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1 Prologue Most people's lives are preoccupied only with the pleasures of the senses, spending all day thinking about the temptations of eating, sensuality and power. When one's intentions are impure, it leads one's speech and actions to be impure making one selfish and a puppet to one's emotions. The way of life of a person willing to 'swim against the tide' of the mundane and the profane is a demanding one. It demands practice rather than chatter and a mind filled with merit and goodness — the marks of a person who keeps up meditation practice throughout their life. It can demand a life of perfect celibacy — the sort of life looked up to even amongst the community of Buddhist monks. It is hard to find a person of such pure intentions anywhere in the world — and the chances of finding such a person diminish with the passing years and the current swing of society towards material values. One such person, however once walked the Earth in the form of a Buddhist nun called Khun Yay (Maha Ratana Upasika Chandra Khon-nok-yoong), the founder of Wat Phra Dhammakāya which is one of the biggest Buddhist temples in Thailand. ‘Khun Yay’ is a title meaning ‘respected lady master of advancing years’ — a name she was referred to by her closest disciples.