San Francisco native Neecha Thian-Ngern holds a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from UC San Diego and a Masters in Business Administration. Neecha has been a devout follower of Venerable Ācariya Thoon Khippapanyo since the age of 16.
For many years, Neecha’s mother was on an unfruitful quest to encounter a master to illuminate the path to cessation of suffering. Skeptical by nature, Neecha was never convinced nor moved by their many dhamma sermons that lacked rationality. Everything changed when Neecha’s mother began following Acariya Thoon in 1998. Through a single, brief encounter with Ācariya Thoon in the summer of 1999, Neecha was able to see that she must first catch the snake instead of attacking the person who threw it at her. She also came to realize the most crucial and indisputable truth – that she was the sole cause of all of her stress and suffering.
Preparing for the 2009 Retreat
From that point on, armed with Ācariya Thoon’s concentrated and insightful models of dhamma practice, she applied simple parallels from her daily surroundings to scrub away at her personal anguish and attachments. She extracted and confronted her feelings, and worked to realize and understand the truth behind them. Under the tutelage of Mae Yo, and through the constant application of rational internalized reflection, Neecha has been able to dramatically limit the frequency of her emotional volcanic eruptions as well as conflicts with friends, family, and coworkers.
Filming Kisagotami at 2010 Retreat
Deeply grateful for Ācariya Thoon’s unique and practical approach to dhamma practice, she is inspired to communicate his message to the English speaking public. Neecha has been entrusted with translating all of Ācariya Thoon’s books. To date, she has published three of his books and one sermon. Neecha produces video content for KPY Productions and is one of the organizers and instructors at the annual KPY Retreats.