Massage & Bodywork

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2017

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C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 87 trust. Without the offering, the exchange becomes unbalanced and unfair, to both parties. The grey area of what constitutes an equal exchange is where exploitations take place. For these reasons, students are required to learn and observe a set code of conduct. The following is a translation of 10 regulations used by the famed Wat Po Thai Traditional Massage School in Bangkok: 2 1. Possess mettā toward all patients equally, refraining from selecting patients based on their wealth, fame, and preference. 2. Do not treat patients solely out of greed and desire for money. 3. Speak the truth and remember humility. • Be honest and confident about one's capabilities and knowledge, but do not advertise or tell patients that one is better than other doctors. • Do not brag, boast, or advertise about one's knowledge and capability, either in order to get more patients or especially to the point where patients lose faith in other doctors. 4. Know your community and your limitations. Share your patients. Do not obstruct other doctors and/or speak poorly of other doctors' capabilities, most especially if they currently have more knowledge than oneself. 5. Refrain from prejudice and bias. A good doctor has a heart geared toward helping alleviate the suffering of everyone. Thus, do not treat people out of: • Chandāgati: treating patients one endears, or has partiality toward, with extra care while showing carelessness and indifference to those one does not have an affinity toward. • Mohagati: delusion; believing one possesses extraordinary skill to the point where one treats patients with overconfidence and carelessness. • Dosagati: treating a patient with annoyance, frustration, or anger in one's heart to the point where one does not give their all to their patient. • Bhayāgati: unfounded fear or worry while giving a treatment (e.g., fear that the client will not be able to pay, or will be completely cured and never come back, or that they will go elsewhere and prefer that doctor instead). 6. Remain unaffected by and indifferent to the Attha Loka Dhamma. 7. Possess refinement and subtlety of character, with a healthy fear of bad deeds in body, speech, and mind. A good doctor remains loyal and honest to their duty and themselves. 8. Be cautious and thorough. Avoid carelessness and laziness. 9. Possess thoughtfulness, consideration, and methodology. Rationally and meticulously analyze the causes and conditions of the patient's suffering. A good doctor fully utilizes their intelligence, knowledge, capability, skills of reflection, and experience when giving treatments. 10. Remove oneself from all habitual behavior leading to ruin and corruption, i.e., laziness, adultery (womanizing/ man-izing), binge drinking, outlandish nightlife activities, indulgence in entertainment, gambling, and keeping the company of those leading such lifestyles. What a different world this Western health-care system would be if we could incorporate these noble ideals into our medical culture. In applying the famous quote of Laozi, perhaps the first step in this "journey of 1,000 miles" starts with ourselves; to look within and examine our personal motivations and incentives as to why we offer what we do. From honest introspection, we bring our inner world into our outer world of speech and action. Putting this into the massage world, through deepening our own morals, we honor the profound opportunity we have in putting our hands on those sentient beings that come to us for assistance. Notes 1. C. P. Salguero and N. Jacobsen, Thai Herbal Medicine, 2nd ed. (Scotland: Findhorn Press, 2013). 2. I personally translated these 10 codes while I was studying at the Chetupon School of Traditional Medicine in Bangkok. A former Buddhist monk, Josh Jayintoh received bodywork training from the Wat Po Thai Traditional Massage School, Triple Gem School of Thai Massage, Noam Tyroler's School of Thai Acupressure for Orthopedic Disorders, and the Naga Center. For more information, visit www.joshuajayintoh.com. To learn more information about ABMP's Code of Ethics for practitioners, visit www.abmp.com/abmp-code-ethics.

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