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| Ajahn Sumedho | |
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 Pictured (left) with a visiting Thai monk |
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| Born | Robert Jackman July 27, 1934 Seattle, Washington, USA |
| Occupation | Buddhist teacher |
| Title | Luang Por Ajahn Sumedho |
| Predecessor | Ajahn Chah |
| Religious beliefs | Theravada Buddhism |
Luang Por Ajahn Sumedho (Thai: อาจารย์สุเมโธ) (born Robert Jackman, July 27, 1934, Seattle) is the senior Western representative of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He has been abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery just north of London since its consecration in 1984. Luang Por means Venerable Father (หลวงพ่อ), an honorific and term of affection in keeping with Thai custom; ajahn means teacher. A bhikkhu for 40 years, Sumedho is considered a seminal figure in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings to the West.
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Biography
Sumedho was born Robert Jackman in Seattle, Washington in 1934. During the Korean War he did military service for four years from the age of 18 as a United States navy medic. He then did a BA in Far Eastern studies and graduated in 1963 with an MA in South Asian studies at the University of California, Berkeley. After a year as a Red Cross social worker, Jackman served with the Peace Corps in Borneo from 1964 to 1966 as an English teacher. In 1966 he became a novice or samanera at Wat Sri Saket in Nong Khai, northeast Thailand. He took profession as a bhikkhu in May the following year.
From 1967-77 at Wat Nong Pa Pong, trained under Ajahn Chah. He has come to be regarded as the latter's most influential Western disciple. In 1975 he helped to establish and became the first abbot of the International Monastery, Wat Pa Nanachat in northeast Thailand founded by Ajahn Chah for training his non-Thai students. In 1977, Ajahn Sumedho accompanied Ajahn Chah on a visit to England. After observing a keen interest in Buddhism among Westerners, Ajahn Chah encouraged Ajahn Sumedho to remain in England for the purpose of establishing a branch monastery in the UK. This became Cittaviveka Forest Monastery in West Sussex.
Ajahn Sumedho was granted authority to ordain others as monks shortly after he established Cittaviveka Forest Monastery. He then established a ten precept ordination lineage for women, "Siladhara".
Ajahn Sumedho is currently the abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery near Hemel Hempstead in England, which was established in 1984. It is part of the network of monasteries and Buddhist centres in the lineage of Ajahn Chah, which now extends across the world, from Thailand, New Zealand and Australia, to Europe, Canada and the United States. Ajahn Sumedho has played an instrumental role in building this international monastic community.
Teachings
Ajahn Sumedho is a prominent figure in the Thai Forest Tradition. His teachings are very direct, practical, simple, and down to earth. In his talks and sermons he stresses the quality of immediate intuitive awareness and the integration of this kind of awareness into daily life. Like most teachers in the Forest Tradition, Ajahn Sumedho tends to avoid intellectual abstractions of the Buddhist teachings and focuses almost exclusively on their practical applications, that is, developing wisdom and compassion in daily life. His most consistent advice can be paraphrased as to see things the way that they actually are rather than the way that we want or don't want them to be ("Right now, it's like this..."). He is known for his engaging and witty communication style, in which he challenges his listeners to practice and see for themselves. Students have noted that he engages his hearers with an infectious sense of humor, suffused with much loving kindness, often weaving amusing anecdotes from his experiences as a monk into his talks on meditation practice and how to experience life ("Everything belongs").
Sound of Silence
A meditation technique taught and used by Ajahn Sumedho is the "Sound of Silence" [Disputed] (some regard it the same thing as the Nada yoga in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, however, a closer read of the chapter about Nada yoga in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika will clearly reveal that they are indeed different). Listening to, and resting in, this inner sound produces a peaceful, non-reactive mind in which intuitive wisdom can and does arise. The "Sound of Silence" is also the title of one of Ajahn Sumedho's books (published by Wisdom in 2007). It is likely influenced by his study of Ven. Hsu Yun's works and by the Shurangama Sutra.
See also
External links
- BuddhaNet entry on Ajahn Sumedho
- Profile of Ajahn Sumedho on Amaravati
- Books of Ajahn Sumedho (PDF, HTML)
- Mp3 Talks by Ajahn Sumedho
- Video of interview on YouTube English with Portuguese sub titles.
- Ajahn Sumedho's eBooks in English and other Languages
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