Born in England in 1956, Ven. Amaro Bhikkhu received a BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. Soon afterwards he returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, making trips to California every year during the 1990s.

In June 1996 he established Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California, where he was co-Abbot with Ajahn Pasanno until 2010. He then returned to Amaravati to become Abbot of this large monastic community.

Ajahn Amaro has written a number of books, including an account of an 830-mile trek from Chithurst to Harnham Vihara called Tudong - the Long Road North, republished in the expanded book Silent Rain. His other publications include Small Boat, Great Mountain (2003), Rain on the Nile (2009) and The Island - An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings on Nibbana (2009) co-written with Ajahn Pasanno, a guide to meditation called Finding the Missing Peace and other works dealing with various aspects of Buddhism.

In December 2015, along with Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro was honoured by the King of Thailand with the ecclesiastical title ‘Chao Khun’. Together with this honour he was given the name ‘Videsabuddhiguna’. In July 2019, again with Ajahn Pasanno, he was honoured with the title ‘Chao Khun Rāja’ and received the name 'Rājabuddhivaraguṇa’

Ajahn Kongrit Ratanavaṇṇo lived for many years at Amaravati, and accepted an invitation to become the abbot of Lokuttara Vihara in Norway (see this post for more information.) Due to his visa situation being normalised, Ajahn Kongrit will be spending the vassa 2023 at Amaravati.

Ajahn Ratanavaṇṇo was born in Korat, north-east Thailand, on 10 February 1971. After finishing high school he worked in an industrial concern for a year, and then, as he had not been called up for military service, he decided to become a monk for three months. Those three months have extended indefinitely. In his fifth year as a monk Ajahn Ratanavaṇṇo moved to Wat Pah Nanachat, where he acted as the monastery secretary. In 1999 he spent a year at Abhayagiri Monastery, before moving to Amaravati in 2001. Ajahn Ratanavaṇṇo returned to Amaravati in late November 2012, after spending the three previous years back in Thailand.

Ajahn Asoko grew up in a village near Geneva in Switzerland. His mother brought Buddhism into the family life. As a teenager, he visited Amaravati Monastery, where he first met Ajahn Sumedho and was fortuitously able to attend a ten day retreat with Ajahn Sucitto. At 19 years old, he decided to take a sabbatical year off and spend it at Wat Nanachat, Ajahn Chah's branch monastery for Westerners in Thailand, under the guidance of Ajahn Pasanno.

After 9 years back in lay life, it seemed time to return to Thailand, and was ordained as a bhikkhu by Luang Por Liem. He spent 18 years in Thailand, the last 8 years as Luang Por Sumedho's attendant and secretary. He came to stay at Amaravati Monastery in January 2021 as Luang Por Sumedho returned to live there.

Ajahn Dhammadharo was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1986 and had his first real exposure to Buddhism when his mother bought him a book on the Buddha's teachings for Christmas when he was 16. After finishing high school he ordained as a novice at Wat Nong Pah Pong (Ajahn Cha's monastery in Ubon, Thailand) and subsequently took Bhikkhu ordination in 2006 at Buddha Bodhivana Monastery (Ajahn Kalyano's monastery in Melbourne, Australia) where he stayed for many years. Since then he has spent time in Thailand, Ireland, and has just arrived in Amaravati to spend the rains for 2023.

Bhikkhu Narindo was born to Chinese-Malaysian parents in the Netherlands in the winter of 1981. In addition to pursuing his studies he helped with his parents' restaurant business. In 2005 he completed his studies at the Rotterdam school of Management, and started working in international sales and marketing for a Dutch multinational.

His interest in people of various cultures led him to travel to different countries. In 2004, during a study exchange in Singapore, he came across a well-informed Buddhist who introduced him to many different traditions of Buddhism, but especially the Ajahn Chah lineage. To his amazement, the Buddhist teaching revealed itself as something he had partly incorporated in his life, without knowing it was “Buddhist.” The emphasis in the Buddhist teachings on personal morality and on sharing goodness in body, speech and mind was very inspiring. His strong aspirations resulted in serious commitment to the Three Refuges and Five Precepts.

From 2004 he spent his holidays mostly in Asia (Thailand, Burma, Tibet, Malaysia, Singapore) to visit Buddhist places with his Dhamma friends. After some years he felt a need for more guidance in his meditation practice, and looked for meditation classes connected with the Ajahn Chah lineage. In 2009 he found the Amaravati Retreat Centre on the internet, and in June of that year during a ten-day retreat; he surprised himself: there was a sudden urge to renounce his lay-life. In the winter of 2010 he arrived at Amaravati and found the monastery supportive for the practice. Venerable Narindo was ordained as a bhikkhu on 29 July, 2012, with Ajahn Amaro as preceptor.

Bhikkhu Pasādo was born in Bletchley, England in 1970. His first contact with Buddhism happened through a number of inspiring events of good fortune and acts of kindness from people he met while travelling through India. It was at this time that the idea of becoming a Buddhist monk first arose in his mind.

Later Bhikkhu Pasādo encountered the Thai Forest Tradition through attending meditation classes at a Samatha Meditation Centre, while he was studying in Manchester. He was inspired by a book he received about the life of Ajahn Tate, who practised meditation in the seclusion of the forests of Thailand.

After completing his degree course, his interests in hydrogeology took him to Kent where he lived and worked for many years. Bhikkhu Pasādo started attending a local Buddhist group in Maidstone, Kent, which greatly helped to support and deepen his practice. It was during this time that Bhikkhu Pasādo first heard the teachings of Ajahn Chah and was inspired by his simple, direct style of teaching.

Bhikkhu Pasādo began attending meditation retreats at a number of centres around England including Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. His confidence grew in the Buddhist path and with it came a firm aspiration to enter into monastic training. Eventually, through good fortune, the right conditions came about for him to leave the household life and enter into homelessness, and his Anagārika Precept Ceremony was held on the full moon observance day on 2 May 2015. He received the Pabbajjā or novice 'going forth' in a ceremony held at Amaravati on 20 May 2016, and Full Acceptance into the Bhikkhu-Sangha on 2 July 2017, with Ajahn Amaro acting as preceptor.

Bhikkhu Pasādo would like to express his heartfelt gratitude for all of the kindness and wisdom he has received from those practising Dhamma across the world.

Bhikkhu Jayadhammo was born in Doncaster, England in 1979. He joined the community at Harnham Buddhist Monastery in 2013, where he stayed for three years, initially as a lay-resident and then going on to train as an Anagarika. He continued his training at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, where he received Pabbajja as a Samanera ('Going Forth' as a novice monk), before joining the community at Amaravati in 2018.

Jalito was born in Latvia in 1986. His first contact with Buddhism came during his studies in high school. At the age of 21, when going through a difficult time in his life, he came upon a transcript of a talk given by Ajahn Sumedho. It deeply resonated with Jalito Bhikkhu, and for the first time he visited one of the monasteries established by Ajahn Sumedho. After years of trying to settle in the worldly life, he returned to a monastery at the age of 28. Two years later he took on the training and white robes as an anagārika, and received the pabbajja or novice 'going forth' in a ceremony on the 3 June 2018, with Ajahn Amaro as his preceptor.