“Clinic Rak Jai”: An Integration of Applied Thai Traditional Medicine with Buddhist Counseling for Holistic Care

Abstract

“Holistic well-being” would refer to the 4 connected dimensions of life: physical well-being, mental well-being, social well-being and spiritual or cognition. The dimensions inevitably dictate and affect one another. One cannot acquire a rewarding life if one, if not more, dimension is not adequately fullfilled. Hence, having an overall healthy well-being often leads to good quality of life. The suffering that occurs, whether it is physical or mental suffering, will affect your thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or even your daily life. Relation between mind and body was mentioned in traditional medicine from the beginning of life (birth), aging, sickness to death as “The mind is the master and the body is the servant”. “Clinic Rak Jai” is intended to provide service to relieve suffering and stress with the integration of Dhammanamaya principles (healthy mind) and Buddhist counseling. This can help alleviate suffering through the mentoring process, providing a comfortable talking or deep con- versation. Both principles based on holistic care are aimed to mitigate physical sufferings which often present in physical pain, uplift unsound mental states, and ultimately improve all dimensions of life.