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Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from Pali: kammaṭṭhāna [kəmːəʈʈʰaːna] meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The Thai Forest Tradition started around 1900 with Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, who wanted to practice Buddhist monasticism and its meditative practices, according to the normative standards of early Buddhism. After studying with Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo and wandering through the northeast of Thailand, Ajahn Mun reportedly became a Anāgāmi and started to teach in Northeast Thailand. He strove for a revival of the Early Buddhism, insisting on a strict observance of the Buddhist monastic code known as the Vinaya and teaching the practice of jhāna and the realization of nibbāna.
Initially, Ajahn Mun's teachings were met with fierce opposition, but in the 1930s his group was acknowledged as a formal faction of Thai Buddhism, and in the 1950s the relationship with the royal and religious establishment improved. In the 1960s, Western students started to be attracted to the movement, and in the 1970s branch monasteries of the tradition began to be established in the West.
Underlying attitudes of the Thai Forest Tradition include an interest in the empirical effectiveness of practice, the individual's development, and the use of skill in their practice and living.
Before authority was centralized in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region known today as Thailand was a kingdom of semi-autonomous city-states (Thai: mueang). These kingdoms were all ruled by a hereditary local governor, and while independent, paid tribute to Bangkok, the most powerful central city-state in the region. Each region had its own religious customs according to local tradition, and substantially different forms of Buddhism existed between mueangs. Though all of these local flavors of regional Thai Buddhism evolved their own customary elements relating to local spirit lore, all were shaped by the infusion of Mahayana Buddhism and Indian Tantric traditions, which arrived in the area prior to the fourteenth century. Additionally, many of the monastics in the villages engaged in behavior inconsistent with the Buddhist monastic code (Pali: vinaya), including playing board games, and participating in boat races and water fights.
In the 1820s young Prince Mongkut (1804–1866), the future fourth king of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam), was ordained as a Buddhist monk before rising to the throne later in his life. He traveled around the Siamese region and quickly became dissatisfied with the caliber of Buddhist practice he saw around him. He was also concerned about the authenticity of the ordination lineages, and the capacity of the monastic body to act as an agent that generates positive kamma (Pali: puññakkhettam, meaning "merit-field").
Mongkut started to introduce innovations and reforms to a small number of monks, replacing magical practices with rational, scriptural-based doctrine. He and other Siamese elites shared disapproval of the superstitious nature of Buddhism at the time, prompting Mongkut's reforms which took inspiration from his contacts with Western intellectuals. He rejected the local customs and traditions, and instead turned to the Pali Canon, studying the texts and developing his own ideas on them. Doubting the validity of the existing lineages, Mongkut searched for a lineage of monks with an authentic practice, which he found among the Burmese Mon people in the region. He reordained among this group, which formed the basis for the Dhammayut movement. He then went to Sri Lanka to collect a valid record of the Vinaya and began a study group to promote understanding of Classical Buddhist principles. The term "Dhammayut" in Pali ("Thammayut" in Thai) means "Adherents of the Dharma."
Mongkut's reforms were radical, imposing a scriptural orthodoxy on the varied forms of Thai Buddhism of the time, "trying to establish a national identity through religious reform." A controversial point was Mongkut's belief that nibbana can't be reached in our degenerated times and that the aim of the Buddhist order is to promote a moral way of life and preserve the Buddhist traditions.
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Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from Pali: kammaṭṭhāna [kəmːəʈʈʰaːna] meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The Thai Forest Tradition started around 1900 with Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, who wanted to practice Buddhist monasticism and its meditative practices, according to the normative standards of early Buddhism. After studying with Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo and wandering through the northeast of Thailand, Ajahn Mun reportedly became a Anāgāmi and started to teach in Northeast Thailand. He strove for a revival of the Early Buddhism, insisting on a strict observance of the Buddhist monastic code known as the Vinaya and teaching the practice of jhāna and the realization of nibbāna.
Initially, Ajahn Mun's teachings were met with fierce opposition, but in the 1930s his group was acknowledged as a formal faction of Thai Buddhism, and in the 1950s the relationship with the royal and religious establishment improved. In the 1960s, Western students started to be attracted to the movement, and in the 1970s branch monasteries of the tradition began to be established in the West.
Underlying attitudes of the Thai Forest Tradition include an interest in the empirical effectiveness of practice, the individual's development, and the use of skill in their practice and living.
Before authority was centralized in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region known today as Thailand was a kingdom of semi-autonomous city-states (Thai: mueang). These kingdoms were all ruled by a hereditary local governor, and while independent, paid tribute to Bangkok, the most powerful central city-state in the region. Each region had its own religious customs according to local tradition, and substantially different forms of Buddhism existed between mueangs. Though all of these local flavors of regional Thai Buddhism evolved their own customary elements relating to local spirit lore, all were shaped by the infusion of Mahayana Buddhism and Indian Tantric traditions, which arrived in the area prior to the fourteenth century. Additionally, many of the monastics in the villages engaged in behavior inconsistent with the Buddhist monastic code (Pali: vinaya), including playing board games, and participating in boat races and water fights.
In the 1820s young Prince Mongkut (1804–1866), the future fourth king of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam), was ordained as a Buddhist monk before rising to the throne later in his life. He traveled around the Siamese region and quickly became dissatisfied with the caliber of Buddhist practice he saw around him. He was also concerned about the authenticity of the ordination lineages, and the capacity of the monastic body to act as an agent that generates positive kamma (Pali: puññakkhettam, meaning "merit-field").
Mongkut started to introduce innovations and reforms to a small number of monks, replacing magical practices with rational, scriptural-based doctrine. He and other Siamese elites shared disapproval of the superstitious nature of Buddhism at the time, prompting Mongkut's reforms which took inspiration from his contacts with Western intellectuals. He rejected the local customs and traditions, and instead turned to the Pali Canon, studying the texts and developing his own ideas on them. Doubting the validity of the existing lineages, Mongkut searched for a lineage of monks with an authentic practice, which he found among the Burmese Mon people in the region. He reordained among this group, which formed the basis for the Dhammayut movement. He then went to Sri Lanka to collect a valid record of the Vinaya and began a study group to promote understanding of Classical Buddhist principles. The term "Dhammayut" in Pali ("Thammayut" in Thai) means "Adherents of the Dharma."
Mongkut's reforms were radical, imposing a scriptural orthodoxy on the varied forms of Thai Buddhism of the time, "trying to establish a national identity through religious reform." A controversial point was Mongkut's belief that nibbana can't be reached in our degenerated times and that the aim of the Buddhist order is to promote a moral way of life and preserve the Buddhist traditions.
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