Thai Forest Tradition

The Kammatthana Forest Tradition of Thailand, known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism that emerged around 1900 in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand under Ajahn Sao Kantasilo and Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta. The tradition insists on strict adherence to the Vinaya, the Buddhist monastic code, alongside meditation practices including jhana, and holds that nibbana remains attainable in modern times, positions that initially met strong resistance from Thailand's religious establishment. Later lineage heads included Ajahn Thate Desaransi from 1949 to 1994 and Ajahn Maha Bua Nanasampanno from 1994 to 2011, and the tradition later spread from Isan to Bangkok and to Western countries.