Thai Forest

The Thai Forest tradition is a reform movement within Theravada, revived in the early twentieth century by Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta and Ajahn Sao Kantasilo, who left the study monasteries for the forests to practise the way they believed the early monks had.

It is defined by what it strips away. The monastic rule is kept strictly and literally: one meal a day, no money handled, possessions that fit in a bowl and a bag. Monks lived in forests and charnel grounds, moving on, alone for long stretches.

Ajahn Chah brought that training within reach of Westerners, and through him it reached Europe and North America; Amaravati in England and Abhayagiri in California come out of that line. The reasoning behind the severity is plain enough: with less around you, there is less to look at other than your own mind.