Ajahn Jayasāro

Biography

Jayasāro was born on the Isle of Wight in England. At the age of seventeen, having been in contact with Buddhism through reading, he left for India, where he spent "a couple of years" travelling and learning before hitchhiking back to England. At the time he was still looking for a way of life in line with his personal principles. In Asia he heard about an Englishman who had been a monk in the Thai Forest Tradition and was leading meditation retreats. Upon hearing his stories of life as a forest monk, he realised it was the way of life he was looking for.

After joining Ajahn Sumedho's community as an anagārika in 1978 he travelled to Thailand to ordain at Wat Nong Pah Pong in 1979. He received full ordination by Ajahn Chah in 1980 and was abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat from 1997 to 2002. He currently lives alone in a one-monk monastery in Thailand.

In 2017, Jayasāro published a biography of Ajahn Chah entitled Stillness Flowing.

In 2019, Jayasāro was honoured with a royal title from Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X). On 9 March 2020, Jayasāro was granted Thai citizenship by royal decree.