Luang Pu Kinnaree Jandiyo was born as Klom Chansīmueang on April 8, 1896 (B.E. 2439). His birthplace was Ban Nong Hī, Nong Hī Sub-district, Pla Pak District, Nakhon Phanom Province. His parents were rice farmers.
At the age of 10, he was ordained as a novice at Wat Nong Hī, where he studied phūk (old palm-leaf texts), Khmer script, Thai Noi script, and modern Thai language.
When he reached the age of 20, he was fully ordained at Wat Ko Kaeo Amphanwan, That Phanom District, Nakhon Phanom Province.
However, at the request of his parents, he disrobed out of respect for his family and worked as an ox-and-buffalo drover.
As a cattle drover, he was required to separate mother cows and buffaloes from their calves, which caused much suffering and generated bad karma. When his wife died shortly after giving birth to their child, he understood this personal tragedy as the karmic result of his previous actions.
This caused him immense sorrow. Therefore, he abandoned the worldly path and turned toward the Dhamma. He was ordained as a monk once again at Wat Sī Bun Rueang, Kut Takai Sub-district, Pla Pak District, Nakhon Phanom Province, on April 3, 1922 (B.E. 2465), just a few days before his 26th birthday.
Phra Ajahn Wong served as his preceptor, and Phra Ajahn Phim and Phra Ajahn Phromma served as his instructing monks. He received a new name from his preceptor, changing his former name “Klom” to “Kinnaree,” and was given the monastic name “Jandiyo.”
After his ordination, he observed the Rains Retreat at Wat Nong Hī, Nong Hī Sub-district, Pla Pak District, where he taught reading and writing of the Thai language to the village children. He also initiated the excavation of a large pond so that both the monastery and the villagers could have water for drinking and daily use.
Subsequently, he went to study the Kammaṭṭhāna tradition under Phra Ajahn Thongrat Kantasīlo at the monastic residence of Ban Sam Phong, Si Songkhram District, Nakhon Phanom Province. Then he returned to his home village monastery after some time and established a forest monastic residence named Samnak Song Methā Vivēka.
On one occasion, Phra Ajahn Thongrat took Luang Pu Kinnaree to pay respects to Luang Pu Mun Bhuridatta at Wat Pa Sutthawat, Sakon Nakhon Province, in order to receive counsel on Dhamma principles and guidance on the cultivation of concentration meditation to calm the mind. He then spent two years living with Luang Pu Mun.
He undertook a thudong (ascetic wandering) journey, traveling through forests and mountains along the Mekong River bank to the Lao side. He paid respects at the Buddha Footprint at Phon San[1] before observing the Rains Retreat with the Hmong (Mèo) tribe in Uttaradit Province, subsisting solely on corn[2].
He continued his thudong journey across to Yangon, Myanmar, and was invited to observe the Rains Retreat at Wat Kula Jong, where he learned to speak Burmese. From there, he traveled to the Land of the Buddha (Northern India and Nepal) to pay respects at the Four Sacred Sites, where he resided for 12 years.
Following that, he returned to reside at Samnak Song Methā Vivēka for a period before moving to observe the Rains Retreat at Wat Kanthasīlāwāt, Fang Daeng Sub-district, That Phanom District.
During this time, he regularly visited Luang Pu Sao, Luang Pu Mun, and Phra Ajahn Thongrat.
Luang Pu Kinnaree had one important and renowned disciple, Luang Por Chah Subhaddho of Wat Nong Pa Pong, who lived with him to study the Dhamma practice and diligently serve him between 1947 and 1948 (2490–2491 B.E.). Afterwards, Luang Por Chah went on to proclaim and disseminate the teachings of Buddhism across multiple continents worldwide.
Luang Pu Kinnaree was a monk who firmly upheld Sīladhamma. He consistently instructed his disciples never to be heedless of Sīla. Even the smallest rules within the Vinaya were absolutely not to be overlooked. He would rebuke disciples who hung their lower and upper robes to dry without properly guarding them. As an ascetic, one must be content with little, eat a little, live simply, and avoid accumulating wealth or possessions.
Luang Pu Kinnaree suffered from a chronic illness—a persistent cough. However, he refused to let doctors treat him or allow his disciples to take him to the hospital. Due to his advanced age, his physical condition weakened, and his symptoms worsened day by day.
On November 26, 1980 (B.E. 2523), he relinquished his physical body and passed away peacefully at the age of 84, having completed 58 Rains Retreats.
[1] Wat Phabath
[2] Hmong tribes, living at high altitudes where wet-rice cultivation is difficult, traditionally relied on slash-and-burn methods to grow crops like dry rice, cassava, and especially corn. Corn provided vital food security. It was likely Hmong Sticky Corn (Zea mays var. ceratina), which is starchy and glutinous, eaten as porridge or as a rice substitute. At the time, the main cash crop was opium, while corn was primarily for self-consumption.