The Bodhinyanarama comunity has its roots in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, more specifically in the ‘forest’ meditation tradition as taught by the Thai meditation master Venerable Ajahn Chah and his senior western disciple, Venerable Ajahn Sumedho.

The Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, has maintained a strong and vital monastic order that can be traced back over 2500 years to the time of Gotama Buddha. The tradition preserves an intricate symbiotic relationship between the monastics and the laity. The mendicant monastic order (sangha) depends upon the laity for its material support, while the laity receives spiritual nourishment through the example, leadership, and teaching of the monastics. The forest meditation tradition observes closely the monastic code of conduct (vinaya) and provides a basis for developing calm (samatha) and insight (vipassana) meditation, which in turn lead to experiential wisdom.