Kyle Pounds' Thai Massage

Mantra prayer to Jivaka Kumarabhacca

Om  Namo  Shivago  Silasa  Ahang  Karuniko  Sapasatanang  Osatha  Tipa-Mantang  Papaso  Suriya-Jantang.  Gomalapato  Paka-Sesi  Wantami  Bantito  Sumethasso  Arokha  Sumana-Homi.
(3 times)

Piyo-Tewa  Manussanang  Piyo-Proma  Namuttamo  Piyo  Nakha  Supananang  Pininsiang  Nama-Mihang  Namo Puttay  Navon-Navien  Nasatit-Nasatien  Ehi-Mama  Navien-Nawe  Napai-Tang-Vien  Navien-Mahaku  Ehi-Mama  Piyong-Mama  Namo-Puttaya.
(1 time)

Na-A  Na-Wa  Lokha  Payati  Vina-Shanti.
(3 times)

Translation of this Pali prayer:

"We invite the spirit of our Founder, the Father Doctor Shivago, who comes to us though his saintly life. Please bring to us the knowledge of all nature, that this prayer will show us the true medicine of the universe. In the name of this mantra, we respect your help and pray that through our bodies you will bring wholeness and health to the body of our client.

The Goddess of healing dwells in the heavens high, while mankind stays in the world below. In the name of the Founder, may the heavens be reflected in the earth below so that this healing medicine may encircle the world.

We pray for the one whom we touch, that he will be happy and that any illness will be released from him."

Life of Jivaka Kumarabhacca

From Buddhist documents in Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.

At the time of the Buddha, among the lay physicians, the most renowned was Jivaka Komarabhacca, who is described as providing free medical care to the Buddha and other monks and donating his mango grove at Rajagaha for use as a monastic community, named Jivakarama. Jivaka's fame as a healer was widely known and tales about his life and medical feats can be found in almost all versions of Buddhist scriptures.

Birth and infancy

The Pali version began with Salavati, a courtesan of Rajagaha, giving birth to a son whom was then given to a slave woman, who placed him in a winnowing basket, which was thrown on a rubbish heap.

In the Sanskrit-Tibetan account, a promiscuous wife of a merchant from Rajagaha gave birth to a son of King Bimbisara, placed the infant in a chest, and ordered maidservants to set the chest at the gate of the king's palace.

In the Chinese narrative, a divine virgin named Arampali, who was raised by a Brahman, gave birth to a son of King Bimbisara. The boy was born with a bag of acupuncture needles in his hand and therefore was predestined to become a doctor and a royal physician. His mother wrapped him in white clothes and ordered a slave to take him to the king.

In all versions, the infant is taken and raised by the king's son Abhaya.

In the Pali account, the boy is given the name Jivaka because he was alive (from root jiv, to live), and because a prince cared for him he is called Kumarabhacca (nourished by a prince).

Medical education

Concerning his interest in medicine and his medical education, in the Pali account, Jivaka, as he approached the age at which he must seek his own livelihood, decided to learn the medical craft. Hearing about a world-famous physician in Taxila, he traveled to that city, famous for education, to apprentice with the eminent doctor. After seven years of medical study, he took a practical examination that tested his knowledge of medical herbs, passed with extraordinary success, and, with the blessings of mentor, went off to practice medicine.

Jivaka Kumarabhacca (right) Upali (center) Kasyapa (left).
Detail of the first Thangka of the Blue Berryll, a medical treatise of Sangye Gyamtso (1653-1705).
For a larger view of this detail.
For a larger view of the Thangka and a detailed description.

In the Sanskrit-Tibetan version, Jivaka desired to learn a craft. Seeing white-clad physicians, he decided to become a doctor and studied the art of healing. After acquiring the basics of medicine, he wished to increase his understanding by learning the art of opening skulls from Atreya , the king of physicians, who lived in the city of Taxila. So Jivaka went there, took the practical examination on medical herbs and performed other healings, and so deepened his knowledge of medicine that he could even advise his master on therapeutic procedures, thereby earning the latter's respect. Pleased with Jivaka depth of understanding, Atreya communicated to him the special technique of opening the skull. Jivaka eventually left the company of Atreya and journeyed to the city Bhadrankata in Vidarbha, where he studied the textbook called "The Sounds of All Beings" (most probably a textbook related with the practice of dharanis and mantras). During his travels, he purchased a load of wood from a thin and feeble man and discovered in the woodpile a gem called "the soothing remedy of all beings"(The Bodhisattvas of Healing). This gem, when placed before a patient, illuminated his inside as a lamp light up a house, revealing the nature of illness.

In the Chinese version Jivaka relinquished all claims to the throne and studied medicine. He found that the education he acquired from local physicians was inadequate and showed their deficiencies in the knowledge presented in the textbooks on plants, medical recipes, acupuncture, and pulse lore, which he had successfully mastered. He therefore instructed them in the essential principles of medicine and gained their respect. Hearing of a famous physician, Atreya, who lived in Taxila, he traveled to the city to learn medicine from him. After studying medicine for seven years, he took the practical examination on medical herbs and passed it with great success. When Jivaka departed, his master told him that, although he himself was first among the Indian physicians, after his death, Jivaka would become his successor. On his travels, Jivaka encountered a young boy carrying firewood and found he was able to see the inside of the boy's body. Immediately realizing that the bundle of wood must contain a piece of the tree of the King of Healing, who, according to early Mahayana scriptures, is a Bodhisattva of healing, he bought the wood, discovered a twig of the auspicious tree, and used it to diagnose illnesses in the course of his famous medical practice.

Jivaka Kumarabhacca and Ancient Massage

Jivaka is regarded as the Father of Medicine, a source of knowledge about the healing powers of plant, mineral, massage and so forth. His teachings travel to Thailand at the same time as Buddhism. Definitively a central figure in the Buddhist medical system, he is legitimately regarded as the aspiration for all practitioners of Ancient Massage.

Technique

Ancient Massage, like most Asian methods, is a technique used to give mankind an experience of the total body. It is similar to acupressure and Shiatsu combined with stretches and yogic Asanas. Its nickname has become, "yoga for the lazy". Ancient Massage will strengthen the client physically and harmonize their energy so a new life experience can arise.

Ancient Massage works on the major meridians, also called energy lines or Nadis, which run throughout the human body. It aims to harmonize the body, to loosen blocks, and to recoup deficiencies along the energy lines. In contrast to traditional Chinese medicine, which uses acupuncture to manipulate the pressure points, Ancient Massage stimulates these same points with healing touch. Therefore, the points suffer less stress, and life energy, or Prana, is allowed to freely circulate.

Along with influencing the energetic side, Ancient Massage also works on the physical body. Starting at the feet and progressing up to the head, the client’s body will be moved, loosened and stretched. Ancient Massage combines techniques usually found isolated in the western physiotherapies including Trigger Point Treatments, Myofascial Techniques, Manual Therapy and others. The combination of energetic and physical aspects is unique to Ancient Massage, and so are its effects. Ancient Massage is a gift for the body, speech (energy) and mind (heart).

Ancient Massage is a way to prevent sickness. It helps to dissolve blocks before they manifest psychologically or physically, and it also improves flexibility. Injured athletes, as well as those suffering from handicaps or stress are another target group. Essentially, anyone will benefit from this powerful technique.

Concerning the treatment, Ancient Massage is a floor massage. The fully dressed client lies on a pad or light mattress. An ingenious system of movements allows the therapist to manipulate the client without much effort. Every movement is designed to support the client as well as the therapist. The massage is given in silence to allow the therapist to understand the client and to give the client a chance to focus and learn about himself without distraction. To give and to experience Ancient Massage is a meditative practice. At the end of a two to three hour treatment, both the receiver and the therapist will feel relaxed and energized.

History

The beginning in India

In the beginning in India, medicine was part of an ascetically based religious movement, a portion of which became know as Buddhism. Medicine evolved with the Sangha and Buddhism monastery, became codified as part of the Buddhist scriptures, gave rise to the monk-healers and provided the basis for subsequent development of Buddhist monastic universities.

The traditional system of ayurvedic medicine owes much of its early systematization, preservation, and subsequent propagation to the ascetic Buddhists and their monastic institution.

Preserved in Thailand

When Buddhism began to spread to other part of Asia, medical institution and practices of the monastery went along as integral parts of the religious system. When Buddhism reached Thailand in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, temples were built with adjacent dispensaries and medical schools.

Massage and other healing arts were taught and applied in the monasteries and within the family. In families it has been mainly an oral tradition (as most people could not read) handed down from teacher to student. The purpose of writing it down as done by the Sangha, was to preserve the medical tradition for the longest possible time and make it available to the maximum number of people of future generations.

It is easily understandable that compassionate monks and nuns would integrate any beneficial medical system to the one brought from India. It is also easy to understand that influence from China and other surrounding countries may have played a significant role in enriching the existing medical system. When one is sick or unwell no helpful method should be disregarded. If it truly help, it is good.

As to where and when Ancient Massage originated precisely, it is difficult to ascertain for sure. A long time has past and many historical evidences have disappeared, for example at the time of the destructive Muslim invasion of Northern India and also at the time of the Burmese invasion of the capital of Ayutthaya in 1767.

Only fragments of the existing precious medical texts survived the Burmese invasion and destruction, which the kind King Rama III in 1832 used as a basis for the famous epigraphs at Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho) in Bangkok (see photos above).

One thing is for sure, all is the fruit of care, of people striving to alleviate suffering and make other truly comfortable and well.

First to offer materiel well being (cloth, food, shelter, medicine and so forth), second to protect the people from fear (the giving of fearlessness) and third to teach the precious Dharma (the giving of Dharma). These are the three generosity taught by the Buddha.