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Ajahn Sumedho (born Robert Karr Jackman on July 27, 1934) is an American Buddhist monk. He was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
in 1967, and was instrumental in establishing Wat Pa Nanachat in Thailand and the Cittaviveka and
Amaravati Amaravati ( , Telugu language, Telugu: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Guntur district on the right bank of the Krishna River, southwest of Vijayawada. The city derives its name from the nearby his ...
monasteries in England. One of the most senior Western representatives of the
Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Traditi ...
of
Theravāda Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
, Sumedho is considered a seminal figure in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings to the West.


Biography

Ajahn Sumedho, also known as Luang Por Sumedho, was born Robert Karr Jackman in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, in 1934. (''Sumedho'' is his Dhamma name, and '' Ajahn'', meaning "teacher", and '' Luang Por'', meaning "venerable father", are honorific terms.) During the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
he served for four years from the age of 18 as a
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medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...
. He then did a BA in Far Eastern studies and graduated in 1963 with an MA in South Asian studies at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. After a year as a
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
social worker, Jackman served with the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
in
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from 1964 to 1966 as an English teacher. On break in Singapore, sitting one morning in a sidewalk café, he watched a Buddhist monk walk by and thought to himself, "That looks interesting." In 1966, he became a
novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...
or samanera at Wat Sri Saket in Nong Khai, northeast
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. He ordained as a
bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok� ...
(Buddhist monk) in May the following year. From 1967 to 1977 at
Wat Nong Pah Pong Wat Nong Pah Pong (; generally shortened to Wat Pah Pong) is a Theravāda Buddhist monastery in Warin Chamrap, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. It was established by the late Ajahn Chah as the main monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition. Internati ...
, he trained under Ajahn Chah. He has come to be regarded as the latter's most influential Western disciple. In 1975, he helped to establish and became the first abbot of the International Forest Monastery, Wat Pa Nanachat in northeast Thailand founded by Ajahn Chah for training his non-Thai students. In 1977, Ajahn Sumedho accompanied Ajahn Chah on a visit to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. After observing a keen interest in
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
among Westerners, Ajahn Chah encouraged Ajahn Sumedho to remain in England for the purpose of establishing a branch monastery in the UK. This became Cittaviveka Forest Monastery in
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. Ajahn Sumedho was granted authority to ordain others as monks shortly after he established Cittaviveka Forest Monastery. He then established a ten precept ordination lineage for women, " Siladhara". Until his retirement, Ajahn Sumedho was the abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery near
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...
in England, which was established in 1984. Amaravati is part of the network of monasteries and Buddhist centres in the lineage of Ajahn Chah, which now extends across the world, from Thailand, New Zealand and Australia, to Europe, Canada, and the United States. Ajahn Sumedho played an instrumental role in building this international monastic community. Ajahn Sumedho's imminent retirement was announced in February 2010, and he retired in November of that year. His successor is the English monk Ajahn Amaro, hitherto co-abbot of the Abhayagiri branch monastery in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
's Redwood Valley. Ajahn Sumedho returned to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery near
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...
in England in 2020 and now resides there.


Teachings

Ajahn Sumedho is a prominent figure in the
Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Traditi ...
. His teachings are very direct, practical, simple, and down to earth. In his talks and sermons he stresses the quality of immediate intuitive awareness and the integration of this kind of awareness into daily life. Like most teachers in the Forest Tradition, Ajahn Sumedho tends to avoid intellectual abstractions of the Buddhist teachings and focuses almost exclusively on their practical applications, that is, developing awareness and wisdom in daily life. His most consistent advice can be paraphrased as to see things the way that they actually are rather than the way that we want or don't want them to be ("Right now, it's like this..."). He is known for his engaging and witty communication style, in which he challenges his listeners to practice and see for themselves. Students have noted that he engages his hearers with an infectious sense of humor, suffused with much loving kindness, often weaving amusing anecdotes from his experiences as a monk into his talks on meditation practice and how to experience life ("Everything belongs").


Sound of Silence

A meditation technique taught and used by Ajahn Sumedho involves resting in what he calls "the sound of silence". He talks at length about this technique in one of his books titled ''The Way It Is''. Ajahn Sumedho said that he was directly influenced by Edward Salim Michael's book, ''The Way of Inner Vigilance'' (republished in 2010 with the new title, ''The Law of Attention, Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance'' and for which Ajahn Sumedho wrote a preface). The ''Sound of Silence'' is also the title of one of Ajahn Sumedho's books (published by Wisdom Publications in 2007).


Thai honorific ranks

* 5 December 1992Phra Sumedhacarya (พระสุเมธาจารย์) * 12 August 2004Phra Rajasumedhajahn Pisanbhavanakit Mahakanisorn Bovornsangaram Kamavasi (พระราชสุเมธาจารย์ พิศาลภาวนากิจ มหาคณิสสร บวรสังฆาราม คามวาสี) * 28 July 2019Phra Thep Nyanavithet Visethbodhidhammakhun Viboonbhavananusit Mahakanisorn Bovornsangaram Kamavasi (พระเทพญาณวิเทศ วิเศษโพธิธรรมคุณ วิบูลภาวนานุสิฐ มหาคณิสสร บวรสังฆาราม คามวาสี)ราชกิจจานุเบกษา
พระบรมราชโองการประกาศ เรื่อง พระราชทานสัญญาบัตรตั้งสมณศักดิ์
เล่ม 136, ตอนที่ 40 ข, 28 กรกฎาคม 2562, หน้า 11
* 15 November 2020Phra Brohm Vajiranyan Paisan Vithetsasanakit Vichit Dhammapatipan Vipassananyan Wongsavisit Rajamanit Vajiralongkorn Mahakanisorn Bovornsangharam Kamavasi (พระพรหมวชิรญาณ ไพศาลวิเทศศาสนกิจ วิจิตรธรรมปฏิภาณ วิปัสสนาญาณวงศวิสิฐ ราชมานิตวชิราลงกรณ มหาคณิสสร บวรสังฆาราม คามวาสี)


Publications

*
Cittaviveka
' *
Intuitive Awareness
' *
Mindfulness – The Path to the Deathless
' *
Now is the Knowing
' *
Sila and Religious Convention; Patience (BL103)
' *
The Four Noble Truths (Illustrated Edition)
' *
The Way it is
'


References


External links


Biography of Ajahn Sumedho
at Amaravati Buddhist monastery.
Compilation of 108 mp3 talks
or reflections given by Luang Por Sumedho from 1978 until 2010.
Collection of 1,298 mp3 talks
or the entire collection of Dhamma talks given by Luang Por Sumedho until 2014.
Books by Ajahn Sumedho
(online, in epub, mobi or pdf format)
Mp3 talks by Ajahn Sumedho at dharmaseed.org
* English with Portuguese sub titles.

in English and other Languages.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumedho, Ajahn 1934 births 20th-century Buddhist monks 21st-century Buddhist monks American Buddhist monks 20th-century American monks 20th-century American Buddhists American expatriates in Thailand American scholars of Buddhism American Theravada Buddhists Converts to Buddhism Living people Theravada Buddhism writers Theravada Buddhist monks University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Washington alumni