On Intuition in the Life and Work of Ramanujan

Portrait photo of Srinivasa Ramanujan in England

These past few weeks I have been engrossed in reading about Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), the brilliant mathematician from South India whose prolific work in number theory lit up the academic world from the early 20th century onwards.

In my studies in this subject I had heard the name, seen references, but didn't use his work.  Even though he's famous in the mathematical world and in India, I wasn't minded to give much attention until I happened to chat over lunch with Thomas Bewley, who described his experiences of playing Prof. H. F. Baker in the film, The Man Who Knew Infinity.  I promptly ordered a DVD and enjoyed watching the film, so I then ordered the substantial biography of the same name by Robert Kanigel.

I'm writing this having just finished Kanigel's book.  It's extensively researched and very detailed, covering Ramanujan's life and work; whilst aimed at the general reader, quite a lot of mathematical material has been presented, in a generally convincing way – Kanigel is numerate (he has a degree in mechanical engineering) and he has evidently spent considerable time grappling with the material in conversation with scholars.

I particularly like the way he shows how the relevancy of Ramanujan's work and various applications has ebbed and flowed; in his early years he struggled to make known his findings, but gradually some friends and associates tried to help promote his cause until they were able to tap into the British colonial networks.  Eventually there arose opportunity to write to the scholars at Trinity College, Cambridge, Britains' foremost centre for mathematical research.  Even then, Ramanujan had to keep persevering until he succeeded at the third attempt when his genius was recognised by Hardy, who nurtured Ramanujan's talent by instilling the rigours of proof and dissemination of the various results.  After Ramanujan's passing, Hardy continued to promote his cause through papers and continued reference.  Subsequent decades saw changing foci, but recently his work has become of great significance – his “mock theta functions” have been integral to the development of mock modular forms, which are now used in astrophysics, even to model singularities (black holes, etc.).

Personally, I might like to explore his work in partition functions (having a natural interest in combinatorics).  However, I am mainly interested at the moment in Ramanujan's spirituality, what we might learn about intuition.  Kanigel attempts to explore this area, knowing full well that members of the public like especially to know about how a human being can navigate the vicarious aspects of life and its innumerable obstacles, triumphing over adversity – the indomitable spirit.  Kanigel dutifully delves into this with cultural sensitivity – undertaking fieldwork in the foreign lands and cultures of the British Isles and India.  Through the information he gathers from interviewees, Kanigel recreates at some length daily scenes in which Ramanujan lived and breathed mathematics - in Kumbakonam, his home town, and in various other places such as Triplicane (now Tiruvallikkeni) (with its historical sites such as the Arulmigu Sri Parthasarathyswamy Temple), and other areas in the then Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu).

Even in a volume as extensively researched as this, the whys and wherefores as to Ramanujan's  mathematical discoveries can't be fully explained when it seeks to explicate an entire life story and indicate especially its mathematical import today.  Even so it's noticeable that whilst Kanigel appears comfortable explaining material facts, he finds it exceedingly difficult to fathom Ramanujan's spiritual inspiration.  Hence overall he writes sympathetically, but when it comes to religious aspects, he doesn't have much to say, and even occasionally strikes an incredulous tone.

For example, referring to a gathering that developed into philosophical discussion he writes (pp. 31-2):

Another time, when he was twenty-one, he showed up at the house of a teacher, got drawn into conversation, and soon was expatiating on the ties he saw between God, zero, and infinity - keeping everyone spellbound till two in the morning. It was that way often for Ramanujan.  Losing himself in philosophical and mystical monologues, he'd make bizarre, fanciful leaps of the imagination that his friends did not understand but found fascinating anyway. So absorbed would they become that later all they could recall was the penetrating set of his eyes.

I don't suppose Ramanujan felt lost; if anything, he was finding deeper relationships in what the author describes as "bizarre" and "fanciful".  Whilst it might have been tantalising to his audience, at the same time the culture readily accepted this kind of expression.

In another chapter Kanigel writes (p.66):

Later, in England, Ramanujan would build a theory of reality around Zero and Infinity, though his friends never quite figured out what he was getting at. Zero, it seemed, represented Absolute Reality. Infinity, or ∞, was the myriad manifestations of that Reality. Their mathematical product, ∞ x 0, was not one number, but all numbers, each of which corresponded to individual acts of creation. 

Kanigel's tone conveys shades of incredulity, but these kinds of views are taken seriously in many parts of the world.  At least in recent centuries, they seem to be more naturally appealing to Asians – from all over, whether the South, South-East, Far East, or the North.  So I'm interested to read accounts from their perspective, particularly Indian interpretations – how do they interpret Ramanujan today?

As Ramanujan is a national hero, there's no shortage of material, a fair amount being helpfully referenced in Kanigel's book.  Arriving as a newcomer, I try to find, where possible, sources with first-hand accounts, ideally published by authorities who have some historical connection.  My starting point has been a broad selection made available by The Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Tamil Nadu, a national research centre.

A section on books lists five volumes, including Kanigel's.  Among the others, I've been looking at  'Ramanujan - The Man And The Mathematician' by S. R. Ranganathan, part of Great Thinkers of India Series, published by Asia Publishing House in 1967.  The publisher is still registered, based in Mumbai, but I can find no website for it.  Dr Ranganathan was a mathematician and library information professional in India; an endowment in his name is associated with another publishing company, Ess Ess Publications limited, and copies of the book are readily available from them.  (But it's also not hard to find a free version online.)

This book records some accounts by those who knew and met with Ramanujan.  One of the respondents is Dr. Mahalanobis, who was there in the late night discussion that Kanigel refers to.  He recalls:

He sometimes spoke of “zero” as the symbol of the Absolute (Nirguna-Brahmam) of the extreme monistic school of Hindu philosophy, that is, the reality to which no qualities can be attributed, which cannot be defined or described by words, and which is completely beyond the reach of the human mind. According to Ramanujan, the appropriate symbol was the number “zero”, which is the absolute negation of all attributes.  He looked on the number “infinity” as the totality of all possibilities, which was capable of becoming manifest in reality and which was inexhaustible. 

(MN Reminiscences of Dr P C  Mahalanobis FRS,
Member of the Planning Commission of India: MP1, p.82)

Ramanujan starts with that philosophical position and then gives it mathematical expression, based on numerical properties that can exhibit the transcendent qualities.  These are not just made up fancifully, but rather there are references to a philosophical school.   Nirguna-Brahmam (or Para Brahman) is described in Hindu texts as the highest spiritual state, the formless Brahman, specifically in the sense of being absent of Maya, illusion.  It's a core belief in the Advaita Vedanta tradition.

Mahalanobis continued:

According to Ramanujan, the product of infinity and zero would supply the whole set of finite numbers.  Each act of creation, as far as I could understand, could be symbolised as a particular product of infinity and zero, and from each such product would emerge a particular individual of which the appropriate symbol was a particular finite number. I have put down what I remember of his views. I do not know the exact implication. 

Whilst Mahalanobis lacked understanding of the finer points, he could gain a general sense of what lay behind Ramanujan's words – there was valid and useful communication.  If they had been completely incomprehensible, then Ramanujan probably would not have sustained interest for so long.  Perhaps more significant still as an indication of the importance of this spiritual view, was the following reflection:

He seemed to have been perhaps emotionally more interested in his philosophical ideas than in his mathematical work. He spoke with such enthusiasm about the philosophical questions that sometimes I felt he would have been better pleased to have succeeded in establishing his philosophical theories than in supplying rigorous proofs of his mathematical conjectures.

This is a significant passage as it points to how important to him was his underlying spirituality of which mathematics was an expressions.  I think we see the deleterious effects of denying him support for this spirituality when Kanigel describes how to many Ramanujan appeared a much-changed man on his return to India in 1919.  Mentally and emotionally he was a different person: whereas previously he was full of fun and sociable in small groups, on his return he appeared withdrawn and angry.  It seems England was able to support his mathematics, but it came at the price of his Brahmin caste (at least for those who did not allow any exemptions to Samudrolanghana, the offence of crossing the sea) and his wellbeing.  There are areas that the book perhaps understates this sacrifice – which was more than the decline in his physical health.  Yet Ramanujan foresaw his own death (“I won't reach 35 years of age”), so the speculation around what might have been regarding alternative life paths and treatments of his tuberculosis should be set against that.

In modern times, we can still find views from India, especially religious teachers, who can give some indications of Ramanujan's spirituality.  Even though they might not have any formal background in mathematics and may lack rigorous language, they can express the 'inner voice', as it were.  For example, in his talk at SRCC College, available in a YouTube video, entitled The Secret of Ramanujan's Genius,  Sadhguru likens deities or, more specifically, murtis (forms) to energetic machines that are able to enhance particular faculties; unlike mechanical devices, such machines don't have moving parts, are easy to maintain, and are available all day and every day.  Ramanujan knew how to use the murti known as the goddess or deity Namagiri to receive mathematical insights and he seemed to be working continuously.  In the short excerpt, it's not explained how one cultivates practice of utilising these murtis, but in India it is typically through yogic or meditative training, and, as for most yogis, Sadhguru gives instruction in these, such as Isha Kriya.

Another perspective is shared in a presentation on teachings by Sri Aurobindo & The Mother: the quality of beauty is highlighted in a post where Sandeep, the author, asks: Where does Mathematics come from?   According to teachings in this tradition, having some correlation to the energetic machines, it as though humans have inner beacons of light that can be directed towards specific arts; an agile mind can shine the light in different directions.  But here, this longer article also emphasizes  development (I'd choose the word bhavana) of the capacity of attention and concentration.  Other posts on that informative site, including one that considers some views of Roger Penrose, describe how a prerequisite is knowing how to bring the mind into stillness (once the mind is at a standstill one can move easily in any direction); bringing the mind to a standstill is  key to allowing novel ideas to arise.

From my own Buddhist perspective, I would highlight that Ramanujan's superlative ability can only come through sustained kusala karma (skilful intentional actions), usually over many lifetimes.  In this way he would have generated puñña (merit), a kind of energetic fuel that with continued cultivation crystallizes as paramis (perfections) – puñña gives you the capacity to achieve, paramis enable that capacity to be readily and instantly available.  Perhaps Ramanujan refrained strictly from intoxicants leading to great clarity and receptivity of mind – certainly even in such a foreign environment he practised strictly as a Brahmin, so he retained that quality of mind seeking perfection.

On ‘Middle’ and ‘Way’ in Majjhimā Paṭipadā, the Buddha’s path

Edited on 5,14 May 2018 (clarified reference to majjhimaŋ) and on 9 November 2020 (added a postscript about the Middle Way in the deva realms).

This post, where I am counting on the blog's schedule facility, has been published at the precise moment of the spring equinox — the midpoint in duration between night and day. It’s a moment of equipoise and fine balance, as marvellously captured by the NOAA environmental satellite image above.

A fitting occasion then to reflect on an experience of perfect balance expressed by the Buddha Gotama [recorded in Pali]:

Dve’me, bhikkhave, antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā. Katame dve? Yo c’āyaṃ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo hīno gammo pothujjaniko anariyo anatthasaṃhito, yo c’āyaṃ attakilamathānuyogo dukkho anariyo anatthasaṃhito.

Ete te, bhikkhave, ubho ante anupagamma majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṃvattati

These two extremes, bhikkhus, should not be adopted by one who has gone forth from the home life. Which two? On the one hand, the devotion to sensual indulgence, which is inferior, the cause of erecting houses, full of defilements, unable to be rid of them, and of no benefit; and on the other hand the devotion to self-mortification, which brings suffering, unable to be rid of defilements, also of no benefit.

The practice that does not go to either of these two extremes, bhikkhus, is the Middle Way awoken to by the Tathāgata through his great insight. It produces vision, knowledge, and leads to appeasement, to superknowledge, to awakening, to Nibbāna.

This is is a quote from the famous Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, SN 56.11, ‘Setting in motion the Wheel of Dhamma’, for which numerous translations are available, e.g. from Ñanamoli Thera. (The Tathāgata is how the Buddha referred to himself.)

So what did the Buddha mean by ‘Middle’ and ‘Way’? The Buddha proceeds to state the following:

katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṃvattati? ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, seyyathidaṃ — sammādiṭṭhi sammāsaṅkappo sammāvācā sammākammanto sammāājīvo sammāvāyāmo sammāsati sammāsamādhi. ayaṃ kho sā, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṃvattati.

And what, monks, is the Middle Way, awoken to by the Tathāgata? It is the Eightfold Noble Path that is to say, right view, right intention; right speech, right action, right livelihood; right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. That is the middle way discovered by a Perfect One, which gives vision, which gives knowledge, and which leads to peace, to direct acquaintance, to discovery, to nibbana.

So the Buddha informs us that a necessary aspect of the Middle Way is the avoidance of the extremes of sensual indulgence and austerity, but it's not way itself; that way is precisely the Eightfold Noble Path.

But what is the ‘middle’ in all this, especially in the mode of practice? A couple of points are worth noting about the context. First, the Buddha was speaking to advanced practitioners, so he only taught in brief; some aspects are taken as read. Also many of the Pali terms we have to consider have multiple senses, including majjhimā. If we consult one of the standard references, the Pali Text Society dictionary (see e.g. the DSAL Pali dictionary entry online), one of the meanings of the noun majjhimaŋ is ‘the waist’, denoting a natural anatomical position by which to make reference to the central region of the physical body. Although it's not precise as the actual centre varies depending on factors such as body shape, it might be used as a general marker.

Exploring along the Centre

It was along these lines that the Middle Way was entered upon and explored in depth by the late Chao Khun Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), the one who re-discovered this practice, popularly known as Dhammakaya Meditation. This great Abbot of Wat Paknam realized that the mind has an exact centre of gravity at which everything comes into balance and from that naturally arises a direction of travel along a path that is successively at the centre of the centre. In this way the centre acts as an anchor and natural axis, around and along which to follow and develop the Eightfold Noble Path at increasingly advanced levels. It's an axis for all the core teachings, especially the Satipatṭhāna Sutta (Four Foundations of Mindfulness). The path naturally resolves what might otherwise appear paradoxes such as kāye kāyānupassī, which means 'contemplating body in body' — for all the teachings have the right focus.

As the Satipatṭhāna Sutta indicates, the Path itself is long, but proceeding along the Middle Way is the way to keep steering in the right direction. It’s a bit like driving from one end of the country to the other — we can take any road, but the side roads require extra effort and energy as there are more obstacles, navigation and delays; if one doesn’t know the way can easily get lost, and generally it will take much longer. It’s much more efficient to take the motorway.

In focus

The path of practice requires looking closely at things and making them clear, but especially bringing the right things into view. At each step the path continues along the Middle Way, but the practice becomes steadily more refined

We may use here the analogy of a microscope with a number of lenses. We start by bringing an object under the microscope, which we wish to examine, under the least powerful lens. As we zoom in, we use a new higher quality lens with an increased level of magnification for which we need to make finer adjustments to keep the object in view. If we keep the object at the very centre of our view it will remain in view under our lens, but if we start to deviate, then it can quickly disappear. In any case, our focus needs to be sharper and more precise to observe the object clearly at that magnification. The direction of travel comes from successively zooming in and seeing with increasing clarity and insight — a motion for which we may use the Pali term opanayiko (leading onwards or inwards).

These aspects to Middle Way meditation are nicely described in a guided session by Venerable Burin (please excuse YouTube's still image, which is not-so-well focused!):

Postscript

Iti pi so bhagavā arahaṃ sammāsaṃbuddho ... satthā devamanussānaṃ ...

Such is the Blessed One: Arahant, truly and completely Awakened One ... teacher of devas and humans.

 

This is an extract from a Buddhist chant recited daily to honour and venerate the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.  The Buddha taught the Middle Way as a universal teaching, which is directed not only to humans, but also to devas, celestial beings.  It is commonly said that the Middle Way is one that avoids extremes of self-denial and self-indulgence, but I do not know of self-denial in the celestial realms.   So in these realms the sense of 'middle' does not seem to apply in that interpretation of the Middle Way (the Middle Way takes continual effort, so we cannot assume that self-denial is automatically satisfied).  However, the path of practice through the middle of one's being does — this is another indicator that this is the real, deeper meaning.

Recollecting Wat Paknam’s contribution to the early UK Sangha

The latest issue of The Middle Way, the journal of the Buddhist Society in London, recently popped through my letter box. The title on the front page announces: 'Ten Decades to Celebrate'. Accordingly, it features key figures who played important roles in bringing the Buddha’s teachings to Britain since the founding in 1926; it recalls the message of early pioneers such as Anagarika Dharmapala, and recounts how the Society was established and came to embrace teachings and traditions from around the Buddhist world.

One of the most significant developments — at least in the universal characterisation of the Triple Gem (Buddha ratana, Dhamma ratana, and Sangha ratana) — was the taking root of the Sangha, the monastic community that undertakes the training according to the Vinaya, the monastic code of conduct devised by the Buddha himself. In the Theravada tradition, which is most well known in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, this finally came to full material fruition on this island in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the establishment of Wat Cittaviveka (Chithurst Buddhist monastery) in Sussex and then Wat Amaravati in Hemel Hempstead. These two monasteries are identified with the Thai Forest Tradition, particularly the lineage of Ven. Ajahn Chah.

Their early origins, or the seed, may be traced through the formation of the English Sangha Trust in 1956, as mentioned on the Wat’s site. The prime mover was its founder, William Purfurst (later Richard Randall), who is mentioned by George Sharp in his talk in 1998 on 'How the Sangha Came to England – Interview (Part 1 of 3)', where it is related that the original trust deed of the EST is the one used at Amaravati today. However, very little is said about William Purfurst because, as the speaker explains, he doesn’t know his early background.

Coincidentally, that year I penned a review of Life as a Siamese Monk, Ven. Kapilavaddho’s autobiography, and concluded with the following wish:

… that the reader of this frank account will come to learn about Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu and the key role he played in laying the foundations of the English Sangha, successfully realised from the ’70s onwards by disciples of Ven. Ajahn Chah, particularly Ven. Ajahn Sumedho. I also wish readers to see how much support Kapilavaddho received from Luang Phor Sodh, his Upajjhaya, and other monks at Wat Paknam. Most Buddhists in the UK know about Amaravati and the Forest tradition, but there is [still] little mention these days of Kapilavaddho and his background in dhammakaya. So it is good that Aukana have salvaged his writings and kindly published it themselves!

In that review I mention an old cine film about the ordination of three Western disciples of Kapilavaddho at Wat Paknam in 1956: Robert Albison ordained as Saddhavaddho Bhikkhu, George Blake ordained as Vijjavaddho Bhikkhu, and Peter Morgan as Pannyavaddho Bhikkhu. It was Jane Browne who originally drew my attention to a copy on VHS that was inserted before a documentary on the founding of Wat Amaravati. My interest was piqued and so I was delighted when Ven. Jutindharo on behalf of Wat Amaravati granted permission for its digitisation, which was subsequently carried out at the Centre for Educational Development and Media at the University of Derby in 1999.

A couple of years later I was able to share this on CD along with some introductory information with Terry Shine, who included it in his tribute, Honour Thy Fathers : Venerable Kapilavaddho : Founder of the English Sangha Trust. This historical account fills in many of the gaps, describing how Purfurst developed an interest in Buddhism, becoming actively involved in its promotion nationwide, lecturing in Manchester and London, and proceeding to become Samanera Dhammananda, ordained by U Thittila in 1952, whence he continued expanding knowledge of Buddhism. The account goes on to describe how he eventually undertook bhikkhu ordination with Chao Khun Phramongkolthepmuni (Luang Phor Sodh) as his Preceptor, receiving the name Kapilavaddho at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Thonburi, Thailand. Shine’s book also indicates how his efforts there blossomed under the guidance of Luang Phor Sodh, particularly in Dhammakaya meditation, earning considerable respect:

“Under this great teacher at Wat Paknam he gradually became renowned as a highly skilled meditator and as a scholar in the Dhamma. He lectured throughout the length and breadth of Thailand to vast crowds, and with an ever growing reputation for his qualities as a teacher and for his rigid observance of the traditional bhikkhu life. As a result, he was given permission by the Lord Abbot to return to Britain with full authority to give instruction in meditation as well as the theory of Buddhism.”

On return to the UK, Kapilavaddho made great strides, teaching what he referred to as the solasakaya meditation method [which is somewhat curious because this literally means ’16 bodies’, when it’s more usually known at Wat Paknam as a method with 18 bodies], and achieving the milestone of the inaugural meeting of the English Sangha Trust. Everything was going swimmingly at this time, when early in 1956, he took three disciples with him to Wat Paknam to undertake the same training that he had received. It started with the bhikkhu ordination, which was captured on cine film, as described above.

Here is it on YouTube (I only recently uploaded it because - as far as I recall - when I first tried there was a 10 minute limit):



Terry Shine has described in some detail the response from the British Isles, but it omits an important episode; in fact, it largely lacks a perspective from Wat Paknam and especially the Dhammakaya tradition. So I will try to convey with reference to available materials and my own background the nature and significance of the contribution of Wat Paknam to Kapilavaddho’s training and hence the important contribution to the Sangha in the west.

As I watch the film, I notice how Luang Phor Sodh is very happy, smiling, even though his health in his final years was poor. It’s a joyful occasion, the crowds are huge; interest among the Thai people was considerable, not least because Kapilavaddho had already established quite a reputation. Wat Paknam was witness to many ordination ceremonies, but I think this one meant so much to Luang Phor and everyone at the temple. Its significance is evident from the selection of archive material that I’ve seen for this period, as they frequently depict the three Westerners, as below:



(Incidentally, I later sent a copy to Phra Peter .Thitadhammo at Wat Pah Baan Taad, who informed me that he showed it to Ven. Ajahn Pannyavaddho, who enjoyed it.)

Kapilavaddho’s commitment and training was certainly known to Ajahn Gaew Potikanok, with whom he became friends in the mid ‘50s. Ajahn Gaew often talked fondly about his fellow monk to my mother, whom he taught at or from Wat Paknam from around 1960 until his passing in 1986, but all along he never revealed his Western identity. But he did remark: “Mara had a go at him.”

Shortly after their ordination, things did not proceed to plan. They really didn't. I first learnt about this from reading the first edition (1996) of The Life and Times of Luang Phaw Wat Paknam, produced by the Dhammakaya Foundation (currently can be downloaded from kalyanamitra.org) [‘Luang Phaw’ is just an alternative spelling of ‘Luang Phor']. Its description of the three newly ordained bhikkhus surprised me because it was rather cool, probably because of what happened at a fateful meeting:

“… a misunderstanding arose between Luang Phaw and the foreign monks… [who] got up in the midst of the assembly and deliberately walked out… Walking out of the meeting was seen as the height of bad manners. They were misunderstood as having trampled their respect for Luang Phaw, their teacher”

It gradually dawned on me that this was a momentous disagreement, and I started to ponder what had happened, but it took quite a few years before I learnt anything. Towards the end of 2001, I contacted George Blake and sent him a copy of the ordination footage. We had some wonderful communication - leading me, inter alia, to discover his audio recording Jataka Tales Vol. 1 at the Buddhist Society. However, I didn’t ask directly about the incident and was left none the wiser about it.

A scholarly analysis was later undertaken by Andrew Skilton in Elective affinities: the reconstruction of a forgotten episode in the shared history of Thai and British Buddhism – Kapilavaḍḍho and Wat Paknam. In his paper, which recognises the significance of the event, particularly its deleterious effects on the English Sangha Trust, Skilton provides useful contextual clues to help draw attention to how “an unexpected inheritance of the situation was a prejudice against the Wat Paknam meditation method (the solasakaya meditation).” It also highlights how actually the junior bhikkhus had wanted to get along - so the circumstances were highly unusual.

Separate to Skilton’s investigations, I made my own enquiries and received a simple explanation that involved a third party, which, I believe, led Kapilavaddho to become very protective of Thitavedo, who had been friend and mentor of Kapilavaddho, and, I expect, prompted him to walk out. They, along with Luang Phor Sodh and the three bhikkhus, were victims of a deception. Sadly, it seems just as in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, where the Buddha was asked about how the Vajjians could be conquered. The only way, the Buddha explained, was to create dissent within their society.

“No harm, indeed, can be done to the Vajjis in battle by Magadha's king, Ajatasattu, except through treachery or discord.”

From that point on, I think, Kapilavaddho’s task became inordinately more difficult, not least because of the demerit of walking out on his teacher, and no ordinary teacher at that. I think this puts into context the ‘warning’ given in Shine’s book on page 43 from a later disciple: “Dr M. Clark, who in 1967 was a disciple of the Venerable Kapilavaddho said that at that time he taught the Mahasi method, because he had found that the “Wat Paknam” method could have an adverse effect on people’s minds." Yet in Life as a Siamese Monk there is no such criticism from Kapilavaddho about the method of meditation. In view of the situation, it's reasonable to suggest that the “Wat Paknam” method was not innately at fault, but rather the karma tied to this incident.

As Skilton describes, it had a far-reaching impact, delaying the establishment of the Sangha in the west and leading to a forgetting or confusion of the significance of Wat Paknam and the contribution by the Dhammakaya tradition. I can illustrate this with reference to the following slide:

Dhammakaya pioneers in the UK: featuring Fuengsin Trafford from Paul Trafford

These are all those who trained at Wat Paknam after Kapilavaddho. If he had remained with his charges, I think the cohesion would have grown and drawn more practitioners, so that successively Terry Magness and then Ananda Bodhi would have joined. Hence there could have been a thriving Western Sangha practising the Middle Way (Dhammakaya) meditation method. As it was, for about 20 years from the mid-1960s onwards there was no one left among them who appeared to openly practice or teach the Dhammakaya method.

However, as illustrated by that slideshow, there was someone who did practice and teach openly: Fuengsin Trafford, whose life I have celebrated in Thursday’s Lotus.

The Dhammakaya Foundation and the United Nations: Peace for the Millennium

Updated 1,2 April to include more photos and a few more details of how Wat Phra Dhammakaya is being attacked.

The strong gusts of wind that battered our placards in the peace vigil felt symbolic of the forceful opposition to Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a temple being attacked on various fronts in Pathum Thani, Thailand. But we maintained our position and during the vigil I was among a number of participants interviewed to share what the temple and tradition mean to us and why we were taking part. For my part, I reflected back to the turn of the millennium when Wat Phra Dhammakaya was host to a specially significant gathering.

Formally represented by the Dhammakaya Foundation, a UN-accredited NGO since 1986, the temple participated in the UN One Day in Peace, adopted by the UN as part of a resolution on the University for Peace (nicely described by the The People For Peace Project), as a prelude to the International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. Participation involved UN Members States, inter-governmental organisations, and non-governmental organisations around the world. The temple marked the occasion by a 200,000 Peace-Candle Lighting Ceremony for “World Peace through Inner Peace” (which it has consistently promoted to resolve conflicts). It was organised in cooperation with the Millennium People’s Assembly Network, the Millennium Forum, Jubillennium, One Day Foundation and the United Religions Initiative.

I had been invited as a dual representative — of the University of Derby (Religious and Resource Centre) and the International Interfaith Centre, Oxford, though in the rush to prepare everything someone assumed incorrectly that I was an academic, bestowing on me the title of ‘Professor’, whereas I was actually employed in IT, to develop an online gateway called MultiFaithNet. (Even so, colleagues in Derby gave me a wonderful opportunity to engage in some scholarly research, allowing me to give papers, particularly at a conference on wisdom.)

[I've archived a copy of the programme — searchable in English and in Thai.]

As well as broadcasting a video message from Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, a number of supporting messages were kindly provided by notable world figures whose initiatives were particularly significant for peace during the 20th century — Lech Walesa, former President of Poland and a Nobel Peace Laureate (in 1983), Dr Oscar Arias, former President of Costa Rica and a Nobel Peace Laureate (in 1987), and Dr Robert Muller, Chancellor Emeritus, University for Peace of the United Nations, Former UN Assistant Secretary General.

Several guests were selected to read out their messages; H.E. Mr. Jerzy Surdykowski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Thailand, was due to read Dr Muller's messages, but he was unable to attend, so I was given that privilege:

DREAM FOR THE YEAR 2000

I dream
That during the year 2000
Innumerable celebrations and events
Will take place all over the globe
To gauge the long road covered by humanity
To study our mistakes and to find feats
Still to be accomplished
For the full flowering of the human race
In peace, justice and happiness.

I dream
That the Third millennium
Will be declared and made
Humanity’s First Millennium of Peace.

I dream
That the year 2000
Will be declared World Year of Thanksgiving
By the United Nations 
(adopted Nov 97 by the UN)

I dream
That all beliefs and cultures 

Will join their hands, minds and hearts
In an unprecedented, universal 

Bimillennium Celebration of Life.

I dream
That on 1 January 2000
The whole world will stand still 

In prayer, awe and gratitude 

For our beautiful, heavenly Earth
And for the miracle of human life.

Dr. Robert Muller
Chancellor Emeritus,
University for Peace of the United Nations 

Former UN Assistant Secretary General
November 30,1999

One of the guests informed me that he had originally told Dr Muller about the event (they were neighbours), volunteering the caveat that the temple was considered controversial. Dr Muller, who was known to appreciate meditation practice, replied that it was actually a sign of positive progress and gave his blessing.

The central focus has always been meditation — the donations that come in are invariably to support this practice in one way or another, whether to build and maintain meditation facilities, including retreat centres, to fund teachers' travel, or to develop instructional materials about practice. Inside temple grounds, one trains in a way that should always support this and during just a short stay I saw evidence of this: one of the temple staff who assisted me in preparing for the ceremony was called Ann. Ann had worked as an air stewardess, but expressed a preference for making meditation central to her life, to the extent that when she dreamt about her friends meditating she would get up and sit in meditation too.

Reflecting its importance, for the ceremony meditation was scheduled for the last half hour of 1999, until the final minute. It felt exceedingly peaceful all round, even though it was surprisingly humid that night for the middle of winter (of course, Thai winters are not like British winters!).

Only then was it time to light the candles for peace with Mrs. Marcia Brewster and H.E. Mr. Padung Padamasankh, both of whom have far more experience of the United Nations than myself.

Looking back, browsing through a beautiful souvenir photo album, I feel wonderment and gratitude, especially to Luang Phor Dhammajayo and Luang Phor Dattajeevo (Abbot and Vice Abbot respectively) for having the vision and loving kindness to enable such a momentous gathering and to all the staff, particularly Dr. Siriporn Sirikwanchai, who facilitated everything with such helpfulness.

Some edited highlights were prepared and dispatched to Times Square in New York, helping people there to celebrate the Jubillennium, entitled Jubillenium Thailand Dhammakaya at the Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya !



Subsequent events, such as September 11th, 2001, may have dimmed lights around the world, but the intention and conviction for peace remain deep. Wat Phra Dhammakaya, through projects grand and not-so-grand, is offering a beacon of especially inner light for the world.

But this is now under serious threat owing to actions being taken by the Thai military government and its supporters. As I write, it looks like the DSI’s visible siege of the temple will halt for the time being, but I suspect that is because efforts are being concentrated elsewhere, mainly to bring in outsiders to control the temple (and hence its practices and assets). Currently, the tactical operation is targeting senior figures, monastics and lay people: so not only Luang Phor Dhammajayo and Luang Phor Dattajeevo have been charged on various counts, but also experienced monastic and lay disciples — all of which are contested. It’s as though there is a factory to fabricate anything to take over by any means available.

For example, on 25 March it was reported in the Bangkok Post (which has long been antagonistic to Wat Phra Dhammakaya) that there are “21 suspects” wanted in connection with alleged land encroachment. Among them Luang Phor Dattajeevo and Dr Siriporn Sirikwanchai! Another person in their list is Saowanee Siripongboonsit. Khun Saowanee is a very experienced UN worker — she was one of the 123 staff singled out for distinguished service when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the UNHCR in 1981. These are honourable people, not criminals.

Some observers have said that Buddhist affairs in Thailand needs reform. Based on my experience over the years — of this and other Buddhist monasteries and centres — I see the right kind of reform already underway at Wat Phra Dhammakaya. It's something that Thailand should be proud of and I wish to encourage anyone who values peace to come and help preserve it.

When Success seems Strangely Problematic

As previously described in my plea for help in Thailand, there has been trouble stirred up against Wat Phra Dhammakaya in strange circumstances. After Article 44 was invoked by the Thai government in mid-February, more than 4,000 police and military were involved in an operation under the direction of the Department of Special Investigation to try and seize Ven. Dhammajayo, the Honorary Abbot. They raided the temple in large numbers and were also looking for material treasures, but at the end of this oppressive and costly operation they came away empty-handed. According to one analyst, who sees a much more sweeping goal it was like "surrounding the forest to catch a mouse".

Some media reports have claimed that life proceeds as normal. But how can it be ‘normal’ if your home has been trampled on by intruders, family members starved, medical treatment curtailed and the head of the household under a barrage of allegations you regard as false? Furthermore, authorities have charged several more senior monks, including Ven. Dattajeevo, the Vice Abbot, for claims of financial inpropriety that seem absurd. All I have ever known them to do is teach the way to inner peace, day in, day out.

It's as though the temple is being attacked for being successful in three areas, which are easy to recognise... :-)

I. Generosity

These are manifest materially in offerings of food and requisites to monks, donations for buildings and facilities to sustain the monastic community and for the development and maintenance of facilities. Fruits: anyone can go to the monastery and participate with or without donating. What was a highly inhospitable land has been transformed over many years into an environment amenable for many people to practise (the key was just to keep planting good seeds).
 


In Good Question, Good Answer on DMC.TV, Ven. Dattajeevo explains in particular the value of making merit. (YouTube video in Thai with English subtitles — sorry if there are adverts displayed, but they shouldn’t last that long.)

II. Moral virtue

This is training of conduct in body, speech and mind; for lay people it means observing Five Precepts in everyday life and Eight Precepts at the monastery and on observance days. Fruits: Path of Progress quiz, V-Star and many other programmes for the public that have spread globally, as in World PEC.




For monks the training is far more rigorous with the observance of the Vinaya; and very many thousands have been ordained.

III. Meditation

Millions around the world have been introduced to the path of inner peace, whose practice leads to brightness and clarity of mind, helpful to people of all walks of life. The Dhammakaya method is particularly successful at bringing the mind to a standstill, making it perfectly clear like a limpid pool of water.

 In the following YouTube video, Ven. Dhammajayo leads meditation in English.




Those who attack the temple bring cloudiness by trying to drag the temple and its practitioners into murky socio-political spheres and the use of sophisticated language designed to deceive.

But truth is pure and simple, felt in the heart. It will be clearly seen.

Luang Phor Dhammajayo, a most refined Dhamma Teacher

The Most Venerable Dhammajayo (known formally by his royal title as Phrathepyanmahamuni), the Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Thailand, has been guiding millions of practitioners in developing the virtuous path to nirvana through the practice of dana (generosity), sila (ethical conduct) and samadhi (concentration). I would like to share a succinct appreciation.

Luang Phor, as is reverently addressed (as are other senior monks), has been a really keen meditator since the early 1960s, when he realized that it was the means to answer once and for all key questions about life (and death). It prompted him to ordain for life as a bhikkhu and practise intensively under the the guidance of Khun Yay Chandra, the founder of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Since then over the decades Luang Phor has encouraged visitors to the temple to sit and bring the mind to a standstill to attain clarity, purity, brightness, leading to true happiness and knowledge. He normally teaches in Thai, so for overseas guests there is usually an interpreter service broadcast through FM radio and we can listen through headphones. However, a few recordings have been made in English, including the following Meditation Guide for Beginners.

(a variant is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEKxgTAFbrI)

For the sitting practice itself, you just need the audio, so you can turn down the brightness of the monitor and gently close your eyes.

Refined Cultivation of Virtue

I observe that Luang Phor has an exceedingly refined mind, and the Wat's organisation is very orderly; there's a lot of geometry and symmetry in the site's architecture, which is pleasing to mathematicians. :-) Internally, the refinement that Luang Phor has developed covers many aspects. In order to support practice in large numbers in a sustainable way, much has been standardised — such as the Wat’s objects of devotion, where there is a single Buddha image style; mats and seats for meditation are of specific dimensions — and processes have been made efficient, even down to the way plastic bags are folded into compact triangles, all of which saves space and allows greater re-use.

Routines for Buddhist practitioners have traditionally included chanting the refuge in the Triple Gem. The Wat continues with this practice and under Luang Phor's direction has extended a particular Thai tradition called Sarapannya with the use of multimedia, culminating in a song of devotion to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha:

I find it beautiful in its rhythm and imagery, but it’s in Thai, so I have translated it into English (with the video included).

I have met Luang Phor several times, only briefly. The first time was 1 January 2000, just after a ceremony at Wat Phra Dhammakaya to welcome the new millennium, when Luang Phor came to personally greet and thank participants. He was radiant, very happy, and dignified.

I was sponsored partly by the University of Derby and the International Interfaith Centre in Oxford to join this special gathering, conducted in association with the United Nations as an occasion for everyone to make a resolution for World Peace. I believe that resolution still lies in the heart of many people at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, especially its Abbot, the Most Venerable Dhammajayo, who always reminds us of the motto: "world peace through inner peace."

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.

What Would Turner Paint at 35,000 feet?

QMA have very generously paid for me to attend an EMu training course at KE Software's office near Oxford Road station.  So after just 3 weeks in Doha, I found myself on another Qatar Airways plane, this time destined for Manchester!   Putting pen to paper, I started jotting...

... It's shortly before 8am and we've just taken off.  From my seat I peer out of the window and have an excellent view looking to the West. 

As we ascend we rise above the clouds I recall being told that the painter, JMW Turner, would spend hours simply gazing up at the clouds, simply observing, watching.   So the question enters my mind: what would he have painted if he were to have gazed from besides and above the clouds?  What visual impressions would he have created - especially the light, shading, and colour?  Where would he have looked?  Up, down or across?  And what would he make of the different shapes, including the curvature of the Earth? 

Now at the cruising height, we're atop the fluffy white clouds, which at a distance are like remote islands floating in a now hazy sea whose waters show but traces of the land masses below.  Sometimes we are drawing close to them, moving besides them, and we see them rise up and across towards us, billowing fully in 3 dimensions, like celestial icebergs, a well-defined yet immaterial presence.   Reflecting clear sunlight, they radiate the luminosity of paper lanterns, but here the light is coming from many directions. 

The scene below becomes gradually clearer revealing at first a largely uniform mass of sand with indistinct features.  It's seemingly washed out by the summer heat, but looking more closely reveals a few roads criss-crossing the landscape, and then shades of colour, with reddish hues and assorted patterns from the shadows of the clouds.  And above the clouds we only see our movement relative to the clouds, we only detect their movements through their shadows drifting across the static land... and dwelling there with our eyes can be discerned a few geometric plots of human habitation in the midst of ... and soon more is revealed: many more settlements - the haze is reducing and now there are traces of green, faint at first, and then of stronger hue - irrigation circles. 

And now all obscured again by a soft hazy blanket.   Empty space ... infinite space ... the horizon merges white and blue.  Textures and shade, layered, uniform, ... Then suddenly like twin prongs, two straight lines converge.  What are they?  Roads?  Pipes? Canals? I don't know.  We're approaching the coast.  The hazy view below makes it seem hazier above until a network of lines appears and an orange patchwork... and strips of cultivated land - they look like fields!  There's less haze and more detail ... and these patterns stretch far and wide. And we can see finer details in this patchwork - denser patterns, settlements, many houses.  Then we cross an expanse of water, perhaps a lake or an estuary? 

Now bolder strips of green, even the specks are prominent.  A river!  It twists and turns, with cultivation hugging its curves, and trees and forests, but still surrounded by sand. More irrigation circles, some having concentric radial discs.  As we continue north and west the landscape thickens - sometimes with mountain ridges, sometimes with vegetation and cultivations... Across the Black Sea into Eastern Europe and more familiar patchwork of fields... 

Very soon we were crossing the North Sea and over East Anglia, starting our descent.

It was only my third visit to the Manchester area, the last one was also mainly work-related (a meeting about Personal Learning Environments).  Actually, on that occasion I stayed not at a hotel, but a meditation centre, and on this occasion although I did stay in a hotel (Ibis, Portland Street), I had some free time to join a ceremony at its current location in Stockport.   Meditation helps me not to have my head 'in the clouds'... :-)

Heart like a Crystal: Francisco de Osuna and the Tenth Recollection

As part of my M.St. I carried out some research for an essay on a famous Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Catholic Church in: Visions Within: Spiritual Development and the Evolution of Imagery in Teresa of Ávila's The Interior Castle. Among the images that most caught my eye were descriptions of the interior of the heart, likened to a crystal, which is introduced at the start of her book:

I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions. (I,i,1)

... and in the centre and midst of them all is the chiefest mansion where the most secret things pass between God and the soul. (I,i,3)

In my brief analysis I mentioned the profound influence of Tercer Abecedario (Third Spiritual Alphabet), written by a near-contemporary, Fray Francisco de Osuna, who was born a couple of decades before St. Teresa. However, although I had learnt that he had used imagery, owing to time constraints I hadn't pursued this beyond a reference to fortification.

Yet the name of this Franciscan friar lodged in the back of my mind. A year later I was helping out on a Buddhist meditation retreat at the Ladywell Retreat and Spirituality Centre belonging to the Catholic order of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood. Whilst there I wandered into the library and I came across The Third Spiritual Alphabet, a translation into English by a Benedictine of Stanbrook (Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1931). I read a few paragraphs about the basic matter of personal conduct and was impressed by the sound practical advice, which seemed similar to advice for bhikkhus.

So I decided to look for a copy of this edition. It's not so easy to find, but fortunately I managed to trace one in a local shop, St Philips Books, St. Aldates, Oxford, and promptly went in person where it was duly found on a shelf, though somewhat tucked away. There is a more recent translation by the Paulist Press, New York, but I felt inclined to the earlier publication. One feature of the 1931 edition is that there are detailed footnotes that link this work with that of St. Teresa.

Yesterday, I took the Third Spiritual Alphabet with me on a ramble towards Chilswell, found a quiet spot and browsed. I was fascinated by the descriptions of the processes of recollection, especially where he writes in the Sixth Treatise:

There now remains only the tenth manner of re-collecting or gathering together God and the soul - the end for which it has aimed by all its recollection. This truly takes place when the divine Light infuses itself into the soul as into glass or crystal, sending forth as a Sun the rays of its love and grace that penetrate the heart after having first been received in the highest point of the spirit. This is followed by the most perfect recollection which unites and collects together God with the soul and the soul with God.

The footnote notes the relationship to St. Teresa's thoughts:

This passage is strongly suggestive of The Interior Castle: 'It is very important for us, sisters, that we should not consider our soul to be in darkness.' (Castle, vi, viii, 4). Like Osuna, S. Teresa compares God to the sun. This idea is maintained throughout the Castle. Speaking of the darkness of the crystal caused by sin, she writes: 'Notice that it is not the fountain and brilliant sun that lose their splendour and beauty, for they are placed in the very centre of the soul and cannot be deprived of their lustre. The soul is like a crystal in the sunshine over which a thick black cloth has been thrown, so that however brightly the sun may shine, the crystal can never reflect it (Castle, M. i, ch. ii, 3).

This observation has striking parallels with the Buddha's description of the mind's quality as pabhassara citta a Pali term meaning 'luminous' or 'brightly shining'. There is indeed a very brief sutta called the Pabhassara Sutta (A i. 10) which indicates the mind is actually inherently "luminous". A 20th Century meditation master, Phra Acariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera emphasizes this in his teachings, 'A Heart Released':

The mind is something more radiant than anything else can be, but because counterfeits — passing defilements — come and obscure it, it loses its radiance, like the sun when obscured by clouds. Don't go thinking that the sun goes after the clouds. Instead, the clouds come drifting along and obscure the sun.

Many Buddhist meditation methods make use of associations of clarity and luminosity to lead the mind towards purity. In the Dhammakaya tradition, we often use a crystal sphere. It's relatively easy to visualize and provides a focus in which to distil feelings, perceptions, mental recollections and consciousness. Placing this at the centre of the body is especially significant as it provides a gateway to the Middle Way. It's only the beginning of a long process leading to successively to great clarity and more refined forms of radiance, at each stage enabling the mind to identify and overcome subtler forms of defilement. The benefits of a crystal ball are further explained for practitioners.

 
There is growing contemporary interest in Christian mystics; it has notably opened up opportunities for fruitful dialogue among monastics of different religious traditions. Now the spheres of such meditative practices have been ostensibly widened into society more generally, particularly in academic circles. I am wondering whether the reflections of Fray Francisco de Osuna may be found to have relevance and to be a source of inspiration at The Cave of the Heart: Contemplation, Mindfulness and Social Renewal, a conference at St. Mary's University College in Twickenham.

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.

Invitation to a Middle Way retreat in Surrey

The UK has just welcomed the prospect of summer as it enters 'British Summer Time' - the clocks have just been set forward one hour ('spring forward ... fall behind' is how I remember it), which means that the evenings are extended bringing a greater opportunity to enjoy the natural environment after work :-)

This summer there's a special opportunity to learn meditation over a long weekend - a 4 day retreat (2-5 July 2010) organised by the Middle Way team, which has for several years successfully run meditation retreats for Westerners in Northern Thailand. I've been helping with its organisation: the location is the Ladywell Retreat centre, which was recommended by a friend, and I think it will be an excellent venue.

It's aimed primarily at those who have some experience of meditation, particularly in the dhammakaya tradition, but I think it's open to anyone who is in reasonably good health and keen to learn. For those who have continued practising since attending sessions organised by one of our temples, it will be a great opportunity to intensify the practice under the guidance of experienced monks. Even if you haven't been able to continue meditating or not as much as you would have liked, then this will be an excellent way of getting back into the practice, purifying and calming the mind, finding inner peace and giving you a firm basis for further spiritual development.

Interested? You can find out some details in an accompanying leaflet and obtain instructions on how to join from Wat Phra Dhammakaya (London) (Not many Thais have heard yet of Woking!)

UPDATE: Further details, including photos from the retreat centre, have been posted in the Wat's blog.

Dr. Michael Nobel's commendation of inner peace at Wat Phra Dhammakaya

Last Friday, 10th October 2008, I travelled down to the temple in Woking to join a special ceremony to commemorate the founder of the Dhammakaya tradition, the late Chao Khun Phra Mongkol Thepmuni, or Luang Pu Sodh, Abbot of Wat Paknam. The main ceremony was actually taking place at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Thailand and marked by a ceremony to cast a statue in solid gold. This statue will be placed in his Memorial Hall, which I've had the good fortune to visit - it's designed in a way that can really help focus the mind on meditation. Nowadays technology makes live broadcasts/webcasts quite normal, so we could join in ... starting at 3.30am. :-)

In the afternoon (Thai time) I was delighted to see an appearance made by Dr. Michael Nobel, a great grand nephew of Alfred Nobel, who inaugurated the Nobel Foundation. He didn't just smile to the cameras, but proceeded to deliver a considerable speech strongly commending the universal value of meditation, praising especially the work of Ven. Dhammajayo Bhikkhu in promoting world peace through inner peace. It really was a wonderful speech and it gives me cause for great optimism. Please see the endorsement from his Peace for Africa site.

[13 July 2009]

Since writing the post, the following video of Dr. Nobel's speech has been released a Google video (The Endorsement of "World Peace through Inner Peace"):