Phra Farang: An English Monk in Thailand

By Phra Peter Pannapadipo

At forty-five, successful businessman Peter Robinson gave up his comfortable life in London to ordain as a Buddhist monk in Bangkok. But the new path he had chosen was not always as easy or as straightforward as he hoped it would be.

In this truly extraordinary memoir, Phra Peter Pannapadipo describes his ten-year metamorphosis into a practicing Buddhist monk, while being initiated into the intricacies of an unfamiliar Southeast Asian culture.

Phra Peter tells his story with compassion, humour and unflinching honesty. It's the story of a 'Phra Farang' - a foreign monk - living and practicing his faith in an exotic and intriguing land.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099484471
• ISBN13: 9780099484479
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: ARROW BOOKS LTD
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.9" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

A good read for understanding Buddhism and rural Thailand

This book contains the insight of the essence of Buddhism especially Vipassana meditation. This seems to be a serious subject but somehow the author has managed to make many humorous acccounts of the life in a temple in Thailand. His accounts of Vipassana meditation and the insight that Vipassna gave him are very useful. One would probably understand him better if one has metitated before with a reference to a mental paradigm shift (why less materials mean more happiness?) and why he has given up everything to become a monk. A useful book to read especially if you want to practise meditation as it contains many practical advices.

Fun, but not much about Buddhism

I didn't actually buy this book since I'm a Buddhist (born as a Buddhist). A friend of mine had purchased this book when she was in Thailand and I had the chance to read the book. This book is more of an experience of an English Businessman who had taken a spiritual path in Buddhism. Mostly the experiences were culture shock and the mentality difference. This is a great book though. The author has a great sense of humor. If you had ever been to Thailand, you would understand most of the conflicts and the irony of the events - I just had to laugh with the authors comments. This book also gives westerners a blend of western ideas vs Buddhism. If you are expecting to learn some spiritual ideas or teachings of Buddhism, this is not quite the book. This is a book to let others who had never understood what Buddhism actually is, to get a feel of it. I gave this 5 stars since I am looking this from an outsider and I find this to be a soft and humourous method to let people understand Buddhism. There are some good insights and allows you to understand what monks do, what meditation is like, etc. The laughs were already worth buying it!! Just to let you know, the profit of the book goes to a fund for children who have what it takes to get higher education, but are not financially supported. Since the author lives in a remote village in Thailand, Phra Peter is mostly involved with helping these children to have a brighter future. So, just consider that you are also making a donation when you buy the book.

Great little book by a western Buddhist monk in Thailand

I bought this book in Thailand, and have recommended the book to many of my friends. It is very good, concise and explain Thai Buddhism very well. Phra Peter has the ability to write clearly and explain difficult Buddhist concepts in plain English.

Not just a great writer.....

Living very close to the temple in Nakhon Sawan and having the opportunity to visit Phra Peter regularly, I can say that he is not only an incredible writer, but a brilliant person who is always extremely anxious to help others and does so in many ways. He has for the past few years been running a trust fund to help further the education of Thai students, mainly from the funds from his book and also donations from readers. But overall he is an especially cool guy and although he lives an extremely different way of life to many of us, he is just the same in many ways and probably the wittiest person i have ever met.

An excellent personal account of Buddhist faith

The book describes the personal journey of a British businessman through his religious training and practice as a monk in Thailand. It is written with modesty and personal insight. It is not a book of "conversion", but one of journey. Phar Peter communicates the essence of Theravada Buddhist tecahing and practice and will capture the attention of those with casual interest in Buddhism, while also having appeal for more devotional readers. The author has established a charitable trust to support the higher education of impoversished Thais, which is briefly mentioned in the book.