Ajahn Jayasāro

Ajahn Jayasāro (born Shaun Michael Chiverton on 7 January 1958) is a British and Thai Buddhist monk in the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah.^[3]

Ajahn Jayasāro
Ajahn Jayasāro in 2018
Personal life
Born	Shaun Michael Chiverton (1958-01-07) 7 January 1958 (age 67)[1] Isle of Wight, England
Citizenship	United Kingdom Thailand
Notable work(s)	Stillness Flowing: The Life and Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2017)
Religious life
Religion	Buddhism
Order	Mahā Nikāya
School	Theravāda
Lineage	Thai Forest Tradition
Ordination	3 June 1980, aged 22[2] (45 years ago) Wat Nong Pah Pong
Senior posting
Teacher	Ajahn Chah (upajjhāya)
Based in	Janamāra Hermitage near Khao Yai National Park (since 2003)
Previous post	Abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat (1997–2002)
Website	jayasaro.panyaprateep.org

Biography

Jayasāro was born on the Isle of Wight in England.^[3] 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.^[4]

After joining Ajahn Sumedho's community as an anagārika in 1978 he travelled to Thailand to ordain at Wat Nong Pah Pong in 1979.^[3] He received full ordination by Ajahn Chah in 1980^[5] and was abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat from 1997 to 2002.^[5] He currently lives alone in a one-monk monastery in Thailand.

In 2017, Jayasāro published a biography of Ajahn Chah entitled Stillness Flowing.^[6]

In 2019, Jayasāro was honoured with a royal title from Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X).^[7] On 9 March 2020, Jayasāro was granted Thai citizenship by royal decree.^[8][9]

Thai honorific ranks

Further information on honorific ranks: Ecclesiastical peerage of Thailand

• 28 July 2019 – Phra Raj Bajramanit Bisithadharmagunasundorn Mahakanisorn Bovornsangaram Gamavasi (พระราชพัชรมานิต พิสิฐธรรมคุณสุนทร มหาคณิสสร บวรสังฆาราม คามวาสี)^[10][7]
• 17 July 2020 – Phra Thep Bajranyanamuni Vipassanavidhikosol Vimolbhavanavarakit Mahakanisorn Bovornsangaram Gamavasi (พระเทพพัชรญาณมุนี วิปัสสนาวิธีโกศล วิมลภาวนาวรกิจ มหาคณิสสร บวรสังฆาราม คามวาสี)^[11]
• 7 July 2021 – Phra Dharma Bajranyanamuni Phawanavidhisuvithan Srilajahnsuvimol Kosonkitchanukit Mahakanisorn Bovornsangaram Gamavasi (พระธรรมพัชรญาณมุนี ภาวนาวิธีสุวิธาน สีลาจารสุวิมล โกศลกิจจานุกิจ มหาคณิสสร บวรสังฆาราม คามวาสี)^[12]

Notable works

• On Love (2010)
• Daughters and Sons (2011)
• Mindfulness, Precepts and Crashing in the Same Car (2011)
• Seen in Their True Light (2012)
• Without and Within: Questions and Answers on the Teachings of Theravāda Buddhism (2013)
• Skilful Desires (2014)
• Stillness Flowing: The Life and Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2017)
• From Heart and Hand (2017)
• From Heart and Hand: Vol. II (2019)
• From Heart and Hand: Vol. III (2022)