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Biography of Fuengsin Trafford
An avid reader
It is only when one browses through all the
religious books that Fuengsin left behind that one can
realise the extent of her knowledge. In recent years I have
become more acquainted with some of the plethora of
Buddhist groups in the West, and invariably I find that Mum
had read some work related to each one I investigate. In
many volumes you will find a bookmark or sheet of notes,
usually deep into the heart of the work! She was helped by
being able to read quickly in English; in Thai she read
much faster (scanning diagonally down each page!).
How about the following selection for a partial reading
list!
- Walpola Rahula: What the Buddha Taught
- Narada: The Teachings of the Buddha
- William Hart: The Art of Living — Vipassana
Meditation as Taught by S. N. Goenka
- Samatha Association: Abhidhamma Papers
- Subhuti: Sangharakshita - a new voice in the
West [?] (which she had started to translate from
English into Thai) plus Sangharakshita: A Survey of
Buddhism, The Three Jewels
- Various authors: Crystal Mirror V, journal of
Dharma Press.
- Sogyal Rinpoche: The Tibetan Book of Living and
Dying
- S. Suzuki: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
- John Blofeld: Compassion Yoga
- Jack Kornfield: Living Buddhist Masters
- Ajahn Sumedo: The Way it Is
- Thich Nhat Hanh: The Miracle of Being
Awake
Plus many works in Thai, especially about Dhammakaya.
She also had other books on spirituality - Taoism,
Carlos Castaneda, etc..
On top of all that, she received various magazines and
newsletters, quite a lot delivered by friends from
Thailand. The fusion of religion into Thai culture runs
very deep and has a number of interesting manifestations.
One of these is the fact that there are many magazines that
have sections devoted to Buddhist practice and interesting
tales about monks. Imagine ‘The Spectator’ running regular
sections, not just columns, on the practices of monastic
communities!
Thus, having finished watching Eastenders on BBC TV,
within a minute she’d dive straight into one of these
learned volumes, donning her black spectacles, looking
every bit the intellectual (which she was, of course). She
related how she found reading the Dhamma an energising
activity.
No surprise then that she got on well with just about
every Buddhist in town!
- Paul
Fuengsin's Home Page
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