Email:
Suprawan and
Website
Date of birth: 24 May 1954
Place of birth: Bangkok, Thailand
Ethnic origin: Chinese
Status: married with 3 children
1971-1972
Granted the American Field Service (AFS) Scholarship, attending
Westbury High School in Houston, Texas, USA.
1973 - 1977
Honours degree in Sociology at Thammasat University, Bangkok
Thailand. I took part in the students democratic movement and was an
active participant in the Buddhist club. I began my Buddhist
teaching to my junior friends during the last 2 years of my student
life.
August-
October 1977
I was ordained as a Buddhist nun in a monastery in the northern Thai
province of Payao, taking eight precepts.
November 1977-
January 1978
I spent a further 3 months alone in a cave doing meditation and
keeping diary regarding my meditation experience.
March 1978 – October 1979
At the Bangkok General Hospital I worked as a patient councillor:
visiting patients, listening to their problems and in some cases,
guiding them to do meditation easing off their worries and mental
pains over their illnesses.
November 1979
– January 1981
Under the umbrella of the UNHCR, I worked as a social worker in
various refugee camps: working with the unaccompanied minors in
Cambodian refugee camp, the Vietnamese Boat people and the Mong
refugees.
30th January
1981
Moved to England after getting married to my husband.
First son,
Cian Barry Green, born in August 1981
Second son, Andrew Green, born in January 1984
Third son, Colin Green, born in June 1986
April 1988-
Present
Teaching Tai chi and meditation as a part time job at The University
of Birmingham
1987-1995
Working part time as a cleaner in two private houses as well as
being a waitress at a Thai restaurant in Birmingham.
2001- present
Creating massage and meditation: working part time as a massage and
meditation therapist, offering traditional Thai massage, head,
shoulder and foot massage to clients while guiding them to do
meditation for the benefit of their mental relaxation.
Tai chi and
meditation activities
I took my Tai chi students on a long weekend retreats or a day trip
once or twice a year in different Buddhist temples and parks. The
activities involved doing meditation with Tai chi, giving talks
about the purpose of life and how to attain their inner peace as
well as guiding students to observe the Buddhist culture. The number
of participants was between 15-30 people each time.
These are the
places we went:
1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
The Forest Hermitage, Warwickshire
1992 and 1993
Amaravati,
Hemel Hemstead, Hertfordshire
1994 and 1995
The Forest
Hermitage
1996 and 1997
Doing Tai chi
and meditation at Cofton Park, Rednal, Birmingham
1998 and 1999
Wat Sanghathan
Temple, Birmingham
2000 and 2001
Aston Viharan,
Birmingham
Activities outside the UK
June 1999
Researching the Japanese way of life and the Zen culture in Kyoto,
Japan, the trip was sponsored by my Tai chi students.
April 2002
Taught a Tai chi and meditation retreat in Yaounde and Beau,
Cameroon
April 2003
Taught a Tai chi and meditation retreat in Bangkok, Thailand
May 2003
Taught a Tai chi and meditation retreat in Singapore
July 2005
Taught a Tai chi and meditation retreat in Thailand
January 2006
Taught a Tai chi and meditation retreat in Thailand
July-
September 2006
Will be leading a Tai chi and meditation retreat in Thailand as part
of ‘Here and Now Holiday’ company.
List of
published literary works:
1) My Life in England (Thai version) published by Komol
Keemthong Foundation in 1988
2) Dear Colin: What Is The Meaning of Life? (English) Published
by Minerva Press in 1993
3) Can a Caterpillar be Perfect? (English version) Published by
Mental Health publication in 1998
4) A Handful of Leaves (Thai version) published by Mental
Health publication in 1999
5) A Handful of Leaves (English version) published by Mental
Health publication in 2001
6) The User Guide to Life (English version) published by Mental
Health Publication in 2001
7) The User Guide to Life: Morality (Thai version) published by
Skybooks in 2002.
8) The User Guide to Life: The Law of Kamma (Thai version)
published by Skybooks in 2003.
9) The User Guide to Life: Morality 2nd edition (Thai version)
published by Skybooks in 2003
10) The User Guide to Life: The Law of Kamma 2nd edition (Thai
version) published by Skybooks in 2004
11) Eureka! I Know it! (Thai version) published by Skybooks in
2004.
12) Eureka! I Know it! 2nd edition (Thai version) published by
Skybooks in 2005
13) Do You Know What a Normal Mind is? (English version) Published
by Skybooks in 2005
14) Einstein Questions, Buddha Answers (English version) Published
by Skybooks in 2005
15) Bringing Our Mental Self Back Home (Thai version) Printed for
free distribution in 2005.
16) The Structure of Life (Thai version) Printed for free
distribution in 2006.
17) A Handful of Leaves (Thai version) 2nd edition. Published by
Amarin in 2006.
18) Einstein Questions, Buddha Answers (Thai Edition) Published by
Free Mind in 2006.
19) Afraid of Death? Read This! (Thai version) Published by
Skybooks in 2006.
20) The User Guide to Life: Morality 3rd edition (Thai version)
published by Skybooks in 2006
My work in other languages
Bertin Kouam, my Cameroonian students has just finished translating
A Handful of Leaves into French, which will be posted in my website
in due course. Translating The User Guide to Life will be his next
project. Mr. Guy Richardson, my French reader, is on the process of
translating Can A Caterpillar be Perfect? into French. The
translation into Chinese language is on the agenda.
2003
A small group of Thai supporters set up a printing fund raising
money to publish my books (titles 7-16 on the above list) and sell
them at the affordable price. The small profit made from the sale
were put back into the fund along with the donations and were used
to print the next book on the list.
June 2004
Dr. Thongchai Rojkarnsadan from Chulalongkorn University helped me
launch my website. My writing workloads have been increasing quite
dramatically since. I have produced some 30 pieces of lengthy
articles and letters in English and a further 30 pieces in Thai
mainly answering questions from students and readers about problems
in life, the solution and the meditation practice. There are many
more books on the list that are waiting to be published both in Thai
and English.
I also kept my personal correspondence from 1999 till present some
of which have been posted in my website as the contents were packed
with guidance and tips of how to overcome all the day-to-day
problems.
The whole content of my five recent books are also fully available
to read on my website in HTML, PDF and WORD format for the benefit
of readers at no charge.
I still have many projects that I need to work if only I have
enough time. The book that I vow to write before I die is The User
Guide to Life: Hello Tom, Goodbye Jerry both in Thai and in English
version. It will be a step by step user guide helping readers to
fulfil their ultimate goal of life.
