Teaching
Ajahn Chah taught the practice of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism: meditation, a simple monastic life under strict discipline, and the contemplation of uncertainty (anicca) as the way to let go of clinging. His talks, given in Thai and Lao, were unplanned and practical. 1, 2
Who it is for
For readers drawn to Buddhist meditation and letting go; he was a Theravada monk, and many of his talks were given to the monks and nuns living with him.
Life and places
- Born on 17 June 1918 in a village in Ubon Ratchathani province in north-east Thailand, he was ordained as a monk in 1939. 1
- In 1954 he settled in a forest near his home village, where the monastery Wat Pah Pong grew; in 1975 Wat Pah Nanachat was founded nearby for Western monks. 2
- He received the title Phra Bodhinyana Thera from King Bhumibol in 1973, was bedridden for about ten years after an operation in 1981 and died on 16 January 1992. 1, 4
Public context
Works
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The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah
Book · 2011 · Aruna Publications, Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery, Harnham
Most of his Dhamma talks available in English, transcribed and translated from Thai and Lao recordings, with an introduction to the Thai Forest Tradition and his life.
The short summaries are ours.
In their own words
Short passages in the words of Ajahn Chah, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.
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Right view is the understanding that all these things are uncertain. Therefore, the Buddha and all the Noble Ones don't hold fast to them. They hold, but not fast. They don't let that holding become an identity.
The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah · Talk "Not Sure", p. 602 · forestsangha.org Quoted translation: Translated from his talk in Thai or Lao; translator not named. The book says several translators worked on the talks over some thirty years. It is a widely read collection published for free distribution by the monasteries of his tradition, and ajahnchah.org gives the same wording except for one comma. -
Whoever sees the uncertainty of things sees the unchanging reality of things.
The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah · Talk "Still, Flowing Water", p. 377 · forestsangha.org Quoted translation: Translated from his talk in Thai or Lao; translator not named. The book says several translators worked on the talks over some thirty years; it is a widely read collection published for free distribution by the monasteries of his tradition. -
Don't worry about the past or the future, just be still and you will reach the place where there's no advancing, no retreating and no stopping, where there's nothing to grasp at or cling to.
The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah · Talk "Our Real Home", p. 149 · forestsangha.org Quoted translation: Translated from his talk in Thai or Lao, given to an ageing lay disciple approaching her death; translator not named. The book says several translators worked on the talks over some thirty years; it is a widely read collection published for free distribution by the monasteries of his tradition.
Documented teaching relationships
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Personal teacher of Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield's website says he met and studied as a monk under Ajahn Chah; Lion's Roar writes that he entered monastic life under Ajahn Chah's guidance at Wat Nong Pah Pong, and the audio archive of Abhayagiri Monastery, in Ajahn Chah's lineage, lists his own account of asking Ajahn Chah for permission to leave Wat Pah Pong.
Self-reported · jackkornfield.com , lionsroar.com , abhayagiri.org
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Learned personally with Ajaan Mun Bhūridatta
Ajahn Jayasaro's biography of Ajahn Chah says that he spent three days with Ajahn Mun at Wat Pah Nong Peu, the year before Ajahn Mun's death in 1949, received his instructions and considered him his teacher throughout his life; the introduction to Ajahn Chah's collected teachings speaks of a short but enlightening period with him.
Biographical tradition · jayasaro.panyaprateep.org , abhayagiri.org
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Personal teacher of Ajahn Sumedho
Ajahn Chah's biographies say that Ajahn Sumedho came to Wat Nong Pah Pong as his first Western disciple, spent ten years under his guidance, became the first abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat in 1975 and was left by Ajahn Chah in London in 1977 to establish a monastery in England.
Biographical tradition · jayasaro.panyaprateep.org , ajahnchah.org
Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.
Sources
- Biography of Ajahn Chah (ajahnchah.org) Biography on ajahnchah.org, a website of his teachings in many languages; dates of birth, ordination and death; no independent critique. accessed 19 Oct 2026
- The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah (PDF, Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery) Single-volume collection of his translated talks, published for free distribution by Aruna Publications (2011) under a Creative Commons licence; compiled by monasteries of his tradition; hosted by a monastery of his lineage. accessed 19 Oct 2026
- The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah - Single Volume (Forest Sangha) Publications page of the Forest Sangha, the community of his monasteries in the West, with the free PDF and EPUB. accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Stillness Flowing: The Life and Teachings of Ajahn Chah (PDF, Panyaprateep Foundation) Biography by his disciple Ajahn Jayasaro (2017), published for free under a Creative Commons licence; the students' side, with dates and sources. accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Stillness Flowing (Open Library) Catalogue record: Panyaprateep, 2017, by Ajahn Jayasaro. accessed 19 Oct 2026
Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 19 Oct 2026.