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Khunying Yai had a privileged upbringing, and it was reported that she was of high social standing and was close to the royal family of King Rama VI. In 1922, she and her husband donated a plot of land in the south of Thailand and the monastery Wat Thammikaram was constructed upon it. She was a dedicated practitioner of meditation and some believed that, as a result of her advanced meditiation, she was able to recollect former lives of herself. She could also see the karmic consequences of other people’s actions. Some reports mention that Khunying Yai achieved one of the four stages of awakening as a consequence of her expert skill in meditation.  

Khunying Yai was both humble of her achievements and a devoted practitioner. Throughout her life she published numerous texts anonymously, and many of them have been regarded as exemplary knowledge of Pali canonical scriptures and have been held in very high regard. She is also revered for her enthusiasm for the study of Buddhist texts. In 1933, she was ordained as a mae chi and remained so until her death in 1944. 

Mae Bunruean was a widely respected female practitioner, as exemplified by her large following and the contribution of numerous authors to the creation of her biography after her death. The popular magazine Lokthip (Divine world) published a biography about her; making her the first female practitioner to be featured in this well-known outlet. Since a young age, Mae Bunruean was interested in the study of Buddhist doctrine and received teaching from the renowned meditation master Luang Ta Phring. She is reported to have strictly kept the Buddhist precepts. After she married she became deeply interested in meditative practice and ordained as a mae chi. She did not remain a mae chi for a long period of time, but advanced quickly in her practice: many Thai have believed that she possessed supernatural abilities, such as endowing objects with protective energies.  

Indeed, Mae Bunruean was widely revered for her extraordinary skills. The most prominent of her abilities was her power of asseveration, which allowed her to relieve others of misfortune and prevent harm. This ability is key to her achievement of ‘sainthood’, and she amassed a large following throughout her life. Mae Bunruean had no apprehension of death, exemplifying the Buddhist teaching of no attachment, even to one’s own life. It has been reported that upon her death and cremation, her ashes immediately turned to relics, an extremely rare event, which, according to Thai beliefs, demonstrates the achievement of sainthood. Relics are the crystal formation of a deceased person’s ashes that confirm their status of awakened. For more on relics, see chapter 4. In the book, Seeger argues that sainthood can be found and confirmed in material objects, such as relics and amulets. Arguably, Mae Bunruean is the first female practitioner to be revered as a saint on a national scale.

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From a very young age Mae Chi Kaew was able to recall past lives and could enter deep concentrative states of mind. Her ability to recollect past lives served as a platform for her Buddhist practice. She became a student of the highly revered and famous meditation master of the Thai forest tradition Luang Pu Man.Under his guidance, Mae Chi Kaew attained extraordinary progress in her meditation practice. However, when Luang Pu Man left the village, he forbade her to continue meditation without his guidance, as he feared her mind would wander without his instruction. It is perhaps here that the greater difficulty experienced by women to ordain, renounce, and take part in ascetic practices is most clear. However, although Seeger notes the patriarchal disadvantages women face, ‘their gender could have led to quicker realizations of the weariness of life and served as a source of motivation for Buddhist practice’ remarks Shedneck. 

In 1945, Mae Chi Kaew built an independent nunnery in Ban Huai Sai and received instruction by one of Luang Pu Man’s main disciples, Luang Ta Mahabua. He guided her to focus less on her supernatural abilities and instead focus on spiritual practice that would be lead towards progress to nirvana. As focusing on the abilities attained through meditative practice rather the spiritual advances goes against basic Buddhist teachings of the extinction of desires. The hagiographies tell us that Mae Chi Kaew focused her practice and attained awakening, a significantly rare and respected achievement. In fact, her followers still gather in the last week of March each year to recollect Mae Chi Kaew’s spiritual achievements. 

Mae Chi Nari’s first contact with Buddhism was with Luang Pu Man. Buddhism had not yet reached her village and according to her life accounts she was the only one to give him alms. Considering the lack of Buddhism in her environment, her decision to become a Buddhist renunciant by taking the eight Buddhist percepts must have been highly unusual. Her decision to pursue Buddhist practice was due to a variety of mental images she experienced, which allowed her to recollect former lifetimes.  

Her teachings became famous throughout Thailand, tour buses full of followers would come to listen to her teachings. She is said to have met canonical fully awakened beings including the Buddha himself during meditation. After her death, many saw her status as an awakened one confirmed by the transformation of her remains into relics.

Mae Chi Phimpha is well-known for her monastic career and offers a more intimate look at life as a mae chi, rather than an account of supernatural occurrences. As a young woman, she declined numerous marriage prospects. When she married someone, she chose a husband who would treat her with upmost kindness. The death of her first child led her to realize the suffering of lay life. This spurred her career as a monastic. Her autobiography offers insight into the daily life of a mae chi, as well as her thoughts on Buddhist teachings, and her failures and hardships in spiritual developments. This is not common practice by many other monastics and out of all the other female practitioners mentioned throughout this book, hers is the only account that reflects these struggles.. She practiced  meditation with great rigor and honesty. She was regarded as an excellent example for future mae chis and is also believed to have achieved Buddhist sainthood. 

Although Mae Chi Soda came from relatively good social standing and had a family, she wished to follow the footsteps of her parents who both had renounced lay life and lived as monastics. Every holy day she closed her shop in order to practice meditation at the local temple.  

Her longing to pursue life as a monastic grew stronger with the years, and in 1976 she was ordained as a mae chi by Luang Pu Juan Kulajettho at one of the most famous monasteries in Thailand.  

In deep meditation, Mae Chi Soda received a mental image that directed her on an extremely difficult road to liberation from earthly desires and attachments. She took this code of practice without hesitation and lived her life accordingly. As her meditation progressed, it is said that she was able to radiate loving kindness to others through her practice and was also able to relieve the pain of others. Upon her death, it is said that her ashes turned into relics, showing Mae Chi Soda’s dedication to the strict path she had followed. Thousands traveled to attend her funeral and celebrate her purity and dedication to practice.