Monica Lindberg Falk presents an in-depth ethnography of the Mae Chii in Thailand. Her rigorous methodology, which included participant observation by staying at Samnak Chiis (mae chiis’ temples) renders a fine grained ethnology of some groups of the mae chiis. ... Falk’s work is to be commended for eradicating the stereotype that mae chiis are elderly widowed women or young women who have been ill or suffered misfortune and for showing that they, in fact, come from diverse backgrounds and that their motives for receiving ordination are mostly based on genuine spiritual convictions.

Making Fields of Merit: Buddhist Female Ascetics and Gendered Orders in Thailand by Monica Lindberg Falk is a fascinating study of the Thai mae chiis and will undoubtedly become required reading for anyone interested in Thai Buddhism or female Buddhist asceticism. … Overall, this study of the mae chiis in Thailand is an excellent contribution to Buddhist Studies, Gender Studies, and specifically scholarship on female asceticism. I eagerly look forward to reading more of Falk’s work.

Overall, the book is an excellent introduction for students and those who are interested in gaining further insight into the religious experiences of Buddhist women and nuns in Thailand. It is also sympathetically written reflecting the deep affection the author has for her informants whose life as Buddhist female renunicants is by no means easy, as we analyse and objectify their daily struggle from comfortable chairs.

The issue of female monastics has long been debated in Thailand. Lindberg Falk expands the discussion through an in-depth, insightful and provocative ethnography of mae chii, the largest category of Thai female Buddhist ascetics. She challenges the predominant scholarly interpretations of mae chii as providing a means of escape for women from poverty, bad marriages, broken hearts and other life problems. Instead, Lindberg Falk portrays the genuine spiritual motivations of these women, and their religious lives devoted to study and meditation practice. ... Rather than disrupting Thai society and creating a sense of disorder, as many in Thailand perceive them, mae chii offer an alternative to women long left outside the realm of the male sangha, or order of Buddhist monks.