicine. However, due to the high costs involved in establishing an islandwide public healthcare system, the British authorities were rather lax at enforcing these legislations, and allowed itinerant and home-based traditional healers to continue practising their craft.

With the introduction of Western-style healthcare, including clinics and hospitals, and the increasing availability of over-the-counter medications from the turn of the 20th century onwards, traditional Malay healing played a smaller role in the lives and rhythms of the community.

State controls and the exposure to Western education further put paid to the services of traditional Malay healers. Although their numbers have drastically dwindled over the years, traditional Malay medicine continues to play an ancillary – and occasionally complementary – role to Western medicine today for those who recognise its efficacy in providing ritual care and treating spiritual ailments and conditions not yet acknowledged in Western medical science.

Humoural Theory and Malay Medicine
Humoural theory, which is one of the oldest theories of medicine, is organised around the four humours – blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile – and is associated with the four elements of earth (flesh), water (phlegm), air/wind (temperament), and fire (blood). The four elements are in turn paired up with the four qualities of cold, hot, moist and dry. Each individual has a particular humoural makeup, or “constitution”. As optimal health is attained when the humours are in harmonious balance, any imbalance of the humours may result in disease and sickness.In one of the earliest Malayan accounts of humoural theory, English scholar Thomas J. Newbold describes Malay medicine as being based on the fundamental “principle of ’preserving the balance of power’ within the four elements, specifically, air, fire, water and earth”.21 This ranges from the consumption of certain hot or cold foods (such as meat and fruit respectively), hot and cold temperatures, wind, micro-organisms and supernatural forces. Dry chills and dizzy spells arise when the “earth” element is too strong and from ailments such as cholera and dysentery, which are caused by excessive heat and moisture from the “air”.22 Consuming large amounts of food that contain “air” may cause feebleness in some. The plants and herbs prescribed by Malay healers help to revitalise and restore these imbalances in the human body.
Pawang, Bomoh And BidanTraditional Malay healers are the main providers of Malay medicine. To achieve the necessary credentials, some have resorted to living in solitude, spending their time meditating, fasting or putting themselves through strict dietary regimens – all in the name of spiritual cleansing. Healers are also expected to have an extensive knowledge of botany and nature so that they can classify and identify the right plants and herbs as well as their healing properties, and prescribe the correct remedies.

Pawang

A pawang is commonly defined as a shaman or general practitioner of magic who incorporates incantations into his craft. He is usually involved in conducting agricultural rituals and divination ceremonies to sanctify the village. Pawangs have also been referred to as “wizards” by scholars such as Richard J. Wilkinson for their ability to manipulate the course of nature through the use of incantations and divination practices.

Dukun/Bomoh

A dukun or bomoh is a general practitioner who treats fevers, headaches, broken bones, spirit possession and various ailments. The skills and reputation of a dukun/bomoh stem from the person’s knowledge of humoural medicine, the healing properties of local flora and fauna as well as syncretic ritual incantations. Some were well known for their treatment of victims of sorcery. The bomoh akar kayu (the latter words meaning “roots” in Malay) is known for his expertise in gathering and preparing ubat-ubatan from plants and herbs In his book, A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya (1894), Nicholas B. Dennys compares the dukun to “being on par with witch doctors of history”. Although the dukun has been generally described in disparaging terms by Western scholars, a small minority saw the merits of these traditional healers. Percy N. Gerrard defines the “doctor” as a bomoh, dukun or pawang in his dictionary, A Vocabulary of Malay Medical Terms (1905).

Bidan

Also known as “Mak Bidan” or “dukun beranak”, these midwives specialise in women’s health matters, including fecundity, midwifery and contraception, along with a variety of beauty-related disorders. Up till the 1950s, it was common for mothers in Singapore to deliver their babies at home with the help of village midwives. Today, the role of these women is limited to providing antenatal and postnatal care, such as confinement services for new mothers or general massage therapies.

References

Dennys, N.B. (1894). A descriptive dictionary of British Malaya (p. 104). London: London and China Telegraph. [Microfilm nos.: NL7464, NL25454].

Gerrard, P.N. (1905). A vocabulary of Malay medical terms (p. 24). Singapore: Kelly & Walsh. (Microfilm no.: NL27512)

Skeat, W.W. (1900). Malay magic: Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula (pp. 424–425). London: Macmillan and Co., Limited. (Call no.: RCLOS 398.4 SKE-[GH])

Wilkinson, R.J. (1908–10). Papers on Malay subjects. [First series, 4], Life and customs (p. 1). Kuala Lumpur: Printed at the F.M.S. Govt. Press. (Microfilm no.: NL263).

References

Bala, A. (Ed.) (2013). Asia, Europe, and the emergence of modern science: Knowledge crossing boundaries. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. (Call no.: RSEA 509.5 ASI)

Haliza Mohd Riji. (2000). Prinsip dan amalan dalam perubatan Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Universiti Malaya. (Call no.: Malay RSEA 615.88209595 HAL)

Harun Mat Piah. (2006). Kitab tib: Ilmu perubatan Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia: Kementerian Kebudayaan, Kesenian, dan Warisan Malaysia. (Call no.: Malay R 615.880899928 HAR)

Manderson, L. (1996). Sickness and the state: Health and illness in colonial Malaya, 1870–1940. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Call no.: RSEA 362.1095951 MAN)

Matheson, V., & Hooker, M. (1988). Jawi literature in Patani: The maintenance of an Islamic tradition. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 61(1)(254), 1–86. Retrieved from JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website.

McHugh, J.N. (1955). Hantu hantu: An account of ghost belief in modern Malaya. Singapore: Donald Moore. (Call no.: RCLOS 398.47 MAC-[RFL])

Mohd. Affendi Mohd.Shafri & Intan Azura Shahdan. (Eds.). (2017). Malay medical manuscripts: Heritage from the garden of healing. Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia: Akademi Jawi Malaysia. (Call no.: RSEA 610.95 INT)

Muhamad Zakaria & Mustafa Ali Mohd. (1992). Tumbuhan dan perubatan tradisional. Kuala Lumpur: Fajar Bakti. (Call no.: Malay RSING 615.88209595 MUH)

Ong, H.T. (Ed.). (2011). To heal the sick: The story of healthcare and doctors in Penang. Georgetown: Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society. (Call no.: RSEA 362.1095951 TO)

Owen, N. G. (Eds.). (1987). Death and disease in Southeast Asia : explorations in social, medical and demographic history. Singapore: Oxford University Press. (Call no.: 301.3220959 DEA)

Mohd. Taib Osman. (1989). Malay folk beliefs: An integration of disparate elements. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. (Call no.: RSEA 398.4109595 MOH)

Tuminah Sapawi. (1997, January 8). Bidan kampung now offers massage and other rituals. The Straits Times, p. 17. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.

Wilkinson, R.J. (1908–10). Papers on Malay subjects. [First series, 4], Life and customs (p. 1). Kuala Lumpur: Printed at the F.M.S. Govt. Press. [Microfilm no.: NL 263].

Notes

  1. The World Health Organization defines traditional medicine (also known as folk, indigenous or alternative medicine) as “the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness”. Herbal medicines include “herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished herbal products that contain as active ingredients parts of plant, or other plant materials or combinations”. See World Health Organization. (2018). Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine. Retrieved from World Health Organization website.
  2. The Kitab Permata from 19th-century Patani (southern Thailand) discusses the characteristics and medicinal properties of gemstones, minerals and metals. The text is commonly used by traditional healers in the north coast of the Malay Peninsula.
  3. Blagden, C.O. (1896, July). Notes on the folk-lore and popular religion of the Malays. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 29, 1. Retrieved from JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website.
  4. Malay healers used Quranic verses to supplement the efficacy of herbs and medicinal plants. Supplications remain at the heart of Malay healing. A healer may choose to use only plants and herbs with supplications but without wafaq, while another may use fewer plants and herbs and more wafaq in his practice.
  5. A prominent Patani scholar, Sheikh Ahmad al-Fathani, laboured his discourse in Islamic knowledge with the science of medicine. His manuscript, Tayyib al-Ihsan fi Tibb al-Insan, which was produced in 1895, was widely consulted by traditional healers in 20th-century Malaya.
  6. John D. Gimlette was a physician who resided in the Malay state of Kelantan for many years and was extremely interested in the subject of Malay poisons, sorcery and cures. See Gimlette, J.D. (1915). Malay poisons and charm cures. London: J. & A. Churchill. (Call no.: RRARE 398.4 GIM-[JSB])
  7. Gimlette, 1915, p. 106.
  8. Winzeler, R.L. (1983). The study of Malay magic. Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde, 139 (4), 435–458, p. 436. Retrieved from JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website.
  9. Malay “doctors”. (1896, September 22). The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  10. Skeat, W.W. (1900). Malay magic: Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula (pp. 424–425). London: Macmillan and Co., Limited. (Call no.: RCLOS 398.4 SKE-[GH])
  11. Winzeler, 1983, p. 447.
  12. Thomas N. Annandale was a Scottish zoologist, entomologist, anthropologist and herpetologist, who became interested in Malay animism, related magical lore and curers.
  13. From pineapples (Ananassa sativa) and keladi (Alocasia denudata) to cheraka (Plumbaginasea), the poisons Gimlette examined have been described to contain active ingredients useful in the study of modern medicine.
  14. Gerrard, P.N. (1905). A vocabulary of Malay medical terms. Singapore: Kelly & Walsh. (Microfilm no.: NL27512)
  15. Anthropologist Thomas Fraser notes that in village processions led by the pawang who is healing a physically ill or possessed patient, the imam(Islamic worship leader) is also involved to officiate the ritual from a religious perspective. This prevents any possible conflict with Islamic beliefs that may border on shirk (idolatory or Polytheism).
  16. Why fewer babies are now dying in Singapore. (1935, July 21). The Straits Times, p. 13. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  17. In the Malay villages, traditional healers were involved in sanctifying the village via ceremonies and rituals, and were also involved in the affairs of the state. Known as the Maharaja Lela in Selangor or Sultan Muda in Perak, a bomoh enjoyed unfettered entry into the palace compounds.
  18. Owen, N.G. (Ed.). (1987). Death and disease in Southeast Asia: Explorations in social, medical and demographic history (p. 258). Singapore: Oxford University Press. (Call no.: RSING 301.3220959 DEA)
  19. Singapore. The Statutes of the Republic of Singapore. (1987, March 30). Sale of Drugs Act (Cap 282, 1985 Rev. ed.). Retrieved from Singapore Statutes Online website.
  20. Singapore. The Statutes of the Republic of Singapore. (1999, December 30). Poisons Act (Cap 234, 1999 Rev. ed.). Retrieved from Singapore Statutes Online website.
  21. Newbold, T.J. (2015). Political and statistical account of the British settlements in the Straits of Malacca, viz. Pinang, Malacca, and Singapore, with a history of the Malayan states on the peninsula of Malacca vol, 2 of 2 (p. 242). London: Forgotten Books. (Call no.: RSING 959.5 NEW)
  22. Squeamishness, heartburn and fevers arise when the “fire” element is too strong. The “water” element causes damp chills and vomiting.
Religion & Medicine, Thai & SE Asian Medicines, Yoga, Ayurveda & South Asian Medicines

Introduction to Ruesi Dat Ton

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This is a guest post by David Wells (E-RYT500, CAS), Yoga Teacher at Integrated Pain Management Clinic. He is a graduate of The California College of Ayurveda and served three years in Peace Corps Thailand. He received Thai Massage and Reusi Dat Ton certifications from The Wat Po School of Traditional Thai Massage in Bangkok and The Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai under the authorization of the Thai Ministry of Education in Thailand. He also studied with Reusi Tevijo and the late Ajan Pisit Benjamongkonware in Thailand. He received advanced Yoga certifications from Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, The Sivananda Yoga Center, The Yoga Institute in Mumbai and The Yoga Research Center of Rishikesh in India. He teaches Hatha Yoga and Reusi Dat Ton in New York, USA and also travels conducting continuing education workshops. He recently published “Self-Massage and Joint Mobilization of Traditional Thai Yoga “Reusi Dat Ton” Part1 Handbook. Contact Information: david@wellsyoga.com, www.wellsyoga.com.

 

Ruesi Dat Ton and the Foundations of Thai Massage

Reusi Dat Ton is a little known aspect of traditional Thai healing and culture. It consists of breathing exercises, self-massage, acupressure, dynamic exercises, poses, mantras, visualization and meditation.

“Reusi” in Thai, from the Sanskrit Rishi, is an Ascetic Yogi or Hermit. “Dat” means to stretch, adjust or train. “Ton” is a classifier used for a Reusi and also means oneself. So “Reusi Dat Ton” means the Hermit’s or Yogi’s self-stretching or self-adjusting exercises. Reusis were also known as “Jatila,” Yogi,” and “Chee Prai.” The Reusis were custodians and practitioners of various ancient arts and sciences such as: tantra, yoga, natural medicine, alchemy, music, mathematics, astrology, palmistry, etc. They have counterparts in many ancient cultures, such as: the Siddhas of India, the Yogis of Nepal and Tibet, the Immortals of China, the Vijjadharas of Burma and the Cambodian Eysey (from the Pali word for Reusi, Isii).

There are different Reusi traditions within Thailand. There is a Southern Thai/Malay Tradition, a Northeastern Thai/Lao Tradition, a Central Thai/Khmer Tradition and a Northern Thai/Burmese/Tibetan Tradition. In Thailand, there are Reusis as far South as Kanchanaburi Province who follow the Northern Thai/Burmese/Tibetan Reusi Tradition.

A typical Reusi Dat Ton program would begin with breathing exercises and self-massage, followed by dynamic exercises and poses (some of which involve self acupressure) and finish with visualization, mantras and meditation. The exercises and poses of Reusi Dat Ton range from simple stretches which almost anyone could do, to very advanced poses which could take many years to master.

Some of the Reusi Dat Ton techniques are similar to or nearly identical to some techniques in various Tibetan Yoga Systems, particularly “Yantra Yoga,” “Kum Nye” and the Tibetan Yoga Frescoes from the Lukhang Temple behind the Potala Palace in Lhasa Tibet. (See Norbu, Tulku and Baker) For example; some of the self massage techniques, exercises, poses, neuromuscular locks (bandhas in Sanskrit,) breathing patterns, ratios, visualizations and the way in which male and female practitioners would practice the same technique differently are almost identical. It is possible that Reusi Dat Ton and some of the Tibetan Yoga Systems are derived from a common source, which Rishis brought with them as they moved down the Himalayan foothills into Southeast Asia.

According to the Reusi Tevijo Yogi “The foundation and key to Traditional Thai massage is Reusi Dat Ton. Ancient Reusis, through their own experimentation and experience, developed their understanding of the various bodies (physical, energetic and psychic, etc.) They discovered the postures, channels, points, the winds and wind gates within themselves. Later it was realized that these techniques could be adapted and applied to others for their healing benefit, which is

how Thai massage was developed. So, in order to really understand Thai massage, as a practitioner, one should have a foundation in Reusi Dat Ton and be able to experience it within oneself and then apply it to others. It is not only the roots of Thai massage but it also unlocks the method for treating oneself and maintaining one’s own health.” (Reusi Tevijo Yogi)

It is also interesting to note that there are many similarities between the Reusi Dat Ton “Joint Mobilization Exercises,” many Thai massage techniques and some of the Indian Hatha Yoga therapeutic warming up exercises (the Pawanmuktasana or wind liberating and energy freeing techniques.) There is even an advanced Hatha Yoga pose, Poorna Matsyendrasana, which compresses the femoral artery and produces the same effect as “opening the wind gate” in Reusi Dat Ton Self Massage and Traditional Thai massage. (Saraswati)

Reusi Dat Ton in Traditional Art

In Northeast Thailand, in Buriram province atop an extinct volcano sits the Ancient Khmer temple of Prasat Phnom Rung. Built between 900 and 1200AD, this temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. The pediment over the eastern doorway features a sculpture of an avatar of Shiva in the form of Yogadaksinamurti. According to the Department of Fine Arts “Yogadaksinamurti means Shiva in the form of the supreme ascetic, the one who gives and maintains wisdom, perception, concentration, asceticism, philosophy, music and the ability to heal disease with sacred chants.” Here “Shiva is dressed as a hermit with crowned headdress holding a rosary in his right hand, seated in the lalitasana position…surrounded by followers. There are figures below him that…represent the sick and wounded.” (Department of Fine Arts). All over the temple one can see additional carvings of Reusis engaged in various activities. In one carving of the “Five Yogis” (or Reusis) the central figure is the God Shiva in his incarnation as Nagulisa, the founder of the Pasupata sect of Shivaite Hinduism. The four yogis on his sides are followers of this Pasupata sect, which is still active today in Nepal.

In 1767, invading Burmese armies destroyed the old Thai capital of Ayutthaya. Soon after his coronation in 1782, the Thai King Rama I established a new capital in what is today Bangkok. He initiated a project to revive the Thai culture after the disaster of Ayutthaya. An old temple Wat Potharam, (popularly known as “Wat Po,”) was chosen to become the site of a new Royal temple

and formally renamed Wat Phra Chetuphon. Beginning in 1789, a renovation and expansion project was begun on the temple. King Rama I also initiated a program to restore and preserve all branches of ancient Thai arts and sciences including: medicine, astrology, religion and literature. As part of this project, medical texts from across the kingdom were collected and brought to be stored at Wat Po. The King also ordered the creation of a set of clay Reusi statues depicting various Reusi Dat Ton techniques.

This restoration project was continued by the Kings Rama II and Rama III. As part of this work, scholars compiled important texts on various ancient arts and sciences and created authoritative textbooks for each of these fields. In 1832, a project to etch the medical texts into marble tablets was begun. Medical theories regarding the origin and treatment of disease, massage charts and over 1000 herbal formulas were all recorded on the marble tablets. Gardens of medicinal herbs were also planted on the temple grounds. Thus, Wat Po was to become “a seat of learning for all classes of people in all walks of life” which would “expound all braches of traditional knowledge both religious and secular,” and serve as “an open university” of traditional Thai culture with a “library of stone.” (Griswold, 319-321)

By 1836, the clay Reusi Dat Ton statues created by order of King Rama I had deteriorated. To replace these, King Rama III commissioned the creation of 80 new Reusi Dat Ton statues. Each statue depicted a different Reusi performing a specific Reusi Dat Ton technique. For each statue there was a corresponding marble tablet upon which was etched a poem describing the technique and it’s curative effect. These poems were composed by various important personalities of the day. Princes, monks, government officials, physicians, poets, and even the King himself contributed verses. The original plan was to cast the statues with an alloy of zinc and tin, but unfortunately only the more perishable material stucco was used. The statues were then painted and housed in special pavilions. Over the years most of the original statues have been lost or destroyed. Today only about 20 remain and these are displayed upon two small “Hermit’s Mountains” near the Southern entrance of Wat Po. The marble tablets have been separated from their corresponding statues and are now stored in the pavilion Sala Rai.

Beginning in 2009, the casting of metal Reusi Dat Ton statues was begun. These new statues are gradually appearing in and around the Wat Po Massage School near the Eastern entrance of Wat Po. So now after almost 200 years, Wat Po will soon finally have it’s complete set of 80 metal Reusi Dat Ton statues as originally envisioned by King Rama III.

Textual Sources of Reusi Dat Ton

We may never know what, if any Ancient texts on Reusi Dat Ton may have existed and were lost when the invading Burmese armies destroyed the old Thai capital of Ayutthaya in 1767. Today, the closest thing to an original source text on Reusi Dat Ton is an 1838 manuscript commissioned by Rama III entitled The Book of Eighty Rishis Performing Posture Exercises to Cure Various Ailments. Like other manuscripts of the time, this text was printed on accordion like folded black paper, known in Thai as “Khoi.” This text, popularly known as the Samut Thai Kao features line drawings of the 80 Wat Po Reusi Dat Ton statues along with their accompanying poems. In the introduction, it states that Reusi Dat Ton is a “…system of posture exercises invented by experts to cure ailments and make them vanish away.” (Griswold, 321) This text is housed in the National Library in Bangkok. There are also other editions of this text housed in museums and private collections as well.

The Benefits of Reusi Dat Ton

In both the Samut Thai Kao and The Book of Medicine, the texts not only describe the techniques, but also ascribe a therapeutic benefit to each pose or exercise. Some poems describe specific ailments while others use Sanskrit Ayurvedic medical terminology.

Some of the ailments mentioned include; abdominal discomfort and pain, arm discomfort, back pain, bleeding, blurred vision, chest congestion, chest discomfort and pain, chin trouble, chronic disease, chronic muscular discomfort, congestion, convulsions, dizziness and vertigo, dyspepsia, facial paralysis, fainting, foot cramps, pain and numbness, gas pain, generalized weakness, generalized sharp pain, headache and migraine, hand discomfort, cramps and numbness, heel and ankle joint pain, hemorrhoids, hip joint problems, joint pain, knee pain and weakness, lack of alertness, leg discomfort, pain and weakness, lockjaw, low back pain, lumbar pain, muscular

cramps and stiffness, nasal bleeding, nausea, neck pain, numbness, pelvic pain, penis and urethra problems, scrotal distention, secretion in throat, shoulder and scapula discomfort and pain, stiff neck, thigh discomfort, throat problems, tongue trouble, uvula spasm, vertigo, waist trouble, wrist trouble, vomiting, and waist discomfort.

Some of the Ayurvedic disorders described in the texts include; Wata (Vata in Sanskrit) in the head causing problems in meditation, severe Wata disease, Wata in the hands and feet, Wata in the head, nose and shoulder, Wata in the thigh, Wata in the scrotum, Wata in the urethra, Wata causing knee, leg and chest spasms, Wata causing blurred vision, Sannipat (a very serious and difficult to treat condition due to the simultaneous imbalance of Water, Fire and Wind Elements which may also involve a toxic fever) an excess of Water Dhatu (possibly plasma or lymph fluids,) and “Wind” in the stomach. Other benefits described in the old texts include; increased longevity and opening all of the “Sen” (There are various types of “Sen” or channels in Traditional Thai Medicine. There are Gross Earth Physical “Sen” such as Blood Vessels. There are also more Subtle “Sen” such as channels of Bioenergy flow within the Subtle Body, known as “Nadis” in Sanskrit. In addition, there are also “Sen” as channels of the Mind.)

In recent years, the Thai Ministry of Public Health has published several books on Reusi Dat Ton. According these modern texts, some of the benefits of Reusi Dat Ton practice include; improved agility and muscle coordination, increased joint mobility, greater range of motion, better circulation, improved respiration improved digestion, assimilation and elimination, detoxification, stronger immunity, reduced stress and anxiety, greater relaxation, improved concentration and meditation, oxygen therapy to the cells, pain relief, slowing of degenerative disease and greater longevity. (Subcharoen, 5-7)

A recent study at Naresuan University in Phitsanulok, Thailand, found that after one month of regular Reusi Dat Ton practice there was an improvement in anaerobic exercise performance in sedentary females. (Weerapong et al, 205)

Thai Reusi Dat Ton and Indian Hatha Yoga

A survey of the traditional Indian Hatha Yoga text Jogapradipaka of Jayatarama from 1737AD identified the following 45 Indian asanas as having similar or identical counterparts in Thai Reusi Dat Ton; Svastikasana, Padmasana, Netiasana, Udaraasana, Purvasana, Pascimatanasana, Suryasana, Gorakhajaliasana, Anasuyasana, Machendrasana, Mahamudrasana, Jonimudrasana, Sivasana, Makadasana, Bhadragorakhasana, Cakriasana, Atamaramasana, Gohiasana, Bhindokasana, Andhasana, Vijogasana, Jonisana, Bhagasana, Rudrasana, Machindrasana (2nd variety), Vyasaasana, Dattadigambarasana, Carapatacaukasana, Gvalipauasana, Gopicandasana, Bharathariasana, Anjanasana, Savitriasana, Garudasana, Sukadevasana, Naradasana, Narasimghasana, Kapilasana, Yatiasana, Vrhaspatiasana, Parvatiasana, Siddhaharataliasana, Anilasana, Parasaramasana and Siddhasana. To date over 200 different Indian Hatha Yoga techniques have been identified which have similar or identical counterparts in Thai Reusi Dat Ton.

One unique feature of Reusi Dat Ton is the absence of Viparitakarani (Inversions) such as Shirshasana (Headstand), Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand.) Reusi Dat Ton also has no equivalents to Mayurasana (Peacock) or Bakasana (Crow). In Hatha Yoga both men and women use the left heel to press the perineum in Siddhasana (Adepts Pose), while in Reusi Dat Ton, men use the

right heel and women use the left. Reusi Dat Ton includes a series of “Joint Mobilization” exercises, many of which are very similar or identical to the Pawanmuktasana (Joint Loosening and Energy Freeing Exercises) taught by the Bihar School of Yoga in Northeast India. (Saraswati) Reusi Dat Ton also includes a system of self-massage, which is typically done prior to the exercises.

Both Hatha Yoga and Reusi Dat Ton practice forms of Surya and Chandra Bhedana Pranayama (Solar and Lunar Breathing.) However in Hatha Yoga men and women both use the right hand when practicing Pranayama (Breathing Exercises), while in Reusi Dat Ton men use the right hand and women use the left. Both use Ashwini Mudra (Anal Lock) and Jivha Bandha (Tongue Lock.) However, Reusi Dat Ton has no counterparts to Uddiyana Bandha (Abdominal Lock) or Jalandhara Bandha (Throat Lock.)

In Traditional Indian Hatha Yoga one will generally maintain an Asana for a few minutes. In contrast, Reusi Dat Ton tends to be more dynamic. Generally, one will inhale while going into the pose, hold the pose for several breaths, and then exhale when coming out of the pose. This is done to encourage the strong, healthy flow of Prana thru the Nadis (or Loam thru the Sen in Thai)

 Reusi Dat Ton Today

Today in Thailand, Reusi Dat Ton is being used in various ways. Some practice Reusi Dat Ton poses and exercises as a way to improve and maintain overall health, in much the same way as Hatha Yoga and Chi Gong are used today. Others such as Ajan Pisit Benjamongkonware of Pisit’s Massage School in Bangkok used Reusi Dat Ton in combination with traditional Thai Massage techniques as a system of therapy. They will use specific techniques for specific ailments, rather like an ancient system of rehabilitation similar to modern day Chiropractic and Physical Therapy. Others consider the energetic effects with the aim of facilitating the normal healthy flow of bioenergy through the “Sen” or energy channels of the subtle body. There are also a few remaining Reusis who still use Reusi Dat Ton in the traditional way as part of their personal meditation and spiritual practice.

The Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine at the Ministry of Public Health requires all their students of Thai Massage and Thai Traditional Medicine to attend Reusi Dat Ton classes as part of their curriculum. In these classes, students learn some of the self-massage techniques as well as 15 poses and exercises. While based on Reusi Dat Ton, these 15 techniques are actually newly created modifications thought to be safe and easily practiced by anyone. In Bangkok, The Wat Po School of Traditional Medicine offers a formal Reusi Dat Ton certification course in which students learn 18 of the poses and exercises. The Massage School Chiang Mai offers a formal Reusi Dat Ton certificate course, which is accredited by the Thai Ministry of Education. Their course is based on the same 15 poses and exercises as taught by the Ministry of Public Health. There are also a number of other places offering Reusi Dat Ton classes. Most of these programs teach either one or a combination of both of the two different programs, as taught by the Ministry of Public Health and Wat Po. There are also a number of commercially available Reusi Dat Ton books and videos.

Today in Thailand, there are a dwindling number of true Reusis and few young people are interested in learning the traditional arts and sciences in their authentic forms. Much of the traditional knowledge of the Reusi traditions is in danger of being lost. Nowadays, most modern day students and teachers of Reusi Dat Ton have learned from second or third hand sources such as commercially available books, videos and classes. They have not had access to primary sources such as actual Reusis or even the Samut Thai Kao. If this trend continues, there is a danger of Reusi Dat Ton becoming diluted and distorted like Hatha Yoga has become in today’s popular culture. Today we may well be seeing the last generation of teachers with an actual living link to the ancient traditions of the past and who are able to transmit the authentic teachings of Reusi Dat Ton. Serious students of Reusi Dat Ton would do well to seek out actual Reusis who have themselves learned from older Reusis who serve as a living link in the lineage of this ancient tradition.

Possible Future Research 

A possible research project would be to seek out Reusis and traditional healers across Thailand. One would then learn as much as possible about Reusi Dat Ton from them and compile it. This way the authentic teachings of this ancient tradition would not be lost in case these people die without being able to pass their knowledge on to the next generation. It could also be well worth investigating the many claims about the therapeutic effects attributed to Reusi Dat Ton practices in the old texts.

Bibliography of Readings about Ruesi Dat Ton

English Language 

  • Baker, Ian A. and Thomas Laird. (2000). “The Dali Lama’s Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet.” Thames & Hudson Ltd., London, UK.
  • Buhnemann, Gudrun. (2007). “Eighty-Four Asanas in Yoga: A Survey of Traditions.” (Contains the Jogapradipika of Jayatarama). D. K. Printworld, New Delhi, India.
  • Chokevivat, Vichai and Chuthaputti, Anchalee. (2005). “The Role of Thai Traditional Medicine in Health Promotion.” Thai Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
  • Chuthaputti, Anchalee. (2007). “National Traditional System of Medicine Recognized by the Thai Government.” Thai Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
  • Covington, Laura. (2010). “Interview with a Reusi.” (Interview with Reusi Tevijjo Yogi). Bodhi Tree Learning Center. Richmond, USA.
  • Department of Fine Arts. “Phnom Rung Historical Park Visitors Guide.” (And displays in the Phnom Rung Museum.) Department of Fine Arts, Buriram, Thailand.
  • Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (2006). “Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines.” Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, India. Gharote, M. L. (Editor). (2006). “Encyclopaedia of Traditional Asanas.” The Lonavala Yoga Institute. Lonavala, India.
  • Ginsburg, Henry. (2000). “Thai Art and Culture: Historic Manuscripts from Western Collections.” University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA.
  • Griswold, A.B. (1965). “The Rishis of Wat Po.” In Felicitation Volumes of Southeast Asian Studies Presented to His Highness Prince Dhaninivat Kromamun Bidyalabh Brindhyakorn. The Siam Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • H.H. Prince Dhani Nivat, “The Inscriptions of Wat Phra Jetubon,” Journal of the Siam Society. Vol. 26, Pt. 2. The Siam Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Hofbauer, Rudolf. “A Medical Retrospect of Thailand.” In Journal of the Thailand Research Society, 34: 183-200. Thailand Research Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Linrothe, Rob, (Editor). (2006). “Holy Madness: Portraits of Tantric Siddhas.” Rubin Museum of Art and Serindia Publications. New York and Chicago, USA.
  • Miao, Yuan. (2002). “Dancing on Rooftops with Dragons: The Yoga of Joy.” The Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, USA.
  • Massage School of Chiang Mai. (2006). Yogi Exercise “Lue Sri Dadton” Student Handbook. Massage School of Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
  • Matics, Kathleen Isabelle. (1978). An Historical Analysis of the Fine Arts at Wat Phra Chetuphon: A Repository of Ratanakosin Artistic Heritage, PhD Dissertation, New York University, New York, USA. Matics, K.I. (1977). “Medical Arts at Wat Pha Chetuphon: Various Rishi Statues.” In Journal of the Siam Society, 65:2: 2: 145-152. The Siam Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Norbu, Chogyal Namkhai. (2008). “Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement.” Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, USA.
  • Reusi Tevijo Yogi. Personal Communication. Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
  • Salguero, C. Pierce, (2007). “Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism and Ayurveda.” Hohm Press, Prescott, USA.
  • Saraswati, Swami Satyananda. (2006). “Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha.” Bihar School of Yoga, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, India.
  • Schoeppl, Adolf. (1981). Textbook of Thai Traditional Manipulative Medicine, MPH Thesis, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Sheposh, Joel. (2006). Reusi Dat Ton: Thai Style Exercises, Tao Mt., Charlottesville, USA.
  • Subcharoen, Pennapa and Deewised Kunchana, (Editors). (1995). “The Hermits Art of Contorting: Thai Traditional Medicine.” The National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine, Nontaburi, Thailand.
  • Tulku, Tarthang. (1978). “Kum Nye Relaxation: Parts 1and 2.” Dharma Publishing, Berkeley, USA. Tulku, Tarthang. (2003). “Tibetan Relaxation: Kum Nye Massage and Movement.” Duncan Baird Publications, London, UK.
  • Venerable Dhammasaro Bhikkhu. “Textbook of Basic Physical Training- Hermit Style (Rishi).” Wat Po. Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Wat Po Thai Traditional Medical School, Ruesi Dat Ton; Student Handbook. Wat Po. Bangkok, Thailand. White, David Gordon. (1996). “The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India.” University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.

Thai Language 

  • Ajan Pisit Benjamongkonware. (2007). “Twenty One Self Stretching Exercises (21 Ta Dat Ton).” Village Doctor Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Ajan Pisit Benjamongkonware. Personal Communication. Pisit’s Massage School, Bangkok, Thailand, Ajan Kong Kaew Veera Prajak (Professor of Ancient Languages). Personal Communication. The Ancient Manuscript and Inscription Department, National Library, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Chaya, Ooh E. (2006). “Thai Massage, Reusi Dat Ton: Therapy for Illness and Relaxation, (Nuat Thai, Reusi Dat Ton: Bam Bat Rok Pai Klie Klieat).” Pi Rim Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Karen Reusi. Personal Communication via Dr. Robert Steinmetz of Wildlife Fund Thailand. Thung Yai National Park in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand,
  • Mr. Kayat, (Editor). (1995). “Eighty Poses of Reusi Dat Ton, Wat Po (80 Ta Bat Reusi Dat Ton, Wat Po).” Pee Wa Tin Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Mulaniti Health Center. (1994). “41 Poses, The Art of Self Massage for Health, (41 Ta, Sinlaba Gan Nuat Don Eng Pua Sukapap).” Mulaniti Health Center, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Patanagit, Arun Rawee. (1994). “Body Exercise, Thai Style: Reusi Dat Ton, (Gan Brehan Rang Gie Bap Thai: Chut Reusi Dat Ton).” Petchkarat Press. Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Saw Pai Noie. (2001). “Lang Neua Chop Lang Ya.” Sai Ton Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Sela Noie, Laeiat. (2000). “Amazing Thai Heritage: Reusi Dat Ton.” Dok Ya Press, Bangkok, Thailand. Subcharoen, Pennapa (Editor). (2004). “Handbook of Thai Style Exercise: 15 Basic Reusi Dat Ton Poses, (Ku Mu Gie Brehan Bap Thai Reusi Dat Ton 15 Ta).” Thai Traditional Medicine Development Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Subcharoen, Pennapa (Editor). (2006). “One Hundred Twenty Seven Thai Style Exercises, Reusi Dat Ton (127 Ta Gie Brehan Bap Thai, Reusi Dat Ton).” Thai Traditional Medicine Development Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Various authors commissioned by King Rama III. (1838). “The Book of Eighty Rishis Performing Posture Exercises to Cure Various Ailments (Samut Rup Reusi Dat Ton Kae Rok Tang Tang Baet Sip Rup).” (Also known as Samut Thai Kao) Housed in the National Library Bangkok, Thailand,
  • Wat Po Thai Traditional Medicine School. (1990). “Reusi Dat Ton Handbook (Dam Ra Reusi Dat Ton Wat Po).” (Reproductions from the original Samut Thai Kao). Wat Po Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Wat Po Thai Traditional Medicine School. (1958). “The Book Of Medicine (Dam Ra Ya).” (Contains a Reusi Dat Ton section based on the same verses as the 1838 manuscript, Samut Thai Kao, but with completely different illustrations). Wat Po Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Weerapong Chidnok, Opor Weerapun, Chanchira Wasuntarawat, Parinya Lertsinthai and Ekawee Sripariwuth. (2007). “Effect of Ruesi-Dudton-Stretching-Exercise Training to Anaerobic Fitness in Healthy Sedentary Females.” Naresuan University Journal 2007; 15 (3) 205-214. Phittsanulok, Thailand.
Thai & SE Asian Medicines

Wai Khruu ไหว้ครู honour/pay respect to the teacher

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By Assunta Hunter

The front of the lecture hall in the grounds of a hospital in Chiang Mai is adorned by a long table laden with offerings of all kinds. An otherwise utilitarian space large enough to hold some 200 people has been transformed by the table bearing offerings on the raised dais at the front of the hall. There are garlands of gardenia, Indian marigolds strewn loosely and in piles, and lotus flowers are poking out of small brass urns; the perfume is overwhelming. Pyramids of limes, bananas and hot-pink dragon fruit are piled on the offering plates. There are coconut and sago desserts, pumpkin and coconut balls, and rice flour cakes all beautifully presented on plates in patterns and decorated with carved flowers. Incense sprouts from every possible flower arrangement and yellow temple candles stand among the many brightly colored floral arrangements and sweet–meats. There are fresh herbs such as ginger (khing ขิง Zingiber officinalis), cassumar ginger (phlaii ไพล Zingiber cassumar) and decorative glass jars of dried and powdered herbs, including cinnamon (opchoei อบเชย Cinnamomum zeylandicum). On a raised altar, there is an image of the Buddha (head and shoulders above all others as is usual: this is a way of expressing his pre-eminent status), the hermit (ruesi ฤษี the ascetic figure closely associated with healing and wisdom) and Jivaka Komarpaj, (ชีวกโกมารภัจจ์) the Buddha’s physician and the head of the Thai healing pantheon. Continue reading Wai Khruu ไหว้ครู honour/pay respect to the teacher →

Thai & SE Asian Medicines

From secret knowledge to science: creating modern practitioners

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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.

Religion & Medicine, Thai & SE Asian Medicines

Translation of Chinese Jivaka Story

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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

Thai & SE Asian Medicines

ประวัตินวดไทย – ‘NUAD THAI’ – THAI MASSAGE HISTORY

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 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:

  1. Medical Science: pharmaceuticals, food, plants, minerals, animals, etc.
  2. Physical Therapies: massage, physical exercises
  3. 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.
  4. Sorcery Sciences: incantations, demonology, blessings, etc.
  5. 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

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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.

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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’

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‘NUAT JAP SEN’

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‘NUAT GOHT JOOT’

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‘NUAT BPONG’

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‘JAD GRA-DUK’

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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.

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

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ROYAL STYLE

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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.

Picturepainting 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.

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COUNTRY STYLE

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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.

Global Asian Medicines, Thai & SE Asian Medicines

On Thai Massage and Cultural Appropriation

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Photo above: Is this cultural appropriation in action?

Recently, there has been much discussion online about yoga and cultural appropriation, and this has spilled over into the Thai massage world as many have begun to wonder about how this critique may or may not apply to our own practice.

What we shouldn’t do is simply write off the critique that Westerners practicing Thai massage is cultural appropriation. Clearly it is. Non-Thais traveling to Thailand, learning a traditional medicine technique, and returning to the West to use that technique to make a living is probably the very definition of cultural appropriation. The question is not whether or not this is cultural appropriation, but, rather, how we deal with the ethics of our crosscultural encounter.

I have just now written a blog post about the question of yoga as cultural appropriation. In that piece I argue that there is no simple way to resolve this issue if we are stuck in the binary of “neo-colonialism” vs. “freedom of choice.” What is needed to understand this issue at a more nuanced level is an awareness of history. If you didn’t get a chance to read that post, please do so before continuing here.

Turning specifically to Thai massage (or Thai Traditional Medicine, or Ruesri Dat Ton, or other Thai modalities, although that applies to far fewer people), I feel that the same sort of historical analysis can assist us greatly in navigating the ethical issues and deciding where we stand.

To begin with, I think it is helpful to remind ourselves that Thai massage is not some ancient practice that “dates from the time of the Buddha,” as its mythology would have us think. As I have explored in many publications, Thai massage is a product of a long history of cultural appropriation by the Thais themselves, which incorporates aspects of Buddhist, Tantric, Ayurvedic, Chinese, and indigenous Thai practices. I have discussed this in detail in this book, which in 2016 will have a second edition released by White Lotus Press. So, yes, we are participating in cultural appropriation, but it is also the case that we are part of a long tradition of the same.

We might also note that the form of Thai massage most often practiced by Westerners represents a very recent synthesis, dating back no further than the 1950s in its current form. This form of Thai massage was “revived” in the 1980s by the Thai government and leading traditional doctors, specifically in order to bolster the tourism and spa industries. So, yes, we are participating in cultural appropriation, but it is also the case that this cultural heritage was  packaged, marketed, and fed to us by Thai government and medical officials and institutions.

Lastly, it is worth pointing our that the Thai teacher most responsible for the popularity of Thai massage in the West (the “root teacher” of ITM, Sunshine, Lotus Palm, Thai Institute, and many other Western schools including my own) was Ajahn Sintorn Chaichakan of the Old Medicine Hospital in Chiang Mai. Ajahn Sintorn, in fact, repeatedly instructed his Western students (including me) to learn Thai massage in order to share it with as many people as possible in our own countries. So, yes, we are participating in cultural appropriation, but it is also the case that we have been actively encouraged by our Thai teachers to share this knowledge outside of Thailand.

So, clearly, it’s complicated. But, don’t misunderstand my argument: these extenuating circumstances don’t absolve us from considering the implications and ethics of our own participation in cultural appropriation. As a long-time practitioner and instructor of Thai healing, I have been thinking about the issue of cultural appropriation for a long time, and discussing it in my Thai massage classes (with all levels of students, including introductory) for almost two decades. Here are some of my thoughts about how to approach our practice of Thai massage and the question of cultural appropriation in an informed and proactive way:

  1. First of all, don’t simply deny the critique. Lean into it. Many aspects of modern Western culture can be critiqued as cultural appropriation.  Educate yourself about the issues, the ethical problems, and the history of each specific case. Adopt a proactive approach. Especially if it is meaningful to you (as a hobby, livelihood, etc.), you need to see the issues clearly and be able to articulate where you stand.
  2. If you are somehow earning a living from a Thai practice, give a portion back to Thailand in the form of charitable giving. In my opinion, setting a percentage and sticking to it is probably the best way to do this. (In my own case, 10% of the sales of my Findhorn books has gone to Thai charities.) The argument that you can’t afford to give charity doesn’t hold water, since even a small sum goes a long way when converted into baht.
  3. Honor the traditions and their Thai origins when you discuss, teach, and practice them. Educate yourself about Thai history and culture, and always remember that we have been able to “borrow” this knowledge because of our privileged position as educated, wealthy Americans/Canadians/Europeans.
  4. Perhaps most critical is to maintain humility. Constantly remind yourself that we are not the “masters” or “ajahns” of this tradition. We are translators, facilitators, and proponents of Thai massage, but we should always direct our students’ and clients’ admiration and gratitude back to Thailand as the source of any wisdom we think we have gained from this practice.

I share my thoughts here as someone who has been thinking about the issue of cultural appropriation for a long time, first as a practitioner, then as an instructor, and now as a scholar of Asian medicine. I have discovered that there is no simple, one-size-fits-all answer for the ethical questions this issue raises. Rather, each person needs to think through the issues on their own.

Where do you stand? Your thoughts on this issue are welcome in the comments. The most important thing is that we keep talking about this.

Thai & SE Asian Medicines

A Tribute to Mama Nit Chaimongkol

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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.