View source for Ajahn Mun

{{Short description|Thai Buddhist monk}}
{{No footnotes|date=May 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox religious biography
|image = Portrait of Ajahn Mun.jpg
|birth_name = Mun
|alias = {{langx|th|Luang Pu Mun}} (หลวงปู่มั่น)<br />Ajahn Mun ({{langx|th|อาจารย์มั่น}})
|dharma_names = Bhuridatto
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1870|01|20}} 
|birth_place = Ban Khambong, [[Khong Chiam District|Khong Chiam]] (now [[Si Mueang Mai district|Si Mueang Mai]]), [[Ubon Ratchathani Province|Ubon Ratchathani]], Thailand
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1949|11|11|1870|01|20}}
|death_place = Wat Pa Sutthawat, [[Mueang Sakon Nakhon District|Mueang Sakon Nakhon]], [[Sakon Nakhon Province|Sakon Nakhon]], Thailand
|nationality = Thai
|religion = [[Buddhism]]
|school = [[Theravada]], [[Dhammayuttika Nikaya]]
|lineage = [[Thai Forest Tradition]]
|title = 
|location = 
|education = 
|occupation = Meditation master
|teacher = [[Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo]]
|reincarnation of = 
|predecessor = [[Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo]]
|successor = 
|students = 
|spouse = 
|partner = 
|children = 
|website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20040604055141/http://www.luangta.com/English/site/book8_biomun.html Full Bio]
}}
[[File:Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand - panoramio (35).jpg|thumb|A wax statue of Ajahn Mun at [[Wat Chedi Luang]] in Chiang Mai, Thailand]]
{{Thai Forest Tradition}}
'''Mun Bhuridatta''' ({{langx|th|มั่น ภูริทตฺโต}}, {{RTGS|Man Phurithatto}}; {{langx|lo|ຫຼວງປູ່ມັ່ນ ພູຣິທັຕໂຕ}}; 1870–1949) was a Thai [[bhikkhu]] from [[Isan]] region who is credited, along with his mentor, [[Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo]], with establishing the [[Thai Forest Tradition]] or "[[Kammaṭṭhāna]] tradition" that subsequently spread throughout [[Thailand]] and to several countries abroad.

==Biography==
Ajaan Mun was born in Baan Kham Bong, a farming village in [[Ubon Ratchathani Province]], [[Isan]].

Ordained as a monk in 1893, he spent the remainder of his life wandering through [[Thailand]], [[British Burma|Burma]], and [[Laos]], dwelling for the most part in the forest, engaged in the practice of [[meditation]]. He attracted an enormous following of students and, together with his teacher, [[Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo|Sao Kantasīlo]] (1861–1941) established the Thai Forest Tradition (the [[kammaṭṭhāna]] tradition) that subsequently spread throughout Thailand and to several countries abroad. He died at Wat Suddhavasa, [[Sakon Nakhon Province]].

==Forest meditation==
Ajaan Mun's mode of practice was solitary and strict. He followed the [[vinaya]] (monastic discipline) faithfully, and also observed many of what are known as the 13 classic [[dhutanga]] (ascetic) practices, such as living off alms food, wearing robes made of cast-off rags, dwelling in the forest and eating only one meal a day. Monks following this tradition are known as ''thudong'', the Thai pronunciation of this [[Pali]] word.

Searching out secluded places in the wilds of Thailand and Laos, he avoided the responsibilities of settled monastic life and spent long hours of the day and night in meditation. In spite of his reclusive nature, he attracted a large following of students willing to put up with the hardships of forest life in order to study with him.

==Further reading==
* ''[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/customs.html The Customs of the Noble Ones]'', by Thanissaro Bhikkhu describes the Thai forest tradition started by Ajaan Mun.
* ''[https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/HeartReleased/Section0001.html A Heart Released - The Teachings of Phra Ajaan Mun Bhūridatta Thera]'', is a record of passages from Ajaan Mun sermons, made during the years 1944-45 by two monks who were staying under his guidance. (Translated from the Thai by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu)
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Buswell|editor1-first=Robert Jr|editor2-last=Lopez|editor2-first=Donald S. Jr.|editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr.|editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Ajahn Mun Bhūridatta)|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ|page=22|isbn=9780691157863}}
* ''[http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/lib/thai/mun/munbio_en.html Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera: A Spiritual Biography]'', (online as html) "The biography of Ven. Ācariya Mun Bhuridatta composed by his disciple and fellow [[Ajahn Maha Bua|Ven. Ācariya Maha Boowa Ñānasampanno]]. Next to countless anecdotes one may find a great reflection of a live of a true Buddhist forest monk."
* ''[https://amaravati.org/dhamma-books/patipada-venerable-acariya-muns-path-of-practice/ Patipada – Venerable Ācariya Mun's Path of Practice]'', "A translation of the Dhutanga Kammaṭṭhāna practices of Venerable Ajaan Mun Bhūridatta Thera, also written by Ven. Ācariya Mahā Boowa Ñāṇasampanno."

==External links==
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[[Category:Thai Theravada Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:Thai Forest Tradition monks]]
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Ubon Ratchathani province]]


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