Dear Friends
Next Monday I will be speaking at the Retreat
Association Summer Event at The Royal Foundation of St Katharine (web link: http://www.retreats.org.uk/summer-event.html I shall also put up a separate posting on
this). The theme is ‘Christian Mindfulness?’ and as I was preparing for it over
the last few weeks I had a pleasant surprise. Paul Trafford, the son of my
first Buddhist teacher, Fuengsin Trafford, has published his account of her
life and teachings: Thursday’s Lotus –
The Life and Work of Fuengsin Trafford (available on Amazon). The book has
been a complete joy for me. Not only has Paul captured the life and spirit of
Fuengsin, it is doubly enjoyable for me as it took me back to the
Worcestershire of my childhood in the 60s and 70s where Fuengsin and I both
lived.
Fuengsin Trafford (Fuengsilapa Sarayutpitag) was a
remarkable Thai lay Buddhist teacher. Born in 1936 in Thailand she moved to
England in the early 1960s to take up a UNESCO fellowship programme at the
Institute of Education in London (she was a very skilful teacher) where she met
and married Tony Trafford, a Roman Catholic who worked for HM Customs and
Revenue. As Paul Trafford writes:
‘Brought
up as a practising Buddhist, at around the age of 20 she investigated many
temples in and around Bangkok for a meditation teacher. After much searching,
she found a suitable teacher named Ajahn Gaew, who taught her the practice
of Dhammakaya meditation. A few years later,
on the day of her departure to a land far away, a large band of monks, as well
as friends and colleagues, gathered at Donmuang Airport. In her tribute
to Ajahn Gaew, a contribution to a memorial of his life, she relates how he
informed her that she would spread the Dhamma in the West. She found this hard
to believe, but she was soon gaining experiences in Hampshire and
10 to 15 years later there were developments that made her reflect that the
prediction might come true after all…’
As a pioneer in the UK she helped create the
contemporary Buddhist scene by establishing and helping to form Buddhist groups
across the country. As a lay-woman she was always diffident about her ability
to teach the Dhamma, however several Abbots and teachers in Thailand gave her
special permission to convey the Dhamma which she duly did before her untimely
death in 1995 of cancer. Paul Trafford again:
'Particularly
during her later years, Fuengsin was very actively involved in Inter-Faith
Dialogue. She was part of the Multi-Faith Centre, based at Harborne Hall in
Birmingham, under the direction of Sister Dr Mary Hall. This centre has been a
pioneer in dialogue with a team of representatives from the six major Faiths –
Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism – travelling
around and sharing aspects of their spiritual journeys. A highlight of their
work was a series of lectures in North America, including some at the UN
building in New York – Fuengsin was a member of this delegation. Fuengsin
worked at a number of other centres, including King Edward’s Sixth Form College
in Stourbridge and the federation of colleges in Selly Oak.'
In this, the first biography of her, we find out
about the range and ability of this remarkable woman. Buddhism, like
Christianity (or psychotherapy for that matter) is sometimes riven with
disagreements and arguments between the different schools or ‘vehicles’. One of
Fuengsin’s most endearing qualities was her ability to transcend these
divisions. For her the Buddha (and Buddhism) was greater than any particular
sect and in her teachings she often went to the heart of the matter. Here are
some quotes of hers from an interview she gave to the County Express and which Paul has placed on his Fuengsin website http://fuengsin.org
“Buddhism
is all about trying your best – it’s not necessary to crave for perfection,
because if you try too hard for anything you don’t achieve it.
“Your
behaviour is only a reflection of your mind.
“When you
meditate you become single-minded – that doesn’t mean narrow-minded, merely
that your mind is opening up and you are more capable of appreciating and
understanding things.
“The key
words are compassion, kindness and love.
“Buddhism can change your life if
you follow it – it has certainly given me strength to cope with things over the
years. Based on the four [noble] truths of Buddha, life certainly becomes
richer.”
In his book Paul also relates an extraordinary
incident which affected the course of my life. As a Jesuit novice in Birmingham
our enlightened novice master allowed us to attend the Interfaith Course at
Harborne Hall mentioned above. The highlight of the course for me was Fuengsin’s
teaching. I had had an on-off relationship with Buddhism for many years and as
well as reading widely around the subject I had visited Buddhist viharas such
as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (now Triratna) in Bethnal Green.
Fuengsin, however, was the first Eastern Buddhist I had encountered at close
quarters who was able to answer (or at least try to answer) some of the many
questions I had had about Buddhism. She dealt with my (what were probably very
stupid) questions admirably. But we also struck up a deal. For my private
Buddhist tuition I would teach her Western philosophy which I had studied at
Oxford University. I was very happy to do this and we found all sorts of
resonances between philosophers such as Kant, Hume and Wittgenstein and the teachings
of Lord Buddha. Our conversations continued for over 2 years, at the end of
which I decided that the Jesuit life was not for me (here I was helped by the
sage words of Fr Gerry Hughes SJ, an appreciation of whom I have posted on
another part of this blog). However, even after I had left the Order, Fuengsin
and I continued to meet and debate. During this difficult part of my life she
was a great pastoral help as well as an intellectual help. I remember very
vividly when during this time I asked her if I should consider taking refuge as
a Buddhist. Her reply, quick as a flash, was pure Fuengsin: Best way for you to be Buddhist is to be
good Roman Catholic. Wow! Here was a woman ‘sent to the West’ to spread the
Dhamma urging me to remain a Roman Catholic! She was of course right as the
subsequent 20 years have shown. I think what I sought in Buddhism then –
especially mindfulness, contemplation and the way of peace– can be found equally upon the
Christian path. Consequently when the Retreat Association asked me to give the
address next week I was delighted to accept and perhaps tease out again some of
those wonderful synergies between Buddhism and Christianity that Fuengsin has
first revealed to me. In the words of Francis Vineeth CMI ( see other blog post
on him), Lord Jesus remains my ‘sat-guru’
– my highest guru. However, I have enormous respect also for the teachings of
Lord Buddha who offers extraordinary insights into the human condition. Let us continue
to work then for dialogue and harmony between our two wonderful religions, very
much in the loving spirit of Fuengsin – a remarkable and much missed pioneer of
Buddhist-Christian Dialogue.
