The Bhitiyakuls have devoted their lives to medicine, community service, family, and the Buddhist faith. They bring to these a focus on excellence, optimism, and determination that has enabled them to better the lives of countless people and earned them the respect of their community.

A Life in Healing

Born and educated in Bangkok, Thailand, Dr. Somsak Bhitiyakul earned his medical degree from Chulalongkorn University in 1966 and completed a nephrology fellowship in the United States at Brown University in 1970. After relocating to Ulster County, New York, he opened the county’s first dialysis unit in 1977 and served as its medical director for 34 years. He also held leadership roles as chief of Medicine and president of the medical staff at both Kingston and Benedictine Hospitals, and as president of the Mid-Hudson Society of Internal Medicine. A fellow of the American College of Physicians, he received the College’s Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award in 2002 for a lifetime devoted to patient care. His book How Incurable Diseases Can Be Treated with Food Elimination (2020) reflects his belief in diet’s power to heal chronic illness.

Faith in Meditation and the Buddha’s Teachings

Dr. Bhitiyakul has long practiced meditation in the lineage of Phramongkolthepmuni (Luang Por Sodh Candasaro) of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, Thailand. He credits meditation with helping him manage stress to remain calm, clear, and happy in his medical career. 

Ms. Bhitiyakul’s faith in Buddhism arises from early life experience. As a young girl in Thailand, she suffered from serious illnesses and attributes her recovery to the compassion and healing power of Buddhist monks—first Luang Por Pring of Wat Prasat in Bangkok and later a monk at Wat Sothon Wararam Worawihan in Chachoengsao Province, home of the revered Buddha statue Luang Por Sothon. 

Over the years, she and Dr. Bhitiyakul opened their serene property in Olivebridge, New York, to host visiting monastics and lay practitioners for retreats and ceremonies. One high point came in 2014, when they hosted an installation ceremony for a replica of the Luang Por Sothon statue that still oversees the main lawn with a smile. 

Serving and Practicing

Today, even in their eighties, the Bhitiyakuls are still serving and continue to practice their religion. They are active on the Ashokan Meditation Center’s board of directors, offer material support to the center and its monastics, and help maintain the grounds. Furthermore, they perform devotional observances before the Buddha and Avalokiteśvara statues with prayers, worship, flowers, and incense. Dr. Bhitiyakul also frequents the center’s online meditation programs. 

The Bhitiyakuls are the proud parents of two children.

Optimism and Determination 

Ms. Bhitiyakul’s father taught her that time is short and we must do all we can today. No doubt her experience of illness early in life helped her to understand this and motivates her. When facing a challenge, she tells herself, "I can do it, we must do it."

And the lives of the Bhitiyakuls are testament to how much can be done.