24 Dec. 1936 - 23 Feb. 1995
|
|
|
|
|
|
A woman child, O Lord of men, may prove
Even a better offspring than a male!"
Background
Fuengsin Sarayutpitag was born in Thonburi, near Bangkok in 1936 and was educated at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, where she obtained a B.A. Liberal Arts and B.Ed. She was a practising Buddhist from birth and at around the age of 20 she investigated many temples in and around Bangkok for a meditation teacher. After much searching, she found a suitable teacher and method and thus began her practice of Dhammakaya meditation. Soon her teacher, known as Ajahn Gaew (see the memorial of his life), informed her that she would travel to the West to spread the Dhamma. Still at university, engrossed in her Thai life, she was rather bemused at this. But in 1963, at the age of 26, as a large band of friends and monks gathered at her departure for England, maybe she had an inkling that the prediction would come true ...Translations of Buddhist teachings
Fuengsin translated a number of teachings of Ven. Ajahn Sanong Katapunnyo from Thai into English, with valuable assistance from a number of people.- A Taste of Dhamma
- Oneness
- Dependent Origination through The Tibetan Wheel (from a special calendar)
- Attachment - the final translation she completed.
Inter-Faith activities
Particularly during her later years, Fuengsin was very actively involved in Inter-Faith Dialogue. She was part of the Multi-Faith Centre, based at Harborne Hall in Birmingham, under the direction of Sister Dr. Mary Hall. This centre has been a pioneer in dialogue with a team of representatives from the six major Faiths - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism - travelling around and sharing aspects of their spiritual journeys. A highlight of their work was a series of lectures in North America, including some at the UN building in New York - Fuengsin was a member of this 'delegation'.Fuengsin worked at a number of other centres, including King Edward's Sixth Form College in Stourbridge and the federation of colleges in Selly Oak. A Christian-Buddhist Encounter was held at the College of Ascension between June 4th and 6th, 1996. It was been organised by Revd. Andrew Wingate and was partly in her memory.
Rev. Andrew was very generous in his presence and care during Fuengsin's final weeks. He has subsequently had a response - personal, pastoral and theological - published in the May/June 1997 issue of the journal 'Theology':
A Woman of Faith Dies: Death of a Champion of Buddhism
Some articles and essays
Recreation
Fuengsin was often 'life and soul of the party', particularly at college where she would entertain her friends, often by singing and playing on the mouth organ.- Together with a friend, she wrote a cookery book: some of the Thai recipes are available.
I am currently compiling information for a very wide-ranging biography! ! Below are some snippets.
- A Prayer to St. Francis of Assisi
- An avid reader
- The World in Scrapbooks
- Her Musical Tastes
- Almost a Pop Star!
Last modified by Paul: 13 August 2008