SHORT HISTORY OF THE TRADITIONAL THAI MASSAGE
The origin of the Thai massage is attributed to the physician Jivaka Komarabhacca, who lived in India in the 5th century before Christ. His biography can be found in the book III (Mahavagga) of the Vinaya Pitaka, the collection of the Buddhist rules written between the 4th and the 1st century before Christ. Jivaka bacame the first physician in the court of King Bimbisara, the king of Magadha, and the personal healer of the king, his wives, of Buddha himself and of his monks, at that time living at the court of King Bimbisara. After Jivaka's death his scholars diffused his teachings. In particoular, the fundamental technics of the Thai massage had been teached for centuries in the Buddhist temples and spread by the monks across the entire Sud-East-Asia and to Thailand. For this reason in Thailand Jivaka is still today celebrated as "the Father of Medicine".
Fonts:
http://www.thaihealingalliance.com/pdf/Jivaka_essay.pdf
http://www.palikanon.com/namen/j/jiivaka.htm
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinayapitaka
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai-Massage
http://www.ttm-kurse.de/Thai-massage-Geschichte