Staying at Wat Pah Nanachat

Wat Pah Nanachat (The International Forest Monastery) is situated in a small forest in the Northeast of Thailand about fifteen kilometres from the city of Ubon Rachathani. In 1975 Ajahn Chah established the monastery to provide a traditional monastic training community for non-Thais. Today the monastic community consists of monks, novices and postulants from a wide range of nationalities. English serves as the primary language of communication and instruction.

Although Wat Pah Nanachat is not a meditation centre, there are facilities for a limited number of male and female guests to stay at the monastery and practise with the resident monastic community. Guests are expected to follow the daily routine of the monastery and join in with all communal meetings and work activities. In accordance with the monastic environment, emphasis in practice is placed on co-operation, self-sacrifice and communal harmony. The training aims to follow the Dhamma-Vinaya, the teachings and code of monastic discipline as laid down by the Buddha, respecting both the letter and the spirit. The monastic life encourages development of simplicity, renunciation and quietude. It is a deliberate commitment to this way of life that creates a community environment where people of diverse backgrounds, personalities and temperaments can co-operate in the effort to practice and realize the Buddha’s path to liberation.

Practice Schedule
In general, guests have many hours a day for study and meditation practice on their own. To make best use of the situation it is expected that they have had previous meditation experience and exposure to Buddhist teachings. The following is an outline of the standard (but variable) daily routine.

3:00 AM	Morning Wake-Up Bell
3:30 AM	Morning Meeting: Chanting and Meditation
Dawn	Monks go out to surrounding villages on alms-round. Lay guests sweep the monastery or help in the kitchen.
8:00 AM	The Meal
9:00 AM	Chores Period
2:00 PM	Group Meditation, one hour
4:30 PM	Afternoon Drink

The schedule may be supplemented by periods of group practice, communal work or Dhamma instructions according to the needs of the community. After the meal the abbot or a senior monk is available to receive visitors and resident guests and answer questions. Once every seven days or so on the Wan Phra (the Buddhist Holy Day) the community observes a late night vigil, during which time there is the opportunity to discuss aspects of Dhamma practice with one of the senior monks.

Training in Discipline and Renunciation
Lay guests who stay at Wat Pah Nanachat are expected to abide by the traditional eight Buddhist precepts. The first five form the basic guidelines for conduct leading to harmony and self-respect. The other three precepts encourage a spirit of renunciation and simplicity and are among the fundamental principles of monastic practice.

The Five Training Precepts

Harmlessness:	to refrain from intentionally taking the life of any living creature.
Trustworthiness:	to refrain from taking anything that is not given.
Chastity:	to refrain from all sexual activity.
Right Speech:	to refrain from false, abusive, malicious or disharmonious speech and worldly gossip.
Sobriety:	to refrain from taking intoxicating drinks or drugs; smoking is prohibited at all times at the monastery.

The Three Renunciation Precepts
To refrain from eating after midday. The monastery practice is to eat one meal a day in one bowl at one sitting. This frees time for meditation and enhances simplicity of life.

To refrain from using entertainment such as music, dance, playing games, and beautifying or adorning the body with jewelry or makeup. This assists in focusing the mind’s attention inwards towards Dhamma.

To refrain from using high or luxurious beds or seats and from indulging in sleep. This develops the qualities of wakefulness, mindfulness and clear awareness in all postures and in all activities throughout the day.

In sum, these training precepts are guidelines for good conduct in body and speech and provide a necessary foundation for the development of mindfulness, clear comprehension and meditation in our endeavour to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. The precepts serve to promote harmony within the community through restraining unwholesome speech and action. These fundamental principles of training cultivate the self-discipline necessary for spiritual development and are taken up as an act of deliberate personal choice and initiative.

With respect to meditation instruction, rather than solely utilize a particular technique, we aim our practice to include all aspects of daily life, however simple and ordinary, as opportunities to develop mindfulness and other spiritual qualities such as diligent effort, joy, contentment, patience and faith. In time, the virtuous qualities that grow out of such a training gather strength and contribute towards deeper peace and concentration leading to insight and the growth of liberating wisdom.

Staying as a Guest
Anyone wishing to come and stay at the monastery must write in advance to the guest monk and allow several weeks in which to receive a written response. The further ahead of time one writes the better, because space is limited and often booked up well in advance.

Guests are accepted initially for three days. If they wish to stay longer, they should consult the guest monk or the abbot. The best time to arrive is before 8:00AM in order to take part in the meal and meet with the guest monk.

Traditional Thai lay monastic attire is expected to be worn by resident lay guests. Men wear loose white and long trousers with a white shirt, and women are loaned a white blouse and long black skirt. Men wishing to extend their stay beyond three days are asked to shave their heads. Guests are advised to be in good physical and mental health and to have health coverage or travel insurance. There is no malaria at Wat Pah Nanachat. While the monastery provides bedding and a mosquito net, guests are expected to supply their other requisites (e.g. a good flashlight/torch, an alarm clock, flip-flop sandals, candles, washing powder, mosquito repellent, and toiletries). Lay people share in the food that is offered to the monastic community each morning. Owing to the renunciate tradition of accepting whatever is offered, the monastery is unable to arrange special diets for the guests or residents.

The very existence of Wat Pah Nanachat is due to the faith and goodwill of the Thai people. The society of rural Northeast Thailand is culturally conservative and still upholds their unique traditional values. Guests are asked to please respect and be sensitive to these local traditions through being mindful of appropriate dress and deportment. Since the community is entirely dependent on donations, there is no charge for visiting or staying at Wat Pah Nanachat.

During the months of March and April, the Community of Monks goes on retreat to the province of Kanchanaburi. At this time lay people may not be able to stay at Wat Pah Nanachat. Also, Wat Pah Nanachat receives a lot of visitors around January the 15th and June the 16th. Accommodations are likely to be full around these days, so guests who arrive around these dates might not be able to stay overnight.

People who are very new to Buddhism or meditation are advised to do a meditation retreat before their stay at Wat Pah Nanachat, because in Wat Pah Nanachat there is no formal teaching for beginners. Beginners usually need quite a lot of guidance and instruction, which isn’t available at Wat Pah Nanachat. Doing a Buddhist meditation retreat is like putting in the foundation, which can be built upon during your stay at Wat Pah Nanachat. A typical meditation retreat for beginners lasts about 10 days. Some good places to do a meditation retreat in Thailand are:

• Wat Suan Mokkh (Chaiya, Surat Thani 84110). (Meditation retreats are every first 10 days of the month, please arrive early on the last day of the previous month. No need to reserve or write in advance.) The meditation teaching is in the style of Ajahn Buddhadasa. Retreats last 10 days. www.suanmokkh.org
• Wat Khao Tham (Ko Pha-Ngan, Surat Thani 84280). Teachers: Steve and Rosemary Weismann. 10-day retreats for beginners. Retreats begin mid-month, usually around the 13th or 14th of each month. www.watkowtahm.org
• Thailand Vipassana Centre (200 Baan Nerrnpasuk, Tambon Dongkeelek, Ampher Meuang, Prachinburi 25000 Tel/fax: 037-403515). 10 day retreats using the meditation technique of S. N. Goenka. Email: sutthi@ksc.th.com
• Sorn-Thawee Meditation Centre (Bangkla, Chasoengsao 24110. Tel: 038-541405). The meditation teaching here is based on the technique of Mahasi Sayadaw. Visitors here are encouraged to do a 20-day retreat.
• Wat Ram Poeng (Tambon Suthep, Ampher Meuang, Chiang Mai 5000. Tel: 053-278620). The meditation teaching here is based on the technique of Mahasi Sayadaw. Retreats can be anything from 10 to 26 days depending on how long one wishes to stay.

For more information on these (and other) retreat places in Asia, read the booklet Retreats in Asia.

At present, there is no permanent nun’s community at Wat Pah Nanachat. Women interested in a monastic commitment (as a nun) are invited to contact our affiliated nun’s communities at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England or Dhammasara Nuns’ Monastery in Australia.

If you would like to visit and stay at Wat Pah Nanachat, please write a letter (suggesting possible dates) to:

The Guest Monk Wat Pah Nanachat Bahn Bung Wai Warin Chamrab Ubon Rachathani 34310 THAILAND

To get to Wat Pah Nanachat, take a bus, train or airplane to Ubon Rachathani.

• By train: three fast trains per day depart from Bangkok central railway station (Hualamphong) to Warin Chamrab (5 km south of Ubon Rachathani).
• By airplane: There are two daily flights between Bangkok domestic airport and Ubon, one in the morning and one in the evening.
• By bus: There are many air-conditioned long-distance buses with reclining seats that depart from the Northern Bus Terminal in Bangkok.

Taxis or tuk-tuks will be waiting once you arrive in Ubon. They can bring you directly to the monastery. Alternatively, you can take a songthaew from Warin Chamrab to Wat Pah Nanachat (a songthaew is a small public bus with two rows of seats in the back). The songthaew passes close to Wat Pah Nanachat. Wat Pah Nanachat is just about 500 metres away from the road, in the forest behind the rice fields, with a white wall around it.