Thai Forest Tradition

The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from Pali: kammaṭṭhāna [kəmːəʈʈʰaːna] meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.

The Thai Forest Tradition started around 1900 with Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, who wanted to practice Buddhist monasticism and its meditative practices according to the normative standards of early Buddhism. After studying with Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo and wandering through the northeast of Thailand, Ajahn Mun reportedly became a Anāgāmi and started to teach in Northeast Thailand. He strove for a revival of the Early Buddhism, insisting on a strict observance of the Buddhist monastic code known as the Vinaya and teaching the practice of jhāna and the realization of nibbāna.

Initially, Ajahn Mun's teachings were met with fierce opposition, but in the 1930s his group was acknowledged as a formal faction of Thai Buddhism, and in the 1950s the relationship with the royal and religious establishment improved. In the 1960s, Western students started to be attracted to the movement, and in the 1970s branch monasteries of the tradition began to be established in the West.

Underlying attitudes of the Thai Forest Tradition include an interest in the empirical effectiveness of practice, the individual's development, and the use of skill in their practice and living.

History

The Dhammayut movement (19th century)

Before authority was centralized in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region known today as Thailand was a kingdom of semi-autonomous city-states (Thai: mueang). These kingdoms were all ruled by a hereditary local governor, and while independent, paid tribute to Bangkok, the most powerful central city-state in the region. Each region had its own religious customs according to local tradition, and substantially different forms of Buddhism existed between mueangs.