Name: Abhayagiri Forest Monastery
Item: Abhayagiri Forest Monastery
Author: Send an Enquiry

Abhayagiri Forest Monastery provides an environment in which individuals, families, guests and residents are given the opportunity to be in contact with the principles of the Buddha’s teachings and to cultivate those same qualities in their own lives. The monastery’s origins are in the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism. We are open and respectful to all traditions that embody the central elements of the Buddha’s Path: generosity, virtue, mental cultivation, wisdom, and compassion.

With traditional monastic practice as its foundation, Abhayagiri provides an opportunity for men and women to live the forest-dwelling life of simplicity, meditation, and self-discipline, thereby supporting all to fully enter upon the Buddha’s Path to Enlightenment.

The monastery exists in many dimensions: as a dwelling place for a resident community, as a sanctuary for those who visit regularly and as a spiritual presence in the world. The goal is to serve these functions through monastic training and freely share the fruits of this practice.

At Abhayagiri’s heart is a community of monks (bhikkhus), novices (sāmaṇeras), postulants (anāgārikas) and devoted lay male and female residents (upāsaka and upāsikā) pursuing a life of meditative reflection. Frequently, monastics from other branches of the global Buddhist community come and stay for periods of time.

The sangha lives according to the Vinaya, the code of monastic discipline established by the Buddha. In accordance with this discipline, the monastics are alms-mendicants, living lives of celibacy and frugality. Above all, this training is a means of living reflectively and is a guide to keeping one’s needs to a minimum: a set of robes, an alms bowl, one meal a day, medicine when ill, and a sheltered place for meditation and rest.

The Vinaya creates a firm bond between the sangha and the general public. One reason for this is that without the daily offering of alms food and the long-term support of ordinary people, the sangha cannot survive. Obviously, the necessary support will only be forthcoming if the sangha provides an example that is worthy of support. This relationship creates a framework within which generosity, compassion, and mutual encouragement can grow.

Dependence upon others encourages monastics to live in faith and be content with a humble standard of living. For those who support the sangha, this opportunity to give provides occasions for generosity and a joyful and direct participation in the spiritual life. The sangha offers spiritual guidance by teaching Dhamma and through their example as dedicated and committed monastics living the holy life.

Venerable Ajahns Pasanno and Amaro guided the monastery as co-abbots starting in 1996. In 2010, Ajahn Amaro accepted an invitation to serve as abbot of Amarāvati Buddhist Monastery in England. Ajahn Pasanno is now the sole abbot of Abhayagiri.

Ajahn Chah’s style of teaching and personality had a unique ability to reach people of other nationalities. Many foreigners came to learn from, train under, and ordain with Ajahn Chah. The first of these was the American-born monk, Ajahn Sumedho. In 1975, a group of Ajahn Chah’s foreign disciples were asked by villagers from Bung Wai to start a new branch monastery. Bung Wai was a small rural town not far from Ajahn Chah’s monastery. Ajahn Chah agreed and established Wat Pa Nanachat (The International Forest Monastery) as a monastic training center for internationals. Since that time, Wat Pa Nanachat has become a respected Forest monastery and has opened up additional monastic retreat centers, including some in remote forest and mountain locations. In the main monastery and these additional centers, Wat Pa Nanachat currently contains, under its umbrella, over fifty monks representing twenty-three nationalities.

In 1976, the English Saṅgha Trust invited Ajahn Sumedho to establish a Theravada monastery in London. Along with a small group of monks, Ajahn Sumedho heeded the request and established the first branch monastery in Ajahn Chah’s lineage outside of Thailand. Since that time, a number of Ajahn Chah branch monasteries have been created throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand - including England, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Canada and the United States.

This development has included the establishment of a community of nuns (Sīladharā). The first residence specifically for nuns was set up in 1980 close to the Chithurst Monastery and the second in 1984 as part of the Amarāvati community.

All of these monasteries, under the guidance of many of Ajahn Chah’s senior Western disciples, are allowing the example of Forest monasticism to spread westward. They are permitting the direct and simple practice of the Buddha’s original teachings, as it has been preserved in the Forest tradition for 2500 years, to accompany Buddhism as it transfuses throughout and adapts to the Western world.

These monasteries are initiated only at the request of the lay community and are supported entirely by the lay community’s generosity. They serve as centers for monastic training, as well as provide teaching and practice opportunities for the lay community. Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, the first monastery in the United States to be established by followers of Ajahn Chah, was founded in 1996 in the mountainous forests of northern California.

Daily Schedule
5:00am Morning Puja Morning chanting and meditation in the Dhamma Hall.
6:30am Morning Chores A half hour period for a morning chores while breakfast is being prepared.
7:00am Breakfast Tea and a light breakfast is served.
7:30am Work Meeting and Dhamma Reflection Everyone gathers in the Dhamma Hall for work assignments and a Dhamma reflection from one of the Ajahns.
8:00am Work Period and Meal Preperation A period for various work and projects at the monastery, as well as preparation of the meal.
10:45am Meal Offering The meal is formally offered to the monastics, a blessing is given, and everyone may partake of the meal.
12:00pm Kitchen Cleanup Everyone is asked to help with the kitchen cleanup.
1:00pm Open Period An open period for individual practice and solitude at one's lodging.
5:30pm Tea Time Tea and drinks are served in the kitchen and generally one of the Ajahns and other monastics are available in the Dhamma Hall for questions and answers.
7:00pm Evening Puja Evening chanting and meditation in the Dhamma Hall.

Buddhist monasteries have certain social conventions and body language meant to convey a sense of composure, grace, and respect. For people visiting the monastery and unfamiliar with the etiquette, it can often feel intimidating: "I think there is a way I am supposed to behave, but I don't know what it is!"

As suggested in the visiting page, no good monk will be offended by the absence of proper etiquette on your behalf. Much more important is a well-intentioned attitude. Courtesy and respect go a long way and are the basis for many of the forms of etiquette we use in the monastery.

As well as promoting harmony and grace within the community, the forms of etiquette we use are also a means of training oneself in mindfulness and circumspection in everyday social interactions.

Body Language

The most commonly used expression of body language in the monastery is the añjali. The hands are held palm-to-palm in front of the heart and are sometimes raised to the lowered forehead. It is a gesture of respect that can be used as a greeting, a goodbye, a thank-you or when speaking with one of the monastics.

The traditional way of paying respect to a shrine or to a senior monk is to bow. This is done kneeling and sitting firmly on the heels (toes curled in or out). Bow forward, putting the hands six inches apart and the elbows directly in front of the knees. Touch the forehead to the floor between the hands. Bow three times. In the monastery we pay respect to the shrine when entering or leaving the meditation hall and to the senior monk at the end of the morning and evening meditation sessions.

In Buddhist cultures it is traditionally considered impolite to point one's feet at either the shrine or at the monks. Also, lying down or stretching out is also considered inappropriate in the meditation hall. During meditation or a Dhamma talk, care should be taken to move and shift positions quietly.

Relating to the Monastic Community

Monks have many rules in their monastic code of discipline that affect the way they relate to people. In particular, it is a serious offense for an ordained monastic to have sensual physical contact with a person of the opposite sex. The protection also stipulates that there must be another conscientious male present whenever a monk is spending time with a woman. This is to prevent unfortunate situations from occurring, as well as to prevent harmful gossip and misunderstanding. Partly for this reason, monks will greet people with an añjali rather than shaking hands or embracing.

As alms-mendicants, monks are prohibited from engaging in activities that could provide for their own material livelihood. This includes handling money, cultivating crops, and working the land or storing food. As a result, everything that accrues to the monastic community is the result of an offering from a generous person. Anything a monk consumes, except water, must be offered to them directly. They cannot help themselves to food unless it has been given to them.

In addressing a monk, it is considered impolite to refer to them directly by name without an appropriate form of address. The abbot or any monastic of more than ten years standing is usually addressed as "Ajahn" (e.g. Ajahn Pasanno). "Ajahn" is a Thai word from the Pāli "Ācariya" meaing "teacher." Monks with less than ten years in the order can be addressed as "Tahn"' (e.g. Tan Cāganando), which is also Thai and means "venerable." To make things easier, any monk can be addressed as "venerable" or as "bhante" (pronounced BUN-tay) which is from Pāli, the original language of the Buddhist scriptures and means "'dear sir."

Relating to the Monastery

Sangha life is a life of community. Everything in the monastery belongs to the sangha- the ordained disciples of the Buddha, both present and future. The individual members of the sangha and its guests are the caretakers charged with the responsibility of safeguarding, protecting, and maintaining the monastery for the use of the Buddha's disciples today and tomorrow.

One should remove one's shoes before entering any monastery building. For dwellings, the standard is to try to leave it cleaner than when you arrived. An overall attitude of care and respect for monastery property is the rule.

Items in the storerooms are also property of the sangha. Even the monastics may not help themselves to things without permission. If you need something, please ask permission from the guest monk. Food in storage is looked after by the lay stewards of the monastery and is available only at the designated meal times. An important aspect of monastery etiquette is to practice contentment with whatever is offered and when it is offered; special diets are not generally supported. If you need something outside of mealtimes or beyond what is offered, please speak with the kitchen manager.

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