During the first half of this century the forests of Thailand were
home to wandering ascetic monks. They were Buddhists, but their
brand of Buddhism did not copy the practices described in ancient
doctrinal texts. Their Buddhism found expression in living
day-to-day in the forest and in contending with the mental and
physical challenges of hunger, pain, fear, and desire. Combining
interviews and biographies with an exhaustive knowledge of archival
materials and a wide reading of ephemeral popular literature,
Kamala Tiyavanich documents the monastic lives of three generations
of forest-dwelling ascetics and challenges the stereotype of
state-centric Thai Buddhism. Although the tradition of wandering
forest ascetics has disappeared, a victim of Thailand's relentless
modernization and rampant deforestation, the lives of the monks
presented here are a testament to the rich diversity of regional
Buddhist traditions. The study of these monastic lineages and
practices enriches our understanding of Buddhism in Thailand and
elsewhere.
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