WISDOM FROM THE FOREST FOR AN ENGLISH BUDDHIST BHIKKHU PAÑÑĀVAḌḌHO AND JANE BROWNE Jane and Ian George Sharp at Wat Baan Tard Freeda Wint at Wat Baan Tard Jane and Freda Wint Jane & George After leaving London, where for four years since 1956 he had been teaching the Buddha-Dhamma as a Buddhist monk, Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho arrived in Thailand seeking for a teacher himself. He chose, and was accepted by, Venerable Acharn Mahā Boowa, who was relatively unknown at that time. His monastery, Wat Pa Baan Taad, was in the north-eastern province of Udon Thani. In those days, it was an area scarcely developed where traveling was done on foot or by bullock cart. The Monastery grounds were partly forested, surrounded by paddy fields and connected to the village by a sandy track lined with tall trees. There was a plentiful supply of water provided from wells and huge rainwater tanks, but beyond that there was little in the way of any other facility. Life in that region was sparse and comfortless and it was there that Jane, in company with her friend Freda Wint, took herself at a time when the notion of two educated and refined middle class ladies going on such an adventure would have been almost unthinkable. When reading the letters it should be remembered that Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho, at the outset of his training under Venerable Acharn Mahā Boowa, was a beginner who had had little more than an intellectual grasp of the teachings of the Buddha. As the letters progress one becomes aware of Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho’s growing insight and wisdom. Certainly the training which he was to undergo would have been demanding, gruelling and arduous for anyone. Venerable Acharn Mahā Boowa was a formidable presence, as I discovered for myself in my dealings with him. He was at once of a rather fierce demeanour whilst at the same time being very compassionate and kind. The care and attention Venerable Acharn Mahā Boowa took from the beginning, in his training of Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho, was as if he recognized in him the very qualities he could guide to the doors of the deathless, to enlightenment, to the final defeat of suffering. In 2016, at the time of this writing, Jane is 90-years-old, bent over with osteoporosis and enduring constant pain as a result of a bad attack of shingles in earlier years; 12 nonetheless, she has managed, over a period of time, to compile this work. She tells me it has been a great joy for her to revisit the most exciting and rewarding twenty years of her life. As self-examination is an integral part of the Buddha’s path, I think that one should make allowances for Jane’s apparent obsession with her own experiences both in the field of meditation and in her daily life. It is even possible that Acharn Mahā Boowa and Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho may have enjoyed the challenge of responding to Jane’s multitude of problems, perhaps even learning something from it. Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho was 78 when he died on August 18, 2004. He was cremated at Wat Pa Baan Taad and it was estimated that 50,000 people attended, including more than 4,000 monks. On that day, the sunlight and the atmosphere combined to make a full circle of colour in the sky around the sun. The rainbow first appeared as his casket was being taken to be placed on the funeral pyre; it appeared again later when his life story was read aloud, and a third time when Tan Acharn1 Mahā Boowa lit the funeral pyre This very rare phenomenon seemed, to many in attendance, to reflect the depth and subtlety of Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho’s virtue, loving kindness and humility. 1. Tan Acharn translates as Venerable Ācariya, or Teacher. 13 Ajahn Sundara I met Jane in the early 1980s at Chithurst Monastery in England, where a germinal community of Acharn Chah’s monks had taken residence under the guidance of Acharn Sumedho. In a nearby cottage four women, including myself, lived as part of the monastic community, keeping the Eight Precepts and training as anagārikā. Later I got to know Jane’s close friend Freda Newth Wint, whose story also appears in this book. Freda had spent some time with Jane in Thailand, at Wat Pa Baan Taad – the monastery of Venerable Acharn Mahā Boowa, in Udon Thani Province, Northeast Thailand. In 1982, she drove Acharn Candasiri and myself 15 from Chithurst to Cornwall to spend the three-month Vassa retreat at Resugga, near Truro where Jane and her husband Ian lived. We stayed in a part of their home that had been temporarily transformed into a lovely vihāra. We enjoyed having access to her extended property where we spent many hours doing walking meditation, or jongkrom. This remains a memorable and happy period of my monastic life for which I will always be grateful to Jane and Ian. For quite a few years Acharn Candasiri and myself had been doing hard physical work at Chithurst and the Vassa in Cornwall offered us a marvellous reprieve – all the time in the world to dedicate ourselves to formal practice. We became the recipients of the most generous and loving support. Jane and Ian were an incredibly warm couple, showing the most amazing tolerance towards these two young ‘bald-headed females’ dressed in white and spending most of their time either sitting or walking in silence. The patience of our hosts was very touching. I have fond recollections of Jane devotedly feeding her animals – her hens, the donkey, ponies, cats and dogs, as well as her peacock Algernon – before eating her own breakfast with her husband. She didn’t have to worry about breakfast for us as we were only eating once a day, around mid-morning. Since that time, 16 Jane has remained a dear spiritual friend with whom I always enjoy sharing the Dhamma. I also love her subtly eccentric take on life. I first heard Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho teach in 1997 when I met him during a brief visit to Wat Pa Baan Taad, where he had gone to become a disciple of Ven. Acharn Mahā Boowa after having spent several years in London as the senior incumbent of the Hampstead Vihāra (1957-61). Later, I had the opportunity to listen to recorded talks he had given to Western monks living in Thailand’s forest monasteries. I enjoyed listening to his teaching and felt inspired by the thoughtful and profound answers to the many questions that the monks brought to him. He shared his experience of monastic life and Dhamma practice with great modesty and simplicity, with a refreshingly pragmatic and down to earth wisdom that resonated deeply. The letters uncover aspects of Jane’s life that I rarely heard her talk about. I knew that Acharn Mahā Boowa was her teacher and that over a period of twenty years Jane had travelled to Thailand a dozen times to receive his teachings and to deepen her practice. But it was only after reading Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho’s letters that I realised the extent to which, throughout Jane’s life, Acharn Paññā, as he was known, had played an important role as her teacher, mentor and spiritual friend. 17 I was amazed to learn of the trials and tribulations that Jane went through on her spiritual journey and how, encouraged by Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho, she was determined to overcome them by travelling out to Thailand to receive the teachings of the great meditation master, Ven. Acharn Mahā Boowa. Sixty years ago the Northeast of Thailand was considered to be a wild and lawless area, as well as being subject to frequent Communist insurgencies. The letters reveal the extent to which it was a risky undertaking. Apart from tropical diseases, living conditions were spartan as Wat Pa Baan Taad was considered to be one of the strictest forest monasteries. Mainly this book gives an insight into a unique spiritual friendship and a great wealth of Dhamma teaching from a deeply respected Acharn of the Forest Tradition. We can only feel deeply grateful to Jane as we make our way through this treasure trove of wisdom for having had the willingness and energy to put together this remarkable collection of Dhamma teachings. Senior Nun at Amaravati Monastery, England 2016 18 Jane Browne and friends Dedication of the ashes of Acharn Maha Boowa at Amaravati 19 Acharn Paññāvaḍḍho’s first letter to Jane Browne, 18th November 1961 50 Alexandra Road London N.W.8 United Kingdom 18 th November, 1961 Dear Mrs Jane Browne, Thanks for your letter. I am off to Thailand on Tuesday the 21st, so I am afraid you would not find me here next Thursday. I will wish you all the best of kamma for the future, and I do hope that your meditation practice will develop well. In case you want to write, my address in Thailand will be: Wat Cholapratarn Rungsrit, Nonthaburi Thailand Yours sincerely, Bhikkhu Pañña –va.d.dho 22 Jane’s Recollections, This news saddened me. I had first crossed paths with Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho, as he was then called, at the Buddhist Society Summer School in 1958, where he gave a brilliant talk on Dependent Origination, insight into which had led to the Buddha’s Enlightenment. I had never heard that teaching before. It was supposed to be too complicated for the average enquirer, but Bhikkhu Paññāvaḍḍho’s explanation made sense to me. I remember being so impressed with the way he explained its inner workings: how it was possible with mindfulness, concentration and wisdom to break the wheel of becoming at the link between feeling and craving.