Forest Walking, Meditation and Sore Feet: The Southern Buddhist Biographical Tradition of Ajahn Mun and His Followers

The paper examines why auto/biographical writing is rare in Southern Buddhism, citing monastic rules, customs against disclosing mental attainments, and the absence of formal lineage transmissions. It then explores a new tradition of life writing emerging from the Forest Tradition of Northeast Thailand, where Anglophone compositions and translations reveal literary qualities that embody the tradition's meditative style. As the movement gained global recognition, media for life stories diversified, including digital formats. Despite differences in location, authorial style, and media, these auto/biographical works share features that define and embody the Forest Tradition monastic ethos for an Anglophone audience.

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Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines two issues. The first is the apparent lack of auto/biographical composition within Southern Buddhism. Various reasons are suggested for this absence, such as monastic rulings, recent customs on public declaration of mental state and attainment, and the lack of the formal lineage transmissions that characterise some other forms of Buddhist practice. The paper then explores a new tradition of auto/biographical composition, found in the works of practitioners within the Forest Tradition of Northeast Thailand. As various Anglophone compositions/translations of this monastic tradition of practice demonstrate, certain literary qualities emerge that both define and embody the meditative style for which Northeast Thai monasticism has become famous. As this movement has moved now to global recognition, the media involved in life story composition have become more varied. Now several generations of life writing, often placing strong emphasis on the extended forest walk, have described the particularities of the Forest Tradition monastic ethos. Despite great differences in location, authorial style, and the inclusion of digital material, these new forms of auto/biographical composition share, it is argued, features that in some way embody and define the lineage to an Anglophone audience.