Ajahn Chah (Phra Bodhiñāṇathera, also known as Luang Por Chah Subhaddo) was born on 17 June 1918, (2461 B.E.), as Chah Chuangchot in a small village not far from Ubon Ratchathani, in the Isan region of northeast Thailand, to a farming family whose life revolved around growing rice.
In March 1931, (2474 B.E.), at the age of nine, he first donned the orange robes as a sāmaṇera at Wat Maniwanaram under the guidance of Phra Khru Wichit Thammaphani (Phuang). For three years he studied reading, writing, chanting, and the basic rules of Dhamma. In 1934, (2477 B.E.), he returned to help his father in the fields, like most boys of the region, yet his heart remained bound to the robe.
At nineteen, he sought full ordination. With his parents’ blessing, he underwent the upasampadā ceremony at Wat Ko Nai in Tambon That on 26 April 1939, (2482 B.E.), at 1:55 p.m. The preceptor Phra Khru Inthasarakun, the kammavācācariya Phra Khru Wirun Sutthakan, and the anusāvanācariya Phra Athi Sorn bestowed upon him the name Subhaddo – “the one who goes well.”
In 1946, (2489 B.E.), after his father’s death, which stamped upon him the seal of impermanence, Ajahn Chah abandoned scholarly pursuits and took up the wandering life of a forest monk. During 1947–1948, he stayed with Luang Pu Kinnaree, a seasoned tudong monk who lived in deep solitude and had vast experience of the wandering forest life. Under his influence, Ajahn Chah walked hundreds of kilometres on foot through Isan, central, and northern Thailand, sleeping in forests, gathering alms in villages, and studying with great teachers, among them Luang Pu Mun Bhuridatta. Luang Pu Mun’s simple words – “everything arises in the heart-mind” – kindled a fresh light within him.
For nearly seven years, he lived the life of a strict ascetic in tiger- and cobra-infested jungles, in dark caves, and in cremation grounds where ghosts were said to roam and the wind carried the scent of ash and corpses. Once, he sat through a cold, drenching rain until dawn simply to taste the bitterness of solitude.
In 1954, (2497 B.E.), Ajahn Chah was invited to settle in a dense, uninhabited forest near his home village, a place known as “the home of spirits and cobras.” In later years, he recalled that the jungle was so thick at first there was not even room to set down his alms-bowl unless a lay supporter cleared a spot with a machete. Gradually, a handful of disciples joined him, practising the rigorous austerity and renunciation he had learned during his tudong years. He told how they never turned to doctors when ill, relying solely on the Dhamma. As conditions slowly improved, less hardy students arrived, the circle widened, and Wat Nong Pah Pong was established, growing swiftly around his simple, direct style.
Word of Ajahn Chah spread throughout Thailand, and monks ordained elsewhere who aspired to live under a great forest teacher came to train with him. Thus, in 1966, (2509 B.E.), the first Western disciple arrived – Venerable Ajahn Sumedho – who received no special allowances but shared the same alms-food and the same rigorous discipline.
In 1975, (2518 B.E.), on land in Ban Bung Wai seven kilometres from Wat Pah Pong, Wat Pah Nanachat was founded, the first monastery in Thailand specifically for training English-speaking monks, under Sumedho’s abbotship.
In 1977, (2520 B.E.), Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho were invited to Britain by the English Sangha Trust; he left his disciples in London. In 1979, (2522 B.E.), Chithurst Monastery, later named Cittaviveka, was established in Sussex. From there, the lineage spread worldwide – over 400 branch monasteries in Thailand and dozens of monasteries and practice centers across Europe, America, and Australia.
In the late 1970s, Ajahn Chah began experiencing dizziness and memory lapses. During the 1980 and 1981, (2523–2524 B.E.), Rains Retreats he stayed away from Wat Pah Pong due to worsening diabetes. In 1981, (2524 B.E.), he underwent surgery in Bangkok without success and remained paralysed and speechless. For a full ten years, (2525–2535 B.E.), he lay in bed, lovingly tended by his monks and novices. On 16 January 1992, (2535 B.E.), at the age of 73 (74 by Thai reckoning), he left the body at Wat Nong Pah Pong.
His senior disciples, already managing the network of monasteries during his illness, led by Luang Por Liem, built a chedi at Wat Pah Pong, completed in July 1992. Ajahn Chah’s cremation took place on 16 January 1993. A year later, on 16 January 1994, his relics were enshrined.
Ajahn Chah left behind many great disciples who continue to see themselves and their own students as one vast Sangha united by his teaching. The community he founded still flourishes, living simply, eating one meal a day, sewing their own robes, and cultivating the Dhamma in the heart of the forest, just as he taught, without grand words, only with an open heart.