Pure and Simple: The Extraordinary Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Laywoman

by Upasika Kee Nanayon, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Translation)

Upasika Kee was a uniquely powerful spiritual teacher. Evocative of the great Ajahn Chah, her teachings are earthy, refreshingly direct, and hard-hitting. In the twentieth century, she grew to become one of the most famous teachers in Thailand--male or female--all the more remarkable because, rarer still, she was not a monastic but a layperson. Her relentless honesty, along with her encouraging voice, is one reason so many contemporary Buddhist teachers recall Upasika Kee so fondly, and so often. With this book, readers seeking something reminiscent of the classic Mindfulness in Plain English can receive instruction on meditation practice as they become acquainted with the legacy of a renowned Buddhist figure. Pure and Simple , the first widely-available collection of her writings, will be gratefully received not only by those who knew Upasika Kee, but by anyone who encounters her for the first time in its pages.

Genres: Buddhism, Meditation

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2005

About the author

Upasika Kee Nanayon, also known by her penname, K. Khao-suan-luang, was arguably the foremost woman Dhamma teacher in twentieth-century Thailand. Born in 1901 to a Chinese merchant family in Rajburi, a town to the west of Bangkok, she was the eldest of five children — or, counting her father's children by a second wife, the eldest of eight. Her mother was a very religious woman and taught her the rudiments of Buddhist practice, such as nightly chants and the observance of the precepts, from an early age. In later life she described how, at the age of six, she became so filled with fear and loathing at the miseries her mother went through in being pregnant and giving birth to a younger sibling that, on seeing the newborn child for the first time — "sleeping quietly, a little red thing with black, black hair" — she ran away from home for three days. This experience, plus the anguish she must have felt when her parents separated, probably lay behind her decision, made when she was still quite young, never to submit to what she saw as the slavery of marriage.
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Reviews

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just started reading this one, and it's kicking butt! Straight forward, no bs kinda Buddhist book, and it's by a woman! :)

"There's nothing of any substance to the physical properties of the body, which are all rotten and decomposing. The body is like a rest room over a cesspool. We can decorate it on the outside to make it pretty and attractive, but on the inside it's full of the most horrible, filthy things. Whenever we excrete anything, we ourselves are repelled by it; yet even though we're repelled by it, it's there inside us, in our intestines-decomposing, full of worms, awful smelling. There's just the flimsiest membrane covering it up, yet we fall for it and hold tight to it. We don't see the constant decomposition of this body, in spite of the filth and smells it sends out."

(hahaha. this is gonna be a great book!)

[Hendro Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the few gems of dhamma books that everyone should read. It provides practitioner a road map and a clear explanation of how the dhamma should be practiced. The explanation by Upasika Kee Nanayon is excellently simple, down to earth and simply put it "right to the heart".

In short, this is the book that every dhamma practitioner should read.

[Juergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the translator, did a great job in capturing the urgency and ardency of Upasika Kee's teachings on the Dhamma. I would recommend this book for anyone who's got an established practice who might be looking for a more in-depth exposition of the Dhamma in fluid form. Know, of course, that Upasika Kee was a Thai lay practitioner who lived in a unique circumstance. This informs her teachings, and also the language used. I think Thanisarro does a good job in capturing this all, though he does favor his own set of translations (e.g. "inconstancy" vs "impermanence"; "disbanding" vs "passing away"; "stress" vs "suffering"). I find it helpful in broadening one's perspectives regarding the Buddha's Dhamma.

[Shawna]

So far I am loving this book...

[Russ Ridlington · Rating 4 out of 5]

A excellent book that is direct and to the point. Upasika is a inspiration to all of us on the path.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

so far the most insightful book for a layman practitioner

I found this book to be beyond insightful for a Buddhist layman practitioner. Page after page is full of insight from a woman so full of wisdom that Buddhist and non Buddhist alike should read and heed her advice.

[Ben]

i was interested because she is a laywoman who became a famous buddhist