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Upasika Kee Nanayon
(Kor Khao-suan-luang)
(1901-1979)
The selections listed below are available in printed form in the anthology An Unentangled Knowing: Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Lay Woman, which is available from Dhamma Dana Publications. A nearly complete anthology of Kee Nanayon's recorded teachings is found in Pure and Simple (Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2005).
- Breath Meditation Condensed, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1998; 25k/8pp.)
- In this short talk, Upasika Kee outlines in clear and simple terms the path of breath meditation, and describes how to put the classical teaching of breath meditation (Anapanasati Sutta) into immediate practice.
- Directions for Insight: Six Dhamma Talks on Centering the Mind in Non-attachment, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Ariyesako Bhikkhu (1995; 421k/140pp.)
- Six talks on meditation practice. This collection has also been published under the title Directing to Self-penetration. (Four of these talks were also translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu and published in Going Against the Flow.)
- Going Against the Flow, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1998; 110k/36pp.)
- These are new translations from the original Thai of four talks delivered by Kee Nanayon in 1970. Earlier translations of these talks have been published many times previously, under the titles Directing to Self-penetration and Directions for Insight. (See To the Last Breath/Directions for Insight.)
- A Good Dose of Dhamma for Meditators When They Are Ill, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1998; 41k/13pp.)
- For best results, read this before falling ill.
- Looking Inward: Observations on the Art of Meditation, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1998; 80k/26pp.)
- This collection of thirteen short talks covers many aspects of meditation and Dhamma, and includes a concise introduction to meditation practice to whet the appetite of beginners.
- Pure & Simple, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2003; 73k/25pp.)
- A collection of short excerpts from talks that were originally printed in Thailand in 1973, in honor of Upasika Kee's 72nd birthday. This sampler nicely sketches an outline of her teachings on meditation and on the development of a mind free from attachment.
Note: A comprehensive anthology of Kee Nanayon's talks, also entitled Pure and Simple, was published in 2005 by Wisdom Publications.
- Reading the Mind, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1998; 52k/17pp.)
- Nine short excerpts from talks, concerning the development of skillfullness in reading and training one's own mind.
- Stop, Look, and Let Go, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1999; 21k/7pp.)
- A talk covering a variety of topics, all concerning the need for being observant in watching over the mind. Memorable quote: "People who are intelligent and discerning prefer criticism to praise. Stupid people prefer praise to criticism."
- An Unentangled Knowing: The Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Lay Woman, by Upasika Kee Nanayon, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Dhamma Dana Publications, 1995; 120pp.)
- This volume contains the most extensive collection of Kee Nanayon's teachings currently available in English. It includes an introductory essay that indicates her place within the history of Theravadin Buddhist practice. The contents of this book -- except the Prologue and Glossary -- are available on-line as separate booklets:
Copies of this book are available free of charge from Dhamma Dana Publications.
- Upasika Kee Nanayon and the Social Dynamic of Theravadin Buddhist Practice, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1998; 25k/8pp.)
- In this essay, Thanissaro Bhikkhu examines the social milieu in which Upasika Kee lived and practiced her life of Dhamma. As he points out, the true practice of Buddhism has always gone against the stream of popular culture; a woman following the Buddha's path faces a particularly strong counter-current. It is little wonder, then, that Upasika Kee is rarely mentioned in Thai histories of Buddhism, for her path, like that of many other great masters before her who practiced, taught, and died in the forest, is one that leads to a goal that cannot be measured or praised in conventional social terms. (This essay was originally published as the Introduction to An Unentangled Knowing: Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Lay Woman, published by Dhamma Dana Publications.)