Ayurvedic Correspondence Course: Om Namo Medicine Master Buddha! Sangye Menla! - the Patron Buddha of our Tibetan Herbal Medicine Correspondence Course.       In the Tibetan Medicine Tantras (Four Tantras or rGyud bzhi), Shakyamuni Buddha describes Medicine Master Buddha as an Supremely Enlightened Being who has special powers of healing. The special healing blessings of Medicine Buddha may be obtained by reciting his name or mantra.  In Tibetan chant "Om Namo Baghawate Bhaghandze Guru Bhadurya Prabaraja Tathagataya Arhate Samkya Sam Buddhaya Tayatha Om Bheghandze".   In Sanskrit chanting "Aum Namo Bhagavaté Bhaisajya Guru Vaidurya Prabaha Rajaya Tathagataya Arhaté Samyaksambodhi Tadyata Aum Bhaisajé Bhaisajé Bhaisajya Samudgaté Svaha".    For centuries, Buddhists have been reciting this mantra prayer, to bring an ultimate healing of spiritual disease, as well as cures for everyday problems of the body and mind.  This graphic is either reprinted with permission or is made available under the "fair use" provision (17 USC §107) of the U.S. Copyright Act for research and non-profit educational and religious purposes only. Picture source: www.tibetmedicine.orgAyurveda Healing Arts Institute
of the Medicine Buddha Healing Center

California's Clinical College of Ayurvedic Therapies
from the Buddhist - Yogic - Vedic Tradition


Learn Traditional Himalayan Healing
Wisdom from India, Tibet and China

Ayurvedic education hugs all aspects of life - so the Medicine Buddha Healing Center offers this random collage of images from throughout the sea vast world of Vedic - Yogic - Buddhist Ayurveda - the eternal Science of Self Healing.                                                                                                            All copyrighted photos or images available via this religious educational site or its Buddhist Ayurvedic herbal distance learning correspondence courses have been scanned in and are displayed either with permission as noted or are displayed, quoted, paraphrased, or excerpted and made available under the fair use provision (17 USC §107) of the United States Copyright Act for non-profit research and non-profit educational and religious purposes only.  If you have questions, e-mail info@Ayurveda-California.com

Main Topics:     Site updated: March 16, 2008
 
Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

About Us   --   Dedication and Transference of Merit

Download an MP3 Audio Introduction to the Ayurveda Distance Learning Program
(13 MB)
.  Here is the written version of the audio file -- Welcome to Ayurveda CAT

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

 

Academic Programs  -  Click here for full Course Details with Book List in Excel

Required list of Textbooks with sample chapters, Program Costs - Sign up for the Course

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

 

 

 

 

We offer both Ayurvedic Correspondence Course (Herbal Distance Learning) and
in-person Classroom-based Ayurvedic college training in Berkeley, California, USA:

                                 
  
Level I: Clinical Ayurveda Therapist (C.A.T) - We are a clinical Ayurveda therapy program with weekly in-person Saturday clinic apprenticeship of 4-hours worth of clinical Ayurveda herbal therapy consultations with 6 to 10 clients each week (40 clients per month, and 400 clients in one year) where we teach you Dr. Vasant Lad's method of clinical Ayurvedic pulse and tongue assessment along with his classical Ayurvedic herbal remedy formulation.

225 hours / 15 units   $3350 Distance Learning,   $4100 In-Person Classroom-based Learning    6 months to 1 year certificate program: 30 minute clinical oral exam at end

Make an Offering for your Ayurvedic Courses

 

C.A.T. Distance Learning (Correspondence Course)     $3350 suggested donation
                 $900  Total Refundable Tuition Donation  plus non-refundable $54 Application Fee, plus non-refundable $54 Registration Fee, plus $50 for 25 non-refundable Herbal Sample Packet Labels, plus $100 non-refundable for Michael Dick's Ayurvedic Herbal e-Handbook, $92 non-refundable for Ayurveda Course e-Handouts for C.A.T. = $3350 suggested total charitable contribution.

 

NOTE: Zero interest student donation plans are
available for low income persons:

Pay as little as $200/month for Distance Learning, $300/month for In-Person.

We accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover or Check.   Click to make a donation for your Ayurvedic Correspondence Course or Consultations via PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!

Our affordable ($1,800 In-Person Classroom, $3350 Distance Learning) 225-hour Clinical Ayurveda Therapist (C.A.T.) and our medium level ($7,243 In-Person, $3,210 Distance) 750-hour Clinical Ayurveda Herbalist (C.A.H.) and our advanced ($10,908 In-Person, $12962 Distance) 1,200-hour Clinical Ayurvedic Herbalist Specialist (C.A.H.S.) weekly 1-2 year-long clinical Certificate Programs have no relationship whatsoever with the California College of Ayurveda's $8,550 624-Hour Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist (C.A.S.) 1-Weekend-a-Month 24-Month Intensive Program.  For more details on the differences between the two programs, click here to see a cost-hours comparison of all the Ayurvedic educational programs offered by schools in the USA.


Level II: Clinical Ayurvedic Herbalist (C.A.H.) 750 hours / 50 units
$8990 Distance Learning,   $7243 In-Person Classroom-based
1 year certificate program: 30 min. oral exam at end & 10 page clinical research paper

Level III: Clinical Ayurvedic Herbalist Specialist (C.A.H.S.) and
"Associate of Applied Ayurvedic Science Degree" (A.A.A.S.)
(
also referred to A.S. Buddhist Ayurveda) is an undergraduate associates-level religious healing-arts degree (theological science) conferring status as a a clinical specialist Buddhist Pastoral Counselor (Minister) with First Amendment Constitutional protections to practice Buddhist Ayurveda as part of a lay ordination program of the Medicine Buddha Healing Center
1200 hours / 80 units   $12962 Distance Learning,  $10908 In-Person Classroom-based
1.5 to 2 year degree program: 30 min. oral exam & 15 page clinical research paper

Level IV: Master Ayurvedic Herbalist (M.A.H.) / "Bachelor of Buddhist Ayurvedic Sciences Degree" (B.S. Buddhist Ayurveda) is an undergraduate religious healing-arts degree (theological science) conferring status as a Buddhist Pastoral Counselor (Minister) with First Amendment Constitutional protections to practice Buddhist Ayurveda as part of a lay ordination program of the Medicine Buddha Healing Center.  Based on the American Herbalist Guild educational guidelines.
Classes, research work and writing a 27 page Clinical Research Paper to be based primarily on 400 B.C. Vedic-Yogi Monk Charaka's Carak Samhita of the Brihat Trayi Sutras and on the Shurangama Sutra and its relationship with the Sanhkya philosophy.
1800 hours / 120 units      $16482 Distance Learning,  $15408 In-Person
3 to 4 year degree program: 45 minute oral exam & 27 page clinical research paper

 

Level V: Master of Buddhist Ayurvedic Sciences (M.S. Buddhist Ayurveda) - A graduate-level religious degree conferring advanced academic and clinical status as a Buddhist Pastoral Counselor (Minister) to already ordained lay ministers. Classes, research work and writing a 108 page Master's Thesis to be based primarily on the work of the Buddhist Ayurvedic Sage Bodhisattva Nagarjuna: specifically on his redaction of the 200 B.C. Sanskrit Ayurveda Classic Sushruta Samhita of the Brihat Trayi Sutras and the Buddhist Avatamsaka (Flower Adornment) Sutra - the King of Kings of Buddhist scriptures.
2400 hours / 160 units           $10258 Distance Learning,   $19873 In-Person
4 to 5 year degree program: 60 min. clinical oral exam - 108 page clinical thesis paper

 

Level VI: Doctor of Buddhist Ayurvedic  Science Philosophy (Ph.D. Buddhist Ayurveda)
A post-graduate-level Buddhist Ayurveda religious degree conferring the most advanced level of academic and clinical status as a Buddhist Pastoral Counselor (Minister) to already ordained lay ministers.  Involves writing of a 216 page Doctoral Dissertation on Ayurveda.  Emphasis is on the 550 A.D. Sanskrit Indian Buddhist Ayurveda classic Vagbhata's Astanga Hridayam of the Brihat Trayi Sutras, on the 700 A.D. Tibetan Medicine Four Medical Tantras (called rGyud-bzhi in Tibetan, it is based on Astanga Hridayam) and on the Lotus Sutra.
3000 hours / 200 units           $12658 Distance Learning,   $25069 In-Person
6 to 7 year degree program: 60 min. oral dissertation defense - 216 page dissertation


 

Click here for Online Program Application and Registration
                             

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning




 

National Standards, Authorization, Accreditation - We meet or exceed all National and California Ayurvedic educational standards and guidelines and those of the American Herbalists Guild.

The National Ayurvedic Medical Association suggests 500 hours of training.  The California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (C.A.A.M.) mandates a minimum of 350 hours for professional membership. The American Herbalist Guild suggests 1,750 hours for professional membership.  We offer a total of 1,800 hours (M.A.H.), 1,200 hours (C.A.H.S.), and 750 hours (C.A.H.) respectively for our three advanced level herbal practitioner certificate diploma programs and are thus positioned to help our graduates to pursue professional level membership in the above professional organizations.

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Ayurvedic Class Audios  -  Listen to NEW sample audios / videos from our seminars

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Tuition - Admissions - Policies   --   Actual Tuition Cost Breakdowns

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Faculty - Facilities   --  Ven. Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur, Ph.D, Co-Founder,
               Main faculty, Dr. Bill Celentano, D.O., Ph.D, Adjunct Faculty

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning


Class Schedule in Berkeley Classes at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery,
                at the Elephant Pharmacy and at the Medicine Buddha Healing Center. Full Year Schedule

                in Excel format (click here for full schedule)

Level I: Clinical Ayurveda Therapist (C.A.T) Schedule of Classes
Level II: Clinical Ayurvedic Herbalist (C.A.H.) Schedule of Classes
Level III: Clinical Ayurvedic Herbalist Specialist (C.A.H.S.) Schedule of Classes
Level IV: Master Ayurvedic Herbalist (M.A.H.) Schedule of Classes

   
Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Ayurveda College Brochure A simple tri-fold introduction to our school
Click here to download the MS Word Brochure - 2 MB - Recommended first look!
 

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Medicine Buddha Healing Center Brochure A simple intro to our free clinic
Click here to download the MS Word Brochure - 2 MB
 

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

What is Ayurveda? The Science of Self Healing - Intro audio lecture

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Ayurvedic Ethics  - (Buddhist, Vedic, Yogic Precepts) - School and Practitioners

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Articles of Association and Organization  - Buddhist Church and School

Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing - Tibetan Medicine Correspondence Course, Ayurvedic Medicine Correspondence Course, Herbal Correspondence Course, Herbal Distance Learning

Requirements for Correspondence Course  - Software needed for online Ayurveda seminars

 

 


Tour the Entire Ayurveda School Site

 Click here to tour the entire site, page-by-page.

Click here to view the Ayurveda College Site Map Table of Contents.

 




Who We Are?

As a non-profit 501(c)3 religious organization (a Buddhist Ayurvedic Ministry, Institute, Center and Temple) called the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute (Medicine Buddha Healing Center) founded on July 4, 2000 and teaching traditional spiritual Buddhist Ayurveda healing techniques from India, Tibet, Nepal and China.

Our main aim is to preserve the rich and ancient physical-psycho-spiritual healing traditions of East Indian Buddhist-Vedic-Yogic Ayurvedic Medicine and Buddhist Tibetan Medicine and impart this time-tested wisdom to younger generations. 

We offer informal training classes and formal apprenticeship leading to certification and ceremonial lay ordination as a Buddhist Ayurveda Pastoral Counselor to practice Buddhist Ayurveda. 

Buddhist Ayurveda is the classical spiritual Ayurveda practiced in the time of Shakyamuni Buddha (550 B.C. to 1000 A.D.) as taught at Buddhist Ayurvedic Monasteries such as the 5th century B.C. Indian Nalanda University, the world's first university.  Buddhist Ayurveda, the elder foundation for the younger Tibetan Medicine (700 A.D.), is based on the ancient sacred Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese classic Sutra scriptures and mantras of the Medicine Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Guan Yin Bodhisattva, Sushruta Nagarjuna Bodhisattva, Ganesha, Patanjali, Vagbhata and other great healer sages and healing Bodhisattvas of Ayurveda.  We view the generous big-hearted Buddhist Ayurveda principles more recently manifesting in the modern day examples of contemporary sage Bodhisattva healers such as our inspiring teachers the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, Dr. Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., and Clown Bodhisattva  Dr. Patch Adams, M.D.  The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute teaches Ayurveda that includes Buddhism... and a Buddhism that included Ayurveda.  Ayurveda "hugs all aspects of life" and "Buddhism encompassed the entire Dharma Realm."  In the traditional Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist metaphor, they are both "fingers pointing at the moon."  For more on this, please see our Spiritual Mission, the school's Buddhist Ayurvedic Herbalist Ethical Precepts, and our definition of the spiritual missions of a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist or Clinical Ayurveda Therapist or Pastoral Counselor or Buddhist Ayurveda Minister.

Download MS Word Brochure on the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute (1 MB)

Download MS Word Brochure on the the Medicine Buddha Healing Center (3 MB)

 


Our Class Locations:

All regular Tuesday night Ayurvedic Psychology classes (7:30 to 9:30 PM) and one two-day weekend per month are held at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery (2304 McKinley Avenue at Bancroft - 1 block west of Martin Luther King near Berkeley High School track and field) (click here for directions).   A 10 minutes walk (five blocks) from Downtown Berkeley BART station - street parking is easy.  Check the schedule for more details. Although unaffiliated with us, we thank the Monastery for their kindred spirit support of our classes. 

Other classes are held at the:
 


Open to the Public Ayurveda Classes for 2006:

NOTE: Please R.S.V.P. for these classes by calling 510-292-6696 - leave your name, e-mail address and phone number.   Please CALL US, no e-mail available.

 

Om Gang Ganapatayé Namaha!  Homage to Ganesh - the Elephant God of Wisdom - May he remove our sickness and karmic obstacles.  Come to Elephant Pharmacy to learn about the ancient Ayurvedic wisdom of Ganesh - The Elephant God of Healing! "Om gananam tva ganapatim havamahé kavim kavinam upamashravastamam, jyéshtha rajam brahmanam brahmanas pata a naha shrunvanutibhihi sida sadanam, vakratunda mahakaya surya koti samaprabha, nirvighnam kuru mé deva sarva karyéshu sarvada, siddhi buddhi shatki sahita shriman mahaganadipatayé namo namaha, nirvighnam kuru"      This graphic is either reprinted with permission or is made available under the "fair use" provision (17 USC §107) of the U.S. Copyright Act for research and non-profit educational and religious purposes only.  Picture source: http://www.ayurveda.com

[Most Sundays in 2006 from 2 PM to 3 PM at the Elephant Pharmacy in Berkeley, California (click here for directions). Join our weekly Saturday afternoon "Wisdom-Memory Like an Elephant" discussion at the Elephant Pharmacy to learn the Ayurvedic approach to healing.  Each week at Elephant, Master Herbalist Losang Jinpa,  D.Ayur, M.A.H. will discuss the Ayurvedic perspectives on herbs various ailments, organs, systems of the body-mind. 

He will then offer free 10 minute herbal consultations (including traditional Ayurvedic pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis) with clients at the Elephant Pharmacy from approximately 3 PM to 7 PM. 

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[Tuesday Night Ayurvedic Psychology, Ayurvedic Herbology and AyurYoga Classes at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery (click here for directions).   Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur resumed teaching weekly Tuesday night classes in Berkeley in January 2005 at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery / Institute for World Religions (2304 McKinley Avenue at Bancroft - 1 block west of Martin Luther King near Berkeley High School track and field) (click here for directions).  Although unaffiliated with us, we thank the Monastery for their kindred spirit support of our classes. 

Please R.S.V.P. at 510-292-6696.   E-mail: Not Available, please CALL us.  To understand why we don't offer e-mail access to us, click here to understand the Buddhist Ayurveda perspective on Computers, Television and Genetic Engineering.

Suggested Donation: FREE to all living beings (The Dharma is a priceless jewel, so a price cannot be assigned to it)

There is a free optional AyurYoga - Dhyana Samadhi (Ch'an) meditation portion of the program.  This meditation portion begins at 5 PM until 6:15 PM with 15 minutes of self-guided Ayurvedic Yoga warm up exercises, followed by a silent cross legged meditation sit for 1 hour in the Buddha Hall of the Monastery.  There is an optional Evening Puja Ceremony from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM involving mantra chanting, Heart Sutra, Amitabha Sutra recitation, 88 Buddhas Repentance Ceremony and walking meditation (circumambulation).

The Ayurvedic Psychology - AyurYoga series, taught by Master Herbalist Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur, M.A.H., is based on teachings Losang learned and practiced over the last 8 years of dedicated scholarship.  This includes his most current studies in the recent 2 month-long 260 hour Shurangama Sutra and Mantra Summer Retreat sponsored by the Dharma Realm Buddhist Youth at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas combined with the Ayurvedic Psychology and Shad Darshan (Six Philosophies of India) he formally studied during his six years apprenticeship with his Ayurveda teacher Dr. Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc. of the Ayurvedic Institute

Buddhists teachings on meditation and compassion have begun to resonate with many in the West. Sutras, or sacred texts, offer deeper understanding into Buddhist practice. One such text is the Shurangama Sutra in which the Buddha gives detailed description of the fundamental nature of reality, explores the deepest levels of the mind, reveals the origin of the universe, and shares ways to apply this knowledge towards one’s personal quest for awakening. Come join us for an ongoing year-long course of self-exploration and study of the Buddha's most lofty teaching leading to perfect awakening.

The lively and inspiring class combined with both Buddhist Ayurvedic theory (gnosis) and practice (praxis) will include extensive handouts, readings, exercises, meditations, more than 1000 colorful PowerPoint slides with archival digital audios made each week for your downloading and review and some distinguished guest lecturers from the Ayurvedic, Tibetan, Chinese healing traditions.`

What is Shurangama Sutra?   We picked this sutra because it was the first sutra lectured in America by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua's City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (www.DRBA.org). In the summer of 1968, Master Hua led the first summer Shurangama retreat at the Buddha’s Lecture Hall in San Francisco. The sutra is said to be "the King among All Sutras" and is crowned the sutra foremost in developing wisdom.

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The following is a historical and literary description of the sutra. While many of the terms might not be familiar to you, they should not be a source of worry or intimidation as they will be covered thoroughly during the September through June Ayurvedic Psychology course.

"In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, the Shurangama Sutra is an essential text, equal in importance to the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lotus Sutra. The Shurangama centers around a Socratic dialogue between the Buddha Shakyamuni and his brilliant but erring cousin Ananda. Through the dialogue, the Buddha peels away layer upon layer of appearance to reveal the teaching of the Tathagatagarbha, the Buddha-Matrix, which is the fundamental emptiness that contains all things, the absolute in its final identity with the relative. The Buddha’s explanation of this "ultimate truth that is the Middle Way" together with a mapping of the steps by which beings have lost that Way, requires the full first half of the Sutra. In the second half, Ananda is instructed how to follow the same steps back to identity with the source – that is, how to realize enlightenment. The remarkable section of twenty-five enlightenment narratives culminates in the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara’s recommendation to "turn the hearing around to hear the true nature." The Buddha then describes 55 stages of enlightenment; identifies the karma that leads to birth at the various levels of beings; praises the many benefits of reciting the Shurangama Mantra; and makes clear that without pure moral conduct there can be no success in self-cultivation. Finally, the Buddha warns against the demonic states of mind that can overtake advanced meditators who are sloppy in their morals or who lack understanding. The sutra presents, then, at once a coherent explanation of being and a manual for spiritual practice based on that explanation, all set forth within a narrative of a dramatic encounter between an argumentative disciple and an infinitely patient teacher on a single summer afternoon."
 

All classes offered by the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute are free of charge (by donation [see below] ).  No one turned away due to lack of funds.  Open to persons of all faiths and persuasions.


 

Make an Offering any of these Ayurvedic Courses:  Remember, no student is EVER turned away due to lack of funds.  So, if you cannot afford $108, then please sign up for the course by making the donation that is within your budget.

 

It is recommended that students of the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute also attend the weekly Saturday night (7 PM to 9:30 PM) Avatamsaka Sutra (The King of Kings of Buddhist Sutras) lectures at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery.  The Avatamsaka Sutra is lectured every Saturday at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery by the American Buddhist monk Rev. Heng Sure.  Please drop by in Berkeley or to listen online to the audiocast / videocast at: http://www.bttsonline.org/Webcast.aspx.   The Avatamsaka Sutra was brought to our Earthly realm from the Dragon realm by the Buddhist Ayurvedic Sage Nagarjuna Bodhisattva during his dhyana samadhi.  Sri Nagarguna was a famous Ayurvedic physician and the editor/redactor of the Sushruta Samhita (the second most important Ayurvedic medical text).  This Summer, August 1, 2006 to end of August, 2006 Losang will be away on retreat again for the Summer Break and hence the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute will be closed for the summer.  He will be studying the Avatamsaka Sutra there at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.  Students enrolled in the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute are welcome to join Losang there for the summer retreat.
 

 


The First Practice of the Bodhisattva Path:
Generosity
(Dana Paramita) - Benefiting Others

As a Buddhist Dharma Center and Institute, we prefer to offer all of our Ayurveda classes and Ayurvedic healing services on a suggested donation basis (called dana paramita in Indian Sanskrit), rather than ask for a fixed sum.  This is the first of the Six Practices of the Bodhisattva.

Make an Offering for your Ayurvedic Courses

Remember, no student is EVER turned away due to lack of funds.  So, if you cannot afford $3350 please sign up for the course by making the donation that is within your budget.

This means that our ministry (Medicine Buddha Healing Center) and its school (Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute) relies on donations for all expenses.  So that dana paramita (the perfection of the practice of giving) may take root here in the West, we ask your reflection on this fundamental Buddhist-Yogic practice.  From the time of the Buddha (550 B.C.), the practice of Dharma (teaching and healing) has traditionally happened within a field of generosity.  We believe that Dharma practice unfolds best for everyone concerned when the teaching-healing and the support for the teaching-healing are given freely.  We follow the generous Bodhisattva spirit and vows of Dr. Patch Adams, and Dr. Vasant Lad, who have inspired our both our format of giving and our teachings - healing practices. 

We agree with and emulate Patch Adams' Bodhisattva spirit of Dana Paramita when he said in his book Gesundheit:

"Greed is one of society’s worst malignancies, and it appears to have metastasized to every corner of the earth. The sense that greed is incurable may well account for its escalation. Certainly one of greed’s most devastating symptoms is cynicism. Unless greed and its symptoms are excised, society will perish.

We believe that a society must care for its population enough to take care of its needs. Treatment of disease and provision for health care are fundamental to a society’s sound survival. These needs should be fulfilled as a gift to its population, not as a commodity to be bought and sold. In a profit-oriented system devoted to grabbing the most income the traffic will bear, the goal will be disease care. In a service-oriented system devoted to keeping the population at its healthiest, the goal will be disease prevention. The Gesundheit Institute will never charge money for its medical services. If it is to survive, its staff, patients, and friends will cooperate and donate everything needed for it to flourish as a community hospital.

We hope to eliminate the factor of debt entirely from the healing interaction. Although this leaves us vulnerable to the wishes of the greater community, paradoxically, we believe that vulnerability is our greatest strength. We believe it is imperative to need the community we serve because the community also needs us. This is basic to interdependence, which we feel is necessary for a healthy society.

We must, as individuals and as a free society, stop our worship of things and wealth and put our sense of richness in things everybody can have in abundance without excluding anyone. These riches include faith, fun, and the breathtaking bounty of nature and friendship. This kind of medicine cannot be bought or sold. By not charging patients… we are freer to be silly and to build friendships. We also believe that not charging money is very good malpractice insurance. We hope that our patients will take the generosity with them when they leave and spread it in their own communities. This is the heart of our social revolution: to take the most expensive service in America and give it away for free."

 

"Practical Outrageousness - Bringing Humor and Joy into Your Clinical Practice" Course at University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

Click here to listen to a Patch Adams - a sample of our Ayurvedic Correspondence Course using the Windows Media Player.patch_adams_large_1_gesundheit!_institute.wma
Listen to an amazing 2 hour long lecture by world-renowned Clown Bodhisattva Dr. Patch Adams at UCSF's Practical Outrageousness Seminar which our primary faculty member Losang Jinpa attended in April 2002. 
(19 MB)

Click on any of the above links to see many video clips that show Patch's philosophy on life which has been the model for the Ayurvedic Healing Arts Institute.

What is an appropriate amount of dana paramita? We do not charge a fixed amount (but we do have some suggested guidelines) in order to allow each person to answer that question from her/his own heart and circumstances.  Our practitioners view dana paramita in this way: "Dana paramita is a gift to ourselves because it is an opportunity to give freely.  Giving and receiving are really part of the same whole." 

Several practical considerations may be of use and interest to actualize the practice of generosity at the Medicine Buddha Healing Center and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute.  Many of our main faculty teachers - practitioners, such as Losang Jinpa, are giving freely of their time, energy, commitment to the Dharma.  Emulating monastics, our teachers - practitioners trust that their livelihood needs will be met through donations.  Some donations we receive help support other groups (such the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association / Berkeley Buddhist Monastery).  

It is our hope that those who receive the teaching - healing services of our Center and Institute will share with us a heartfelt commitment to the deep practice of generosity.


"Bringing fun, friendship, spirituality and
the joy of service back into healthcare."

"The healer who regards kindness to humanity as his supreme religion and treats his patients accordingly, succeeds best in achieving his aims of life and obtains the greatest pleasure."
-- from Charaka, honored 2nd century B.C. Ayurvedic Physician

Giving is a form of the Bodhisattva Vow to save living beings from suffering. The 34 Buddhist Lay Bodhisattva Path Precept Vows requires of us to: "Compassionately help those suffering from ill health." Hence, we study, practice, and teach Indo-Tibetan Ayurvedic healing as "joyful relentless service." as modeled by our inspirations Dr. Patch Adams, M.D. and Dr. Albert Schweitzer, M.D.

 "You ask me for a motto. Here it is: SERVICE."
    
- Albert Schweitzer (
www.schweitzer.org)


The Most Comprehensive and Low-Cost Distance Learning:
East Indian Ayurvedic Medicine and Tibetan Medicine Online Correspondence Courses

Himalayan Medicine
in the Buddhist - Yogic - Vedic
Tradition of India, Tibet & China

Want to study Ayurvedic Medicine or Tibetan Medicine, but don't like to travel? Hate to sit in class? Can't afford to take time off from your work? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, Medicine Buddha Healing Center's Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute has the perfect solution for your needs. We have Distance Learning Programs on a wide variety of Himalayan Healing Arts topics.

  • Study what you want to learn, when you want to learn it, wherever you learn best.

  • Learn at your own pace using the latest multimedia audio-visual learning aids.

  • Study with exceptional instructors - Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur, past faculty member at the Ayurvedic Institute and Dr. Kelsang Dorjee of the H.H. Dalai Lama's Tibetan Medical and Astro. Institute in Dharamsala, India

  • Avoid the cost and hassle of travel and time away from your home.


Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute
of the
Medicine Buddha Healing Center

2210 McKinley Avenue, Unit 4 (1 block west of Martin Luther King, between Allston and Bancroft) Berkeley, California 94703 TDC   USA
 
(1) 510-292-6696

www.Ayurveda-California.com     Please CALL US, no e-mail available.

Click here for a map to the Center

 


All our materials on this site are offered free-of-charge
to the public domain (without copyright)
 in service to all living beings by the Medicine Buddha Healing Center who Dedicates the Merit to the Dharma Realm.
www.Ayurveda-California.com
All Rights Reserved without Prejudice

Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute is a  non-profit 501(c)3 educational project of
the Medicine Buddha Wholistic Ministry and its Center and Temple
 

We are a Buddhist Ayurveda church school,
as proven by our duly and ceremonially notarized founding Articles of Association and Organization
and are hence not under any government jurisdiction whatsoever.

"The religious Association (Church), that is to say the Ministry, Institute, Center and Temple is in no way under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, the California State Medical Board, or the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, or any other government organization, agency, or agent (federal, state or local).  Any attempt by any government or private agent or agency to regulate our above described religious educational practices and spiritual practices is in violation of our now declared First, Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Amendment Constitutional rights.  Notice is hereby given to any person(s) who, acting under the color of the law, intentionally interferes with the free exercise of the rights retained by our Ministry, Institute, Center and Temple and its Pastoral Counselors, faculty, students, congregation, and members under the First, Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Amendments, as enumerated in these Articles of Association a