Briton becomes first non-Thai to receive Thailand’s second-highest monastic rank — The Japan Times

In Thailand, 68-year-old UK-born Sean Chiverton, known as the Buddhist monk Ajahn Jayasaro, this summer became the first non-Thai to be granted the rank of Somdet Phra Ratchakhana. It is the second-highest level in the country’s monastic hierarchy, The Japan Times reports.

Chiverton grew up in a secular family on the Isle of Wight, in southern England. As a teenager, he reflected on how a person could best live their life and whether a world marked by violence, injustice and suffering could become better. About half a century ago, he went to India to study the Buddha’s teachings, later settling in Thailand and becoming a monk.

Life in the forest tradition

Ajahn Jayasaro joined the forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism, whose followers adhere to an austere life based on discipline, renunciation and meditation. He spent most of the past two decades in a hermitage near the Khao Yai mountains.

In 2020, the monk received Thai citizenship by royal decree. Before his latest promotion, he had already held several royal appointments. Only 18 people currently hold this rank.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Jayasaro has written several books in English and Thai, regularly leads retreats, and has about 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. He believes his experience helps relate traditional Buddhist teachings to changes in the modern world.

Views and a new project

In his teachings, the monk emphasizes the importance of living well, giving up material possessions and negative habits, and developing kindness and compassion. He said Buddhist approaches can help people cope with stress, depression and anxiety.

Jayasaro also supports the ban on the ordination of women that is widespread in Thai Buddhism, but believes women with a spiritual calling should be given the opportunity to study and practice. His next project is expected to be an English-language YouTube series about an ordinary person in the time of the Buddha.