Thailand has a health belief system called traditional Thai medicine, the materials and knowledge of which have been passed down orally from generation to generation. Traditional Thai medicine is comprised of ancient philosophies and firmly based on the principles of Buddhism. It can be assumed that traditional Thai medicine is a holistic and natural approach to health care. According to traditional Thai medicine, illness can be caused by the supernatural, the power of the universe and nature, or kimijati; which could be the equivalent of germs or parasites in modern medicine.