He left the monastery to help his family on the farm, but later returned to monastic life on 1. April 1. 93. 9, seeking ordination as a Theravadan monk or bhikkhu. According to the book Food for the Heart The Collected Writings of Ajahn Chah, he chose to leave the settled monastic life in 1. He walked across Thailand, taking teachings at various monasteries. Among his teachers at this time was Ajahn Mun, a renowned meditation master in the Forest Tradition. Ajahn Chah lived in caves and forests while learning from the meditation monks of the Forest Tradition. A website devoted to Ajahn Chah describes this period of his life For the next seven years Ajahn Chah practiced in the style of an ascetic monk in the austere Forest Tradition, spending his time in forests, caves and cremation grounds. He wandered through the countryside in quest of quiet and secluded places for developing meditation. He lived in tiger and cobra infested jungles, using reflections on death to penetrate to the true meaning of life. Thai forest traditioneditDuring the early part of the twentieth century Theravada Buddhism underwent a revival in Thailand under the leadership of outstanding teachers whose intentions were to raise the standards of Buddhist practise throughout the country. One of these teachers was the Venerable Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta. Ajahn Chah continued Ajahn Muns high standards of practise when he became a teacher. The monks of this tradition keep very strictly to the original monastic rule laid down by the Buddha known as the vinaya. The early major schisms in the Buddhist sangha were largely due to disagreements over how strictly the training rules should be applied. Some opted for a degree of flexibility some would argue liberality whereas others took a conservative view believing that the rules should be kept just as the Buddha had framed them. The Theravada tradition is the heir to the latter view. An example of the strictness of the discipline might be the rule regarding eating they uphold the rule to only eat between dawn and noon. In the Thai Forest Tradition monks and nuns go further and observe the one eaters practice, whereby they only eat one meal during the morning. This special practice is one of the thirteen dhutanga, optional ascetic practices permitted by the Buddha that are used on an occasional or regular basis to deepen meditation practice and promote contentment with little. They might, for example, as well as eating only one meal a day, sleep outside under a tree, or dwell in secluded forests or graveyards. Monasteries foundededitAfter years of wandering, Ajahn Chah decided to plant roots in an uninhabited grove near his birthplace. In 1. 95. 4, Wat Nong Pah Pong monastery was established, where Ajahn Chah could teach his simple, practice based form of meditation. He attracted a wide variety of disciples, which included in 1. Westerner, Venerable Ajahn Sumedho. Wat Nong Pah Pong 8 includes over 2. Thailand, as well as over 1. In 1. 97. 5, Wat Pah Nanachat International Forest Monastery was founded with Ajahn Sumedho as the abbot. Wat Pah Nanachat was the first monastery in Thailand specifically geared towards training English speaking Westerners in the monastic Vinaya, as well as the first run by a Westerner. In 1. 97. 7, Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho were invited to visit the United Kingdom by the English Sangha Trust who wanted to form a residential sangha. Cittaviveka commonly known as Chithurst Buddhist Monastery due to its location in the small hamlet of Chithurst with Ajahn Sumedho as its head. Several of Ajahn Chahs Western students have since established monasteries throughout the world. Later lifeeditBy the early 1. Ajahn Chahs health was in decline due to diabetes. He was taken to Bangkok for surgery to relieve paralysis caused by the diabetes, but it was to little effect. Ajahn Chah used his ill health as a teaching point, emphasizing that it was a living example of the impermanence of all things. Ajahn Chah would remain bedridden and ultimately unable to speak for ten years, until his death on January 1. Notable Western studentseditAjahn Sumedho, former abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire England. Ajahn Brahm, abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, Western Australia. Ajahn Khemadhammo, abbot of The Forest Hermitage, Warwickshire, England. Ajahn Pasanno, abbot of Abhayagiri Monastery, Redwood Valley, California, USAAjahn Amaro, abbot of Amaravati Monastery, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire England. Jack Kornfield, co founder of Insight Meditation Society, Barre, Massachusetts, USA and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, USABibliographyeditReferencesedit ab. Breiter, Paul 2. Venerable Father. Paraview Special Editions. ISBN 1 9. 31. 04. Ajahn Chah Passes Away. Forest Sangha Newsletter. April 1. 99. 2. Retrieved March 1. Website of Chithurst Buddhist MonasteryThe State Funeral of Luang Por Chah. Ajahn Sucitto. Retrieved March 1. Biography of Ajahn Chah. Wat Nong Pah Pong. Retrieved March 1. Wat Nong Pah Pong. A Collection of Dhammatalks by Ajahn Chah. Everything Is Teaching Us. Retrieved 3. 0 December 2. Website of Wat Nong Pah Pong. Retrieved March 1. Ajahn Sumedho 1. Buddha. Net. Retrieved March 1. Ajahn Chah biography. Forest Sangha. Retrieved March 1. External linkseditTeachingsedit.