Annual "Wai Khru" Ceremony for Thai Massage and Thai Medicine Community
(Appreciation for Teachers and Knowledge)

Thai Massage School Shivagakomarpaj - "Old Medicine Hospital"
Annual Wai Khru Ceremony - (Thailand) (All Invited at no cost)
Date: June 20, 2013 (Thursday)

Thai Institute of Healing Arts
Annual Wai Khru Ceremony - (USA) (All Invited at no cost)
Date: August 17, 2013 (Saturday) @ 9:00AM - 12:00PM

Wai khru (pronounced like the English words "why crew") is the most important spiritual practice of the Thai healer. Wai khru means "appreciation for teachers and knowledge," and this is the formal ceremony in which a practitioner of Thai massage, or other healing art, shows appreciation for his or her teachers.

The teachers also show appreciation for their students by preparing and hosting the ceremony, as well as by giving students gifts during the ceremony.

It is interesting to note that not only traditional medicine practitioners, but shamans, fortune tellers, Thai kick-boxers (muay thai), Thai dancers, and practitioners of many other arts each have their own wai khru ceremonies to show gratitude to their own teachers and lineages.

The wai khru of the Thai healer involves a ceremony through which the practitioners show their gratitude to the lineage of teachers who have handed down ancient medical knowledge to the present day. The participants receive gifts and kind words from the teacher to guide their development and practice. The daily wai khru ceremony is usually performed individually by practitioners in their homes or places of business every day. However, it is also important for practitioners to gather together once a year as a community and attend this large event, as a way of uniting in honor of the traditional medical knowledge they have learned and practice.

The Thai massage and Thai medicine wai khru celebrates the Buddha's physician, Jivaka (traditionally believed to have invented Thai massage around 2500 years ago), several Master Teachers throughout history, and all those currently teaching. While many Western students and practitioners have learned an abbreviated wai khru ceremony and practice it on a regular basis, they are most often not able to attend the major annual ceremony in Chiang Mai. As part of our role in building a Thai massage and Thai medicine community in the West, the Thai Institute has the responsibility of conducting a major annual ceremony of wai khru here in the U.S.

The vast majority of all Thai massage practitioners and teachers in the Western world have learned from teachers which trace back to the Shivagakomarpaj Lineage ("Old Medicine Hospital") and its founder Ajahn Sintorn Chaichakan. In 2011, as a special honor, Ajahn ("Master") Wasan Chaichakan, the son of the founder Ajahn Sintorn Chaichakan, presided over the annual wai khru at the Thai Institute. His presence made this event extra special and meaningful for those who attended. The Chaichakan family honored and acknowledged the Thai Institute as the seat of their lineage in the west and officially recognize this annual wai khru led by David Roylance as a gathering for all students, practitioners, and teachers of the Thai healing arts.

We invite all students, practitioners, and teachers of Thai massage and Thai medicine, along with their family and friends, to share in this annual celebration and educational event. Whether you studied with any teacher from the Old Medicine Hospital, Thai Institute of Healing Arts, Thai Massage Training Center Shivagakomarpaj, ITM, Pichest Boonthumme, Sunshine Network, Lotus Palm, or any other teacher, you are invited to participate in the ceremony and experience this traditional practice.

There is no charge for the wai khru ceremony, although registration is required for planning purposes. Students, practitioners, and teachers along with their family and friends are all invited.

The Thai Institute celebrates our daily wai khru each day at 9:00am and 6:00pm. On August 2 we celebrate Ajahn Sintorn's birthday and on October 18 we observe the date of his passing. These special dates are observed during our daily wai khru at 9:00am following Thai practices and traditions. Our Annual Wai Khru is schedule each year in August on a Saturday morning. All are invited to these important ceremonies including family, friends, students, practitioners, and instructors.