Who is Jivaka Kumarbaccha?

Jivaka Kumarbaccha

A long time ago, approximately 2500 years ago, a Guru was testing his medical students. The students of Ayurveda were assigned a final task to prove what they had learned from all their years: Go out and bring back something that cannot be used as medicine. The students went in three separate directions and returned one at a time. After one hour the first student returned with a brick. After 3 hours, the second student was more clever, she came back carrying a flask of poison. At last, after 6 hours the third student returns empty handed. Only one of the students passed the exam. His name was Jivaka Kumarbaccha and he illustrated that in Ayurveda, all substances can be used as medicine under the right circumstances. In Ayurvedic medicine even metals such as gold can be reduced to ash and processed underground for use as internal medicine. Jivaka Kumarbaccha is well known in Thailand as the “Father Doctor” of Thai yoga massage.

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Jivaka Kumarbaccha was an Indian physician – an Ayurvedic Vaidya. As king Bimbisara’s personal physician he became a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. The king allowed Jivaka to follow the Buddha and he became the personal physician of the Buddha on his travels. Jivaka and his disciples wore white robes, not the saffron robes of monks. It is said that Jivaka could not wear the saffron orange robes that Buddhist monks wear in Thailand because a Buddhist monk cannot touch females. The father of Thai yoga massage could not discriminate between the sexes for the purpose of healing! Besides, he already had the white robe and was quite comfortable with its flowiness.

The teachings of this Indian physician eventually reached Thailand where the people developed a great tradition, preserving this wonderful preventive medicine. Thai yoga massage has its roots in Vedic philosophy, yoga and ultimately, Ayurveda; but the Thai people have undoubtedly adapted the technique to keep pace with an ever changing world. Thai yoga massage practitioners in Bangkok, in Montreal and the world over repeat a mantra at the start and end of each day to invoke the healing spirit of the “Father doctor,” Jivaka.