Luang Por Sumedho was born in Seattle, Washington in 1934. After serving four years in the US Navy as a medic, he completed a BA in Far Eastern Studies and a MA in South Asian Studies. In 1966, he went to Thailand to practice meditation at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok. Not long afterwards, he went forth as a novice monk in a remote part of the country, Nong Khai, before receiving full ordination in 1967.

Read more

Born in England in 1956, Ven. Amaro Bhikkhu received his BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. He returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, making trips to California every year during the 1990s.

Read more

Venerable Vajiro (Phil Gunton) was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1953. Upon graduating in 1974, he began a study accountancy. During this period, a friend encouraged him to go on a ten-day meditation retreat with John Coleman at the Oakenholt Buddhist Centre near Oxford. He attended further retreats there in 1976 and 1977.

Read more

Ajahn Nyanarato (Shigehito Nakao) was born in 1958, in Nara, Japan. His sincere interest in the meaning of the life began when he was being trained as a medical doctor in Kyoto University.

After graduation, he decided to go to India for spiritual pursuit, instead of becoming a doctor. He spent one year there, then moved on to Thailand, where he visited various monasteries, such as Wat Pak Nam, Wat Suan Mokkh, etc.

Read more

Ajahn Panyasaro (Phramaha Parinya Baitrakul) was born March 1965 in the North of Thailand but grew up in Bangkok. After he finished his first degree in Law, he came to England for further education in 1987. However he seemed to be born to be a monk not a lawyer. You may find more about him in his article that was published in our Newsletter No.72 “No Regrets” taken from a talk that he gave during the Winter Retreat 2002. He is the secretary to the Abbot.

Read more

Ajahn Sukhacitto

Bhikkhu Sukhacitto was born in Germany in 1963. He first came into contact with Buddhism in 1986 in Thailand by attending a meditation retreat, offered through Wat Suan Mokkh. He ordained there as a novice in 1989 and as a Bhikkhu in 1990. He moved to the West in 1993. Since then he has lived at various monasteries in the West, including Dhammapala Monastery in Switzerland for six years. He first visited Amaravati as a monk several times in the 1990s. He stayed at Amaravati for the 2007 and 2008 winter retreats and came to live at Amaravati in April 2009.

Ajahn Jayanto

Ajahn Jayanto (Chris Bowen) was born in 1967 in Boston, Massachussetts, USA. In 1988 he left university in order to pursue something more meaningful, and within a year had found his way to Amaravati in order to join the monastic community. After eight years training, mostly in the monasteries at Chithurst and Harnham, he spent another eight years in Buddhist countries in Asia, mostly in Thailand. He returned to Britain in order to live at Amaravati in March, 2006.

I was born in 1951 in London. I spent two years in my twenties as a volunteer in Thailand, my first conscious encounter with Buddhism. At that age I was not convinced about religion in any way but, undoubtedly, the experience sowed some seeds and a few years later, through a friendship with a Thai student, I came into contact with LP Sumedho and the western Sangha at a ceremonial garage opening in Hampstead.

Hearing Dhamma in my own language, from westerners, made all the difference, as did the experience of meditation. In ensuing years I helped to set up a lay practice group in Northampton before committing to a monastery and taking anagarika precepts for 20 months, a period which was to prove seminal.

Not yet prepared for full ordination, I went back to the lay life for a four year period but returned as anagarika again 1991, going on to take full Bhikkhu ordination in 1993.

Read more

Ajahn Anando

Ajahn Anando was born in Blackheath, south east London on the 6th March 1966. He served as a soldier in the British army for 3 years mostly living in West Germany. After leaving the military he spent time studying health and fitness at East London University, then established a small fitness company which he ran successfully for several years.

His interest in meditation began in 1992 and increased to the stage where ordination as an anagārika became an obvious step. After several years in training he took higher ordination as a Bhikkhu, with LP Sumedho as preceptor, before the Vassa retreat of 1997. Spending his first 2 years as a Bhikkhu at Amaravati he then moved on to Thailand living for a year at Wat Pah Nanachat, then a year at Tan Ajahn Anan’s Monastery near Rayong. This was followed by 4 years in Australia helping to establish a new forest monastery near Melbourne. Presently he is residing at Amaravati.

Bhikkhu Ahimsako

Born near San Francisco, California in 1959, Ven. Ahimsako spent twenty-eight years living abroad and pursuing a career in classical ballet as a dancer, teacher, and educator. In 1991, while living in England, he traveled to Sri Lanka where his interest in Buddhism prompted him to begin visiting the London Buddhist Vihara and Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. He began his monastic life in 2002 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery (in northern California) with co-abbots Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. Ven. Ahimsako received the Upasampada (Bhikkhu ordination) on September 26, 2004 with Ajahn Pasanno as preceptor.

Bhikkhu Subhaddo

My lay name is Barry Crisp. I was born in 1948, and grew up in Wimbledon. I lived for some years in Australia and New Zealand. During the return trip through Asia, I came across Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
On returning to England, I started meditating at the Buddhist Society in London. Through there I practiced traditional Rinzai Zen for 12 years. Then I met Luang Por Sumedho and decided to regularly visit Amaravati Buddhist monastery, and for a two year period I co-managed the Retreat Centre.
I took Anagārika ordination in Italy and then and then took Samanera ordination in Amaravati
I received higher ordination in May 2005.

Subhaddo Bhikkhu.

Bhikkhu Kancano was born on the 22nd of July, 1968 in Montijo, Portugal. He spent his early childhood in Germany, returning to his native country at age five to begin his education there. He served one year of compulsory military service in the Portuguese army and after completing his ‘A’ levels in 1987 he enrolled on a five year professional diploma, qualifying as a technician for the fashion industries. Shortly thereafter, he accepted an offer from a renowned multinational fashion company and worked with them for the next two years.

Read more

Bhikkhu Adicco became interested in meditation as a layman, after attending a meditation day at Gaia House. He realized that an introspective approach to life would be of benefit, and that the meditative approach laid down in Buddhism provided an ideal vehicle for this.

Read more

Bhikkhu Paramito

Bhikkhu Paramito (Jaroslav Harmaniak) was born in 1966 in Slovakia. His interest in Dhamma brought him to Harnham Buddhist Monastery in Northumberland where he became an anagarika in 2001. He also spent some time at Devon Vihara. After four years training as anagarika he took samanera ordination on May 6, 2005. Venerable Paramito received the bhikkhu upasampada (ordination) in the summer of 2008, with Luang Por Sumedho as preceptor. Over the years he has done several long-distance walks around England.

My name is Appamado (Vasco). I was born in Portugal in 1976. I studied both Marine Biology and Environmental Engineering at the University of Faro. Sometime later I became interested in meditation and as a consequence Buddhism. I came across Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in a book written by a friend, Maria, where she describes her journeys and her time in the monastery.

Read more

Bhikkhu Akaliko (Antonin Krizek) was born in the Czech Republic in 1977. He came to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery 2007, became an anagarika, later on ordained as a novice and on 25 July, 2010 received the upasampada (bhikkhu ordination), with Luang Por Sumedho as his preceptor.

Read more

Bhikkhu Chandako (Richard Zeikowitz) was born in New York City in 1953. After completing his university education in 1975 he developed an interest in Eastern Religion. Bhikkhu Chandako returned to New York in 1992 to pursue graduate studies. While in New York he developed an interest in Tibetan Buddhism and in 2007 went to India to take novice ordination with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. However, he felt increasingly drawn to the original teachings of the Buddha as well as to a strict upholding of the Vinaya. In late 2008 he moved to Chithurst Monastery, and in August 2009 re-ordained as a samanera. In May 2010 he relocated to Amaravati and on 25 July, 2010 formally entered the Bhikkhu Sangha with Luang Por Sumedho as preceptor.

Read more

Samanera Amaranatho

Samanera Amaranatho was born in 1968. He ordained as a Samanera in July 2000. He has been running the family events at Amaravati for five years, which include the Family Camp each summer, Rainbows weekend and young peoples’ retreats.

For further information please see:
Family Events and Young person retreats

Anagarika Tejas

I was born in Wallasey in 1980. My parents moved to India for a few years before we came back to England in 1993. My initial interest in Buddhism came through reading the works of D T Suzuki and I started going to meditation classes at the Buddhist Society in London. There I learned of Amaravati and started listening to Dhamma Talks on the Internet. I began visiting Amaravati as a guest and coming to retreats. I took the Anagarika Precepts in December 2008.