A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants: A Memoir

by Jaed Coffin

Six years ago at the age of twenty-one, Jaed Muncharoen Coffin, a half-Thai American man, left New England's privileged Middlebury College to be ordained as a Buddhist monk in his mother's native village of Panomsarakram--thus fulfilling a familial obligation. While addressing the notions of displacement, ethnic identity, and cultural belonging, A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants chronicles his time at the temple that rain season--receiving alms in the streets in saffron robes; bathing in the canals; learning to meditate in a mountaintop hut; and falling in love with Lek, a beautiful Thai woman who comes to represent the life he can have if he stays. Part armchair travel, part coming-of-age story, this debut work transcends the memoir genre and ushers in a brave new voice in American nonfiction.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Travel, Biography Memoir, Religion, Buddhism, Asia

205 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2008

Reviews

[Jgrace · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants – Jaed Coffin
1 star

Such a great title and such a disappointment. This is a memoir by a Thai-American college student who takes a semester off to return to his mother’s village in Thailand to become a Buddhist monk. It seemed that this might be a story of a young person taking a bold step to find peace with his mixed heritage. I found I was not impressed with this quest or with the author’s stilted writing style. I became very annoyed with his self- absorbed ramblings while he accepted alms from superstitious poor people. I kept thinking about how frustrated this kid’s mother must be. Here’s a single mom who left her native country to give her children a good education and a better life and her son throws it all away to go begging. And the conclusion? After 2 months spent begging, wandering and meditating (or not because his thoughts keep wandering) the boy goes back to his privileged American life and finishes school. I cannot fathom how he managed to get this book published. The whole book reminds me of a high school writing assignment. Paragraphs are written as if he had a rubric that required: one sentence telling what you see, one that tells what you hear , one to tell what you feel and the last to tell what you imagine. I really liked the title so I can give it one star.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir about a young man from Maine (Jaed Coffin)who feels torn between the culture of his father (American) and his mother (Thai). While in his third year studying philosophy at Middlebury college he decides to fulfill a family honor and return to his mother's village in Thailand and become a monk for the summer. (I was unaware that deciding a monk could be such a short term commitment). His hopes of reaching some inner enlightenment are often squelched by the routine and boredom he feels by such mundane task as sweeping the temple grounds and long stretches of meditation. What he does learn is that he is achieving some inner enlightenment and connecting to his ancestors who seemed to distant in his childhood Maine. I was impressed by his determination and bravery to accept any situation he found himself in and just go with it. I liked his quirky descriptions of his fellow monks, their failed attempts at communicating with him in English and there was a bit of humor here and there in the book. I expected the book to contain a deeper insight and hoped it would expose me to some of the Buddhist theology....but it didn't. It was a quick read (the author claimed in an interview he set out to write a book that could be read in 3-4 hours) and fascinating and transported me to the jungles and villages of a foreign land. I liked this book.

[Sarah Laurence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Middlebury College's freshman read of 2015. The author, like my daughter, grew up in Brunswick, Maine and went to Middlebury. During the summer following his junior year, Jaed became ordained as a Buddhist monk in his mother's rural hometown. This memoir describes Jaed's journey to reconcile his dual nationality (Thai and American), searching for an evasive spiritual awakening. I'd recommend it to anyone of mixed cultures, to those curious about Buddhism and Thailand and to all teens on the brink of adulthood. The writing was accessible and easy to follow. I read it one sitting on a plane ride. My daughter is reading it now.

[Benjamin Rubenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

The forest monks ate breakfast by a method called posom bat, or mixed bowl. Rather than dividing out the fruit from the river fish, rice, and meat, they ate it together. Aeg explained that this made him focus on the act of the food entering his body and not on how it tasted or what he liked the most. He chewed each bite slowly and mindfully and seemed to become more thoughtful every time he swallowed. ‘Everything is meditation,’ Aeg said. ‘Walking: meditation. Speaking: meditation. Eating: this is meditation, too.’

Nui looked at me to remind me of our conversation from the night before. ‘Tamachat: everything is meditation,’ he said.

I enjoyed this fast-reading coming-of-age story, especially since the author was a faculty member at the writing program I attended a few years ago. I especially liked the ending, and if I still kept in touch with Coffin then I'd ask him: was this the fork-in-the-road choice you made that led you to write, or do you think you'd have found writing anyway? (And other such questions.)

I'm always hoping to concentrate harder on the thing I happen to be doing, and this book inspired me to continue that wish. I found the book's discussion related to "where do you find Buddhism?" most interesting. Maybe we could replace that last word with "peace," and all go searching for it.

[Helenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

So there I was confronted by the first poem of this book and I had not a dam idea what the hell it was about. That should had been my first warning. But it was my first college assignment so I figure I have to stomached it! I went on to the first page and six pages later I was in one of the best naps of my life, so if you want to sleep or for some strange reason like to be bored and disappointed at the same time… then my friend this is the book for you! I could not related to the guy and for a true story the boy was down right predictable to the very last page. Which led me to the disappointment.
Anyways the cave monk dude that kept saying maybe never mind was the worst! I couldn’t understand what he was saying so is safe to assume that he really needed does English lesson, still Jaed (I think that was his name…) didn’t teach him anything nor even bother to correct him! There was no enlightenment and he couldn’t find the Buddha… the monks contradicted each other teaching so I was really glad when I heard my professor say that she hated the book to so the assignment will be as easy as possible on both of us. It made me regret reading the book and I am glad that most of the information on it is already leaving my brain.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really nice to read an Asia travel/life memoir that isn't a screed about getting wasted at moon parties and nursing hangovers at a bar on Khao San Road. The author's curiosity about himself and his origins is authentic. I really appreciate his honesty about how he felt about the things he didn't find.

[Matthew Seckinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

If the entire book could have read like the last two or three pages, it would have been wonderful. Seems like the author wrote this to make himself as unlikable as possible. I can’t stand the author. It’s too bad. This could have been a very worthwhile story to read. Instead, I feel angry and frustrated with the arrogance of this guy. Self-important drivel.

“When my mother sang ‘kry naw rak rao,’ my sister and I would call out, ‘chong ching chop chow!’”

“Ahead of me stood a group of sunburned backpackers dressed in Capri pants and tank tops, and talking about how they were going to the beaches in the southern islands for a meditation retreat ... I half tried not to hate them, but I did.
... I wanted to tell them something cutting. This isn’t your place. This isn’t your discount fun park.” Judgmental much? It’s not your country to welcome or not welcome visitors. That, and isn’t tourism a huge industry that helps sustain Thailand???

“I wondered whether he could walk, and a part of me wanted to kick him so that he’d stay back.” Saying this about a Buddhist monk!

“It didn’t seem very sacred that I was going to learn to chant from a boy less than half my age.” Yikes. Where to begin ...

“I wondered what the purpose was of mumbling a bunch of meaningless sounds (making fun of Pali). If this was all it took to be a monk, then I’d be just as well off barking like a dog.” You can’t stand being American yet you make light of the language your Buddhist “mentors/superiors” spoke.

You were a complete jerk to the man who wanted to buy a 7-11 and then to the Thai-British kid. I don’t understand your attitude towards them.

“Climbing the steps of my dormitory, I begin to wonder what it must feel like to see everyone else around you changing when you’ve committed your whole life to staying the same.” Maybe they are the ones changing, not you.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed that the story and its author felt so shallow to me. I know little about Buddhism, but I would have expected even a casual practitioner to be better able to experience and describe events he had supposedly been present for in the Buddhist sense of the word. What did the food taste like? What did the forest smell like? He was in Thailand for the rainy season, but never once mentions the weather. Did it, in fact, rain? He dismisses the people he meets with some pithy summation such as handsome or short and pretty much leaves it at that.

He did meet some insects, but other than that one incident, one is given the impression that the forests of Thailand are completely devoid of animal life.

I like books which allow me to experience vicariously a life far removed from my own. This felt like a story told at second-hand, describing scenes that the author himself did not experience.

The best that can be said of it is that the book beautifully conveys the mind of a person who lacks conviction.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book more than ten years ago along with two other books on buddhist practitioners travel to eastern initiation experiences. There was on forest experience in the book that has somewhat haunted me ever since. I felt that I was taken on the journey with this young man and that forest experience when he went to live in a cave with monks and was taken to visit a defiled village rings so loudly in these times of lost connection to collective spiritual practice and mistreatment of the land that I spent this month looking to find this book again and reread. Those who fail to notice the value of this book remind me of those buddhist readers of Buddhadasa's Heartwood of the Bohdi Tree who thought the book was too simple and unsophisticated, even as a novice practitioner of buddhism I have to laugh at such pretentiousness and lack of clarity that would miss this deep sharing in this gem. Take this journey!

[Bobbe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat interesting read that seemed more like a personal diary. One man's quest to find himself, as he seeks his identity within his Thai roots. Because he is half American and half Thai, this book is a glimpse into Jaed Coffin's attempt to find what matters. His summer monk experience was insightful to me--I had no idea that Buddhists could become monks for very short periods and with all different motivations. By the end of the book, it seems he remains adrift. The poem about taming wild elephants was the highlight for me.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been perched on my shelf for over a decade taunting me with its promising title... only to be wildly underwhelming. If I knew nothing of Thailand I might have enjoyed the descriptions more; but, as I know several people who have lived and visited there and shared with me colorful and beautiful first hand stories, this memoir didn't offer much. Into the donate bin it goes.

[Adrian Delesdernier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The visual imagery and conversational descriptions made the book easy to read and digest. Having been to Thailand myself I had a great appreciation for the Temples, the forest and the cave. I also appreciated his quest to learn about himself and how he describes his journey.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's really barely two stars for me. So little emotion in this book, it is flat as can be. I wasn't engaged at all by him or by those around him. I get like he should have explored his own depth of emotion before writing this book, or should have allowed himself that experience while writing it.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing due to my expectations. This wasn't about anything much that I can tell. The author describes several months he spent in a temple in his mother's childhood town. Not much about Buddhism or being a monk or about how this experience impacted his life.

[Francie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool story of a Thai-American college grad's desire to find himself by doing time as a Buddhist monk.

[Erin Sunderland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard this author tell a hilarious story on the Moth. This memoir was less funny but chronicles a coming-of-age experience that is unusual for most early 20-something Americans. Recommend!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wanted this to be more of a dive into Buddhism and the practices, but much more of a coming-of-age book for the author. still enjoyed just not what i was hoping for

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. The writing did not keep me riveted...

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. It had a promising start: a college-aged guy sets out for Thailand to become a Buddhist monk and, essentially, to figure out who he is. His mother is Thai, his father was an American Vietnam War soldier. He returns to his mother's village, and is ordained as a monk. All of the expected cultural and language confusion ensues, as well as quite a lot of spiritual confusion.

The big problem here is that in a memoir like this, the reader is usually waiting for that moment of epiphany, where the author realizes he's been wrong about his approach to spirituality or his thinking about his ethnicity. Or, maybe that moment is more subtle. In any case, memoir is often about the writer's journey of change or development. In this case, not so much. I kept waiting for that moment, but it never came. Instead the author continued his arrogance and know-it-all attitude toward the Thais in the village and in the monastery.

Later, he seems to give up on the whole idea of becoming a monk, of spiritual understanding, and on Thailand. I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't just go hang out in Thailand, particularly since he had family there, why he had to go thru the trouble and hardship of becoming a monk. The two weeks after he leaves the temple to stay with his family seem to have more of an impact on him than his two months as a monk.

There's also a weird, unrequited love story that develops (and ends) in the span of two weeks. Indeed, the entire book takes place over a summer between the author's junior and senior year of college, and I couldn't help but think that maybe the book would have been better if he had reflected on the material longer before writing it.

Another problem: It's not clear how much Thai the author knew when he went to Thailand. In some parts of the book he seems to be translating comfortably and able to navigate difficult conversations in Thai and then at other times he (it seemed to me when it was convenient to do so) said he didn't understand or couldn't be sure what was being said to him.

On the plus side, the writing is clear, and the book is very readable. I blasted through it in a day or two. He's able to describe Thailand well (though I wished for more of that) despite his familiarity with the place and some of the cultural events/customs that go on.

[︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ Steph ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿ · Rating 1 out of 5]

The summary of this book is misleading. It gears you up for a tale about a man struggling with his sense of belonging, and ultimately learning acceptance and owning his multicultural half Thai half American identity. This story isn’t that.

I wanted to grab him by the collar and ask him what the hell he thought was so good about America. Why did he want to leave this village, where he had real roots and a simple and pleasant life? “It will be better to stay in Panomsarakram,” I told him. “Don’t leave.” The young man looked at me and seemed deeply confused. “I will not meditate for you to go to America,” I said. “It is not in your karma.” .

Coffin's memoir is a self-aggrandizing aggrandizing account about the time he pretended to be a monk for a summer in Thailand. From the get-go, Coffin's observations are cynical and judgmental. He rails about stereotypical tourists, and yet, exoticizes everyone he comes in contact with. He makes fun of the local customs, and leads a local girl on about having a relationship. Oh, and don’t get me started on how he thinks his views are better than others.

Most simply, I wanted Narong to stay out of the cave because he was a friend to me, and I didn’t want to lose him. “I think the Buddha is everywhere,” I told him. “You don’t have to go into a cave. He is everywhere…. It is better to go find the Buddha in many places. Travel to find the Buddha. Leave your home to find the Buddha. This is better.” I started telling him about my favorite authors—Jack London, Jack Kerouac, and Ernest Hemingway—and how they found the Buddha by traveling.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a memoir written by Jaed Coffin, a half-Thai/half-white boy growing up in Brunswick, Maine, who decides to return to his mother's village in Thailand to study as a monk. Many Thai men spend a period of their lives at a Buddhist temple. Some stay for a couple weeks, others stay for years. Coffin spends one summer hoping to become more Thai, and to somehow find answers to the questions about who he is and where he belongs. This book is roughly 200 pages, but I felt it could have been so much longer. Part of the problem might be that it appears as if Coffin wrote the book many years after his experience, and it's possible he has not been able to recapture much of the struggle and loneliness that he felt. Monks in Thailand are so revered, it was interesting to get a glimpse into their daily lives - while full of rules, they seem simultaneously unstructured and quite varied from person to person. Coffin, while in this new environment, is never quite able to shed himself of his "other" label. He fights against the Buddhist teachings of his closest monk companion, while at the same time remains unwilling or unwanting to accept his American life. Coffin's writing is easy to get into and he is a very likeable narrator. But, he always left me wanting more - more detail, more story-line, more information. Perhaps the dissatisfaction I felt when reaching the end of this book is similar to the feeling that led Coffin on his Thailand journey in the first place.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

To start off, no spoilers. However, the ending left me with an empty hole in my heart. I'm not sure if I was satisfied or left blank. This book really took me into the mind of the main character and transported me to where he was, what he was doing, and what his purpose was. The most I could say was that a man became a monk, period. The whole story felt like a never ending circle with reoccurring events. Although if someone asked me to make a summary of this book, and I'm telling you my summary would be that he became a monk, it was still a peaceful leisure read. Since it transported me, I felt like I was lost in time, I wasn't bound to it. It made me happy in the simplest way possible and I think that this novel was just that, simple. Simple isn't always bad, simple stories are probably extremely difficult to write. This novel had very little interactions (dialogue) and mainly shows details or the characters thoughts.

Side note: My boss is from Thailand and the way he describes the natives speaking English is so accurate. 'For to making money, for to making love', that's the kind of stuff my boss says. Well done to Jaed Coffin for really grasping that English barrier.

[Carol Tensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some really good passages, however it doesn't hold together. I wanted to like it better.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaed Coffin, the son of a Thai nurse and and US serviceman, at 21 decides to leave Middlebury College to return to his mother's village in Thailand and become a Buddhist monk. The writing is quite nice, and the subject matter is fascinating. Still, all in all, I would have welcomed a bit more insight, a bit more growth, and a bit more understanding of his own position of privilege in the world in what has been described as a coming of age story. Coffin names Jack London, Ernest Heminway and Jack Kerouac as his literary heroes, and it is not a stretch to see the influence of these writers on the young man. ( On the cover, it tells us that Coffin has worked as a boxer, a sea-kayak guide, and a lobsterman.)

All in all--a quick and enjoyable read, but one that could have been so, so much more.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

This memoir was written by Jaed Coffin, a U.S. student of half-Thai, half-American heritage, who chose to spend a brief period of time as a monk. The memoir takes place over the course of a few months time while the author was living as a monk in Thailand.

This memoir is a quick read and offer up general insight into identity and cultural differences, but never goes very deep. The last chapter, "A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants," for which the book is named, references a Thai poem about wild elephants being captured to serve in the king's palace. This seems a perfect jumping off point for a more in-depth exploration of cultural identity, what it means to leave one's country (as the author's mother had done) and Buddhist perspective on karma. Sadly, that does not happen.

I am interested in reading what may come next for Coffin.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always try to read a books by writers who will be speaking at upcoming conferences. I will see Jaed Coffin in August, so I wanted to get a "heads up" on what he writes.

This book is a memoir of the author's time in Thailand as a monk. His American father and Thai mother met in Thailand during the Vietnam War.

The author wanted to complete a time-honored Thai tradition of entering the temple and becoming a monk. Some men become monks for their entire lives; others for a few weeks. Jaed Coffin spent two and a half months as a monk. He takes us along for his spiritual and cultural journey.

[Harriet M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should really be a 3.5. It was a lovely and pleasant surprise. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Thailand or Buddhism. But it is also a coming of age story of a young man trying to root himself. Its skillful descriptions and spare prose drew me in -- although I think he could have used more depth in some places. I kept comparing it to Stephen Asma's very different The Gods Drink Whiskey. Coffin is a much gentler and more naive narrator than Asma and less self-concious. It's a lovely little book.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir showed me a side of Thailand I never really got to know as a missionary. It answered a lot of questions about what it means to become and be a monk. I also thought it was interesting to watch his struggle to find his culture (he's a half Thai raised in America) and his search for the meaning of things. Jaed did a good job of expressing his internal conflict that I think a lot of people face.

[Thing Two · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of one young man's summer trip to his mother's hometown in Thailand to become a monk-for-three-months. The author went to 'find himself', but the only thing he seemed to have discovered was how much longer his shaved eyebrows took to grow back than his shaved head. It is written as a memoir; it might've worked better written as a novel with a point. So much potential, so little reason to pick up this book.

[Bobby Veliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great book to read if you want to learn about about someone else experiences. See things from their eyes and how they felt. If your expecting a spiritual book about becoming Buddhist this is not the book for you. This is just a story about a young man trying to find his path in life and coming to an understanding with his heritage. If you have some time to spare and like to read about other peoples experiences this is the book for you.