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’

In 1998, Ajahn Cittaviro came into contact with Theravada Buddhism and began traveling to Thailand to participate in retreats. He discovered the monastery in Switzerland (Dhammapala), spent all his free time there until September 2001 when he left home to explore the monk's life.

Ajahn Cittaviro ordained as a Samanera (Novice Monk) in November 2002 at Wat Pah Nanachat. In 2004, Luang Por Liem sent him to Wat Pah Dong Meuang Sai (Sakha Wat Nong Pah Pong) in Sisaketh, where he ordained as a Bhikkhu. He continued practicing there until 2006.

From 2006 to 2007, Ajahn Cittaviro spent time at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery. Between 2007 and 2018, most of the time was dedicated to staying at Wat Pah Nanachat, with additional periods in Thai monasteries such as Wat Pah Amperwan, Wat Pha Bodhiwan, Wat Tham Saeng Phaed, Wat Pah Boon Lorm, and Wat Pah Dong Meuang Sai...

In 2018, Ajahn Cittaviro arrived at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery.

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.

Venerable Dīpako was born in Rennes, France, of Chinese-Cambodian parents. At university he studied civil engineering and graduated with a master’s degree. During his annual holidays he made several trips to South-East Asia. In 2006, while travelling in Thailand, he was fortunate to meet a Thai student who took him to Wat Pah Nanachat, the International Forest Monastery. It was there that he developed a great interest in Buddhism, particularly in the tradition of Ajahn Chah. He spent one year at Amaravati as an anagārika, after which he formally requested the Sāmanera Pabbajja (novice going forth) at a ceremony held on 26 October 2013. His upasampadā, or full admission into the bhikkhu sangha, was held at Amaravati on 21 December 2014, with Ajahn Amaro as his 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.

Ven. Manuñño (Didier Linares) grew up in the South of France. As a teenager, a brief description of Buddhism in a book led to a Eureka moment and an ongoing fascination with Buddhism. He went on study chemistry, but just before completing his engineer’s degree, he moved to London in the late 90s, where he ended up working as a night editor in a media monitoring company. In 2004, the obsessive reading of Dhamma books resumed and the search for ‘the perfect teacher’ began. The journey started with Tibetan Buddhism before discovering the teaching of Dogen Zenji and Soto Zen. In 2006, while looking online for longer meditation retreats near London, he found Amaravati. Numerous retreats at Amaravati Retreat Centre led to a growing appreciation for the teaching of Luang Por Chah and the Thai Forest Tradition, and culminated in Ven. Manuñño joining the community as the Retreat Centre Household Manager, a role he remained in for three years. In 2016, Ven. Manuñño finally decided to jump in the deep end by requesting the Anagārika training. On 27 July 2018, he received full acceptance as a Bhikkhu with Ajahn Amaro as preceptor.

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.

Venerable Adicco (Nicolas Kermarc) was born in Évry, France, but grew up in the south, near Montpellier. After several years in San Francisco in his early twenties, he stumbled upon a book by Ajahn Chah and decided to visit Abhayagiri, which sparked a desire to embark upon the monastic path. In the spring of 2017, he became an anagarika under Ajahn Dtun at Wat Boonyawad, Thailand. He subsequently came back to the West and trained for four years at Aruna Ratanagiri in the north of England. He was accepted into the bhikkhu sangha in September 2020 with Ajahn Amaro as preceptor, and formally joined the community at Amaravati in December 2021.

Born in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, Cittadhammo Bhikkhu grew up in a small alpine village. After completing high school in Switzerland, he moved to Montreal, Canada to live and pursue university studies in physics and mathematics. During his first year of university, he participated in a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat in the tradition of S.N. Goenka. This had a great impact on him and he continued to meditate and serve in this tradition for many years. After completing his undergraduate degree, he discovered the Ajahn Chah tradition and decided to dedicate himself to the monastic life. He spent two years at Tisarana Monastery in Ontario under the leadership of Ahahn Viradhammo, and after a short trip to Thailand, decided to continue his training in England. He is now a resident at Amaravati.

Kāruñño Bhikkhu, born in southern Denmark, moved to Copenhagen in 1998 to study philosophy while also pursuing a career in music and audio engineering. In 2010, his life took a transformative turn upon discovering Buddhism through Mahāthera Nyanatiloka's “Word of the Buddha.” Trying to deepen his understanding of the Pāli Canon texts led him to attend a 10-day vipassanā meditation retreat in the tradition of S.N. Goenka in 2012. It was during this retreat that the idea of ordination first emerged.

In 2016, Venerable Kāruñño visited Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, where he met practicing bhikkhus, further solidifying his spiritual path. He formally took the eight precepts as an Anagārika in July 2022, marking his commitment to monastic life. After requesting his Sāmaṇera Pabbajja in July 2023, he received the Upasampadā, achieving full acceptance into the bhikkhu Sangha, with Ajahn Amaro as his preceptor, in July 2024.