Venerable Ajaan Mahā Boowa (born August 12, 1913 and commonly known in Thai as Luangta Maha Boowa) is the common name for Phra Dharma Visuthimongkol, a revered Thai Buddhist monk. “Ajaan” (or “Acharn”), meaning “teacher,” is the common title for Thai monks, similar to “Bhikkhu” or “Rishi” in other Buddhist traditions. Ajaan Mahā Boowa is one of the best known Thai Buddhist monks of the late Twentieth and early Twenty-first centuries. He is widely regarded as an Arahant—a living Buddhist saint. He was a disciple of the esteemed forest master Ajaan Mun Bhūridatta, and is now himself considered a master in the Thai Forest Tradition.
Early years
Venerable Ajaan Mahā Boowa Ñāṇasampanno was born in Baan Taad village which is located in the northeastern province of Udon Thani. He was one of 17 children of a family of rice farmers. At age 21, his parents asked him to enter the monkhood for a time, as is a Thai tradition to show gratitude towards one’s parents. He chose to enter Yothanimit monastery and was ordained on May 12, 1934 with Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi as his preceptor who gave him the Pāli name Ñāṇasampanno, which means “one endowed with wisdom.” He had no intention of remaining a monk for the rest of his life. After entering the monkhood, he studied the lives of the Buddha and his Arahant Disciples, and became so impressed that the feelings of faith arose in him, and he decided to seek the same attainments as had the original Enlightened Disciples of the Buddha. He sought to understand the ways of practicing the Dhamma (Dharma) which would lead to Nibbāna (Nirvāṇa).
He sometimes passed and sometimes failed in his Pāli studies. He also studied the Vinaya, the monastic rules of correct conduct. After seven years, he succeeded in passing the third level of Pāli studies, and achieved the highest level in Dhamma and Vinaya studies. He then aimed solely at the practice of Dhamma in hopes of studying directly with Venerable Ajaan Mun, one of the most renowned meditation masters of that time.
Venerable Ajaan Mun
He then went in search of Venerable Ajaan Mun, and when he met him he was pleased with his efforts, since it seemed as if Venerable Ajaan Mun already knew of his desires, intentions, and doubts. All of the questions in his mind were clarified by Ajaan Mun, who showed him that the Paths leading to Nibbāna still exist. He said to himself: ‘Now, I have come to the real thing. He has made everything clear and I no longer have doubts. It is now up to me to be true or otherwise. I’m determined to be true!’
He learned the methods, including meditation, followed by Ajaan Mun based on the principles of Buddhism and the code of Buddhist discipline. He has continued to follow these methods in his own teaching and training of monks and novices. Due to the deep respect and admiration he retains for Venerable Ajaan Mun—whom he has likened to a father and mother to his students, he was inspired to write a biography of Venerable Ajaan Mun aimed at disseminating his methods of practice as well as documenting his exemplary character for the sake of coming generations. Furthermore, he has written many books on the practice of Buddhist meditation, as well as many recorded teachings on Dhamma so that Buddhists would have a guide in the practice of meditation.
Seclusion and Establishing a Monastery
In 1950, after the death of Venerable Ajaan Mun, Ajaan Mahā Boowa looked for a secluded place, settling in Huey Sai village in Mukdahan province. He was very strict and serious in teaching the monks and novices, both in the austere dhutanga practices and in meditation. He continued his teaching until these same principles became established amongst his followers. Learning that his mother was ill, he returned home to look after her. Villagers and relatives requested that he settle permanently in the forest south of the village and no longer wander in the manner of a forest monk. As his mother was very old and it was appropriate for him to look after her, he accepted the offer. With a donation of 64 acres of land, he began to build his monastery, Wat Pa Baan Taad, in November 1955.
Wat Pa Baan Taad
Ajaan Mahā Boowa said: “This monastery has always been a place for meditation. Since the beginning it has been a place solely for developing the mind. I haven’t let any other work disturb the place. If there are things which must be done, I’ve made it a rule that they take up no more time than is absolutely necessary. The reason for this is that, in the eyes of the world and the Dhamma, this is a meditation temple. We’re meditation monks. The work of the meditation monk was handed over to him on the day of his ordination by his Preceptor—in all its completeness.
This is his real work, and it was taught in a form suitable for the small amount of time available during the ordination ceremony—five meditation objects to be memorized in forward and reverse order— and after that it’s up to each individual to expand on them and develop them to whatever degree of breadth or subtlety he is able to. In the beginning the work of a monk is given simply as: Kesā—hair of the head, Lomā—hair of the body, Nakhā—nails, Dantā—teeth, Taco—the skin which enwraps the body. This is the true work for those monks who practice according to the principles of Dhamma as were taught by the Lord Buddha.” The wilderness surrounding the monastery has vanished, as it has now been cleared for cultivation. The forest inside of the monastery is all that remains. Wat Pa Baan Taad preserves this remnant in its original condition, so that monks, novices, and lay people can use its tranquility for the practice of the Dhamma as taught by the Lord Buddha.
Rise to Fame
Ajaan Mahā Boowa has travelled to London to give lectures. He also founded the Help Thai Nation Project, a charitable effort dedicated to the helping the Thai economy. He has been visited and supported by the King and Queen of Thailand. Ajaan Mahā Boowa’s biographer says: “Ven. Ajaan Mahā Boowa is well known for the fluency and skill of his Dhamma talks, and their direct and dynamic approach. They obviously reflect his own attitude and the way he personally practiced Dhamma. This is best exemplified in the Dhamma talks he gives to those who go to meditate at Wat Pa Baan Taad. Such talks usually take place in the cool of the evening, with lamps lit and the only sound being the insects and cicadas in the surrounding jungle. He often begins the Dhamma talk with a few moments of stillness—this is the most preparation he needs—and then quietly begins the Dhamma exposition. As the theme naturally develops, the pace quickens and those listening increasingly feel its strength and depth.”
Some Basic Teachings on the ‘Citta’
Ajaan Mahā Boowa sees the essential enduring truth of the sentient being as constituted of the indestructible reality of the citta (heart/mind), which is characterized by the attribute of Awareness or Knowingness. This citta, which is intrinsically bright, clear and aware, gets superficially tangled up in saṁsāra but ultimately cannot be destroyed by any saṁsāric phenomenon. Although Ajaan Mahā Boowa is often at pains to emphasize the need for meditation upon the not-self (anattā), he also points out that the citta, while getting caught up in the vortex of conditioned phenomena, is not subject to destruction as are those things which are impermanent, suffering and not-self (anicca, dukkha, anattā). The citta is ultimately not beholden to these laws of conditioned existence. The citta is bright, radiant and deathless, and is its own independent reality. Being intrinsically bright and clear, the citta is always ready to make contact with everything of every nature. Although all conditioned phenomena without exception are governed by the three universal laws of anicca, dukkha and anattā, the citta’s true nature is not subject to these laws.
The citta is conditioned by anicca, dukkha and anattā only because things that are subject to these laws come spinning in to become involved with the citta and so cause it to spin along with them. However, though it spins in unison with conditioned phenomena, the citta never disintegrates or falls apart. It spins following the influence of those forces which have the power to make it spin, but the true power of the citta’s own nature is that it knows and does not die. This deathlessness is a quality that lies beyond disintegration. Being beyond disintegration, it also lies beyond the range of anicca, dukkha and anattā and the universal laws of nature. The fundamental problem that besets human beings, according to Ajaan Mahā Boowa, is that they have taken fake and false things as their true self and lack the necessary power to be their ‘own true self’; they allow the wiles and deceits of the mental defilements to generate fear and anxiety in their minds. Fear and anxiety are not inherent within the citta; in fact, the citta is ultimately beyond all such things and indeed is beyond time and space. But it needs to be cleansed of its inner defilements (the kilesas) before that truth can be realized. Ajaan Mahā Boowa states: Our real problem, our one fundamental problem—which is also the citta’s fundamental problem—is that we lack the power needed to be our own true self.
Instead, we have always taken counterfeit things to be the essence of who we really are, so that the citta’s behavior is never in harmony with its true nature. Rather, it expresses itself through the kilesas’ cunning deceits, which cause it to feel anxious and frightened of virtually everything. As a result, the citta is forever full of worries and fears. And although fear and worry are not intrinsic to the citta, they still manage to produce apprehension there. When the citta has been cleansed so that it is absolutely pure and free of all involvement, only then will we see a citta devoid of all fear. Then, neither fear nor courage appear, only the citta’s true nature, existing naturally alone on its own, forever independent of time and space. Only that appears—nothing else. This is the genuine citta. Ajaan Mahā Boowa goes on to attempt to describe the inner stages and experience of the cleansed citta. When its purgation of defilements is complete, it itself does not disappear—only the impermanent, suffering, and the non-self disappear.
The citta remains, experientially abiding in its own firm foundation, yet ultimately indescribable: Once the citta has become so well-cleansed that it is always bright and clear, then even though the citta has not ‘converged’ in samādhi, the focal point of its awareness is so exceedingly delicate and refined as to be indescribable. This subtle awareness manifests as a radiance that extends forth in all directions around us. We are unconscious of sights, sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations, despite the fact that the citta has not entered samādhi. Instead, it is actually experiencing its own firm foundation, the very basis of the citta that has been well-cleansed to the point where a mesmerizing, majestic quality of knowing is its most prominent feature. Seeming to exist independent of the physical body, this kind of extremely refined awareness stands out exclusively within the citta. Due to the subtle and pronounced nature of the citta at this stage, its knowing nature completely predominates. No images or visions appear there at all. It is an awareness that stands out exclusively on its own. This is one aspect of the citta.
Another aspect is seen when this well-cleansed citta enters meditative calm, not thinking or imagining anything. Ceasing all activity, all movement, it simply rests for awhile. All thought and imagination within the citta come to a complete halt. This is called “the citta entering a state of total calm.” Then, the citta’s essential knowing nature is all that remains. Except for this very refined awareness—an awareness that seems to blanket the entire cosmos—absolutely nothing else appears. Distance is not a factor. To be precise, the citta is beyond the conditions of time and space, which allows it to blanket everything. Far is like near, for concepts of space do not apply. All that appears is a very refined awareness suffusing everything throughout the entire universe. The whole world seems to be filled by this subtle quality of knowing, as though nothing else exists, though things still exist in the world as they always have.
The all-encompassing flow of the citta that has been cleansed of the things that cloud and obscure it, this is the citta’s true power. The citta that is absolutely pure is even more difficult to describe. Since it is something that defies definition, I don’t know how I could characterize it. It cannot be expressed in the same way that conventional things in general can be, simply because it is not a conventional phenomenon. It is the sole province of those who have transcended all aspects of conventional reality, and thus realize within themselves that non-conventional nature. For this reason, words cannot describe it. Why do we speak of a conventional citta and an absolutely pure citta? Are they actually two different cittas? Not at all. It remains the same citta. When it is controlled by conventional realities, such as kilesas and āsava, that is one condition of the citta.
But when the faculty of wisdom has scrubbed it clean until this condition has totally disintegrated, the true citta, the true Dhamma, the one that can stand the test, will not disintegrate and disappear along with it. Only the conditions of anicca, dukkha and anattā, which infiltrate the citta, actually disappear. No matter how subtle the kilesas may be, they are still conditioned by anicca, dukkha and anattā, and therefore, must be conventional phenomena. Once these things have completely disintegrated, the true citta, the one that has transcended conventional reality, becomes fully apparent. This is called the citta’s Absolute Freedom, or the citta’s Absolute Purity. All connections continuing from the citta’s previous condition have been severed forever.
Now utterly pure, the citta’s essential knowing nature remains alone on its own. Since this refined awareness does not have a point or a center, it is impossible to specifically locate its position. There is only that es- Forest Desanas 15 About the Author sential knowing, with absolutely nothing infiltrating it. Although it still exists amid the same khandhas with which it used to intermix, it no longer shares any common characteristics with them. It is a world apart. Only then do we know clearly that the body, the khandhas, and the citta are all distinct and separate realities.
Kammatthana
Kammaṭṭhāna literally means “basis of work” or “place of work.” It describes the contemplation of certain meditation themes used by a meditating monk so the forces of defilement (kilesa), craving (taṇhā) and ignorance (avijjā) may be uprooted from the mind. Although kammaṭṭhāna can be found in many meditation-related subjects, the term is most often used to identify the Forest Tradition (the Kammaṭṭhāna tradition) lineage founded by Ajaan Sao Kantasilo and his student Ajaan Mun Bhūridatta.