Food for the Heart: The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah
Ubon Ratchathani · 2002
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Ajahn Chah
Ajahn Chah
1918 CE–1992 CE · Modern · Ubon Ratchathani
1918–1992 CE
Ajahn Chah (1918–1992 CE) was a Thai Forest Tradition master whose plain, witty teaching carried the lineage of Ajahn Mun to a wide international audience. Born to farmers near Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand, he ordained in 1939, practiced for years as a wandering ascetic, and in 1954 founded Wat Pah Pong, which grew into a network of forest monasteries. His Western students—including the establishment of monasteries in England—made him one of the most influential conduits of Theravāda practice to the West. Diabetes left him bedridden and unable to speak in his final years; he died in 1992. He is thoroughly documented. He is treated aniconically here.
Life journeyclick any stop, or use ←/→Trace on the map →
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Stop 3 of 1Visited
Ubon Ratchathani
What they did here
DOCUMENTED: in 1975 a branch monastery for Western monks was established near Wat Pah Pong, from which his teaching spread to England (Amaravati/Cittaviveka) and beyond.
About Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani is a province and city in the Isan (northeastern) region of Thailand, near the Lao and Cambodian borders. It is a heartland of the Thai Forest Tradition (kammaṭṭhāna): Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, regarded with his teacher Ajahn Sao as the tradition's founder, was born in the province, and Ajahn Chah later established his forest monastery Wat Nong Pah Pong here.
In Ubon Ratchathani at the same time
Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo, Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo
In the same place & time
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Sages whose lives overlapped with Ajahn Chah’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo, Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo
The world in their lifetime
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Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Ajahn Chah’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Jewish world
Hindu world
Christian world
Works(2)
A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah
Ubon Ratchathani · 1985