The Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah is a Mahanikai monastic organization in the

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

composed of the students of Ajahn Chah Subhaddo. Strictly speaking, the ''Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah'' denotes the institutions who have a branch affiliation with Wat Pah Pong, the administrative center of the organization.

History

Ajahn Chah's early training

Ajahn Jayasāro Ajahn Jayasāro (born Shaun Michael Chiverton in 1958) is a British-Thai Buddhist monk in the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah. Biography Jayasāro was born on the Isle of Wight in England. At the age of sixteen, having been in contact with Bud ...

relates that while many Mahanikai monks would reordain in the Dhammayut order as an act of devotion to

Ajahn Mun (หลวงปู่มั่น)Ajahn Mun ( th, อาจารย์มั่น) , dharma_names = Bhuridatto , birth_date = , birth_place = Ban Khambong, Khong Chiam, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand , death_date = , death_place = Wat Pa Sutth ...

, a handful of other followers of Ajahn Mun would choose to stay Mahanikai monks.

Luang Por Thongrat

Ajahn Jayasaro relates that Ajahn Thongrat was considered "Zen Like", in the sense that he was very "Vigorous and outspoken — and outrageous — in his behaviour. Which of course in Thai monastic idiom, where etiquette and good behavior is so stressed, it quite made him stand out." Little is known of Ajahn Chah's relationship with Ajahn Thongrat, though Ajahn Chah relates a story about the first time he had met Ajahn Thongrat. Upon hearing of Ajahn Thongrat's whereabouts, Ajahn Chah traveled a long distance to meet Ajahn Thongrat. When Ajahn Chah walked into the monastery where Ajahn Thongrat was staying, Ajahn Thongrat looked at Ajahn Chah for the first time and said "Oh, Chah! You've arrived at last!", which surprised Ajahn Chah, because there should have been no way that Ajahn Thongrat knew who Ajahn Chah was or that he was coming.

Ajahn Kinnari

Ajahn Chah met Ajahn Kinnari while wandering dhutanga. Ajahn Jayasaro talks about how when dhutanga monks encounter each other, they will sometimes relate information about good spots to meditate, or good monasteries or meditation teachers.

Establishment of Wat Pah Pong

Prior to establishing monasteries, Ajahn Chah wandered Dhutanga for 7 years, practicing in wilderness areas, caves and cremation grounds. After that period, he settled in a "fever ridden, haunted forest" known as "Pah Pong", and drew a following from there. A monastery was formed in the area, known today as ''Wat Pah Pong'', in spite of poor living conditions and sparse food. In 1967, Venerable Sumedho came to stay with Ajahn Chah at Wat Pah Pong. He found out about the monastery from one of Ajahn Chah's existing monks who happened to speak "a little bit of english".

Taking root in the west

Thailand

The first Thai monastery run by and for English-speaking monks was Wat Pah Nanachat which is located in Northeast Thailand about 15 kilometres from the city of Ubon Rachathani, founded in 1975.

England

Chithurst Buddhist Monastery or Cittaviveka was the first English monastery. In 1976,

Ajahn Sumedho Luang Por Sumedho or Ajahn Sumedho ( th, อาจารย์สุเมโธ) (born Robert Karr Jackman, July 27, 1934) is one of the senior Western representatives of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was abbot of Amaravat ...

met George Sharp, Chairman of the English Sangha Trust. The Trust had been established in 1956 for the purpose of establishing a suitable residence for the training of Buddhist monks in England. By the 1970s, the Trust possessed a property in Hampstead that was not yet deemed suitable for what was desired. During a brief stay in London in 1978, Ajahn Sumedho, while undertaking the traditional alms round of Theravada monks (on

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band o ...

), encountered a lone jogger who was struck by the Bhikkhu's outlandish attire. The jogger had, by chance, just acquired a piece of overgrown woodland in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. After expressing an interest in Buddhism, the gentleman attended a ten-day retreat at the Oaken Holt Buddhist Center near Oxford after which he offered the forest as a gift to the Sangha. In 1979, George Sharp purchased Chithurst House (a property adjacent to the wood) on behalf of The English Sangha Trust. Chithurst House gained legal recognition as a monastery in 1981. The monastery was named Cittaviveka, a Pali word meaning "the mind of non-attachment". Harnham Buddhist Monastery, Aruna Ratanagiri was founded in June of the same year.

Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Amaravati is a Theravada Buddhist monastery at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in South East England. Established in 1984 by Ajahn Sumedho as an extension of Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, the monastery has its roots in the Thai Forest ...

(now the main headquarters of the U.K. monasteries) was established in 1984 and formally opened in 1985. A fourth location is The Forest Hermitage (Santidhamma & Bhavanadhamma) (founded by

Ajahn Khemadhammo Ajahn Khemadhammo OBE (also known as Chao Khun Bhavanaviteht; born )Sanghapala Foundation being set up in 1988. A plot of about north of

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

was given directly to Ajahn Sumedho by

Chan Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia *Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) *Chan Caldwel ...

Master

Hsuan Hua Hsuan Hua (; April 16, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the lat ...

, founder of the

City of Ten Thousand Buddhas The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas () is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by Hsuan Hua, an important figure in Western Buddhism. It is one of the first Chan Buddhist temples in the United States, and one of the largest Bud ...

Talmage, California Talmage (variant, Talmadge) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. Talmage is located east-southeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of . The population was 986 at the 2020 census, down from 1,130 in 2010. ...

, before he died in 1995, would become

Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery Abhayagiri is a Theravadin Buddhist monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Redwood Valley, California. Its chief priorities are the teaching of Buddhist ethics, together with traditional concentration and insight meditation (also known as ...

. Currently, the monastery rests on of mountainous forest land.

Other western countries

The Thai Forest Tradition also exists in: * Australia (Buddha Bodhivana Monastery, Bodhisaddha Forest Monastery, Bodhipāla Monastery, Dhammagiri Forest Monastery, Vimokkharam Forest Hermitage, Wat Buddha Dhamma ) * Brazil (Suddhavāri Monastery) *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(Tisarana Buddhist Monastery, Arrow River Forest Hermitage,

Birken Forest Monastery Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, or Sītavana (Pali: "Cool Forest"), is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition near Kamloops, British Columbia. It serves as a training centre for monastics and also a retreat facility for l ...

) *

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

(Bodhinyanarama Monastery and Vimutti Buddhist Monastery) *

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(Kloster Dhammapala monastery) *

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(Muttodaya Waldkloster Forest Monastery, Metta Vihara and Anenja Vihara) *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

( Santacittarama monastery) * Norway (Lokuttara Vihara (Skiptvet Buddhist Monastery)) * Portugal (Sumedharama) *

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

(Samanadipa Forest Hermitage)

The Order of Siladhara

Establishment

The

Siladhara Order The Sīladharā Order is a Theravada Buddhist female monastic order established by Ajahn Sumedho at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, England. Its members are known as ''Sīladharās''. In 1983, he obtained permission from the Sangha in Thailand, to ...

is a

Theravada Buddhist ''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' ...

female monastic order established by

at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1983, he obtained permission from the Sangha in Thailand, to give a ten-precept '' pabbajja'' to the women, making them officially recognized female renunciants trained in the

Ajahn Chah Chah Subhaddo ( th, ชา สุภัทโท, known in English as Ajahn Chah, occasionally with honorific titles ''Luang Por'' and ''Phra'') also known by his honorific name "Phra Bodhiñāṇathera" ( th, พระโพธิญาณเถ ...

lineage. The reasons for its establishment are due to the historical loss of the bhikkhuni (nun's) ordination in Theravada Buddhism. The female monastic community began in 1979, when Chithurst Monastery admitted four Western women as anagārikās. From 1979-1983 the women lived in a cottage a short walk from the main house, on the edge of Chithurst forest. In 1983, Ajahn Sumedho ordained the nuns as 10 Precept sīladhārā nuns at Chithurst. In 1984 the order outgrew the cottage, and the nuns community moved to Amaravati. According to the Forest Sangha newsletter: "Some years later a small group of nuns returned to Chithurst Monastery to establish a second sīladhārā community there."

Milntuim House

In 2012, another center for the Siladharas was purchased in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, known as the Milntuim House. Ajahn Candasiri writes:

2009 Ordination at Bodhinyana

On 22 October 2009

Ajahn Brahm Phra Visuddhisamvarathera ( th, พระวิสุทธิสังวรเถร), known as Ajahn Brahmavaṃso, or simply Ajahn Brahm (born Peter Betts on 7 August 1951), is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk. Currently, Ajahn Brah ...

facilitated an ordination ceremony for bhikkhunis where four female

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, Venerable Ajahn Vayama, and Venerables Nirodha, Seri and Hasapanna, were ordained into Ajahn Brahm's lineage.

Bhante Sujato Bhante Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Theravada Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah. Life Bhante Sujato identifies as an anarchist. A former musician with ...

along with his teacher

were involved with re-establishing bhikkhuni

Ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

in the Forest sangha of Ajahn Chah. 0

along with other scholars such as Brahm and

Bhikkhu Analayo Bhikkhu Anālayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Buddhist Texts as preserved by the various ...

had come to the conclusion that there was no valid reason the extinct bhikkhuni order couldn't be re-established. A number of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastics and

scholars A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...

worldwide expressed sympathy with Brahm's stance, expressing concern at what they perceived to be limitations, contradictions and ahistoricism in structural approaches to the currently existing

and its barriers placed on full bhikkuni ordination. The ordination ceremony however, led to Brahm's expulsion from the Thai Forest Lineage of Ajahn Chah. The ordination ceremony took place at Ajahn Brahm's Bodhinyana Monastery at Serpentine (near Perth, WA), Australia. For his actions of 22 October 2009, on 1 November 2009, at a meeting of senior members of the Thai monastic sangha, held at Wat Pah Pong,

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the south ...

, Thailand, Brahm was removed from the Ajahn Chah Forest Sangha lineage and is no longer associated with the main monastery in Thailand, Wat Pah Pong, nor with any of the other Western Forest Sangha branch monasteries of the Ajahn Chah tradition.

-- remaining faithful to his convictions that there was no reason the order should not be revived -- resisted pressure and intimidation and went on to found Santi Forest Monastery, and, following

's wishes, Santi became a thriving and successful

Bhikkhunī A bhikkhunī ( pi, 𑀪𑀺𑀓𑁆𑀔𑀼𑀦𑀻) or bhikṣuṇī ( sa, भिक्षुणी) is a fully ordained Nun, female monastic in Buddhism. Male monastics are called bhikkhus. Both bhikkhunis and bhikkhus live by the Vinaya, a ...

(

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

's )

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Vihara in 2012.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1967 establishments in Thailand Thai Forest Tradition