Wat Nong Pah Pong

Wat Nong Pah Pong is the mother monastery of Ajahn Chah's community of Thai forest monasteries. Its own history records that Ajahn Chah and a group of wandering monks arrived on the afternoon of 8 March 1954 at the edge of a dense forest that local people called Dong Nong Pah Pong, 2 to 3 km from Ban Kor, the village where he was born, and settled there. The monastery is in Non Phueng subdistrict, Warin Chamrap district, Ubon Ratchathani, within walking distance of Wat Pah Nanachat, the branch Ajahn Chah set up in 1975 so that men from abroad who do not know Thai language and culture could train as forest monks. As of 2026 its abbot is Luang Por Liem. Branch monasteries in Thailand and abroad are affiliated with it, and their abbots meet here each June. Every January the monastery holds a period of practice in Ajahn Chah's memory, with lay people keeping the eight precepts: monks, novices and lay people chant morning and evening, practise walking and sitting meditation and hear Dhamma talks from teachers of branch monasteries in Thailand and abroad, and one night is spent in meditation with talks until morning. Its website is in Thai.

How to apply

Write to the monastery's guest monk well in advance (Wat Pah Nanachat asks for at least two weeks) and expect to follow its full routine on eight precepts. Wat Pah Nanachat also expects earlier retreat experience.

What is taught here

The forest lineage of Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Chah: breath meditation with Buddho, walking paths, and guest stays at monasteries in Thailand and the West. Read about Thai Forest.