Translators

Edmond Pezet

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Edmond Pezet (1923-2008) was born to a family of poor French farmers. His first exposure to Southeast Asia was during the Vietnam War where he saw many atrocities and determined to return to help the people that were harmed. In 1949 he ordained as a priest and in 1956 was sent to Northeast Thailand where for more than twelve years, he shared the hard life of the villagers. In 1970, Edmond Pezet went to a university in Bangkok to study Sanskrit and Buddhist doctrine. He stayed at that time in the wat (monastery) of an urban monk. Later, he shared the contemplative life of the “Monks of the Forest” who follow the rigorous practice of the Elders. After that, Pezet provided paramedical service in a camp for Cambodian refugees. He returned to France in 1984, where he undertook various translations of Thai and ancient Pali texts. Back in Thailand again during 1988-1989, Pezet wrote various texts in Thai and did several translations. In 1989 he was back in France for good. There he fulfilled pastoral duties until 2004, and then entered a retirement home, where he died in December 2008, aged 85.

Pezet’s translations of Ajahn Buddhadasa, from Thai into French, are:

  • Un Bouddhiste dit le Christianisme aux Bouddhistes (Christianity and Buddhism) (Paris, 1987)

  • Vacuite - Sunnata - Le coeur du Buddhisme (Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree) (Bangkok, 2006)