HCM City (VNA) - Situatedalong Nhieu Loc Canal in HCM City’s District 1, Van Tho (Longevity) Pagoda hasbeen a trusted place for free traditional cures for sprains, fractures andmuscle and bone injuries for more than 30 years. Highlyskilled and experienced herbalist monks treat nearly 200 patientsevery day, most of them poor labourers and old people. Thesmall clinic on one side of the pagoda operates from 2pm to 5pm every dayexcept Sundays and major Buddhist festivals. LaiKhac Chung, 37, a printing worker from Tan Binh district, fell down a stair andsprained an ankle, which swelled up rapidly and very painfully. “Now,after I visited the clinic two times, I can walk normally and my leg is notswollen or painful anymore,” he said. Amonk applied some herb on the sprained ankle and bandaged it and asked him toreturn after three days to get the herbs replaced. “WhenI was young, my mother used to take me there to treat twisted ankles. This isthe second time I went there to treat a sprain,” he said. Almostall his relatives go to this pagoda if they have a sprain, fracture, arthritis,or back pain, he said. Themonks use secret recipes made by fermenting herbs in wine. Patientswho want to can donate money to the pagoda’s charity fund. Thehighly effective treatment despite being free means the clinic is famous andeven attracts people from other provinces. Most Venerable Monk Thich Thanh Son, 88 years old, headof the pagoda, founded the clinic in 1980. “Atfirst people did not trust the clinic. But within five or six years it hadbecome famous due to the efficacy of its methods. Now it is too crowded". “Thebiggest happiness of my life is to see people recover from illness,” he said. Hehas handed down his knowledge and experience to other monks in the pagoda,enabling them to run the clinic. Most Virtuous Monk Thich Dong Thien, one of the herbalists in charge,started working at the clinic in 2006 following a six-year apprenticeshipafter graduating intraditional medicine from Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in HCM City. Heand Most Virtuous Monk Thich Dong Thuan take turns to replace Son, when he is absent. Patientscome from all walks of life, but most of them are poor, Thuan said. Localresidents and people from neighbouring provinces know about the reputation ofthe clinic through word of mouth, he said. Manypeople with arthritis and back pain have switched to traditional medicineafter many years of trying treatment at hospitals, he said. Manypatients come with back pain and have herbs applied on their back twice a week,Diu Bach, a volunteer at the pagoda, said. Besidesthe monks who are in charge of examination and treatment, there are five or sixBuddhist volunteers who perform such tasks as handing out tokens, preparingherbs and bandaging injuries. “Wewant to help disadvantaged people with health problems,” Bach said. NguyenVan Thuan, 72, of Tan Binh District brought his wife Vo Bich Ngoc, 68, whohad had back pain for many years, to the pagoda. Hesaid despite going to several hospitals and taking lots of medicines she didnot feel any better. Theirrelatives had told them that the clinic was reputed for treating back pain, headded.-VNA