A Man in Saffron Robes

"A Man in Saffron Robes" offers a unique Thai perspective on the tradition of entering the monkhood for the rainy-season retreat called "phansa." It is also the story of one man's journey of exploration to the far north of Thailand and his reflections on the culture and people of the North as seen through the eyes of this southerner from Nakhon Si Thammarat then living near the bustling metropolis of Bangkok. In 1974 Maitree Limpichart, author, newspaper columnist and government official, temporarily left a wife and two children behind to put on the saffron robes of a Buddhist monk. He traveled from Bangkok to Thailand's northwestern-most province of Mae Hong Son, situated not far from the frontier with Burma (Myanmar). There, along with the other monks at the hilltop temple of Wat Phrathat Doi Kong Mu, he joined in the daily activities of the brotherhood of monks, the "sangha." Maitree Limpichart's story, however, is not a scholarly explication of what it means to study the "Dhamma," the Buddha's Teachings, in the contemplative environment of the temple. Rather it is the story of a lay individual's experiences with Buddhism and the "sangha."

Those who have visited or lived in upcountry Thailand will find sketches of life, characters and events that will no doubt trigger more than a recollection or two. Those who have no or only a passing acquaintance with Thailand or Buddhism will find stories here that are accessible, engaging, sometimes humorous, always curious and illuminating. Readers will take pleasure in this book for its humor, its poignancy, its exotic and wondrous setting, and for the likeable and interesting characters one meets along the way.