Recounts the struggles of a young Thai woman to become a Buddhist nun and the challenges and rewards of that life.
The gripping story of Wabi,a young Thai woman who sought a religious life, The Journey of One Buddhist Nun recounts her struggle to overcome the numerous obstacles along her path. Wabi left her rural village at 17 to become a Buddhist nun in a land where religious men are honored and religious women are scorned. Despite these conditions, Wabi wanted to study Buddhism, to meditate, and to develop a profoundly religious life. She traveled to a monastery in Bangkok, where she heard she might be able to pursue her dream, but upon arrival found she needed money to become a nun-money she didn't have. Moving from difficulty to difficulty, Wabi finally found a home at a convent of Buddhist nuns, where she gained close friends, an education, and a vibrant meditation practice.
As Wabi's life unfolds on the pages of The Journey of One Buddhist Nun, readers are introduced to the background needed to understand Buddhism, Thai culture, the particular impediments women face in Southeast Asia, and the rewards of a deeply spiritual life. Buddhist philosophy, texts, and meditation techniques come alive as we learn the roles each played in Wabi's life. Western readers will be particularly interested in the description of Wabi's vivid, formative meditation experiences.