Forest recollections : wandering monks in twentieth-century Thailand / Kamala Tiyavanich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tiyavanich, Kamala, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Asceticism--Buddhism.

Asceticism.

Buddhism--Thailand--History--20th century.

Buddhism.

Buddhist monks--Thailand.

Buddhist monks.

Ascetics--Thailand.

Ascetics.

Wayfaring life--Thailand.

Wayfaring life.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (433 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawai'i Press, c1997.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"I stayed [in the forest] for two nights. The first night, nothing happened. The second night, at about one or two in the morning, a tiger came--which meant that I didn't get any sleep the whole night. I sat in meditation, scared stiff, while the tiger walked around and around my umbrella tent (klot). My body felt all frozen and numb. I started chanting, and the words came out like running water. All the old chants I had forgotten now came back to me, thanks both to my fear and to my ability to keep my mind under control. I sat like this from 2 until 5 a.m., when the tiger finally left." --A forest monk During the first half of this century the forests of Thailand were home to wandering ascetic monks. They were Buddhists, but their brand of Buddhism did not copy the practices described in ancient doctrinal texts. Their Buddhism found expression in living day-to-day in the forest and in contending with the mental and physical challenges of hunger, pain, fear, and desire. Combining interviews and biographies with an exhaustive knowledge of archival materials and a wide reading of ephemeral popular literature, Kamala Tiyavanich documents the monastic lives of three generations of forest-dwelling ascetics and challenges the stereotype of state-centric Thai Buddhism. Although the tradition of wandering forest ascetics has disappeared, a victim of Thailand's relentless modernization and rampant deforestation, the lives of the monks presented here are a testament to the rich diversity of regional Buddhist traditions. The study of these monastic lineages and practices enriches our understanding of Buddhism in Thailand and elsewhere.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Figures

Foreword / Wyatt, David K. / Kirsch, A. Thomas

Acknowledgments

Thai Names and Romanization

Introduction

Birth of Modern State Buddhism

The Monks' Lives and Their Recollections

CHAPTER 1. Buddhist Traditions in Siam/Thailand

CHAPTER 2. The Path to the Forest

CHAPTER 3. Facing Fear

CHAPTER 4. Overcoming Bodily Suffering

CHAPTER 5. Battling Sexual Desire

CHAPTER 6. Wandering and Hardship

CHAPTER 7. Relations with Sangha Officials

CHAPTER 8. Relations with Villagers

CHAPTER 9. The Forest Invaded

CHAPTER 10. Many Paths and Misconceptions

Conclusion

Abbreviations

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Aug 2019)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 387-400) and index.

ISBN:

9780824862565

0824862562

9780585303123

0585303126

OCLC:

614738796