Recurrent Lessons in Interfaith

Organised interfaith activity has become an established feature of British society for decades, but the challenges keep coming and so we needed sustained impetus and even basic reminders of what it’s all for.

I recently visited Colin and Friederike Rice, long-time friends in interfaith. Friederike was Coordinator for the Certificate Course in World Religions at the Multi-Faith Centre in Birmingham, throughout the time when my mother, Fuengsin Trafford, was responsible for the Buddhism module. Even though I already had gathered quite a collection of materials for Thursday’s Lotus, Friederike surprised me when she suddenly pulled out a promotional film for the Centre produced in 1993 only a year or two before it closed due to insufficient funds. The 30-minute production was called Daring to Live Together and follows participants in a week-long course, with numerous interviews and featured speakers, including Prof. John Hick and Fuengsin too:



The film shows how the Multi-Faith Centre, directed by Dr Mary Hall, promoted education through encounter, devising and deploying methods that became widely adopted around the world. This was rooted in her experiences of living for several years in Pakistan, where she became headmistress of the Senior Cambridge high school in Lahore, with Benazir Bhutto among her many pupils.

Only a few years into the 21st Century interfaith had become mainstream, particularly following ‘September 11th’, but the injection of resources that followed arguably led to more ‘managerial’ approaches that changed the nature of the more formal interfaith activities. From my own observations in Oxford, organisations that had focused on creating uniquely supportive spaces ironically lost resources and the personal elements of dialogue diminished.

However, much of this follows cycles and there are always opportunities! A few weeks ago I attended as observer a meeting of the Oxford Council of Faiths - I was invited along because they were celebrating their 10th anniversary and I had been on the working group that led to its formation. At the meeting it was recognised that there needs to be more young people involved. Having read about the importance of faith in her life, I suggested that Malala Yousafzai as someone who would be interested and who could make a valuable contribution. I’m sure, for example, that she would wish to join along with her friends the next Friendship Walk on Thursday 28 June.

Actually, faith has been central to Oxford’s development for its religious foundations that led eventually to the present day University owe much to the memory of its patron, Saint Frideswide. Frideswide (or Frithuswith), derived from Old English, means (I think) “peace made strong”. It’s a quality that surely may inspire future leaders.

Malala is studying at Lady Margaret Hall (LMH). Whilst in Oxford between 1998 and 2002, Ebrahim (“Eboo”) Patel, a determined young Muslim from Chicago and Rhodes Scholar at LMH also, grew his interest in interfaith by participating in various activities in Oxford and abroad. I recall that during his doctoral studies he was seeking to enhance interfaith and was already planning what became the Interfaith Youth Core shortly after he obtained his DPhil. He continued to develop his pluralist activism, with a growing record of activities. If Malala continues to move into widening social spheres, then it’s inevitable that she will have to engage in interfaith, so I hope she will be provided the space and support to do so, similar to Eboo.

Thursday’s Lotus is published!

Before I returned to England, Ajahn made a prediction that in future I was to go and spread the Buddha’s teachings in England … He said:

‘You go … you are ready to teach now.

You will have to teach one day.’

More than 21 years after her passing, Fuengsin’s biography has at last been published under the title, Thursday’s Lotus: The Life and Work of Fuengsin Trafford, actually appearing on the occasion of the Thai New Year, 13 April 2016. So now everyone can read how Fuengsin fulfilled the prophecy of her meditation teacher, Ajahn Gaew.

The book has been printed as a paperback using the Amazon CreateSpace system and so naturally it is available through Amazon online stores. It can be ordered from the CreateSpace store, amazon.com, amazon.fr, amazon.de and most amazon.eu sites, with the UK site to be activated in a few days; the recommended retail prices are: $14.99, €12.99 and £9.95 respectively. I've set up a companion website at http://fuengsin.org/, which collates Fuengsin's translations and articles and provides other supporting materials for the book. I'll be posting articles about various aspects of the book — why it is written the way it is, how it was produced, etc.

Now it just remains for me to say, "Please take a look and I hope you enjoy reading!" Thank you for your interest.

Remembering Luang Pu Wat Paknam, Master of Vijja Dhammakaya

Today marks the anniversary of the passing on 3rd February 1959CE of Chao Khun Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), the former Abbot of Wat Paknam, Bhasicharoen, Thonburi in Thailand. This bhikkhu is widely credited with re-discovering the Middle Way as taught by the Buddha Gotama and the Buddhas before him. In so doing he attained to the Dhammakaya (lit. body of Truth or Reality), passing beyond the conditioned to the unconditioned and the deathless. The image above is a scan of a photo that was placed in the shrine of my mother, whose teacher was a disciple of the great Abbot. According to which generation you belong to, he is referred to as Luang Phor/Phaw or Luang Pu, which means approximately ‘venerable father’ or ‘venerable grandfather’ respectively.

There is an inspiring account of his life in The Life and Times of Luang Phaw Wat Paknam. According to this account, Luang Pu ordained in 1906 at the age of 22 and practised with total commitment, learning Pali until he could understand the scriptures and then devoting his energies fully to meditation. He travelled in search of the most skilled teachers and each time he learnt everything they had to offer until they invited him to come and teach alongside. Yet he didn’t find satisfaction and moved on. After a while he decided he had to try and practise by himself … and eventually he made the breakthrough in 1917, finding pathama magga, the primary path, the entry point on the Middle Way.

Luang Pu’s subsequent progress was rapid. Yet after years of developing his practice, he declared that one could spend a lifetime in dhammakaya meditation and not exhaust the possibilities of insight - vijja dhammakaya.

Today the tradition is alive and well, continuing under the guidance of Luang Phor Dhammajayo (Phrathepyanmahamuni) at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

First Draft of Fuengsin's Biography

I'm pleased to report that the first draft of a biography for Fuengsin Trafford, my mother, has materialised! It has been a long journey that has involved quite a lot of fieldwork in Thailand exploring family heritage, carrying out interviews, learning about her alma mater and workplace. There have been documents to scan relating to her meditation background and back in the UK I've really only dipped into her personal diary of daily life in the UK. My Thai language skills are still rudimentary, but I've received excellent help and advice from friends and made use of some impressive translation tools.

All of this, with contributions from many people, has resulted in a life story in 15 chapters:

• Chapter 1: Breaking New Ground
• Chapter 2: Fuengsin’s Childhood: From Wartime to Roaming Free…
• Chapter 3: University Days and a Carefree Life
• Chapter 4: Early Professional Life: Teaching and Meditation
• Chapter 5: First Time Abroad: Whirlwind Activities
• Chapter 6: Life in the Outer Reaches
• Chapter 7: Varied Fruitfulness in The Garden of England
• Chapter 8: Thailand and other Family Outings
• Chapter 9: New Prospects in the Midlands
• Chapter 10: Emergence
• Chapter 11: Further Visits to Thailand
• Chapter 12: Flourishing
• Chapter 13: Transition and Further Projects
• Chapter 14: Faltering Health and Grand Finale
• Chapter 15: Fuengsin’s Legacies

I have been contacting a few family members and friends to check the content for accuracy and general tone as there are many events and people mentioned in the various accounts. I'll then make some further revisions in light of their comments and afterwards seek some editorial guidance with a view to publication (I hope!)...

Family Heritage Conservation in Thonburi

[15 June 2022] Updated the note on graffiti.

I took this picture at the beginning of 2013 from inside the family compound where my Thai cousins live. It’s in Thonburi, off the Taksin Road, a few hundred yards south of Wong Wien Yai, the big roundabout with the memorial to King Taksin at its centre. In the foreground is the original family house, made of teak wood, but it has been gradually decaying and in recent years has become dilapidated.

The residential landscape is changing rapidly and there are now emerging some brand new high-rise buildings, mainly accommodation blocks. This one (which I hadn’t seen any trace of two years ago) is in the same soi, on land that used to be partly occupied by a primary school. Many of the new occupants have been drawn by the improved transport connections offered by Wongwien Yai BTS - no longer is there an hour-long wait in rush hours just to cross the Sathorn bridge as you can glide along in the sky train in a few minutes!

The land has been a naturally fertile environment, rich in vegetation, so when earlier generations made their homes here it was the most natural thing to plant seeds and to see everything grow so fast. Just imagine that when my grandparents moved here in the 1930s they were just finishing the Taksin Road, and this area was covered in orchards (with no vehicular access at all). Despite the heavy urbanisation of the area in recent decades, the family plot remains very green – my grandfather loved to cultivate all manners of plants and trees and more recently, in the 1990s, one of my cousins used to cultivate plants to sell in offices. That business is gone, but the tropical vegetation remains as a refuge from the concrete jungle.

However, what to do with the old teak house? It is quite dilapidated and there’s no one living there any longer – the last resident was my Aunt Umpai, who passed away just over a year ago. She used to live with her cats, many of which she had rescued, under the house because she had become too frail to climb the stairs.

She often expressed embarrassment at how dusty and untidy it was, but in fact she was orderly, a discipline that came with her being a school teacher - in English grammar! She lived the last years of her life for her cats – she wouldn’t stay to converse for very long before asking to be excused so that she could feed them or otherwise tend to them.

However, when she passed away she left a lot more of significance to the family and a reminder of this came unexpectedly along an alley way. There’s a shortcut from the house down an alley – it’s quite narrow, but not narrow enough to prevent motorbikes weaving in and out. There’s graffiti on some of the walls, not pretty to look at, but turning a corner I was struck by the following:

The message scrawled on two lines in white (ช่วยกันรักษา ความสะอาด) translates literally as: "Let’s help each other to take care [of the environment] and keep it clean". It's actually a campaign slogan for letter disposal, similar to "Keep Britain tidy". Here, it's ironic, even moreso given that it's been partially defaced. However, the sense of taking care and preserving was pertinent to Aunt Umpai as someone who really cared about preserving heritage, having become the custodian of family history (though she was felt she couldn't maintain the environmental cleanliness as she would like). The next morning I started to explore the little home under the house, which still has many items, thinking that there may still be left behind some family heirlooms. I was especially interested in written materials - books, magazines etc – most of all in any family archives. I was fortunate to have with me as an assistant my niece, Baidoei, as she could translate for me (I struggle with reading even a few words, especially if they are handwritten). She remarked that some documents contain old Thai characters/letters with which she was unfamiliar.

We found many items lining shelves in bookcases and stacked up in piles, quite a number relating to Aunt Umpai’s teaching: various dictionaries, including Pali-Thai because she was interested in learning the meaning of the many Pali terms used in Thai. However, most of the reference materials concerned English language. In fact guests at her cremation ceremony were all given copies of the New Model English-Thai dictionary by So Sethaputra [published in 2547], with a brief memorial tribute inside. This was a contemporary twist on a distinctive and fascinating Thai tradition of cremation volumes. These volumes are really valuable for researching Thai family history, but I think they are still underused. See e.g. Grant A. Olson, 1992. Thai Cremation Volumes: A Brief History of a Unique Genre of Literature, Asian Folklore Studies,Volume 51, pp. 279-294,

And it seemed fitting that nearby these educational materials were piled up dozens of cremation volumes; we guessed that these would have been mainly colleagues and other people known to Khun Da (my grandfather). Most of the older items related to his life and work, including photographs – quite a few with Khun Yay Somboon, his wife, when they were young. There were accounts from his time in the army and then the prison services, some certificates of honour, including royal decorations and booklets of speeches given in the early days of Thailand's new constitution. There were some surprising finds, including a book with signatures of various notable figures, but I didn’t look closely to see whether it was actually an autograph book or just a collection of cuttings. Another volume was to commemorate the official opening of Thailand's Southern Railway, probably another interesting story that will never emerge.

Some items belonged to Fuengsin Sarayutpitag, my mother, including some school certificates, particularly a couple for Triam Udom Suksa, a preparatory school for entrance into Chulalongkorn University. There was also a book given by a friend, Khun Suchard, entitled วิธีทำงานและสร้างอัจฉริยภาพ , which means something like: Methods for Developing a Remarkable Aptitude in One’s work. It was by Poonsak Sakdanuwat (พูนศักดิ์ ศักดานุวัฒน์), who wrote commentaries on the Buddha’s life and also was interested in methods of mind development for business; the publisher was Wattana Panit (โรงพิมพ์ว้ฒนาพานิช). The book has a dedication about developing one’s career in a noble manner and it is dated 24 December 2501[1958], when she reached 22 years of age and was studying for her B.Ed. This discovery made me reflect that there might be quite a few literary items that Mum left behind when she came to the UK, in addition to the scrapbooks, which only arrived many years after she had emigrated, whilst we were in Hagley.

Unfortunately, many items had been damaged by insects, some completely ravaged. I collected a few of these and brought them into the home of my cousin, P' Laem, who had already salvaged some of the most important objects. However, there still remain others of value and I have been wondering how best to preserve them. The old house cannot remain for long in its present state, so my cousins and I are trying to figure out how to proceed; I feel there’s some urgency to remove what’s left and store this safely, at least temporarily. But what about the longer term? My mother left me a plot of land, part of which is located under the old house. To actually own it I would have to acquire Thai nationality, but I am already considering the possibility of building a small house partly devoted to family history for all my relatives to use.

Here I can take inspiration from another pile of books: Aunt Umpai was evidently impressed by the work of Mom Rajawongse Kukrit Pramoj, who was deeply committed to the arts and especially to Thai cultural traditions. I’d like any house to be largely of traditional design, but combined with modern conveniences and especially a library that has modern means of protecting its contents. It should also be harmonious with its surroundings and I'd like to retain the pond which partly covers the land.

I may be able to find some ideas from MR Kukrit’s Bangkok home, which has become a heritage museum. I’ve visited it and found it very appealing, especially the ponds in close proximity to the buildings.

The work on MR Kukrit’s home is ongoing and you can see the current projects on their Web site http://www.kukritshousefund.com/ .

There are numerous options. For example, should this be a carbon-neutral eco-home? In reality much will depend on the wishes of my relatives and no my budget…!

Siam in the 16th and 17th Centuries: Encountering the French missions

This opening paragraph comes from Relation du voyage de Mgr. de Béryte, vicaire apostolique du Royaume de la Cochinchine (Account of the Travels of The Mgr. [Bishop] of Beirut, Vicar Apostolic for the Kingdom of Cochinchina), compiled by Jacques de Bourges, published in 1666 and made available as a Google eBook.

Drawing on my schoolboy French, a translation might be:

I do not believe that there's a country in the world where one finds more religions and whose practice is more permitted than in Siam. Gentiles, Christians, and Muslims, who are all divided into different sects, are at complete liberty to follow such worship as seems best to them. The Portuguese, English, Dutch, Chinese, Laplanders, Peguans, along with people from Cambodia, Malacca, Cochinchina, Champa, and several other places on the Septentrion coast, all have established themselves in Siam. There are nearly two thousand Catholics, the majority Portuguese, who have come from various places in the East Indies, from which they were driven, and have taken refuge in Siam, where they have a separate district making up a suburb of the city...

Thailand's reputation for openness goes back a long way!  Yet, I was still surprised by the plurality of the situation described here more than 300 years ago. Quite a distinguished case of 'multiculturalism' (about which contemporary discussions might suggest that it's a recent phenomenon!) What is not clear from this picture, though, is whether there developed much in the way of cultural exchange and integration among the communities. The compartmentalising suggests each group went its own way and the various accounts I've read so far seem to confirm this and they often relate complaints about each other and contrary points of view, especially among the Europeans.

I'm interested particularly in the East-West encounter, which in this period was concentrated in Ayutthaya, the old capital of what was then termed 'Siam' (which appears to have had external origins, which I may try to explain vis-a-vis 'Thai' and 'Tai' in another post). It was missionary zeal that drove much of the first two centuries of expeditions and settlements - and the religious institutions seemed often to be better informed and coordinated than the state-sponsored trading companies. Today the deep-rooted influence of the West is often characterised in terms of the material trappings of globalisation, but arguably more persistent effects are evident in the education system, where many schools still have a Christian foundation and this is more my focus here as I try to explore its origins and development in these early accounts.

This means having to keep practising my French language skills as most of the written accounts relate to the experiences of the French.  Given this predominance of materials it's difficult to draw a non-partisan view.    Among the French records, Martin's accounts are probably the most valuable for the meticulous attention to detail (recording a constant stream of news in the manner of a ledger, even leaving blanks as placeholders for figures that were still to be determined).  However, his background and allegiances do colour his interpretation.   There were a few other travellers who passed by without having involvement, one of whom was the German naturalist and physician, Engelbert Kaempfer - I look forward to reading his A Description of the Kingdom of Siam 1690 (Itineraria Asiatica: Thailand). At least the task is made somewhat easier by electronic publishing; in sponsoring large scale digitisation of old texts, Google has been providing marvellous support for this historical research.

Among the few scholars who appear to have studied the materials from this period in depth is Michael Smithies, a historian. He has published extensively and I've already availed myself of a copy of his book, A Resounding Failure: Martin and the French in Siam, 1672-93, published by Silkworm Books. The back cover summarises its importance: “François Martin, from his unique viewpoint as director of the French trading outpost at Pondichery, provides a careful analysis of the motives of the persons involved in the French colonizing venture.” And there were many players in this theatre!

Prof. Smithies original studies were in French and his teaching of French (and Indonesian) in Papua New Guinea earned him the honour of being received into the French Order of Academic Palms (I don't know the UK equivalent, but it's a notable decoration). In an interview for Bulletin No. 17 Amopa 79, 2005-6, he relates his career development. In particular, he joined the British Council in 1960 and was immediately sent “as a matter of urgency” to Thailand as Director of English studies. He recounts that he had to monitor the work of dozens of teachers, and assist in teaching at different universities in Bangkok.   At that time my mother (then Fuengsin Sarayutpitag), recently graduated from Chulalongkorn University, was teaching English as a foreign language at the newly established Thonburi Technical College. She knew a "Mr. Smithies" and I expect it was the same man. It would be nice if this could be confirmed.

Whilst Smithies was familiarising himself with Thai culture (it was about 10 years later that he started to devote himself to scholarly research in this field), my mother was undertaking the complementary activity of delving into Western culture. And this is the general perspective that I'm trying to keep in mind as I look at this confluence, in which my mother was inextricably involved for the rest of her life.

The Far East continues to be a source of attraction for French missionaries, as evident in a trailer for a film 'Ad Vitam, La Grande Aventure des Missions Etrangères de Paris en Asie'. The excerpt includes a brief historical explanation by the archivist, Fr. Gerard Moussay, who describes the origins of M.E.P.: in the 16th and 17th Century the Vatican gave the kings of Spain and Portugal the right to nominate missionaries across the world, but with the kings becoming increasingly ineffective in carrying this out, bishops called Apostolic Vicars were appointed, the first two being Mgrs. François Pallu and Lambert de la Motte.

Regarding present day attitudes, Fr. Etcharren, Supérieur Général of MEP, emphasizes that being a missionary means carrying a message that's "not ours" and requires always humility.  He offers us another glimpse into how the early period is viewed in a short speech he gave on a recent visit to Thailand (see another video), in which they celebrate 350 years in Ayutthaya.  He recounts the arrival of the first missionaries in 1662:

Ce Lieu d'Ayutthaya a été dès le début d'abord un lieu de prière, de contemplation et de réflexion missionaire. Lorsque les missionnaires sont arrivés ici, ils ont commencés par faire une retraite et puis ensuite un synode de réflexion. Les valeurs qui ont émergé lors de ce synode d'Ayutthaya sont des valeurs missionaires qui sont toujours d'actualité.

In English (again I translate):

This place in Ayutthaya was from the outset firstly a place of prayer, contemplation and missionary reflection. When the missionaries arrived here, they began with a retreat followed by a synod of reflection. The values which have emerged from the synod of Ayutthaya are the missionary values which are still current [today].

This gives the impression that there has been continual activity, perhaps suggestive of serene and steady development, but it's not been like that historically because inevitably there has been a lot of political involvement.

From the accounts of de Bourges (cited above) and others, the Kingdom of Siam might have seemed an opportunity ripe for successful missionary endeavours.   The French were certainly encouraged to invest a lot in developing their presence in the region; Martin relates in 1675 about Mgr. Pallu, Bishop of Helipolis:

This great prelate, whose probity and sanctity Europe, Asia and America admire, had embarked in Siam on a vessel of a private French merchant to go to Tonkin, to devote the rest of his strength to the conversion of the infidels. (II,13, translated by Smithies)

There were many 'gains' in some parts, but efforts were in vain in Siam (and Martin merely echoes the uncharitable remarks, which sound like those of a bad loser):

I also learnt from letters from Siam that the French Missionaries made many conversions in Tonkin and Cochinchina.  Things were not the same in Siam, although this place was like an entrepot for the other missions and from where they were supplied with all essentials.  This was attributed to the stupidity of the Siamese, a brutal people to whom one could not explain the mysteries of the Christian religion." (II, 86, translated by Smithies)

Even so, efforts gathered pace as we also learn from Martin that under Louis XIV, the French were by the mid 1680s emboldened to issue various demands to the Siamese king, Phra Narai, including his conversion from Buddhism to Christianity.   The bishops attempted to win over the king through rational argumentation, but the king simply concluded that Christianity - alongside other religions - was basically good and he felt no need to change his own Buddhist affiliation.

Meanwhile, the French military presence continued to grow until it was all too much for some members of the Siamese court: in 1688 there was a revolution and the French were formally ejected under a treaty of 'honourable capitulation'. With a formal trade embargo then introduced and enforced for about 150 years, there was a lull in the nation's engagement with the West - we have to wait until King Rama IV before formal ties with these nations are resumed.  However, I expect that smaller scale developments continued and it may be interesting to find out more about them.

Children's Dhamma: Kruba Srivichai

I went to school in Birmingham between 1980 and 1987. Around that time, the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara published Children's Dhamma for younger members. Reflecting the multiple traditions, there were contributions from Zen and Tibetan practitioners as well as from Theravadins.

I would like to highlight an article from March 1984 written by my mother about Kruba Srivichai, a Thai monk, whose exemplary life she probably got to learn about whilst growing up in Thonburi. He may not be so well known now, so I reproduce what she wrote about him here. But this is just the first article - there was more to follow. I must have another delve into the family papers to see if I can find the sequel...

Kruba Srivichai

by Fuengsin Trafford

Kruba Srivichai was one of the most famous monks of Northern Thailand. He was an inspiration to many and was revered by thousands of monks, nuns and laymen, from cities, towns, villages and the hill-tribes. Under his guidance they came together and volunteered to rebuild, repair and restore many beautiful pagodas and temples and the roads leading to them.

They worked very hard and brought their own food. Some people gave money, food and transport. As a result of their good work magnificent ancient buildings and pagodas which had been destroyed in the war were restored to their former glory.

Kruba Srivichai's work can be found throughout the north in an area which at one time was known as "the Kingdom of Laannaa Thai".

This remarkable monk led a very holy life, and worked very hard for the Buddha-Dhamma, and he was a good example to many. In the eyes of his followers he had a kind of supernatural quality but this he always denied, saying he was just an ordinary monk. After his death his fame spread further and he was called the "Saint of Laannaa Thai".

Kruba Srivichai was born on the 11th. June 1878, (the Year of the Tiger), in a small village outside the Province of Lumpoon, called Baan Paang. He was the fourth child and had four brothers and sisters. His parents were poor and lived on a small farm which was surrounded by very high hills and thick forests. It was said that on the night just before he was born the bright moon was suddenly darkened by a cloud and there was thunder and lightening. There was also an earthquake which shook the family's cottage. In those days this was thought to be a very good omen for a saintly person's birth. The baby was given the name "Faa Hong" which means thunder.

At the age of seven Faa Hong was very good and quiet and did not enjoy playing with children of his own age. He was very kind, never harmed animals and looked after the family's buffaloes very well. Once he freed the fish which hie father had caught and kept in a jar of water. He showed deep compassion for every creature. He refused to eat meat and was content to have rice and a variety of chilli sauces for his meals. The young boy's favourite chore was to take the buffaloes to graze in a quiet and lonely field, he would then sit under a tree and contemplate. He loved to visit Wat Baan Paang, a local temple which was situated on the edge of a hill; the Abbot was called Kru Baa Kaat. According to his name he was a respected monk who had been studying and practising the Dhamma.

Faa Hong was set on going to school at Wat Baan Paang, the local education centre in those days. He was also inspired by the monk's behaviour and way of life. Having watched his brother's ordination he was even more impressed, and later asked his parents permission to be ordained. When he was asked why he wanted to become a monk, he said it was not because he wanted to run away from the hard life of a farmer, but that he wanted to study the Dhamma and gain merit for a better rebirth for his parents. His parents were very happy to hear this and granted his wish. So Faa Hong was ordained a Samanera (novice) when he was just eighteen years old.

The new Samanera worked very hard and studied the local alphabets which were written on palm leaves. He also studied Pali and Sanskrit so that he could read the scriptures.

Over a year later Samanera Faa Hong had mastered all the local languages and went on to study the Dhamma and Vipassana Meditation. Almost every day he went up to the top of the hill to sit in solitude surrounded by all kinds of plants and trees.

Two years passed and Samanera Faa Hong was twenty one years old. He was ordained a Bhikkhu and given the Pali name "Siri Vichyo". People prefered to call him "Phra (monk) Sri Vichai".

His teacher noticed the young monk's dedication and unblamable conduct and sent him to a superior teacher called "Kru Baa Upala" at Doi Tae to study meditation. It was the first time he had left home having a difficult journey on foot and by cart. It took several days to reach the temple although it was in the same province.

His new teacher was soon impressed with the young monk's excellent memory and undivided attention. One year later Phra Sri Vichai finished his studies and went back to Wat Baan Paang. By then his reputation for being a most worthy monk had spread. He ate only one meal a day and was a vegetarian.

Three years later the Abbot passed away and Phra Sri Vichai was appointed Abbot.

Baan Paang village was surrounded by many Hill Tribes, and they lived in the high hills and forests nearby. These people were very poor and badly needed medical care. Phra Sri Vichai had great compassion for them and wanted to teach them the Dhamma, and make them see how foolish it was to worship spirits, and took inspiration from the Buddha who used to travel to many places to teach all kinds of people. So Phra Sri Vichai went into the forests and hills to teach, spending a few days in each village. He also healed many people with herbal medicines. These people soon realised that his medicine was more help than the spirits. He spent a month amongst the tribes and soon mastered all their languages. More and more of the Hill Tribe people e.g. Maeu, Yau, Karen, Leesaw, etc. became Buddhists and the great monk's fame spread. Many people sent their sons to be ordained by him, and to stay at Wat Baan Paang and study the Dhamma. ---

--- to be continued.

A couple of others articles, with photos:

• Phra Kruba Srivichai - article by Chiengmai Chimes relating his shrine.
• Kruba Srivichai, Patron Saint of Chiang Mai compiled by Josh Scoggins

For further interesting articles for youngsters, please read Children's Dhamma Volume 4, No. 1. (scanned copy in PDF format).

County Express interview with Fuengsin Trafford (1981)

The Internet and, especially, the Web are enabling old lines of investigation to be reopened with possibilities of new finds - for all kinds of detectives, including biographers! In March 1981, Fuengsin (my mother) was interviewed for the County Express, which was published, as far as I can recall, in Stourbridge and Kidderminster. Jill Skelding was the reporter and she came round to our house with a photographer, Phil Loach; I can't remember them myself, so I expect it took place during the day whilst I was at school. The article was part of a series called Woman to Woman and this particular interview was entitled: Buddhism as a way of life. It was published on Friday 13th March 1981.

I thought that it would be a good time to reproduce the article online (I don't think the paper is in circulation under that name any more; it may have become Stourbridge News). We kept a few cuttings, but even if we had preserved them in mint condition, the newspaper medium meant that photographic reproduction was limited in quality. Fortunately, Google came to the rescue (again) and 30 years after the interview I was able to locate Phil, who is still in the photography business with The Silver Image. What's more he was able to send me a pretty good scan (a larger version of the one online). So the complete article is available to view.

Here I'd just like to highlight a few things my mother said.

It's really quite a typical piece - finding the mundane and profound in the everyday and the present moment. You get a taste of something unusual in the first two paragraphs, though it's definitely more mundane in flavour!

With an impressive Oriental family history spanning several centuries and an unusual childhood spent in Thailand, there's nothing Fuengsin likes better than to disappear to the depths of her kitchen and cook ... spotted dick steamed pudding!

Mrs. Fuengsin Trafford, who lives in West Hagley, came to England 17 years ago, in her mid-twenties, from her home town near Bangkok. She studied at London University - and soon found she had a weakness for English food.

The kitchen wasn't always frequented with such endeavour. One of my mother's childhood friends said that the two of them used to play cooking. I asked whether that was because in reality they didn't do any cooking and she nodded and grinned! In fact my father taught her some of the basics English cookery - there was little indication that she could later produce a cookery book! And as for her regard of the culinary offerings of this new land, the initial response was typically to bring out a tin of red chilli powder ... at breakfast!

There's a brief summary of how she came to the UK as a student, met my father, married, and settled in the UK. When she left Thailand in the early to mid 60s, Thonburi, where she grew up, was still separate from Bangkok on the other side of the Chao Phraya river and certainly was not so developed. We spent our first family holiday there in 1972, and there was a lot of change already by that time, but looking at photos from that period still shows many areas of fruit cultivation. Fuengsin did not return next to Thailand until after the interview, so she probably had nostalgic recollections in mind when she recalled:

"By that time my father had died, but my mother and Anthony got on remarkably well - the pace of life is so different out there, it's hard for anyone from the Western world to understand it immediately."

"The pace of life in Thailand is much slower than here in England - there just isn't much stress, or traffic come to think of it!"

Our next family trip was in 1988 and I think we all found the new Bangkok somewhat overwhelming.

The article then moves on to discuss my mother's Buddhist outlook, which is clearly the theme of the photograph, which shows her in a quite serious pose seated underneath three Buddha rupas. Fuengsin's characteristic directness is clearly recorded:

"Buddhism is something that has to be achieved by the individual - but once you have reached that point you will have enlightenment.

"It isn't a Sundays-only type of religion, and I know it's hard for people who know nothing of Buddhism to even to begin to understand what it's all about, but basically, no one can tell you how to practise Buddhism, it's something the individual must learn for him or herself.

"It has to come from inside a person, and it is a very personal thing - no one can help you with it, and you can only practise Buddhism though life itself.

"It is closely linked with meditation and when you meditate you look at a figure of a Buddha and bow - that way you are aiming to suppress your ego, and get rid of any pride. Once you are rid of that you are at one with the universe."

She had a very practical approach to Dhamma and these teachings are really core to the article, including the value of service. It's mentioned that Fuengsin taught English to Asian immigrants - I recall she said these were elderly Pakistani ladies and that she was a member of a volunteer group (she didn't even get her bus fare paid). I'm sure my mother would have had a quip about 'Big Society'!

The article concludes by switching back to food and more steamed puddings. I think my father and I must accept some responsibility for this - we created quite a demand for puddings and cakes!

You are welcome to read the interview ...

Luang Ta Maha Boowa: A few reflections

The forests of North-East Thailand have for many years been the training ground for bhikkhus undertaking dhutanga practices for the sake of following the Buddha’s escape from Samsara. These are continual practices, undertaken at every conscious moment, by day and by night, aiming at eliminating all defilements on the path to nibbana. On January 30th 2011, there was the passing of a well-known exponent, Venerable Acharn Maha Boowa Ñanasampanno, Abbot of Wat Pah Baan Taad , Udon Thani. Popularly revered as Luang Ta Maha Boowa, he was viewed by many as one who had achieved that goal of achieving what has to be done, attaining to arahantship.

Luang Ta Maha Boowa considered as his principal teacher, Luang Pu Mun Bhuridatta, under whose wise guidance he learnt directly and with full commitment the dhutanga practices. (Luang Phor is a respectful term of address for a revered father; Luang Pu and Luang Ta are similar, for grandparents). After the passing of Luang Pu Mun, Luang Ta continued to promote these teachings and wrote a number of books. These and much other background information have been published and are available from the monastery web site, www.luangta.com luangta.com, with indices in English and German.

I feel it’s important to have respect for those who practise sincerely and earnestly for the Buddha’s sake, as did Luang Ta. I’ve learnt this from my mother, Fuengsin Trafford, who, together with a friend from Bangkok, accompanied Jane Browne, one of his disciples on a visit to Wat Pah Baan Taad in 1972. There are many people who have had much closer contact than myself with Luang Ta and his Wat, but I’d still like offer a few reflections here on a few personal connections and influences.

Although the Wat was already expanding significantly by the turn of the ‘70s, at that time there were only a few tables for offering food to the monks, so there was ample opportunity to personally place offerings in the bowls of every bhikkhu as they processed by:

[Phra Maha Boowa being offered food by Jane Browne (far left), standing next to her are Fuengsin Trafford and, I understand, Dr. Pensri Makaranon. I’m unable to identify the other Sangha members].

On the back of this photo was written a simple description: คุณเจนกำลังตักบาตร ท่านอาจารย์มหาบัว ที่หน้าวัดป่าบ้านตาด จ.อุดร ประเทศไทย พ.ศ.15. Translated it reads: "Khun Jane is offering alms food to Tan Ajahn Maha Boowa. At the front of Wat Pah Baan Taad, Udon Province, Thailand, B.E. ‘15 [1972CE]." On the back of another photo, which showed the entrance to the Wat, my mother wrote about the trip in general: "An opportunity to go back and visit all the family in Thailand and to go and cultivate moral virtue [sīla] in Udon Province, Thailand (2515)." She already knew quite well about the Forest Tradition – in her account of Hampshire Buddhists in the late ‘60s she recounted seeing Phra Maha Boowa’s photograph on Mrs. Browne’s mantelpiece.

Luang Ta paid fulsome tribute to his teacher in various ways. One of which was write the life story of Luang Pu, which was first translated into English in 1982 with the title The Venerable Phra Acharn Mun Bhūridatta Thera Meditation Master by Mr. Siri Buddhasukh. I found this book fascinating and greatly inspiring. There are many wonderful accounts of specific obstacles that Luang Pu Mun confronted and overcame. I particularly enjoyed the encounter with a chief of terrestrial devas, who had taken a dark demon form. By the power of his Dhamma, Luang Pu converted his heart and the deva gave up terrorising and instead took refuge in the Triple Gem. Yet my abiding recollection is simply the descriptions of how the Acariya "kept pounding the defilements," bringing full mindfulness to everything that came into his awareness and discerning therein with razor sharpness. For him, "a split-second with mindfulness absent is enough to allow defilements to whisk back in again." This determined and uncompromising approach was a great source of encouragement for his disciples, to pursue the practise with great urgency and vigour to eliminate the causes of the human predicament.

The biography carried an open license, so anyone could copy it freely. In late 2001 I felt the desire to make this book available online. Co-incidentally, around that time I had some correspondence with Lee Yu Ban, a Buddhist in Malaysia. He told me about a Singaporean friend, Lee Chun, who was typing in the entire book and asked whether I’d like to help. So I got in touch with Mr. Lee and he explained that he and his wife, Lee Lin, were indeed starting the translation. We came to an agreement to share the workload and we proceeded to carry out scanning, OCR and proof-reading. For my portion I was given a great boost by Kalyanamitta Mananya Pattamasoontorn, who arranged for a copy of the book to be photocopied, which I could collect whilst I was in Thailand early in 2002. By spring the task had been completed and the result was a new PDF version.

Shortly afterwards another translation was provided by Tan Ajahn Dick Silaratano, available from the Wat’s Web site (book section), but I already found Mr. Buddhasukh’s translation very accessible.

Luang Ta also introduced in some of his other writings some of Luang Pu’s disciples, adding their experiences as sources of inspiration. This is especially the case in Paṭipadā or The mode of practice of Venerable Acharn Mun, a weighty tome, translated by Phra Ajahn Paññavaddho, his first Western disciple. I first picked up a copy at the Birmingham Buddhist Maha Vihara and then was surprised to be presented with another copy in Thailand – by Luang Phor Sanong Katapunnyo at Wat Sangathan, Nonthaburi.

These teachings often mention working with the citta, the mind-heart, as fundamental to developing understanding and concentration. Similarly, when reading one gains by reading with the citta. That way practice becomes reinforced as one receives theme and variation – if it is read only with the head, then it will appear that there is a great deal of repetition, boredom will ensue and the time wasted. Texts like this should not be read merely linearly; rather, consider the evolution of practice as a spiral; each time you are progressing you can understand the same facets in an increasingly refined way.

Legacy

When thinking about the Thai Forest Tradition, many Buddhists in the UK will call to mind Wat Amaravati and Luang Phor Chah, another disciple of Luang Pu Mun. However, the foundations of Wat Amaravati lie in the English Sangha Trust, and Wat Pah Baan Taad and Luang Phor Paññavaddho are part of that earlier history.

I would like to thank especially Jane Browne, a long-time lay supporter of the Thai Forest tradition, who was the one who originally lent me a copy of Luang Pu Mun’s biography. Her sustained dedication as a follower is evident in her essay, What is the goal of Buddhism?, where the interpretation of ancient texts comes alive through her relating them to the instructions of her teachers.

A Wander around Chulalongkorn University

In between conference preparation, pilgrimage, visits and general sight-seeing, I was given a special tour of Chulalongkorn University, by Khun Tewee, a long-time family friend who used to play with my mother as a child. Both of them had studied at Chula - Khun Tewee physical sciences and my mother (then Fuengsin Sarayutpitag) liberal arts. On this occasion I wanted just to get a feel for the environment, and see how much it resembled the scene depicted in group photos from the late 50s (my mother is standing, 5th from the left):

Chulalongkorn University occupies a privileged position in Thai history and culture. Even its Thai wording claims the linguistic distinction of having the word ‘university’ following the name: จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย [Chulalongkorn Mahawitthayalai] so it reads in the same order as in English, whereas all other universities would put Mahawitthayalai before the name.

The University has its roots as a civil service training school, founded during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) at the end of the 19th Century CE to help in Siam’s administration. It gradually expanded its remit and so emerged Chulalongkorn University, formally granted its new name and status in 1917, the first university to be established in Thailand. It is located fairly centrally in Pathum Wan district of Bangkok, with the nearest BTS station being National Stadium and occupies a rectangular plot of land plus a number of surrounding buildings.

When Khun Tewee proceeded to showed myself and one of her friends the central site, she led us first of all towards the original entrance across playing fields. There looking out from a raised platform were the University's two founders commemorated in a memorial statue:

Seated is King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and standing beside him is King Vajiravudh (Rama VI). Whilst we were there, a couple of students were paying respects, lighting incense sticks. Nearby there were some elaborate floral kratongs, very likely student creations, now looking somewhat bereft after the Loy Kratong festival, but still nice and colourful.

Next we retraced some steps and approached some of the original buildings (or, at least, the oldest that are still standing). Particularly prominent is the main auditorium, where the conferral of degrees and other major ceremonies take place in a grand theatre:

We then carried on to the Faculty of Arts building, close by, and naturally I was keen to explore.

The first thing that struck my was the lightness of the building. By modern standards it doesn't have many floors, but as I wandered around, I could gaining a feeling of great solidity and substance, an imposing presence, with lofty spaces. It was a very distinguished environment and not hard to imagine students feeling like princes or princesses. Every angle seems to be pleasing architecturally, certainly worth protecting with the nagas!

The only disappointment was learning that these buildings are now used mainly for administration. So where do the Faculty of Arts students have their classes, if not in these buildings? Looking from the centre, there are new buildings dotted around:

The tall building in the distance is บรมราชกุมารี Borommarajakumari (Supreme Daughter of His Majesty the King), an epithet for HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who herself was a graduate from the Faculty of Arts in the 1970s (details in a biography). It is a multi-purpose building: as well as lecture spaces, there are exhibition areas and academic staff have rooms towards the top.

Inevitably a lot of change, but it seems to retain a distinguised ethos and it looks like the staff and students continue to build on the heritage. It still looks an attractive place to study.

Somboon Sarayutpitag and Satriwithaya School

In recent trips to Thailand I’ve been learning how my maternal grandparents greatly valued education. I’m sure they were a strong influence on my mother, Ajahn Fuengsin, who acquired a lifelong interest in learning and transmitting her knowledge through teaching (Ajahn is a general prefix for an established teacher).

My grandfather had been awarded the title of 'Luang', so he was subsequently addressed as Capt. Luang Sarayutpitag (he had been a captain in the army). The distinctive Thai surname seems to have been spelt in more than one way; my cousins generally insist on ศรายุธพิทักษ์ but there are several letters that can represent an ‘s’ sound and an extra ท ('t') seems optional, so sometimes it has been written สรายุทธพิทักษ์ (with an opening ส instead of ศ). I expect that if one knows the roots of Thai language (Sanskrit, Pali and so on), then one can work out the appropriate letter, but I guess that might be like asking someone in the UK to distinguish between Greek and Latin etymology...

Anyway, prior to this visit, I had heard that my grandmother, Khun Yay Somboon Sarayutpitag, had attended the same school as the Somdet Ya, the Princess Mother (the mother to H.M. King Bumiphol). This school was called Satriwithaya School, a girl’s school in the heart of Bangkok. Some time last summer I started typing into Google ศรายุธพิทักษ์ and สรายุทธพิทักษ์ and a few permutations.  Eventually I came across the Web site of the Srinagarindra [Somdet Ya] museum, the museum of Satriwithaya School, set up in honour and memory of its most famous pupil. Google had spotted an occurrence of the name in the following paragraph:

สิ่งที่เป็นจุดเด่นของพิพิธภัณฑ์สมเด็จย่าคือ พระบรมฉายาลักษณ์ ที่มาของภาพเก่าอันทรงคุณค่าของสมเด็จย่า ส่วนหนึ่งมาจากศิษย์เก่าและครูเก่าเก็บไว้ และอีกส่วนหนึ่งได้ไปขอมาจากสำนักพระราชวัง หนึ่งในรูปภาพที่ทรงคุณค่าอย่างยิ่งคือภาพถ่ายหมู่ของนักเรียนชั้นมูลปีที่ หนึ่ง(ปัจจุบันคือระดับอนุบาล) ถ่ายวันที่ 9 มีนาคม ร.ศ.127 (พ.ศ.2451) สมเด็จพระศรีนครินทราบรมราชชนนี ครั้งยังทรงเป็น ด.ญ. สังวาลย์ โดยพระองค์ประทับในแถวกลาง เป็นลำดับที่ 3 จากซ้าย ซึ่งภาพต้นฉบับสีซีดจนอ่านตัวหนังสือบนแผ่นกระดานที่แขวนไว้ด้านหลังนัก เรียนไม่ออก ต้องใช้คำบรรยายที่เจ้าของภาพเขียนติดไว้ด้านหลังภาพ ภาพนี้ได้รับความอนุเคราะห์จากทายาทนางสมบุญ ศรายุทธพิทักษ์ ในภาพมี ด.ญ.สมบุญอยู่แถวหน้า ลำดับที่ 6 จากซ้าย ส่วนด้านขวาสุดคือครูทิม

My attempted translation is as follows:

A prominent feature of the Srinagarindra [Somdet Ya] museum is the Royal source of some valuable old pictures of the Princess Mother. One part comes from the collections of alumni and former teachers, and another has been requested from the Bureau of the Royal House. One exceedingly valuable picture is a group photograph of first year pre-elementary students (now equivalent to kindergarten) taken on the 9th of March R.E. (Ratanakosin Era) 127 (B.E. 2451). The Princess Mother [can be seen] at the time when she was still a girl, Miss Sangwan; Her Royal Highness is residing in the central row, 3rd from the left. As an original picture it is extremely faded to the extent that it is not possible to read the writing on the plate mounted on the board behind; it's necessary to use the description that the owner has attached on the back of the picture. This picture was received with the assistance of the descendants of Mrs. Somboon Sarayutpitag. In the picture Miss Somboon is in the front row, 6th from the left.

The next paragraph presents an invitation:

สำหรับ ผู้ที่อยากชมภาพนี้ มีภาพขยายใหญ่เกือบเท่าตัวจริงติดอยู่ในห้องเอลิซาเบธ ซึ่งเป็นห้องประชุมของโรงเรียน ห้องนี้มีขึ้นในช่วงที่ควีนเอลิซาเบธที่ 2 เสด็จมาที่โรงเรียนสตรีวิทยาในวันที่ 30 ตุลาคม พ.ศ.2539 เพื่อทอดพระเนตรกิจกรรมและนิทรรศการการป้องกันยาเสพติดในสถานศึกษา พระบรมฉายาลักษณ์สมเด็จพระราชินีนาถ เอลิซาเบธที่ 2 พร้อมพระปรมาภิไธยที่ได้รับพระราชทาน ขณะนี้อยู่ที่พิพิธภัณฑ์สมเด็จย่า

 In approximate English:

For those who want to look at this picture, there is a near life-size enlargement on display in the Elizabeth room, which used to be the school assembly hall. This room was set up on the occasion of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Satriwithaya School on October 30 2539 to observe events and exhibitions relating to drug prevention in schools. The picture of Queen Elizabeth II, together with her signature, is in the Srinagarindra Museum.

I soon found a copy of the photograph online in the Wikipedia entry for the Princess Mother. However, having read the description above I thought, "I’d really like to see this picture for myself at the school!"

I was fortunate. I got in touch with my cousin, P’ Laem, and he made enquiries through an aunt who used to teach there. Soon arrangements were made and we went along to visit one Friday afternoon in late November. Designed around a courtyard, the buildings rise on three sides to several storeys, having expanded considerably since its foundation over a hundred years ago. When we arrived the school was still bustling with activity; at the entrance there was a large tree occasionally shedding its leaves under which a group of pupils was anticipating its every move ... and then a leaf would come sailing down and they’d try and catch it. Later when we left there were just two girls by the tree, still playing the same game!

On the left hand side as you enter there is a status to the Princess Mother:


The inscription says it is dedicated to สมเด็จพระศรีนครินทราบรมราชชนนี (Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Boromarajajonani), giving the dates she was alive (B.E. 2443 – 2538, i.e. 1900-1995CE). It was unveiled by สมเด็จพระเจ้าพี่นางเธอ เจ้าฟ้ากัลยาณิวัฒนา กรมหลวงนราธิวาสราชนครินทร์ (Somdet Phra Chao Phi Nang Thoe Chao Fa Galyani Vadhana Kromma Luang Narathiwat Ratchanakharin). This is the full title of HRH Princess Galyani, the elder sister to H.M. King Bhumipol. P’ Laem informed me that she took a great deal of interest in the Royal family history and was particularly interested in the school. The statue was unveiled in B.E. 2543 (2000 CE).
We were shown inside the museum by a librarian and directed to a number of books on the table. These contained further photographs and descriptions. We learnt that at the time that group photo was taken, Khun Yay Somboon was 14 years old and the eldest in the group. Afterwards we were led to the Queen Elizabeth Room, which now serves as the board room, where the enlargement has been placed on the wall. Here it is (clicking on it will take you to the version on Wikipedia):


This photo was taken in 1908, right towards the end of the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Thailand's process of modernisation through especially European influences is evident in the uniform: you can see the children wearing the traditional jongraben, but also Western style shoes and socks!

Thailand’s tropical climate is very severe on paper, yet the photograph itself is in very good condition. How come? P’ Laem explained that Khun Yay Somboon had cherished this photograph very much and took special care of it. His parents had built their home very close to the grandparents’ house and P’ Laem’s room was almost opposite Khun Yay’s. He could see it hanging at the back of the room as Khun Yay emerged onto her balcony. The positioning was deliberate!

The Princess Mother subsequently went on to Chulalongkorn Hospital to study nursing. Khun Yay also had an opportunity to study there but declined, apparently afraid of the ghosts! Thai people are generally sensitive to spirits, but this response surprised me as she was certainly a strong character, as I hope to convey in a future post or two...


Postscript [August 2012]:  Please note the primacy in spelling of ศรายุธพิทักษ์ over สรายุทธพิทักษ์ - previously I had got it the wrong way round!  Sorry about that.

Personal Diary Of Fuengsin Trafford - in 10 volumes!

My mother, the late Fuengsin Trafford, kept a personal diary, covering the years B.E. 2512 to 2517 (1969 to 1974). At the start, my family was in Southampton (Alpine Close), and then we moved to Strood in Kent in 1970 when I was just a toddler, staying there until 1975. I don't know what prompted my mother to maintain the diary - whether it was something she chose to do to help her adjust to British life or whether she was following some advice from a friend.

The diary is mainly in Thai and occupies a varied collection of notebooks, ten in all, most of them fairly small (bit less than A5 in size). There's an entry for almost every day, sometimes running to only a few lines, at others to more than a couple of pages. I estimate that there are 1500-2000 pages in total, but I can barely make out any of my mother's handwriting. :-(

Yet I can extract some simple patterns because there are many names in English (most of which I can decipher, but not all!) These include circles of friends and places visited (many mention Strood, Chatham, and Rochester, all places in the Medway area that are collectively seeking city status). Also recorded are literary works that she enjoyed reading, including a succession of French novels: Préséances (Mauriac), Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier), La Porte Étroite (André Gide), L’Assommoire (Zola) and unspecified works by Balzac and Flaubert. There are also contemporary events that hit the national and international headlines, which could be an interesting complement to her collection of scrapbooks.

But how am I going to be able to make more than superficial use? I would dearly like to be able to read the handwriting, but for the moment I am dependent on others and so I'm inviting a few Thai friends to transcribe small portions to gain a better idea of what my mother wrote. I hope that these samples will help me to be able to read on my own.

Even then as there's so much material I shall have to target particular portions for reading, transcribing and translating. I could choose passages where certain people are mentioned etc., but perhaps there are more ingenious ways of delving into the text. Any suggestions would be welcome...

The Hampshire Buddhist Society in the late '60s

I've recently started translating from Thai into English some documents authored by Fuengsin Trafford (formerly Sarayutpitag), my mother. I'm pleased to make available a draft of Some Buddhists in England, being a translation from the Thai of ส่วนหนึ่งของชาวพุทธในอังกฤษ.

The article describes the early days of the Hampshire Buddhist Society, which was founded in 1966. It organised some lectures at Southampton University, but it really developed at Crabwood Farmhouse, near Winchester, where core members of the Society met regularly. I found it particularly interesting to read about the format of the sessions since I attend a group in Oxford, where we follow a very similar procedure. This is no coincidence since our group used to be led by Freda Wint, who, I gather, was one of the early members of the Society. It's a wonderful feeling to know this sense of continuity.

I'll write separately about the process of translation itself, but just comment here that I think this would have been far more difficult for me even 5 years ago, but current electronic tools have really helped. However, I still need a Thai person to make corrections!

Golden Jubilee celebrations at KMUTT

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the official founding of King Mongkut's University of Technology, Thonburi - it was established originally on 4 Feburary 1960 as Thonburi Technology Institute (TTI). It's now a substantial research-led University building up an international profile.

I've been fortunate to get in touch with the University as my mother used to work there as a lecturer in English. She would refer to her former place of work as "Bangmot," which is the colloquial shorthand and was one of the first members of staff, joining around the time it was founded - I'm currently trying to establish exactly when. The following photo was taken in 1964, when there was (as far as I know) just this two storey building!

The developments are extraordinary, so congratulations to the university on its achievements! I think my mother would have been delighted to see its progress.

Recalling Memories through Pictures (using multimedia tools)

The processes of contact, feelings, perception and memory are closely interlinked. They are mediated through our senses and for most people the sense that usually predominates is sight. So in trying to put together the early life of my mother, the late Fuengsin Trafford, it's been helpful to carry out interviews based on sets of photographs. I haven't done much planning really, but rather have made things up as I've gone along, working intuitively; it's only now I can see more of the methodology that I've actually followed! I'll report here on that methodology and also on some of the technical tools that I've used to assist me.

My mother left hundreds of photos, which I've tried to arrange in sets according to distinct periods: early childhood, University days, her first years of teaching and so on. I created an index for each set and have pencilled in an incrementing number on the back of each photo, so that they are uniquely identified and there's some order to them, though (as I later would frequently find out) it's not chronological! I then scanned in the photos at a fairly high resolution (on an HP Scanjet 5370C, quite old now) and saved the files using the index as part of the file name. Having done this for a fair proportion of the collection, I've put copies in many places - on laptop hard drives, an external backup disk and memory sticks.

However, merely creating an archive without any descriptions is not much use! For some while I had intended to ask relatives and friends of my mother to enlighten me as to the context and details concerning the photos. I was finally able to set off for my mini fieldwork earlier this month (December), with a copy of the photos on my netbook, an Eee PC. When I met the 'interviewees' in Thailand I recorded the conversations using a digital voice recorder, saving copies of the recordings as files on the netbook.

It was the first time I had properly used such a recording device and my experience of conducting interviews was minimal (though I once did an interview with a Big Issue seller as part of a one day digital video course). So earlier this year I explored the world of digital audio recorders (a process that's familiar for me as I've purchased quite a lot of electronic devices :-) I settled on an Olympus WS-110, which is a compact device, somewhat smaller and lighter than e.g. a Nokia 8210 mobile phone. I chose it based on reviews of its audio quality - good microphone and high quality sampling (see e.g. reviews on Amazon); file format wasn't a concern for me. These devices are evolving rapidly and already Olympus lists this as an archived product, which means you should be able to find it new at a very good price on ebay (which is where I purchased it). Operating the device was very simple.

Then the netbook would serve as a digital lightbox and a basic means of navigation - for a given photo set all the photos would be the same folder and I'd run a slideshow using the wonderful Irfanview! The major handicap with the netbook is the relatively small screen - in many cases I needed to zoom in (my audio recording has a lot of tapping sounds!) When I was in conversation, I'd start with a preamble about what I was intending to do and asked for permission (it's worth confirming this afterwards as well). Although sometimes you know that everyone is happy, it's a good habit to get into in case I go on to do academic fieldwork, which is something I am deliberating. My main role felt like being a catalyst, with some general encouragement and a few questions sprinkled here and there, to elicit a few more details. There's no doubt a large swathe of literature on conducting such interviews, but I didn't read any.

On my return to the UK it was time to transcribe what had been said. To facilitate this, I wanted to associate the audio with the respective pictures (a tradeoff of using a separate recording device rather than doing the recording directly on the netbook). The intended result would be a video consisting of the photos that I had shown with each photo accompanied by the respective audio commentary, i.e. the comments from friends and relatives.

The solution I adopted was to use a video editing tool, Windows Movie Maker (WMM for short), which comes part of the Windows operating system. I guess it is similar in functionality, if not in elegance, with Apple's iMovie. My familiarity with WMM is very limited, so it's probably best if I summarise. The basic idea is to create one WMM file for each interview (WMM only provides a single audio track) so that in any given interview when playing back you know what was said about a particular picture. Here's a screenshot:

There are basically three areas: top left is the collection of files that I used to create the composition - this is where you import the photos and the audio and in this case I could import audio straightaway without conversion as it was in WMA format. Top right is the playback for the composition as a whole. However, the work is carried out below in the storyboard/timeline, which consists of parallel tracks. All I used was the Video and Audio tracks, dragging and dropping photos from the collection area, moving them about until there was approximate synchronisation.

However, in writing a biography I need words as well as pictures! The next step in the process is thus transcription. The method I'm using here is to create a large table with the first column containing the photos, one photo per row. Each of the other columns are to record the transcription from a particular interview. With reference to the WMM files I'm transcribing what was said about a particular photo in the corresponding cell of the table. Again I'm not being particularly sophisticated about the implementation - it's one mammoth table in a MS Word document. As long as it works, it is okay. For a formal research project I expect this would be better implemented in a database.

Handwriting bonus!

There have been some nice extras in undertaking this exercise. My mother has penned in Thai many documents, including a diary over several years. It's one thing to learn how to read the printed word, but a further step to decipher Thai handwriting! With these compositions I have some samples here that have been read out (and with the aid of a dictionary I can slowly spell them out myself). To be systematic, for each letter I can build up a set of samples that I can use later on.

For a few hours of recording, there are many more in organising and interpreting, but I find it fun to do and along the way I learn a little more about Thai history generally. For anyone contemplating learning more about their own family history, I'd recommend this as a stimulating and informative exercise.

Acknowledgements

I mustn't forget to thank everyone who has kindly provided information in the December interviews, including: Pah Vasana, Khun Jamras, Pah Umpai, P' Laem, P' Darunee & her mother, Khun Chaiwat, P' Yui, P' Ead, Na Tewee, Na Tun, and Pah Jah. If I could contact all those my mother knew well, this list would be very long ...

Researching a Thai Biography

There's some interleaving in my blog posts at the moment: as well as sorting out notes from the Parliament, I'm currently gathering some information here in Thailand for a personal project: a biography of my mother, the late Fuengsin Trafford (the following photo of her is one of my favourites):

In my 10 day stopover on my way back from Melbourne to the UK, I've been showing old photographs like the one above to relatives and friends, seeking to learn more about her early life - her childhood, her university studies (and many outings) at Chulalongkorn and afterwards her time at the Thonburi Technical Institute, Bangmod (now King Mongkut University of Technology, Thonburi). I've been using a voice recorder and subsequently transferring the audio to my Eee PC: everything that has appeared online in the past couple of weeks or so has emanated from or been processed on this netbook, truly a travelling companion! (And I've been fortunate enough to have good Wifi access with reasonable broadband connections.

Today, one of my kalyanamittas, Khun Jo, took me to the National Library in Bangkok. My grandparents' home was formerly in Rajadamnoen, in the city centre, which became a target for British and American bombers in the Second World War. Many families moved across the Chao Phraya to Thonburi, though my grandparents may have moved a few years before as they were the first to arrive at what was then an orchard without any dwellings. I was looking for some background information and photographs from that time and in the short time we had we were able to find a book that specifically mentioned this movement from one side of the river to the other.

I feel there's a long way to go, not least to understand the geography - I recall two of my mother's friends taking her to a certain restaurant around a big roundabout; only today did I learn that this was in Rajadamnoen. Evidently there's much more for me to explore!