Mettā Forest Monastery, also known as Wat Mettāvarānaṁ or Wat Mettā, is a

Theravāda ''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 '' Dhamma'' in ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Valley Center, California Valley Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 10,087 at the 2020 census, up from 9,277 at the 2010 census. History In the late 1860s, the area now known as Valley Center was ...

. It was founded in 1991 by

Ajaan Suwat Suvaco Ajaan Suwat Suvaco (27 August 19195 April 2002), born in Thailand, was a Buddhist monk who founded four monasteries in the western United States.Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (also known as Ajahn Geoff; born December 28, 1949) is an American Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and author. Belonging to the Thai Forest Tradition, he studied for ten years under the forest master Fuang Jotiko, Ajahn Fuang Jotiko ...

. Ajaan Ṭhānissaro has been the resident

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

since 1993. Currently there are ten resident

bhikkhus 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� ...

, nine American bhikkhus and one Thai, as well as space for lay Buddhists on overnight retreat. Ajaan Goeff Dhamma Talk

Ajaan Ṭhānissaro stresses the importance of strict adherence to the

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...

or Buddhist monastic code which teaches relying only on donations from the lay community as well as living in the wilderness, a key feature 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 which he is a part. All visitors are expected to follow the

Eight Precepts In Buddhism, the Eight Precepts (, ) is a list of moral precepts that are observed by Nuns, or Upāsakas and Upasikās (Upasaka, lay Buddhists) on Uposatha (Uposatha, observance days) and special occasions. They are considered to support Buddhist ...

of Buddhism, which helps introduce students into the practice of Theravāda Buddhism.

Historical Context

Even though the Mettā Forest Monastery has not been widely studied, the founding of this monastery is of great importance in establishing Theravāda Buddhism within the United States. Part of the problem of recognizing Buddhism in the US is that many surveys do not allow participants to select their specific school of Buddhism, so it is hard to know how many Theravāda Buddhists there are in the US. Theravāda Buddhism was only introduced in the US in the late 1960s, much later than when Buddhism was first established in the country. There was an increase of temples being built in the 1980s and 1990s, with Mettā Forest being one of fourteen established in California in the 1990s. The Mettā Forest Monastery was founded thanks to a generous donation of land from someone from Massachusetts, with the expectation that a monastery would be built there. These wishes were carried out as the monastery now draws Buddhists from the surrounding California area. Theravāda Buddhism is practiced in many different ways across the US; congregating in monasteries is just one way to practice Buddhism, and the Mettā Forest Monastery invites laypeople to connect to their religion and community.

Historical Context

See also

References

Further reading