Wat Nong Pah Pong is the main monastery of the late Thai Forest Tradition

Thai Forest Tradition

The Thai Forest Tradition is a tradition of Buddhist monasticism within Thai Theravada Buddhism. Practitioners inhabit remote wilderness and forest dwellings as spiritual practice training grounds. Maha Nikaya and Dhammayuttika Nikaya are the two major monastic orders in Thailand that have forest...

 meditation master, the Venerable Ajahn Chah

Ajahn Chah

Venerable Ajahn Chah Subhaddo was an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition....

. The monastery sits in Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani is a city on the Mun River in the south-east of the Isan region of Thailand. It is known as Ubon for short. The name means "Royal Lotus City." The provincial seal features a pond with a lotus flower and leaves in a circular frame. Ubon is the administrative centre of Ubon...

 Province, in the district of (Amphoe

Amphoe

An amphoe is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Usually translated as district, amphoe make up the provinces, and are analogous to a county seat...

) Warin Chamrap

Amphoe Warin Chamrap

Warin Chamrap is a district in the western part of Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeastern Thailand.-Geography:Neighboring districts are Mueang Ubon Ratchathani, Sawang Wirawong, Na Yia, Det Udom, Samrong of Ubon Ratchathani Province and Kanthararom of Sisaket Province.The important water...

.

International Branch Monasteries

In 1975, one of Ajahn Chah's first Western disciples, the Venerable Ajahn Sumedho

Ajahn Sumedho

Luang Por Ajahn Sumedho is the senior Western representative of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery just north of London from its consecration in 1984 until his retirement in 2010...

, opened what was to be the first in a long line of branch monasteries (currently around 140 branches) of Wat Pah Pong specifically geared for the growing interests in traditional Buddhist practices among Westerners. Thai monastery, Wat Pah Nanachat

Wat Pah Nanachat

Wat Pah Nanachat is situated in a small forest in north-east Thailand about fifteen kilometres from the city of Ubon Rachathani. The late Ajahn Chah established the monastery in 1975 to serve as a training community for non-Thais along traditional monastic lines. Its monks, novices and postulants...

, along with a growing list of monasteries opened in recent years around the world, are introducing the heart of the Buddhist teachings to what was previously something of an inaccessible audience to the Thai Forest masters.

Following is an incomplete list of International branch monasteries of Wat Nong Pah Pong, sorted alphabetically by country:

• Australia
  • Bodhivana Monastery in Victoria
    Victoria (Australia)
    Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
    
    
  • Dhammasara Nuns' monastery in Western Australia
    Western Australia
    Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
    
     (Associated Monastery)
  • Vimokkharam Forest Hermitage (P.O. Box 152, Kallista VIC 3791) (Associated Monastery)

• Canada
  • Arrow River Forest Hermitage in Thunder Bay
    Thunder Bay
    -In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
    
    , Ontario
    Ontario
    Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
    
     (Associated Monastery)
  • Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
    Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
    Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, or Sītavana , is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition near Kamloops, British Columbia. It serves as a training centre for monastics and also a retreat facility for laypeople...
    
     in Knutsford, BC
    British Columbia
    British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
    
     (Associated Monastery)
  • Tisarana Buddhist Monastery in Perth, Ontario
    Perth, Ontario
    Perth is a town in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada . It is located on the Tay River, 83 km southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County.-History:...
    
    

• France
  • Bodhinyanarama Monastery (No.6, Chemin de Boucharin 07300 Tournon)

• Italy
  • Santacittarama
    Santacittarama
    Santacittarama is the name of the Italian Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition lineage of Ajahn Chah located near Rome. In the Spring of 1990 the former Italian Bhikkhu Ajahn Thannavaro and then Anagarika John Angelori were sent by Ajahn Sumedho to take up residence in a small...
    
     (See the Homepage) in Rieti
    Province of Rieti
    The Province of Rieti is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti.It has an area of 2,749 km², and a total population of 153,258 . There are 73 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Rieti.It was founded in 1927.-External links:*...
    
    

• New Zealand
  • Bodhinyanarama Forest Monastery in Wellington
    Wellington
    Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
    
    
  • Vimutti Forest Monastery in Bombay
    Bombay Hills, New Zealand
    The Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and the Waikato region...
    
     (Associated Monastery)

• Switzerland
  • Kloster Dhammapala in Kandersteg
    Kandersteg
    Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mountain scenery and sylvan alpine landscapes. Tourism is a...
    
    

• Thailand
  • Wat Pah Nanachat
    Wat Pah Nanachat
    Wat Pah Nanachat is situated in a small forest in north-east Thailand about fifteen kilometres from the city of Ubon Rachathani. The late Ajahn Chah established the monastery in 1975 to serve as a training community for non-Thais along traditional monastic lines. Its monks, novices and postulants...
    
     in Ubon Rachathani

• United Kingdom
  • Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
    
    
  • Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery in Northumberland
    Northumberland
    Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
    
    
  • Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in Hampshire
    Hampshire
    Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
    
    
  • The Forest Hermitage in Warwickshire
    Warwickshire
    Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
    
    
  • Hartridge Buddhist Monastery in Devon
    Devon
    Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
    
    

• United States of America
  • Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, California
    Redwood Valley, California
    Redwood Valley is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It is located southwest of Potter Valley, at an elevation of 722 feet . It comprises the northern portion of the Ukiah Valley. It is about 8 mi north of Ukiah and 12 mi south of Willits. Potter Valley is to...
    
    

Sources

• Official homepage (Thai)
• Official homepage (English index)
• The Forest Sangha
• Forest Wisdom
• Freely available publications and translations of Ajahn Chah