C. Pierce Salguero

Education & Training
I graduated from the University of Virginia in 1996 with majors in anthropology and cognitive scinece, and a minor in East Asian Studies. I lived in Asia for between 1997 and 2001 — most of that time in Thailand, India, and China. During this time I received training as a practitioner and teacher of Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM), and explored an interest in Buddhism through extended stays at Thai meditation centers and monasteries.

I returned to the U.S. in 2001 to pursue graduate studies, receiving my M.A. Degree in 2005 from the University of Virginia's East Asian Studies Department. I wrote my Master’s Thesis on the cultural history of Thai medicine, particularly focusing on the interplay between Ayurvedic and folk medicine in Thailand. (This thesis was subsequently published by Hohm Press as Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda.)

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the History of Medicine Department at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, concentrating on Buddhism and medicine in China in the early medieval period. I am most interested in the formative period of 200 to 600 AD, the period that saw the introduction to China of new religious and medical concepts via Buddhism, and their integration into the Chinese indigenous worldview.

The common thread in my scholarship and experience as a practitioner is an interest in Buddhism's role as a vehicle for medical knowledge and cultural exchange throughout Asia. I am also interested in the history of religious healing globally through a cross-cultural lens. I describe my broader interests as "world history through the history of religion and medicine."

Publications

• A Thai Herbal. Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press, 2003.
• The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage. Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press, 2004.
• The Spiritual Healing of Traditional Thailand. Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press, 2006.
• Thai Massage Workbook: Basic and Advanced Course. Findhorn Press, 2007.
• Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda. Prescott: Hohm Press, 2007.

Other publications are in my CV.

Professional Affiliations
I am a member of several academic associations, including the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine (IASTAM), the American Academy of Religions (AAR), and the American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM).

I am also a member of associations for Thai medicine practitioner, including the Association of Traditional Northern Thai Medicine, the TaoMountain Network, and Shivago.org. Select courses are approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) and the National Certification Commission for Accupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).

Download my complete CV