Ajahn Sao Kantasilo (1859–1942) was a monk in the

Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Tradition sta ...

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. He was a member of the

Dhammayuttika Nikaya Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an order of Theravada Buddhist ''bhikkhus'' (monk ...

. Ajahn Sao was ordained as a monk at the age of 20, entering the

Maha Nikaya The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...

order. In 1887 he re-ordained in the

Dhammayut Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an order of Theravada Buddhist ''bhikkhus'' (monk ...

order. Both ordinations were in Ubon Ratchathani Province. Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Mahathera was one of his most well-known students. The two were known to often travel together, wandering throughout the forests of Thailand in the “tudong” tradition of monks who leave behind the more sedentary monastery life and take up many (if not all) of the thirteen dhutanga austerities or ascetic practices allowed by the Buddha in the Pali Canon. Ajahn Sao was greatly influenced, in his own practice and in teaching his disciples, by the methods advocated by Somdet Phra Vanarat Buddhasiri (1806-1891), one of the founders of the Dhammayut order. The latter’s teachings are found summarized in his treatise “Caturarakka Kammathana,” or “The Four Objects of Meditation That Give Protection.” As a teacher, Ajahn Sao urged his disciples to be diligent, systematic and consistent. He taught them to wake at 3 a.m. and to practice sitting or walking meditation until 10 p.m. He died on 3 February 1942 at the age of 82 at a monastery in Champasak Province while prostrating in front of the main Buddha image in the

Uposatha The Uposatha ( sa, Upavasatha) is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind ...

hall, "with full mindfulness and plenitude".The Four Objects of Meditation that Give Protection (First Edition: 2012) by the Venerable Phra Ajahn Sakron Dhammavuddho. Copyright 2012. Wat Veruwan. Thingphaphum District, Kanchanaburi Province, 71180. After his cremation, his bone fragments were distributed to people around the Thai provinces. According to his followers, they transformed into crystal-like relics (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

: Sarira-Dhatu) in various hues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Kantasīlo Thai Forest Tradition monks Thai Theravada Buddhist monks 1861 births 1941 deaths People from Ubon Ratchathani province