2210 McKinley Avenue, Unit 4 (1 minute walk from Downtown Berkeley BART 1 block west of Martin Luther King, between Allston and Bancroft across from Bank of America Public Parking Lot - Click here for directions), Berkeley, California, 94703 USA
(1) 510-292-6696 - Please CALL US, no e-mail available (Namo AT Shurangama.com).
 

"Om Namo Aryavalokiteshvaraya Bodhisattvaya Mahasattvaya Maha Karunikaya Om Sarva Abhaya!"

Educational Philosophy of the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute

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"A wise person desiring to become a physician should first examine the system being taught, its authenticity, completeness and applicability. Thereafter, one should examine the teacher. The teacher should possess a deep understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of the science, have extensive experience in practice, be skillful, friendly, pure, compassionate, fatherly to students, and capable of infusing understanding.

Having decided, approached the teacher with respect and been accepted, a student should engage in study seriously; wake up early, finish morning routines and spiritual practices; pay respect to Bodhisattvas, saints, sages, preceptors, elders, the teacher and all beings. The student should then make efforts to comprehend, clearly express, and discuss the knowledge by studying the information already acquired, entering deeply in contemplation in order to completely understand the meaning and the applications..."

- Charaka Samhita, Vimanasthanam, Chapter Eight - the 2nd century B.C. classic Ayurvedic text.

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Ayurveda is a healing art, a philosophy, a science, a spirituality (a path, a creed), and a way of life, a "Tao".  As much as is practical in our Western dominated modern era, the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute reflects the teaching traditions and compassionate ethical healing practices of ancient India, Nepal, Tibet and China.  Our tradition, while being adapted to these fast-paced modern times via the use of multimedia distance learning technologies, emphasizes being present with the teacher and the oral transmission of knowledge.  Hence all of our donation-based distance learning courses are not just focused on "book learning" correspondence course materials, but include professionally edited audio and video CD-based materials and multimedia PowerPoint slides combined with the opportunity for personal attention via combinations of e-mail interaction, online Internet chat classrooms, and optional in-person classroom-based instructor-led workshops, seminars, intensives, courses and clinical apprenticeships.  These in-person live classes are taught weekly and monthly in the Western part of the United States of America in both Berkeley, California (San Francisco Bay Area) and in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

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Along with stories, parables, chanting, Sutra readings (ancient classic texts), and practical examples, we teach with the integral aspects of the body, mind and spiritual essence of Ayurveda kept intact.  We don't "water down" the time-tested ancient teachings as a compromise to the fast-paced modern world.  This kind of student-teacher relationship is often strange for Westerners and usually demands soul searching, trust and faith in the teacher and the time-honored teachings without initial guarantee or obvious proof.  In this classical style of teaching, the student is required to trust the teacher as to what, when and how to present the subjects the teacher senses are most appropriate.  Experiencing this ancient oral tradition (either via in-person classroom-based instructor-led learning or via distance learning) facilitates expanding our inner awareness, compassion and wisdom as Ayurvedic healers following a proven path (a "Tao") of an unbroken spiritual healing lineage.  This path is incredibly rewarding, but often in retrospect.  Perhaps difficult and challenging for many to accept in practice, this model is what we at the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute aspire to. 

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The Indo-Tibetan Buddhist-Vedic-Yogic tradition for learning Ayurveda focuses on the transmission of knowledge orally with memorization of key concepts via chanting and hearing and repetition.  Modern Western students are more habituated to learning visually.  Hence our teaching method blends the "Western"-oriented visuals of using multimedia PowerPoint slides with graphics, pictures, charts, tables, diagrams, drawings, video clips, handouts and textbooks with the ancient Eastern oral tradition by using audio CD's, sound clips synchronized to PowerPoint slides and of course, in-person classroom-based lectures by our faculty.  In keeping with the Asian oral tradition, we suggest our students give as much attention to the teacher as possible by spending as little energy on taking notes as they are comfortable with.  While using the intellectual masculine "left brain" and the hand to "take notes" is a valuable modern means of learning and integration, we encourage our students to develop their intuitive feminine "right brain" Wise-Woman wisdom by simply listening.  Additionally, we also help to integrate the other senses into the learning process by touching, seeing, tasting and smelling the herb samples, aromatherapy essential oils and by encouraging students to prepare the tasty Ayurvedic vegetarian dishes that are used for healing purposes.

"Ayurveda is beyond beginning and ending. A science of eternal healing, it is compared to a vast ocean, and studying Ayurveda to swimming across. A true teacher can teach one how to swim, but the swimming is up to the student; . . . it is a lifelong journey."

  - Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana, Chapter Thirty - the 2nd century B.C. classic Ayurvedic text.